Teachers are undervalued in the UK.
Just look at the graph. The evidence is clear and I am going to share my opinion on why I think this is the case.
➡ Rigorous studying + 2 years ECT - The most common route to becoming a teacher is a 3-year undergraduate followed by a 1-year PGCE. Those who have done the PGCE know how intense this can be. Most teachers I speak to say their hardest year was the PGCE. Once your PGCE is finished, you have to also complete another two years of the ECF as an ECT.
➡ Salary - After 4 years of studying, what is a teacher’s annual salary? £30,000 before tax. After-tax, this is a take-home of £24,772.80. Followed by a yearly increase of around 6%. This is not awful but when compared to corporate jobs where a salary increase is likely every 6 months, this is something to consider. The difference in progress between teaching and corporate careers over five years is significant.
➡ International Market - The international teaching space is far more lucrative and values teachers. I genuinely feel as a teacher I am so much more valued in Qatar than in the UK. Talking about the details of the international market is probably another whole conversation.
P.S. I have not even talked about the teacher workload. That is another conversation.
Please share your opinions as I am curious what other teachers think of the system currently. How can the government retain teachers and entice more new teachers to come on board?
