If you left the corporate world to go into teaching what was the biggest shock?

[coodawoodashooda]

Just wondering. Usually we have threads from fed up teachers. Im a teacher, not looking for a fight. Just interested.

Btw I don’t get paid less because I’m PT, before anyone helpful tries to point that out.

Teacher do get statutory holidays and bznk holidays.

Which actually means that if you pro-rated an annual teachers salary of eg £36k to the 39 weeks worked, then applied it to a full 52 week year you’d be on £48k PLUS the enormous pension which private sector workers will never have access to

sonicboom this kind of begs the question as to why teaching has a massive retention crisis. If that’s the pay, then clearly the conditions are awful as so many choose to leave.

Ther absolutely are pluses to teaching. I liked that the holidays were predictable so I could plan and book things well in advance (though that wouldn't have been as useful if my DH hadn't also been a teacher, and of course I couldn't have days off when I needed them). The pension, while not as great as it used to be, is good, as is paid sick leave and good mat leave.

But as a pp just said, people are not flocking to teaching for those 'perks', and teachers are leaving in droves for jobs that don't have them. So there's clearly something very wrong within the job.

It's purely anecdote, I know, but my school had three teachers join from corporate/business roles, and none of them lasted more than two years before going back. Nice people, some good enough at the job, one terrible. But it really wasn't the job they thought, and they went back to what they'd been doing before. What they thought were perks really didn't compensate for the other stuff.

I left the NHS and started teacher training, so just a public to public shift; but even so, a lot of the teachers wouldn't survive the bitchiness that is the NHS. I didn't complete the training because I didn't feel like you taught anything, you just battled with getting everyone in and sat down, faff with books and pencils, argue with a few of the kids, and perhaps teach for five minutes before the next bell went. They're just exam factories.

@WhenSheWasBad I’d potentially argue that most people have absolutely no idea that that’s how much they’re actually paid, because they simply see the prorated amount in their bank each month.

I’d potentially argue that most people have absolutely no idea that that’s how much they’re actually paid, because they simply see the prorated amount in their bank each month

Yes, but it’s no secret that teachers have longer holidays. The benefits (and there are loads) don’t outweigh the negatives for a huge chunk of teachers.

Hence the issue with retention. This article says one in six quit after just one year in the classroom. That’s considerably worse than I thought (and I thought it was bad).

www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2021/06/17/record-one-in-six-teachers-quit-after-just-a-year-in-the-classroom/?sh=27ce7bf6272e

Unfortunately the long holidays are no longer enough of an incentive. All the people I know who have left teaching say they don't miss the holidays as they have their evenings and weekends back.

After 10 years of tech industry, and making some good money, and great times, I went back and did teaching qualification. I needed more stability, and it's something I always wanted to do.

I'd heard most of the bad stories, got a lot of good advice in advance. I teach science courses, but way more paperwork/admin than I'd have expected. Personally I love the structure, stability, pension, certainty.

@WhenSheWasBad

Which actually means that if you pro-rated an annual teachers salary of eg £36k to the 39 weeks worked, then applied it to a full 52 week year you’d be on £48k PLUS the enormous pension which private sector workers will never have access to

sonicboom this kind of begs the question as to why teaching has a massive retention crisis. If that’s the pay, then clearly the conditions are awful as so many choose to leave.

The private sector professional roles are having a massive retention crisis too. We are losing people hand over fist and can't recruit fast enough, can't find enough professionally qualified people. All for the same reasons - people want a better work life balance, want better pay, want less stress. Its not unique to teaching.

We are not paid for 1265 hours over 195 days. That is directed time, where the Head tells you where to be and what to do. We are also expected to work an unquantified number of additional hours to carry out our professional responsibilities, including but not limited to assessment, planning etc.There isn't unpaid overtime, because there aren't set working hours. In STPCD anyway. I know some academies have different pay and conditions arrangements.

Its not unique to teaching

I don’t remember saying it was unique to teaching.

@SonicBroom

Also - there are endless comments saying “people don’t understand we don’t get paid for the holidays”…

Which actually means that if you pro-rated an annual teachers salary of eg £36k to the 39 weeks worked, then applied it to a full 52 week year you’d be on £48k PLUS the enormous pension which private sector workers will never have access to.

