BRITS have been left divided after it was revealed that a store manager in Aldi would be paid nearly £10,000 more than a government cyber security expert.
The bizarre comparison was shared to social media yesterday by Paul Moore, an information security consultant.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is seeking an experienced security expert, whilst Aldi is hiring managers for some of its stores in Wales.
Paul’s post has sparked debate over which role would be more challenging, particularly his dispute that it wouldn’t be the supermarket job.
The starting salary for a lead cyber security expert is £41,935, whereas a manager in Aldi would receive £50,600, and up to a whopping £65,995 pro rata.
The NCSC demands at least five years of relevant experience, and demonstration of delivering projects effectively, as well as passing a strict security clearance and a medical.
Meanwhile, Aldi is looking for “target-driven individuals with experience leading teams in a fast-paced environment, skilled in time management and cost control”.
In response to claims that the management role would be more stressful, Paul hit back that we would be “truly screwed” if that was true.
Claiming that being a store manager would be easier in comparison, he even went as far as calling one person “crazy” for daring to suggest otherwise.
However, he did stress that he believed the two were not comparable in terms of qualifications, experience and the level of difficulty.
Paul posted screenshots of the job advertisements to social media yesterday with the caption: “Stressful job at NCSC, £42,000.
“Comparably easy job requiring no qualifications at Aldi, £50-65,000. It’s truly farcical.”
The post has since received over 750 likes and more than 50 comments from Brits sharing their opinions.
One said: “Tell me you’ve never worked at Aldi, without telling me.”
Paul replied: “If being a manager at Aldi is more stressful than any security position at GCHQ, I’ll eat a hat… which I’ll buy from the middle aisle.”
Another wrote: “[A] Friend was an area manager for a little while, never home [and] super stressed. Aldi isn’t the easy life.”
A third commented: “‘Stressful’. Have you met civil servants? These are jobs are paid appropriately.”
Another said: “But you’re basing that on your opinion only of ‘comparably easy’. Long days, evenings, weekends, on your feet, manual work, targets to meet on all sorts of KPIs.
“People making comparisons between things they have little [or] no experience of is a slippery slope.”
A fifth quipped: “The only stress you got to deal with is your coffee getting cold compared with any store managers.”
