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Primary teaching?!

Anonymous1958

Is primary teaching good pay, as this seems interesting to do, but i dont want to be stuck in a job with no money.

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by Anonymous1958

Is primary teaching good pay, as this seems interesting to do, but i dont want to be stuck in a job with no money.

I don't know what you mean by "good pay". Is there supposed to be a benchmark figure we refer to?
Most teachers are in it not necessarily for the money. It pretty much says it all. And that's pretty much what it would take to be a good teacher - if you are in it purely for the money, you aren't serving your pupils or doing the people around you justice.

See the following job profiles for information on salary:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/primary-school-teacher#salary
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/childcare/job-profile/primary-school-teacher
https://www.life-pilot.co.uk/job-sectors/childcare/job-profile/primary-school-teacher
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/primary-school-teacher

If I had a say in their pay, I would make sure they are paid more. It's pretty bad how much some people who serve the wider community are paid these days.

Reply 2

Anonymous1958

Original post

by MindMax2000

I don't know what you mean by "good pay". Is there supposed to be a benchmark figure we refer to?
Most teachers are in it not necessarily for the money. It pretty much says it all. And that's pretty much what it would take to be a good teacher - if you are in it purely for the money, you aren't serving your pupils or doing the people around you justice.
See the following job profiles for information on salary:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/primary-school-teacher#salary
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/childcare/job-profile/primary-school-teacher
https://www.life-pilot.co.uk/job-sectors/childcare/job-profile/primary-school-teacher
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/primary-school-teacher
If I had a say in their pay, I would make sure they are paid more. It's pretty bad how much some people who serve the wider community are paid these days.

I just dont want to grow up worrying about my wages that its not enough to provide. Once i go into a career choice i put my all into it, however i do not want to struggle in the future. I am passionate about teaching and its been a dream but many people say the pay is bad which is putting me off as i dont want to struggle

Reply 3

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by Anonymous1958

I don't intend what I'm saying to be business or financial advice, but have you consider looking into side hustles at all?

Unfortunately, none of us have a crystal ball that works, so we can never know what the economic prospects are further down the line. If you want to find a way to hedge against any averse economic trends, picking up a few high income skills or a few worthy investments to supplement your income can be an idea. If you are passionate about teaching, you shouldn't give up on it just because of money.

£30-35k at the moment is OK for a single person to stay afloat and live by him/herself. However, if you intend to start a family or have a home for yourself, it might be difficult. Everyone in the country is in the same boat at the moment, and until things changes later it's going to be a struggle irrespective of how much you make.

Note the take home pay of a £30k salary is roughly £2k per month, and a £50k salary (the sort of pay CEOs of small/medium companies and senior management) is roughly £3300 per month. The difference is not as massive as you think. Unless your income is in the 85k - 6 figure mark (you will net £5k per month), it's not going to make that much of a difference.

Let's go through a hypothetical example:
Assume that you have a partner and intend to have 2-3 kids, and your partner earns the same as you.
If you require a 25% deposit on say a standard 3-4 bed house in the South for something like £300k (assuming both of you work and earn roughly £30k each) and then take a mortgage over a 30 year period at 4.5% interest (assuming that you get a mortgage by age 30 along with a 25% deposit of £75k - good luck with that by the way), you are looking at £1140 per month payment. If both of you take home £4k per month, you have £2860 to spare.
Car payments can cost £300 per month if you get a cheap car, and assuming both of you have cars that need paying off.
You then typically expect £100 in groceries a week (x13/3 for the average month = .£433).
Average monthly utility bills is £145 for a 3-4 bed house.
This should come to £1620 left over per month between the 2 of you and the kids.

If on the other hand, you work a minimum wage job full time and live at home (sponging off the folks), single, with no kids, you're looking at £1493 per month take home pay.
To get this net with all of the costs above, you're looking at a salary in the £40k region for each person.

I am not sure whether the above makes much difference to you.

Use the following to help you map things out:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tax-calculator/
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-rate-calculator/

If the fact you are vying for a raise to get to the £40k region in your salary (very difficult to get), you're not going to fare much better financially. You're usually better off doing a side hustle to supplement your income (if you can spare the time away from teaching) - it's usually easier to earn an extra £10k outside of work (roughly £830 per month) than to get it through a raise. That assumes your job allows you to earn outside of work, which it should do if you intend to be a teacher.

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 4

Muttley79

Original post

by Anonymous1958

You won't stay on the lower pay for long if you are any good and there are promotion prospects too. MindMax2000 is being very negative - I teach and all my younger colleagues have houses.

Look for a school that is two form entry or bigger then you can plan with a colleague and there's more promotion.

Reply 5

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous1958

Is primary teaching good pay, as this seems interesting to do, but i dont want to be stuck in a job with no money.

Hi Anonymous1958!

I’m a final year Education and Primary Studies student at LJMU. After graduating I plan on going onto complete a PGCE and becoming a primary teacher.

While there’s no denying that teaching isn’t the highest paying profession you could go into, there is definitely room for professional advancement and ultimately earning a very good salary.

In regards to the PGCE, there are many bursaries available as well as salaried PGCE programs. Candidates with strong academics and relevant experience may be eligible for the salaried route into teaching. Salaries are determined by the unqualified teachers' pay scale.

If you have qualified teacher status (QTS), you’ll get a minimum starting salary of £31,650 (or more in London) as a primary or secondary school teacher in England.
Your salary will be reviewed every year, with most teachers moving up the pay range annually. This will depend on your school’s performance management arrangements. A typical teacher could earn at least £43,607 (or more in London) after 5 years.

There is also the opportunity for professionals progression of course. Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments are awarded to teachers who take on additional responsibility.

Ultimately, teaching can be an extremely rewarding career and it’s definitely possible to earn a good wage as a teacher.

Hope this helps!

Tilly
LJMU Education Student Rep 😀