Please will you let me know teacher salary progression (post-qualification)

[ChangeAhoy]

DH is ditching his city career. And his city salary. He will get a £25K tax free bursary whilst qualifying then I think the salary is just over £25K (minus tax and minus pension/union etc) for his first year.

DH says he has been reassured by Teach Now that his salary will increase by a couple of grand every year or so once he qualified so within a few (? how many?) years will be on early/mid 30K. But they are very vague with details. He has zero interest in climbing the management ladder in teaching - so although may take on some extra responsibility it will not be aiming for SLT etc. Can see online the paygrades - M1/M2/M3 etc - which give us the amount of £ - but not the timescales...how long to go from M1 to M2? M2 to M3 - is it yearly? Every 2 years?

We have MSE budgeted. With my salary as well we can cover essentials and a bit of saving for emergencies. Nothing for high days and holidays in the early years though.

He is staying in the city job for a few months so the plan is to save, save, save on the higher salary so we can "cover" the lack of holiday etc funds with a £3k/4k a year from this savings pot for a few years.

Makes me a bit uncomfortable - but it seems the best solution. But what would really help would be to know how teacher (secondary) salary actually does progress in the early years?

How much (roughly) in Y2/Y3/Y4 etc

In essence we need to work out how many years worth of savings are we likely to need before he is on 30K+? So we need savings 8K or 16K - what do we need to work on?

Thank you

If he's anything like as chippy and sarcastic as you he won't last five minutes.

3)He knows it will be bloody hard work and long hours for the first few years - but he is doing that at the moment and feeling unfulfilled and miserable. He wants to do something worthwhile.

It is bloody hard work and long hours full stop-this doesn’t improve after the first few years. Much of what we (have to) do is arguably not worthwhile either.

As I’ve posted a few times this weekend, rising through the pay spine isn’t an automatic given these days. Schools are skint and we have several teachers in our school ‘stuck’ on M3. You can’t just leave and go to another school and earn the same, if you’re pissed off either as pay portability was scrapped.

I’d advise him to have a look at the Life after teaching FB page, just to get a realistic idea of the job. I don’t know anyone who isn’t trying desperately to escape

OP hasn’t been chippy or sarcastic at all.

If you’re as presumptuous and rude as that in the classroom it’s a wonder you have lasted in teaching.

See, we can extrapolate any sort of unpleasant remark, can’t we?

I’m not trying to escape.

Nor are the majority of teachers I know.

I'm in a different country and in primary school so not sure how applicable but after 15 years in IT I changed to teaching and LOVE it. I m 10 years teaching now and it can be stressful at times defo but i find it a rich enjoyable experience and hope to work well into my 60s. If he's teaching coding and IT skills and managing to engage the kids while he's at it I don't think behavior management is going to be a big deal for him. Good luck to him💪

@Bum1

If he's anything like as chippy and sarcastic as you he won't last five minutes.

Fortunately it is not me going into teaching....

@Bum1

If he's anything like as chippy and sarcastic as you he won't last five minutes.

Oh, and having worked in schools myself for the last 10 years you are 100% right. Never, ever met a sarcastic or chippy teacher. Ever.

@Abraxan

I know you say he has visited schools but does he have any experience of volunteering or working in a school? Visiting doesn't really give a good reflection on the teaching career.

Teaching is a very very rewarding job. However, I don't think the stress and demands will be necessarily less than his current job - different, yes, but less, unlikely.

Thank you, and yes I have "warned" him of this, for want of a better word. Definitely aware it will be same level of stress and hard work. Probably/possibly more. Maybe not.

He has done plenty of research. The city career is over as far as he/we are concerned -whether he goes into teaching or something else. But he has been drawn to it as a possibility for years. Now we can feasibly afford it.

He used to be a scout leader and kayak instructor way back when and has always been fabulous with young people/kids/teens so he is not going into this totally naively...well. Maybe not. Only time will tell.

Oh, and having worked in schools myself for the last 10 years you are 100% right. Never, ever met a sarcastic or chippy teacher. Ever.

If you're working in schools why did you need to post the question? Surely you just ask colleagues or your school business manager?

And kids choose to join scouts / learn to kayak. They don't choose school so likely to be a very different and possibly just as stressful an experience. Which experienced teachers are telling you.

Why can’t we as teachers deal with a polite question?

In any case schools vary hugely as we all know, the way things are done in the OPs school may not be the way things are done generally.

@titchy

Oh, and having worked in schools myself for the last 10 years you are 100% right. Never, ever met a sarcastic or chippy teacher. Ever.

If you're working in schools why did you need to post the question? Surely you just ask colleagues or your school business manager?

And kids choose to join scouts / learn to kayak. They don't choose school so likely to be a very different and possibly just as stressful an experience. Which experienced teachers are telling you.

Because asking colleagues or the school business manager (God forbid!!!) about something that is very personal and private (to me/my DH) about their personal and private business (their salary) might not be something I want to do.....

And yes, I know scouts etc very different. Sigh. I was not asking for advice about whether he should go into teaching. Which is why I put the 3 points in after my OP in a vague hope it would ward off the questions/comments about that foolish I asked about salary progression.

Again a massive thank you to people sharing this information on the wonderfully anonymous forum. Anonymous makes it so much easier to discuss stuff like salary...yes?

If he does well, in a shortage subject, he is likely to move up a point yearly. Will probably be able to start above M1 and pick up an early TLR as well.

Smiling a little at the characteristic chippiness of teachers...

@ChangeAhoy

He has a 2:1 in Computer Science and a 25+ years career in the same - so looking at high demand area.

So very interesting to know he could start at a higher pay grade due to this.

He may well be able to negotiate to start on higher than M1. I was also teaching a subject where there weren't many applicants for each post. I managed to start on M3 and a fellow PGCE'er started M4, both with the reasoning that we didn't necessary have 3 years' classroom experience, but we had several years in industry.

With Comp Sci, I would think he's in a good place to be able to negotiate.

However, progression beyond M6 will mean taking on more responsibilities (and the additional hours).

Just beware. The first few years are brutal. I was warned, but it was far more draining than I could possibly imagine. It really wasn't remotely family-friendly.
The actual teaching was great, the other stuff less so. I was doing at least 60 hours a a week and realised that if I wanted to take on a TLR or head of year etc, it would mean more. I also found the politics and the sheer bureaucracy absolutely soul-destroying. So much of it just not of any benefit to the kids. I took the decision to step away.

Having said that, with hindsight I don't know how much of that was down to the school and it might not have been the same experience somewhere else.