When you’re sitting in the class supposed to be listening, sometimes your mind wanders. One of the things to think about is how much the university lecturers earn each year. We have a look at what the average is across universities.
Lots of students consider going into teaching, but the low pay for the amount of stress puts them off. One thing many consider is teaching higher education, as the students (typically), want to be there and the pay is better. If you’re thinking about it, we have all you need to know about how much university lecturers earn.
How Much Do University Lecturers Earn?
If you are starting out in the job, then your wage will probably begin at around £33,000 per year. However, as you gain experience or move to other universities, your salary can be pushing £50,000.
Once you become a senior lecturer, university lecturers can earn from £40,000 to £60,000 depending on the university.
However, if you put in the effort and become a professor, then salaries can see a signification increase. Depending on experience, the amount of responsibility and where they teach, university professors can earn in excess of £100,000.
Currently, UCU strikes are taking place across universities in the UK over the improvement of pay and better conditions.
What To Expect From Being A University Lecturer
Your working day will be split between teaching, administrative tasks, planning your lessons and your own research. For almost all lecturer jobs, you will need a PHD — desirably in the specific area you want to teach — and a good degree in the relevant subject.
Responsibilities will include developing the course, being ready to help students at any time and marking their coursework/exams. You’ll need to supervise their research and dissertations, whilst managing your own. Propose methods of attracting extra funding to your course or university as a whole, and continually contribute to your field of expertise.
At a senior level, you’ll be responsible for other members of staff in your department and changes to the curriculum. With a bigger pay, comes bigger responsibilities.
As with most teaching jobs, you will be scheduled to work around 35 hours a week. However, it’s more than likely that you will have to put in time on your evenings and weekends to get everything in. Some universities schedule classes in the evening, so your days are probably going to be longer than being a standard teacher.
Where Are The Highest-Paying Universities?
Due to prestige, the cost of living or expectations, university lecturers often earn more depending on where they work. So, where pays the most? According to Indeed, the University of Sheffield has the highest average wage of just below £50,000. Here are the top five:
- The University of Sheffield
- The University of Westminister
- Royal Holloway University of London
- The University of York
- The University of Edinburgh
All of these universities pay an average of above £47,000 for their lecturers. The highest-paying cities are Glasgow, Bristol, Manchester and London.
So, if your university experience has inspired you to become a university lecturer, you now have all the details on how how to get the highest pay. Or, if you’re still bored in the back of the class, then you’ll need to find another conundrum to solve.
