Hideously risky poorly paid job puts banking compensation into perspective

How much should you get paid for dangling on a rope and cleaning windows up to 360m above ground level?

More pertinently, how much should you get paid for dangling on a rope and cleaning windows 360m above ground level when you also have -

a. Five years' experience in this art.

b. Willingness to work six days a week.

c. A qualification in working at heights?

Try....£320 - £390 ($535 - $662) per week. This is how much is currently being offered to 'experienced vertical window cleaners at the Shard,' the new iconic landmark on London's South Bank. Needless to say, this is less than half the amount typically paid to front office summer interns at investment banks, who have yet to leave university.

Knowing how little the Shard's cleaners are paid may not do much to directly further your finance career. However, it may make you feel more appreciative of what you've got - our survey earlier this year suggested that 40% of bankers in the City of London were unhappy with their bonuses for 2013.

Richard Miranda, a spokesperson for GoodPeopleConnect, the social recruitment agency which is advertising the Shard-cleaning positions, says they've had ten applications so far. The level of pay is fairly typical for window cleaning, even at heights, says Miranda. "We don't set the prices - we just make sure that we don't deal with zero hours contracts and that it will lead to long term sustainable employment," he says.

In 2012, a window cleaner at the Shard had to be rescued after his 'cradle' swung wildly in a gust of high wind. And yet it could be worse - the jobs could be at Pret a Manger. 

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