To be a bit confused and a bit annoyed that I earn less

[MrsKravitz]

As a senior lecturer at a University than an A level teacher.
Seriously considering changing.

Yes I am

Perhaps the Universities some of you work for are different. Some people are more research based, others teach. Some Universities place a premium on research to generate funding/prestige, others rely more on teaching. To the poster who said I didn't have a clue, I can only say that I see the same video-tapes/lectures etc year after year from certain lecturers and that on certain days the campus is a ghost town. I've worked in a Faculty (Medicine) and in general support across a nmber of Faculties/disciplines and just comment on what I see

I work in a RG university, dp works in a post-92. We've obviously been able to compare both sides (dp also used to work at the same university as I did too). We both used to work in industry, where at certain times of year (July/August), many people were on holidays (not for the whole 2 months obv.) but arranging meetings when different combinations of people are on holidays for 2 weeks in the summer is tricky - just as at university.

Do you actually sit in on the lectures then Pedallleur? Otherwise, how do you know that they are exactly the same? Must say, I often find that you can't get hold of academic support staff after 3pm though. Just commenting on what I see, you understand .

The course I teach on is undergoing a dramatic change atm. There is not a single person who will be able to re-use old lectures, due to this.

Have you also considered that at certain times of year the campus is like a ghost-town simply because many academics have lunch/coffee etc whilst at their desks working through their "breaks"? Many, many people in the department I work in do this. Ditto where dp works.

You seem bizarrely focused on physical presence, ped. I don't think students learn just from being in proximity to me ... lovely though the idea is ... so why on earth does it matter whether people stay on campus or not? I'm finding your constant references to people 'working at home' or campus being 'like a ghost town' a bit annoying and rude.

I find it impossible to believe that Medics don't change their lectures year to year, incidentally.

It's possible to make the move.

I have a colleague who has been teaching politics, on a temporary contract, at Oxford Uni. He's not managed to get an attractive job reasonably nearby (family to take into account) and has accepted a job at a private school. I belive they are paying him about 40K - more than the uni jobs he was applying for. He also thinks (though I admit I am sceptical) that he will actually have more time for writing than he has now. He has been doing a lot of teaching to make ends meet.

He's not thrilled about it. It's not really what he wants to do and he's not keen on private schooling. He hopes to maybe return to academia in a couple of years, but more than that and it is probably impossible. In the meantime, he sees this as a fairly comfortable and well paid option.

I teach medicine and theres no way you couldnt rewrite lectures yearly, if not half yearly. There is always something new...new NICE guidelines to update, recent evidence,localpolicy, medications..... Id be AMAZED if they used old material tbh. I think the only module I would ne abe to use old stuff in would be basic level data analysis/stats. Oh yes, spss did change a while back but seems stable now.

Very interesting irregular, thanks :)

irregular, I hope your colleague enjoys the move, despite his concerns.