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.

Remember your friend is unusual. I don't know what you are paid of course, but my friend's DH is a senior lecturer and earns about the same as an assistant head at my school.

I wouldn't be surprised. Some universities use those still studying for their PHD or just recently qualified. Some teachers are very experienced and have been teaching for 20+ years and may have leadership responsibilities.

There are pressures on academics though which arise from factors other than teaching. At my place, we are each expected to bring in 100k of research funds per year for example.

Would rather stick forks in my eyes than teach teenagers, personally, and have loads of respect for people who deal with them days in days out. That said, most of our undergrad students are barely out of their teens and behaving accordingly (not as challengingly I hope).

I agree with UAM - whoever thinks we have [loads of] holidays have it totally wrong. There is a 3 weeks break in the year when I am not teaching / managing courses. Plus there is not break from supervising higher degrees.

When it comes to being under less pressures than teachers (who have to perform) - well, us to, probably different pressures, but still. It will vary from uni to uni, but RG unis expect their lecturers / senior lecturers to earn their keep, either through teaching or through research / contracts. As a result, I have a target of £100k research income per year (that I spend nights / WE / hols on) plus international students to recruit and retain. That research income then goes on supporting our research assistants & post-docs and provide a lot of students the technical means to do research.

I don't have any bad feeling on my pay. By this, I would not mind if a teacher would earn more. different job, different situation; I do not do my job for the money, otherwise I'd have let a good while ago. Those who, in my mind, truly deserve more are those working in caring, especially the elderly.

cross-posted with UAM

OP doesn't do research. I know the funding thing can be a bugger. Friend's DH does as little teaching as he can, but is always worried about funding and the positions of his research team.

basing - she does, she says she just has to do it in her own time. Which sounds like a bugger.

Well, bringing in funding for research that you aren't given time to do - that would be particularly brutal.

Ive also taken to being a bit tricky and have started to focus on education research. This way i can try to get some done sort of hidden in my day to day tasks. Well, the data collection or ethnographic stuff anyway.

I think you're getting an unfairly hard time OP. On the whole, jobs requiring higher qualifications and that are more competitive to enter do command higher salaries - academia is a shining exception. Many years ago it used to be comparable to medicine in terms of salary and esteem, but we're far from that now. A lot of people have no idea of the pressures it involves, and think that once the students go home at the end of term you just get a long holiday - as opposed to getting on with the research that your job actually depends on. And not counting other responsibilities (leading a research group, doing admissions) that rarely command extra pay.

'The uni staff I know who don't have anywhere near as many teaching hours and obviously much longer "holidays", and generally a lot less pressure to perform.'

• this being a case in point. I don't know what staff you know, but that's a different sector to the one I know. I left academia (gratefully) just before ds was born, but most of my friends and colleagues obviously are still there and the pressures are increasingly brutal. Arf at 'obviously much longer holidays' - as an academic you are ultimately judged not on teaching but on research output, which determines the money your department will receive. When the students go home, that is not 'holidays' - that is when the real work begins. If you don't publish, you will ultimately lose your job. That may not be how it should be, but that is the reality.

...following on from what libelulle points out, it is also the reason while I feel guilty for taking the full WE to care and play with my daughter, as there aren't enough hours in the day to secure that bloody funding and do the research. The stress of having to let go research staff is brutal too. Their income totally depends on you.

Yep - things I have done this weekend

Work on a paper: have written about 3000 words

Design a new module, write module proforma, discuss module with colleague

Mark 3 left over dissertations

Read 2 masters students work

Make appointments with 4 students for next week (yes - even in the holidays )

Email some stuff I promised to a PhD student

Put together a reading list for a new module

Discussed taking on a new role with my line manager (at 7.15 am this morning)

Sent corrections on another paper back to the journal

Reviewed a grant

Looked at a grant form (to write myself), sighed and gave up.

I am about to read a load of applications for a phd studentship (think 20+), critique, rank and comment on them.

I also have cry and drink on my list. This was a quiet weekend.

I have been attempting a metanalysis whilst posting on here

peppa, can I at least offer you that ?

Sorry you are having a rotten time - you always cheer me up and are so kind, I'm sad to hear you're feeling tearful.

I have some chilean chards if you want some?

I'm alright really LRD just a bit overwhelmed and DS2 has chicken pox (DD just got over it) so I'm pulling my hair out!

I have a glass of something or other firmly in myhand (not sure what it is - wine is all that matters!)

Oh, poor DS2 and DD! And you, obviously! Calamine doesn't half stink, does it?!

Glad to hear you have the appropriate alcoholic support, though.

I work at a Uni (support side) and it looks Ok to me to be on the academic side. Certain areas of our Uni are a ghost town on Fridays as people are 'working from home'. OK, they have to teach some classes but a lot of it is just Powerpoint and Blackboard. We've had a shake-up recently and I know there is pressure to get students to pass and to teach bigger classes but for the money (£40k) it;s not too shabby

'A lot of it is just powerpoint and blackboard'

Does powerpoint write the lecture for you these days then? I must have missed that update.

Yep - many probably are 'working from home' on friday...and friday night, saturday, sunday...

All these years later it still takes me days to write one lecture. I need to be pretty up to date as I teach clinical medicine and it changes constantly.

'Working from home' must be a nice perk. I study at home and it is great.

I doesn't make the fact I work considerably more than 9-5, 7 days most weeks any less true, though.

The thing is, unless you know a academic who gets their research done by the fairies, if they're not working at home, they'd not have jobs. It's not as if you can magic up research (and trust me, I'm trying!)

MrsK, ditto. It takes me at least one full day to write each hour of undergraduate teaching material. If it's in an area I'm unfamiliar with (I've been asked to teach many different things, including stuff I haven't actually studied myself), it can take days to teach myself the material well enough to stand up in a lecture theatre of 200+ students and actually be confident that I know my stuff.

Also with respect to undergrad teaching loads, dp works in a post-92 institution. He has around 500 hours contact time per year.

Hmm if they're earning 40 grand its tons more than the average teacher.

If not then go into teaching if its so much easier.

Simples.

emsies, quite a lot of people have said teaching isn't easier.