Question for UK sly bros

[SBG Math Guy]

Hi sly UK brothers,

In Canada the demand for high school teachers is very low at the moment.  I have
heard that there are many great teaching job opportunities in the UK.  I am looking
at some and the typical wages I see are between 90 pounds to 155 pounds per day
or  550 pounds to 800 pounds per week.

My question to you is,  is that good money for the UK?  I would be satisfied if I can
make savings of 800 pounds a month.   And yes I know I can google to find more information on living expenses but it wouldn't be a bad idea to hear it from sly bros while
I google what I am looking for.  I would be renting a single bedroom apartment.

I would love to move to the UK to have a chance
watching some English Football.  I'm looking at cities like Liverpool and Manchester.

[FightFan]

Yeah that pretty good money and theres always a shortage of Maths teachers in UK. As with any city there are good and bad areas but in Liverpool and Manchester the bad areas are extremely bad and the good areas are extremely expensive above that of a teachers salary also Living costs arent the cheapest so making them savings might be difficult. Also the kids today are on another level, i mean animals.

I not trying to put you off just make sure you research the school and area in depth before taking the plunge. But there's no atmosphere that can compete with going to a footie game in England

[tomgallagher]

Do you mean "savings" or paycheck of 800 pounds a month.?

[SBG Math Guy]

Do you mean "savings" or paycheck of 800 pounds a month.?

I meant savings of 800 pounds a month.     I hope that's not too much to ask for.

And FightFan thanks for the info.  Yes, I have been reading some information through google that there are many unhappy teachers in the UK.   I was hoping that you would say the kids are not as bad as North American kids.          But oh yes, I will definitely do my research.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Do you mean "savings" or paycheck of 800 pounds a month.?

I meant savings of 800 pounds a month.     I hope that's not too much to ask for.

  I was hoping that you would say the kids are not as bad as North American kids.          But oh yes, I will definitely do my research.

#1--that's a really substantial savings rate, really substantial.  Many would do well to achieve 10% post tax, and spend 25-35% pre-tax on housing & utilities. 
#2 North American kids aren't "bad", spoiled, yes spoiled rotten, but not bad.  Bc their not so regimented, many times they are the most inventive--where did computer programing, IT engineering & such develop and excel?  Not in Japan, Europe or otherwise.  But, it comes with a price--low achievers stand out. 

[SBG Math Guy]

#1--that's a really substantial savings rate, really substantial.  Many would do well to achieve 10% post tax, and spend 25-35% pre-tax on housing & utilities. 
#2 North American kids aren't "bad", spoiled, yes spoiled rotten, but not bad.  Bc their not so regimented, many times they are the most inventive--where did computer programing, IT engineering & such develop and excel?  Not in Japan, Europe or otherwise.  But, it comes with a price--low achievers stand out. 

Sorry I used an incorrect word.   What I meant by bad is the habit of not showing as much respect to teachers as some other places on this planet.  I don't mind teaching low achievers sometimes.  It always feels good to make a difference in someone's life, but
we have nurtured the "adolescent mind" way too much here in North America.  We tolerate behaviours that should not be acceptable. 

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Sorry I used an incorrect word.   What I meant by bad is the habit of not showing as much respect to teachers as some other places on this planet.  I don't mind teaching low achievers sometimes.  It always feels good to make a difference in someone's life, but we have nurtured the "adolescent mind" way too much here in North America.  We tolerate behaviours that should not be acceptable. 

That's alright, I understand.  But I also think that the "undisciplined" attitude of some students can be a good thing, provided teachers are ready to work with it.  My case in point is my youngest daughter's high school.  If you Google, Ben Franklin High School in New Orleans you'll find that it is one of the elite schools in the nation, even post-Katrina.  It's not everyone's idea of what a high school should be, it is restricted admission--some object to that.  It is also very "loose" on what would be called discipline in many schools--and others object to that.  What is does do is consistently score in the highest academic ranges of achievement for its students in America.  But as one teacher admitted to me, it's not so much teaching, the kids who gain admission to the school can learn faster than she could teach, but directing their abilities much in the same fashion that a conductor leads an orchestra, making sure all the effort turns into "music."  Granted it's in the highest ranges of high schools, and its not even the right school for the kids who are academically able to do the work, they also have to have an inner drive to achieve.  Exemplary of that was my daughter's senior class goal, all seniors scoring 1450 or higher on the SAT's.  They did it.  I told her she was a nerd, she said, "Nope, I just know what I want!"  Discipline is good, but if discipline limits the abilities of the students--it's just another mantra that should be tossed out.   Hum, maybe she was a major cause of my hair falling out?

[Spog]

Hello.
I'm in Liverpool, been here all my life. I don't know anything about the teaching business, or the salaries they're on, but anything around £100 a day would be a pretty decent wage up here. Especially if you're only after a one-bed place.
That might not sound like a decent wage to some, but the cost of living up here is cheaper than cities down south, like London for example.
I'd say Liverpool & Manchester are no different to most major cities all over the world - all have good and bad parts of the city, and I wouldn't believe too many of the horror stories you may read about either place, to be honest.
You could easily pick up a nice one-bed apartment for £400-500 a month.

Any other questions you may have - aside from the teaching aspect of it - give us a shout.

[BUELLIGAN]

Hi I'm in london, The cost of living here is much higher
You'd be looking at  £700 to £1200 a month for a 1 bed apartment depending on the area, closer to the centre of london the prices get really silly.

Teachers salaries down south range from £22000 to £34000 again depending on area.

As the others have said all cities in england have good & bad areas, It's just seems a bit cheaper to live further north & the scenery is nicer

Good luck with your move

[The Scottish Ambassador]

You could try Scotland m8! 

[tomgallagher]

Or Northern Ireland for that matter.

[Rob]

Birmingham also has good and bad areas, but the cost of living is cheaper than London.  I'd say £900 a week is pretty good going, and although you certainly earn it (I trained as a primary school teacher and gave it up, mainly due to the planning and paperwork!) you'll get a fairly decent place in the Midlands, though not sure of rent prices...

The good thing about Birmingham, Coventry, Leamington etc, is that you arent far from anywhere: London, Manchester etc.  And there are some good bits of country just a few miles from the city centre of Birmingham.

Good luck in your research!

[SBG Math Guy]

Many thanks to everyone.  For those in the UK, if I have further questions
I will contact you through pm. 
I have made it clear to my fiancee that I want to work as a teacher.  It's something
I have wanted to do for a long time.   So we will see how much patience I will have.

What's happening in Canada (and probably everywhere else) is that the old teachers
are not retiring.     That leaves many new teachers with limited job opportunities. 
It's a sad world.   It's even more sad because new teachers tend to have much more passion about teaching than those close to retirement and would be cheaper to hire.

[Razor X]

A lot of teachers here in New Jersey are retiring because of proposed changes to their pension plan; they want to get locked in under the old plan before any of the current proposals get signed into law.

I have a neighbor who got laid off from his job about a year ago.  He went back to school to take a few courses so he could qualify as a teacher.  He said that there was actually a shortage of math teachers, especially male ones, since the profession tends to be dominated by women, and he thought he'd have a good shot of landing something.  That being said, I haven't heard that he actually has gotten something yet.

[Rob]

They are crying out for teachers in UK: particularly male teachers, as many kids come from single parent families and have no male role models in their lives at all.