The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Ashe), conducted every year by the Office for National Statistics, uses data taken from a sample of 1% of company employees who pay tax via PAYE. Because of that, it's widely considered to be the most accurate assessment of what most people in the country earn – but equally there are several important pay factors that Ashe cannot show.

First, the data only applies to employees on company payrolls, so cannot reflect the earnings of the self-employed entrepreneurs, athletes and celebrities who between them constitute many of the country's really top earners.

Second, the survey only measures base pay and does not take into account additional methods of reward such as bonuses, pension payments, share options and so on.

Third, it cannot reveal the earnings of those with multiple income streams, such as legal and accounting partners, or directors of multiple companies.

This may explain why Ashe figures for directors and financial workers, although top ranked, look surprisingly low. The median full-time base pay in this category rose by 15.3% this year, partly due to a trend of shifting executive earnings away from bonuses and towards basic pay.

The gross median full-time salary in the UK for the year ending April 2011 was £26,244, up 1.4% year on year. Overall though, once part-time workers are included, median salaries increased by just 0.5%. The total number of full-time workers fell by 380,000 in 2011, with 72,000 more part-time employees reflecting the shift for many towards part-time work.

With UK economic growth at 0.5% in the third quarter of 2011, the survey therefore appears to offer a fairly accurate reflection of the economy in general.

Median or mean?

Unless stated, the salaries listed are gross full-time medians – so there are as many people earning less than the quoted figures as there are earning more. When comparing uneven sets of figures such as rates of pay, the median is considered more accurate than the mean, which can be skewed by high salaries. The percentage increase or decrease shown is relative to the corresponding 2010 figure.

To give a sense of how salaries are spread across workforces, the lowest and highest available percentiles for each job group are also shown – Ashe tries to give salaries from the 10th to the 90th percentiles, but where data has been deemed unreliable, we have given the lowest (*) or highest (✝) value available.

1. Head of major organisation £114,549 +15.3%

10th pct: £49,762. 80th pct✝: £219,345.

Also known as: Chief executives; directors; general managers; managing directors. What they do: Lead enterprises and organisations employing more than 500 people. Plan, direct and co-ordinate resources for operations like processing, production, construction, maintenance, transport, storage, handling and warehousing, the resources of offices performing clerical and related functions and the specialist activities of enterprises. Well I never: In a recent PWC survey, 4.8% of directors claimed their board meetings lasted longer than 10 hours.

• Working life: the chief executive

2. Medical practitioner £82,962 +1.5%

10th pct: £35,105. 80th pct✝: £120,048.

Also known as: Anaesthetists; hospital service consultants; doctors; general practitioners; physicians; psychiatrists; psychoanalysts; registrars; surgeons. What they do: Diagnose mental and physical injuries, disorders and diseases, prescribe and give treatment, recommend preventative action; refer patients to a specialist. Well I never: 88% of GPs say their workload has risen in the last five years.

• Working life: the GP

• Working life: the plastic surgeon

3. Senior national government official £78,182 +3.4%

40th pct*: £73,565. 60th pct✝: £80,470.

Also known as: Assistant secretaries/Grade 5 (government); diplomats; MEPs; MPs; permanent secretaries. What they do: Formulate and ratify legislation and government policy, act as elected representatives of national, European or regional parliaments, and represent and direct diplomatic operations. Well I never: MPs elected to the last (2005-2010) parliament were four times more likely to go to prison than the average Briton, Private Eye reports.

• Working life: the MP

4. Aircraft pilot £74,442 +8.8%

20th pct*: £45,054. 70th pct✝: £89,318.

Also known as: Airline captains; commercial pilots; flight engineers; flying instructors. What they do: Flight deck officers check, regulate, adjust and test engines and other equipment prior to take-off; navigate and pilot aircraft; give flying lessons. Well I never: Pilots flying high-altitude, high-latitude routes are in the top 5% of all workers exposed to radiation, ranked by dose.

• Working life: the airline pilot

5. Dental practitioner £60,098 (2010 figure; 2011 unavailable)

Percentile data unavailable.

