[jokethrowaway]

OP salary at 38k is pretty low.

From my experience that's in line with people doing "body rentals" for agencies under threat of being deported or because they couldn't find another job.

I think he could have doubled that with a bit of work on resume / negotiation skills.

Sure, still lower than US but life in the UK is way cheaper, so it works out unless your earning potential is mid-high 3 digits.

[Nextgrid]

I'm not sure it's specific to body shops. Frankly some higher-end "body shops" (aka agencies) do actually pay quite well.

This salary sadly seems normal for a non-tech business.

> life in the UK is way cheaper

Nowadays I'm not sure, especially if you actually need any of the services the government is supposed to provide but is no longer able to (healthcare, etc). Private healthcare expenses quickly adds up.