NORTH WEST managers are falling behind their counterparts in London and the South East when it comes to take-home pay.

A survey released by the Institute of Management showed that managers in the region earned an average of £37,148 -- £1,800 less than the national figure and a staggering £8,400 less than their London-based colleagues.

North West bosses, however, can comfort themselves with the fact that they are better-paid than managers in any other region in the UK.

Choosing the right career can also make a difference to the monthly pay packet. Managers working in the dusty world of actuarial, insurance and pensions earn just over £30,000 a year on average while high-flying IT whizz-kids pocket a whopping £45,000.

But the Institute of Management proves what most people in business and industry have known for years: the best way to get ahead is to join the boardroom.

The survey shows that UK company directors' earnings rose by 12.9 per cent in 2000 to an average of £121,000. This figure was topped only by the pay packets of chief executives who earn an average of £197,590.

Directors did particularly well last year with bonus payments which rose by 34 per cent to an average of £28,000.

Mary Chapman, Director General of the Institute of Management, said: "This big rise in bonus payments reveals the extent of economic buoyancy and business confidence in the UK during the period covered by the research.

"Bonuses are paid by results and the achievement of commercial targets. Clearly, these targets were being met and people duly rewarded."