Also known as: Dental surgeons; orthodontists; periodontists (this is the only salary quoted as a mean, rather than median, value, as Ashe contained no data on the latter). What they do: Diagnose dental and oral diseases, injuries and disorders, prescribe and administer treatment, recommend preventative action and refer patients to other specialists. Well I never: Alfred P Southwick, a dentist from Buffalo, US, invented the electric chair in the 1880s.

• Working life: the dentist

6. Finance manager/chartered secretary £59,301 +4.4%

10th pct: £27,367. 80th pct✝: £104,099.

Also known as: Company registrars; treasurers; credit managers; financial directors; merchant bankers. What they do: Plan, organise and direct financial information and advise on company financial policy. Chartered secretaries organise and direct work associated with meetings of directors and shareholders, act as company representatives, control share registration work and advise on company law. Well I never: A third of hiring finance managers think job applicants stretch the truth in interviews.

• Working life: the insolvency administrator

7. Senior police officer £58,746 +3.5%

10th pct: £51,544. 75th pct✝: £63,578.

Also known as: Chief constables; assistant chief constables; chief inspectors; chief superintendents; deputy chief constables. What they do: At inspector level and above, they plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the resources and activities of police work. Well I never: A Police Federation national survey showed 98% feel morale in the force has fallen owing to planned police budget cuts.

8. Air traffic controller £56,800 +9.6%

25th pct*: £47,299. 60th pct✝: £69,992.

Also known as: Flight planner; ground movement controller. What they do: Prepare flight plans, authorise departures and arrivals and maintain radio, radar and/or visual contact with aircraft to ensure their safety. Well I never: To prevent on-the-job fatigue, controllers in Germany and Japan have beds at work so they can cat-nap during breaks.

• Working life: the air traffic controller

9. Mining/energy manager £53,741 -0.8%

20th pct*: £38,520. 60th pct✝: £63,915.

Also known as: Operations managers (mining, water and energy); overmen/women; quarry managers. What they do: Supply, plan, and direct activities and resources for the extraction of minerals and other natural deposits and the production, storage and provision of gas, water and electricity. Well I never: Each person in the UK consumes an estimated four tonnes of quarried aggregates per annum.

10. Business/financial broker £52,902 (2010 figure; 2011 unavailable)

10th pct: £23,726. 40th pct✝: £49,310.

Also known as: Commodity traders; financial brokers; foreign exchange dealers; insurance brokers. What they do: Deal in commodities, stocks, shares and foreign exchange on behalf of clients or on own account, broker insurance and reinsurance, and buy and sell shipping and freight space. Well I never: Stockbrokers are more likely to be reckless and manipulative than diagnosed psychopaths, a study by the University of St Gallen says.

• Working life: the actuary

11. Public service admin professional £51,090 +5.4%

10th pct: £34,215. 80th pct✝: £60,271.

Who they are : Area officers (local government); civil servants (Grade 6, 7); divisional officers (local government); principal/Grade 7 (government); registrars of births and deaths; superintendent registrars. What they do: Advise on the implementation and formulation of government policy, develop and implement administrative policies of government departments, and direct resources of local and national government offices. Well I never: More than 4,000 full-time employees have left Whitehall civil service departments since the October 2010 spending review.

• Working life: the registrar

12. Solicitor, lawyer, judge, coroner £48,449 2.2%

10th pct: £24,000. 80th pct✝: £85,497.

Also known as: Articled clerks; barristers; coroners; judges; solicitors. What they do: Advise and act on behalf of individuals, organisations, businesses and government departments in legal matters, prepare and conduct court cases on behalf of clients, preside over judicial proceedings, and pronounce judgments within a variety of court settings and tribunals. Well I never: 40% of high court judges in a 2009 poll opposed redesigned robes, one claiming they looked like "a cross between a Star Trek costume and a fascist stormtrooper's uniform".

13. Research/development manager £47,895 +0.2%

10th pct: £28,634. 80th pct✝: £70,783.

What they do: Managers in this group plan, organise, co-ordinate and direct resources for the systematic investigation and development of new products, or in the enhancement of existing ones. Well I never: The average age of a product manager is 39.