All whilst private sector workers ALSO work unpaid overtime, weekends and holidays. Case in point myself - I went on holiday last week and worked around 2 days worth of hours over the week I was there. And that’s light… equivalent to more than half of my time off (I work three days p/w). I also regularly work 10-12 hours overtime on top of my PART TIME job… which is 21 hours. So that’s often 50% of my time too. Plus I get paid less than the average teacher, and get less than a third of the pension contributions.

But I do it because I enjoy it, it’s flexible and it allows me to manage other areas of my life. That’s the trade-off I’m willing to make. It’s also tremendously difficult to find a job in my field, I simply couldn’t walk away and expect to find something equivalent.

The point is, everyone is getting screwed over when it comes to work life balance. I don’t see what’s so hard to understand about that. The difference is most of us don’t have a Union as our mouthpiece.

How many teachers are on 36K??? That’s M6 on main pay scale. Starting pay (M1) for qualified teachers is 25k. Pay for unqualified teachers (non QTS), of which there are many since the gov removed the requirement for children to be taught by qualified teachers, is £18K

How many teachers are on 36K??? That’s M6 on main pay scale. Starting pay (M1) for qualified teachers is 25k. Pay for unqualified teachers (non QTS), of which there are many since the gov removed the requirement for children to be taught by qualified teachers, is £18K

Average salary for teachers in the UK was £40k in 2019 so quite a lot are paid over £36k. Bear in mind that £36k excludes London allowances or additional pay for TLR etc.

How many teachers are on 36K??? That’s M6 on main pay scale. Starting pay (M1) for qualified teachers is 25k. Pay for unqualified teachers (non QTS), of which there are many since the gov removed the requirement for children to be taught by qualified teachers, is £18K

Oh have they remove the requirement for qualified teachers, that’s so interesting given that was the main argument for years against using private education but it wouldn’t be a qualified teacher “just” somebody who was an expert to PhD level in their subject matter.
How times have changed.

@Nothappyatwork

There’s a difference between someone with a PHD with expertise in their field, to UQT Sandra with no GCSEs but has worked in the school as a TA for 8 years and now has full class responsibility.

(Name has been changed but “Sandra” is most definitely a real life case study in state primary in England right now).

@PinkQuartz I completely agree with you but oh how they sneered Dr Jarvis with her PhD in years gone by

@TransitionYear

You see I don’t see teaching as stable, especially if you’re a talented teacher. You become too expensive and then you’re bullied/managed out.

It’s not a profession you can just comfortably grow old in (unless you’re under qualified in which case you’re safe because you’re cheap).

@Nothappyatwork

Whilst Dr Jarvis would be preferable to TA Sandra I do think teaching can be a different skill set to people who have obtained doctorates, especially in states.

Fine in private though.

@Nothappyatwork

How many teachers are on 36K??? That’s M6 on main pay scale. Starting pay (M1) for qualified teachers is 25k. Pay for unqualified teachers (non QTS), of which there are many since the gov removed the requirement for children to be taught by qualified teachers, is £18K

Oh have they remove the requirement for qualified teachers, that’s so interesting given that was the main argument for years against using private education but it wouldn’t be a qualified teacher “just” somebody who was an expert to PhD level in their subject matter.
How times have changed.

Yes that requirement was removed many years ago. Possibly prior to this Tory shower. Can’t remember the exact year

@LittleBearPad

How many teachers are on 36K??? That’s M6 on main pay scale. Starting pay (M1) for qualified teachers is 25k. Pay for unqualified teachers (non QTS), of which there are many since the gov removed the requirement for children to be taught by qualified teachers, is £18K

Average salary for teachers in the UK was £40k in 2019 so quite a lot are paid over £36k. Bear in mind that £36k excludes London allowances or additional pay for TLR etc.

Where did that figure come from? Even if accurate (which I question), I would say the situation is different now.

I’m talking about the majority in general. Not London.

I came back on£36000 after my last industry break. There are four staff in my dept on that and I put another £20000 in a year. There are a fair few on more than me and we don’t have too many young staff so our wage profile is better than the academy chief executive on mega bucks and a load of NQTs bullied out when they get too pricey. As a result our staff is amazing. We really need good staff but they really are.

Sorry got the last number stuck in my head - we were all on £46000.

Government statistics @Jamboree01 which no doubt you’ll decry.

But factor in London weighting and it’s not so odd an average.

www.politics.co.uk/reference/teachers-pay/
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