is the pay for a secondary school teacher well

Hi, i know this is a bit impersonal but I want to be a history teacher, around Birmingham area and was wondering what the pay was like, i did some research but i wondered if i could get anyone else's opinion?
thanks

You can see the current pay-scale here. So unless you've got a senior position, the pay isn't particularly high given the intense workload.

What do you mean by senior position?

Senior management, AST, Head of Department, etc. Those are not positions that you'd be able to get for a while and they're accompanied by a load of extra responsibilities and admin so a lot of teachers probably wouldn't want it either.

So would you recommend becoming a teacher, I would like to do history, or do you think there are any other jobs that come with A-level and then maybe a degree in History?

It really depends on how passionate and skilled you are at teaching. If it's something you've got your heart set on then I'd say go for it, but you've got to understand that the working conditions for teachers in state schools are pretty dreadful at the moment in this country and morale in the profession is low. If this is something you're prepared to deal with then by all means go for it - it can be a very rewarding profession - but it most definitely is not for the faint hearted. Another thing you could potentially look at is teaching in private schools which appears to be significantly different (with its own advantages and disadvantages).

I've not done History though so I'm probably not the best person to ask about job prospects with History, sorry.

Go and spend some time working in a school. There are a few reasons teachers are unhappy and so you need to think about whether you care about them:
1. behaviour problems - kids behave terribly and because the focus is on supporting them often don't get punished, it's hard to exclude students so you often have to put up with terrible behaviour and the parents will not back you up
2. no one respects teachers so you'll have kids being rude, their parents being rude, people making jokes etc
3. there are so many silly regulations and rules and so much is controlled over how teachers teach that they spend a huge amount of time doing pointless and repetitive admin and don't have the freedom to do their job in a way which works for them, which means people feel like they can't do their best as they're constantly being told it has to be done a certain way - there is also a huge amount of pressure to meet certain levels and requirements with no consideration for the particular school or children
4. pay is reasonable but fairly average and at times you will have to work a lot of hours, you have to come in during holidays, do after school clubs, parents evenings plus taking work home can make you feel like you never escape
5. it's an emotionally challenging job, dealing with bad behaviour but also mental health/abuse
6. teachers are just demotivated and demoralised and working in an environment where people are generally unhappy breeds more unhappiness

^ you won't see a lot of this just from volunteering but it will give you a feel for whether education is something you enjoy

imo, point 3 is the most concerning thing for me. im arranging some school observations as well. will probably discuss these points with the maths department that i'll hopefully be working with.