14. ICT manager £47,254 +2.1%

10th pct: £26,932. 90th pct: £87,216.

Also known as: Computer managers; computer operations managers; data processing managers; IT managers; systems managers; telecom managers. What they do: Plan, organise and co-ordinate work to operate and provide information communication technology services, to maintain and develop associated network facilities and provide software and hardware support. Well I never: 72% of global IT managers think securing corporate data is more stressful than divorce, says a poll.

• Working life: the software engineer

15. Senior local government official £45,420 -12.7%

10th pct: £21,877. 70th pct✝: £58,164.

Also known as: Chief executives (local government); town clerks. What they do: Formulate and implement local government policies, ensuring legal, statutory and other provisions concerning the running of a local authority are observed, and organise local authority office work and resources. Well I never: John Carpenter, town clerk of London from 1417 to 1438, wrote the first book of English common law.

• Working life: the council leader

16. Hospital/health service manager £45,412 +6.0%

10th pct: £31,293. 80th pct✝: £63,282.

Also known as: Clinical managers. What they do: Plan, organise and direct resources and activities of healthcare providers and purchasers, at both district and unit level. Well I never: South African hospital managers rated healthcare delivery skills among the least important required to do their jobs, a 2008 academic study found.

17. Higher education teaching professional £45,364 +0.4%

10th pct: £28,715. 90th pct: £69,575.

Also known as: University lecturer; senior lecturer; professor; reader. What they do: HE teaching professionals deliver lectures and teach students to at least first-degree level, undertake research and write journal articles and books in their chosen field of study. Well I never: Four out of five lecturers describe their job as being stressful, a recent UCL survey found.

18. Marketing/sales manager £45,263 -0.5%

10th pct: £23,495. 90th pct: £96,103.

Also known as: Business development managers; commercial managers; export managers; product managers; sales and marketing directors. What they do: Plan, organise, direct and undertake market research and formulate and implement an organisation's marketing and sales policies. Well I never: 43% of marketing managers say they have no time to fully engage with social media.

19. Electrical engineer £44,867 +1.2%

25th pct*: £36,668. 70th pct✝: £51,600.

Also known as: Generating engineers (electricity supplier); power engineers; power transmission engineers. What they do: Similar to electronics engineers, they often apply their skills in more industrial settings towards electrical equipment, power stations and other products and systems. Well I never: William Gilbert, widely considered the founder of electrical engineering, died of bubonic plague in 1603.

20. Financial institution manager £44,161 +6.5%

10th pct: £24,984. 80th pct✝: £71,223.

Also known as: Bank managers; building society managers; post office managers; sub-postmasters. What they do: Plan, organise and direct the activities and resources of banks, building societies, insurance companies and post offices. Well I never: A third of bank managers in a 2006 survey said they were working class.

• Working life: the bank manager

21. Electronics engineer £43,772 -2.9%

20th pct*: £35,105. 70th pct✝: £51,233.

Also known as: Broadcasting engineers; microwave engineers; radar engineers (research); radio engineers (professional). What they do: Research and design, direct construction and manage the operation and maintenance of electronic motors, communications systems, microwave systems, and other electronic equipment. Well I never: Nikola Tesla, inventor of alternating current electricity, claimed in 1902 to have invented a fuel-free power generator that ran off "cosmic energy" – but his designs have never been discovered.

22. IT strategy/planning professional £43,667 -8.5%

10th pct: £24,000. 80th pct✝: £63,693.

Also known as: Analyst-programmers; computer programmers; software engineers; systems analysts; systems designers. What they do: Provide advice on the effective utilisation of IT in order to enhance business functions. Well I never: A recent poll suggested IT consultants have unusually adventurous personalities.

23. Personnel/training manager £43,369 +2.8%

10th pct: £25,616. 80th pct✝: £67,122.

Also known as: Human resources managers; industrial relations managers; works study managers. What they do: Plan, organise and direct the human resources policies of organisations, advise on resource allocation and utilisation problems, measure the effectiveness of an organisation's systems, methods and procedures and advise on, plan and implement ways to improve the use of labour, equipment and materials. Well I never: City HR professionals received bonuses worth 18% of their salaries in 2010 – double the previous year, HR recruiter Ortus says.

