teaching an underrated and poorly paid profession

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Mr M

Maybe you should do some research?

The average salary of a G.P. is £81,200 p.a.

The average salary of a G.P. partner is £112,665 p.a.

The average salary of a dentist is £97,542 p.a.

A soldier on first tour of duty earns £20,255 p.a. minimum (pretty good for a job that does not require any qualifications).

Holding a rank boosts your earnings considerably, for example a Brigadier earns £95,128 p.a. minimum.

No i didn't look in to exact pay figures because i had a rough estimate and i took in to account the other factors that were involved.

Yeah the medical proffesion is good pay but for the amount off hours that needs to be put in and for the years of training. From the start of education you effectively have to aim for it and work really hard for it. Then compete for a place with not enough spaces even though the applicants are more then good enough.

Then when you do get in to the proffesion you will have huge debts to pay off which i would imagine then would make your first years tough.

Dentists obviously get payed a lot everyone wants nice teeth. But i don't remember talking about them for that reason because i value the other proffesions as more valuable.

Soliders risk their lives that is something which is very hard to put a price on. It really dosn't matter if it requires academic qualifications you have to still have your wits about you working in a team in order for your buddies to survive and the only hope of being ahead of the rest in order to get a promotion would indeed have some academic qualifications to prove your self. Unless you went to a really bad school in your education and suddenly you found your genius in the armed forces.

Yeah promotions are nice but they take a long time and are never
gauranteed.

These proffesions are still good to get in to but require a good deal of sacrifice and you can see why some of the smartest and strongest willed people get in to these proffesions.

Reply 21

KayleeLand

Angelil, I know unsupportive parents do exist in private schools. Just as thick kids do and usually these go hand in hand.

I do feel exactly these same as you with regards to not wanting to raise any kids (if I have them) in the UK, however I have accepted the fact that one is seriously limited without a teaching qualification and UK exp. when abroad.

Reply 22

Tombola

acoles8

Ok Nurses, doctors, teachers, majority of Armed services ARE POORLY paid people for what they do. But people need to get in their heads this is how economics work (footballers for example generate hundreds of millions for their industry and its only right the industry pays them a couple of percent of that in order for the industry to function) don't do it if pay is always the be all and end all.But a lot of people do these jobs because they LOVE THEM and money is not the priority it is enjoying your job.

You have come up with such a negative outlook on the proffesion its unbelievable if you like teaching and enriching people and giving them opportunities then whats stopping you. Thats all i have to say.

As someone who has thought about teaching in the future.

It's all very good saying that teaching is a vocation, but the way it's described here always makes me think. It's near impossible to balance teaching with the rest or your life such as family and friends.

Considering that most teachers will have gone in education because they value enlightening children and all that jazz, I'd imagine they also value the other part of their social life as well.

Reply 23

Angelil

^^ What makes you say it's impossible? I have a crap social life :p:

but that's for other reasons - nothing to do with my profession.

Reply 24

KayleeLand

There's a saying that goes like this:

Mothers make bad teachers and teachers make bad mothers.

So........ not saying I agree, but something has to give!

Reply 25

Tombola

Oh. I've always viewed it through this lens...

You either dedicate time to becoming an excellent teacher, or you dedicate time to creating a wonderful family.

I do believe teachers would make excellent parents with their value systems. It's whether they have time to spend on their family that is the problem... I've heard stories from other students about how they rarely see their parents during the week because of the extra workload.

Now that example could be completely biased. You guys feel that you can manage a decent work-life balance?

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 26

Angelil

I feel I have an absolutely brilliant work-life balance (although as KayleeLand will doubtless point out, this is due perhaps in part to my working overseas and being part-time). I really feel, though, despite my circumstances, that it really is only what you make it: ANY profession will only take over your life if you let it. Teachers for one are great sharers and are all too willing to let others benefit from their resources and thus allow them to increase productivity and efficiency.

Reply 27

Tombola

ANY profession will only take over your life if you let it.

True. But from the sounds of things... I'd imagine part time to be extremely different to full time especially when it comes to work-life balance issues.

It really was more about the idea that it's always possible to come up with a better teaching plan. You can spend hours upon hours developing these materials and so fourth. It's never ending in that sense.

Reply 28

Angelil

Oh, I'm sure it is. But then again, I've always been a very low/no stress kind of person anyway so really don't feel that full-time work would get on top of me in the way you describe. I also wouldn't say that I spend hours developing materials (or at least it doesn't feel like hours!): as I mentioned, other teachers are usually more than willing to share their materials and these are always things that you can use as a basis to create your own things.

Reply 29

caroline_p3

velovelo

What did put me off for a long time was the fact that teaching is not recognised for the hard work the teacher puts in and I feel they don't get enough credit for it.

If you are in teaching for the right reasons you don't need credit from outside sources! The credit you get from a job you enjoy is from the people around you (fellow teachers, your department) and the pupils themselves as well as their parents occasionally. Believe me i speak from experience a 'challenging' pupil walking down the corridor and smiling at you saying good morning because you have built a relationship with them is worth 10 times a pat on the back from anyone else.

A pupil cracking something you have been teaching them or a simple chat in the corridor with a pupil outweighs all the negative parts!