Are teachers really THAT badly paid?

How much can you expect to earn after, say, 5 years?

Inner London: £33,936
Outer London: £32,751
London fringe: £30,393
Everywhere else: £29,427

That's for September 2007.

Reply 3

hermaphrodite

Juwel

Have a butcher's:

http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/lifeasateacher/payandbenefits.aspx

Guide on starting salary and pay scales there. There's a link to the left on career prospects too.

I take it you're currently doing a PGCE or wanting do a PGCE??

If you are currrently doing a PGCE are you doing it in London (location says E2). Or If you plan to do it later, which PGCE providor are you looking to apply to??

Reply 4

Juwel

18

hermaphrodite

I take it you're currently doing a PGCE or wanting do a PGCE??

If you are currrently doing a PGCE are you doing it in London (location says E2). Or If you plan to do it later, which PGCE providor are you looking to apply to??

If I'm lucky, I won't be making that call for many years yet.

Reply 5

hermaphrodite

Juwel

If I'm lucky, I won't be making that call for many years yet.

Damn. I was gonna ask what's it like to teach in london. never mind.

Reply 6

santogold

I have worked at a primary school in E2 before. It was very interesting, rewarding and to be honest, better than my job in Berlin now. What do you want to know exactly?

Reply 7

hermaphrodite

yourjoyismylow

I have worked at a primary school in E2 before. It was very interesting, rewarding and to be honest, better than my job in Berlin now. What do you want to know exactly?

the social demography. i.e class and race !!!! whether english is their first language or not (I assume alot of people are migrants/asylum seekers - i could be wrong though). And the ambitions of the people living round the area. Do they have the desire to go onto uni or not, or would they rather leave school ASAP at 16. It would be naive to assume that teaching in E2 is the same as teaching in Kent. I want to do it secondary level though. (not primary)

I welcome your co operation.

Reply 8

santogold

hermaphrodite

the social demography. i.e class and race !!!! whether englisg is their first language or not (I assume alot of people are migrants/asylum seekers - i could be wrong though). And the ambitions of the people living round the area. Do they have the desire to go onto uni or not, or would they rather leave school ASAP at 16. It would be naive to assume that teaching in E2 is the same as teaching in Kent. I want to do it secondary level though. (not primary)

I welcome your co operation.

Well, working at a primary school I was not aware of any aspirations of going or not going to uni.

The community was primarily EFL, so the school reacted and had a lot of TAs that spoke community languages. However, most parents most an effort and were very concerned about their children's education. The pupils all spoke two languages, as far as I remember.
I can compare this to my experience in a very rough area in Florida with a huge amount of Carribean and Haitian immigrants and asylum speakers. The kids would join the school and not speak a word of English. It was very different in E2.

Hope this helps.

Reply 9

mayavara

no hero in her sky

Inner London: £33,936
Outer London: £32,751
London fringe: £30,393
Everywhere else: £29,427

That's for September 2007.

Wtf? You're barely hitting £30k after 5 years?? That's absolutely horrendous. Any grad worth their salt should expect £30k in their 1st year. Think about it, age ~27 you're only earning £30k, how on earth do you expect to get a decent mortgage? No wonder there's a shortage of teachers if you're paying them such crap salaries.

Reply 10

santogold

mayavara, this is a very good point. Noone would deny that teachers are seriously underpaid. It is a shame, because most of them have not only done an undergrad degree, but postgraduate training too. Which is being changed to professional training now.

Most teachers will say that it is not about the money. And I agree, to some extent. I would love to be able to earn more money and do what I wanna do. I believe I am an extremely creative and good teacher and the feedback I have received from my school confirms that. However, I am still being paid a crap salary!

And so it goes.... nurses, teachers, etc..... all those people who really deserve much more, they are underfunded and underpaid, just like health and education are too!

Reply 11

mayavara

Wtf? You're barely hitting £30k after 5 years?? That's absolutely horrendous. Any grad worth their salt should expect £30k in their 1st year. Think about it, age ~27 you're only earning £30k, how on earth do you expect to get a decent mortgage? No wonder there's a shortage of teachers if you're paying them such crap salaries.

You realise that the average household salary in the UK is 24K, right? And that the average graduate starting salary is roughly 20K?

Reply 12

I'm sure it doesn't that suck that badly. Most people don't earn 33k after five years, and they seem to manage alright. How many careers start graduates on over 30K? Probably not very many. Even junior doctors only start on £20,741!

There's nothing wrong with renting when you're in your 20s. Most people probably buy with a partner anyway, so double that salary, and you can get a good mortgage....

Reply 13

That doesn't answer my question.

Which CAREERS start graduates on 30K?

Reply 14

2late

13

Investment banking = 40k+ super bonus
Accountancy = 30k

More or less. Rest I don't know :smile:

Reply 15

mayavara

no hero in her sky

That doesn't answer my question.

Which CAREERS start graduates on 30K?

Hmm let's see now, pretty much any career for any graduate remotely ambitious?

* US law firm in London = £35-55k (and over £90k once qualified after 2 years)
* Investment banking, sales/trading, asset management = £35-40k + £20-50k bonuses
* Management consultancy = £35-40k at decent firms, £30k at bad ones like Accenture, £5-10k bonus
* Barrister = £35-40k at a prestigious chamber
* Oil firms = £35-40k
* Magic circle law firms = £30-35k, £5k bonus
* Entrepreneurs = typically give themselves £30-40k from angel investment
* Accountancy = big 4 London hitting the £30k barrier now

The list goes on. The only ambitious, high-calibre people I know earning below £30k are those in media/journalism and politics - where you have to start low to get to the top.

Reply 16

Chocca

10

mayavara

Hmm let's see now, pretty much any career for any graduate remotely ambitious?

* US law firm in London = £35-55k (and over £90k once qualified after 2 years)
* Investment banking, sales/trading, asset management = £35-40k + £20-50k bonuses
* Management consultancy = £35-40k at decent firms, £30k at bad ones like Accenture, £5-10k bonus
* Barrister = £35-40k at a prestigious chamber
* Oil firms = £35-40k
* Magic circle law firms = £30-35k, £5k bonus
* Entrepreneurs = typically give themselves £30-40k from angel investment
* Accountancy = big 4 London hitting the £30k barrier now

The list goes on. The only ambitious, high-calibre people I know earning below £30k are those in media/journalism and politics - where you have to start low to get to the top.

It's public sector.

There's more to life than money.

Reply 17