24. Purchasing manager £43,263 +2.8%

10th pct: £27,096. 75th pct✝: 63,152.

Also known as: Purchasing directors; supplies managers. What they do: Organise and direct the buying policies and activities of industrial, commercial and government departments. Well I never: A 2004 survey showed 93.5% of American supply chain managers were male.

25. Train driver £42,350 +3.2%

10th pct: £35,830. 80th pct✝: £46,640.

What they do: Pilot diesel, diesel-electric, electric and steam engines transporting passengers and goods on overground and underground railways. Well I never: Once a staple kids' dream job, train driving featured last in the top 10 of children's' career choices in 2009.

26. Production/maintenance manager £41,539 +2.1%

10th pct: £20,160. 90th pct: £89,795.

Also known as: Engineering managers; factory managers; production managers; service managers; shift managers; works managers. What they do: Plan, organise and direct the activities and resources necessary for production in manufacturing industries and the maintenance of engineering equipment. Well I never: One in three factory managers play music on the shopfloor to boost worker productivity, according to a recent survey.

27. Construction manager £41,375 -0.7%

10th pct: £22,321. 80th pct✝: £60,305.

Also known as: Clerks of works; contracts managers; site managers. What they do: Plan and organise the building and maintenance of civil and structural engineering projects including houses, flats, factories, roads and runways, bridges, tunnels and railway works, harbour, dock and marine works and water supplies, drainage and sewage works. Well I never: A 2009 Chartered Institute of Building survey showed construction managers over the age of 60 as the fastest-growing age group in the sector.

28. Physicist/geologist/ meteorologist £41,177 +2.7%

20th pct*: £30,867. 70th pct✝: £52,722.

Also known as: Geophysicists; mathematicians; seismologists. What they do: Study relationships between matter, energy and other physical phenomena, the nature, composition and structure of the Earth and other planetary bodies and forecast weather conditions and electrical, magnetic, seismic and thermal activity. Well I never: 29% of US TV meteorologists in a 2010 survey said that they thought global warming was "a scam".

29. Advertising/PR manager £41,110 +2.8%

10th pct: £22,743. 75th pct✝: £55,061.

Also known as: Media directors; publicity managers. What they do: Plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the advertising, public relations and public information activities of an organisation. Well I never: The coalition government spent more than £200m in its first five months on consultants, PR and marketing.

• Working life: the advertising creatives

30. Broadcasting associate professional £40,778 +1.4%

10th pct: £25,216. 70th pct✝: £47,429.

Also known as: Broadcasters; news reporters; production assistants; radio journalists; television producers; video editors. What they do: Introduce, present and participate in radio and TV programmes, research material for broadcasts, and assume organisational and financial responsibility for the production of programmes. Well I never: The London borough of Camden has the highest concentration of entertainment and media professionals in the country, the 2001 census reveals.

• Working life: the broadcast journalist

• Working life: the radio DJ

31. Mechanical engineer £40,476 +2.7%

10th pct: £26,096. 80th pct✝: £53,717.

Also known as: Aeronautical engineers, automobile engineers; hydraulic engineers; marine engineers; welding engineers. What they do: Research, design and direct the manufacture and manage the operation and maintenance of engines, machines, aircraft, vehicles and ships' structures and other mechanical items. Well I never: George Stephenson, dubbed the father of railways, became the first president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1847.

32. Management consultant/actuary/statistician £40,199 +0.4%

10th pct: £23,236. 80th pct✝: £62,500.

Also known as: Business analysts; economists; management services officers. What they do: Advise businesses on a variety of management, personnel, computing and technical matters; apply theoretical principles and practical techniques to analyse and interpret data. Well I never: In 1858, Florence Nightingale was the first woman to be elected into the Royal Statistical Society.• Working life: the actuary

• Working life: the quantitative analyst

* Lowest available percentile

✝ Highest available percentile

Source: Ashe 2011