benj1980 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 2 hours ago, InnerVoice said: The OP stated in an earlier post that they are likely to be moving to Queensland, which is why I provided the information about QLD salary scales. Ah ok fair enough. Queensland will be different to WA, so hard for me to comment. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 4 hours ago, benj1980 said: I'm in WA and far more comfortable in terms of financially and job contentment. 1 hour ago, benj1980 said: Ah ok fair enough. Queensland will be different to WA, so hard for me to comment. I'd be really interest to hear your views about why you think WA offers better opportunities? A couple of recent migrants I know have chosen Perth over the East Coast because the cost of living is lower and they believe salary and working conditions are better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benj1980 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 On 18/01/2024 at 16:35, InnerVoice said: I'd be really interest to hear your views about why you think WA offers better opportunities? A couple of recent migrants I know have chosen Perth over the East Coast because the cost of living is lower and they believe salary and working conditions are better. I'm only comparing with the UK, I haven't lived in Queensland. I think it's rather subjective to suggest WA schools provide better working condition as I believe a school can mould the working conditions. Salary has traditionally been higher in WA, but WA is waiting on a new pay agreement. Housing is generally a bit cheaper so this could work in your advantage but again depends where you want to live... I think moving over initially from the UK Perth could be a little less daunting? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 7 hours ago, benj1980 said: I'm only comparing with the UK, I haven't lived in Queensland. I think it's rather subjective to suggest WA schools provide better working condition as I believe a school can mould the working conditions. Salary has traditionally been higher in WA, but WA is waiting on a new pay agreement. Housing is generally a bit cheaper so this could work in your advantage but again depends where you want to live... I think moving over initially from the UK Perth could be a little less daunting? We've had a couple of pay rises in the last two years and there's another one due in July, but we're still about $4-5k behind you guys, if you compare like for like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benj1980 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 4 hours ago, InnerVoice said: We've had a couple of pay rises in the last two years and there's another one due in July, but we're still about $4-5k behind you guys, if you compare like for like. I have to admit I wasn't confident that I had a future in teaching in the UK. I was looking at options in the medium to long term. I don't have those thoughts or plans after 8 years working in WA. There's a bit more freedom in the way you teach and less admin for teachers. I have moved into an Exec role now, so my admin load is huge on a whole school level, but we are mindful to not overburden teachers as I had previously experienced in the UK. Other schools could be different of course! Basically I can't complain and the reality is the move has worked out really well for me. We seemed to time the move with a strong pound and a supply of housing options. This allowed us to build and the value of the house is around 75% up on what we built it for. We've of course have completed lots of modifications in that time including a pool. As a family we go on regular overseas holidays and children love the lifestyle near the beach. WA has been good to us. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 1 hour ago, benj1980 said: I have to admit I wasn't confident that I had a future in teaching in the UK. I was looking at options in the medium to long term. I don't have those thoughts or plans after 8 years working in WA. There's a bit more freedom in the way you teach and less admin for teachers. I have moved into an Exec role now, so my admin load is huge on a whole school level, but we are mindful to not overburden teachers as I had previously experienced in the UK. Other schools could be different of course! That was true 10 years ago in QLD but not any more. We do far more admin now than I ever did in the UK, although admittedly I only taught there for a year after qualifying. In my subject area I used to have a lot of flexibility in what and how I could teach, particular for junior classes, but at my current school that's gone out of the window in favour of following the Australian Curriculum verbatim (which would be okay if it was any good). Just one of the many factors that has sucked all the joy out of the job in my opinion. Moan over! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benj1980 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 22 hours ago, InnerVoice said: That was true 10 years ago in QLD but not any more. We do far more admin now than I ever did in the UK, although admittedly I only taught there for a year after qualifying. In my subject area I used to have a lot of flexibility in what and how I could teach, particular for junior classes, but at my current school that's gone out of the window in favour of following the Australian Curriculum verbatim (which would be okay if it was any good). Just one of the many factors that has sucked all the joy out of the job in my opinion. Moan over! Well that's a shame for you. Do you think that is all schools or simply the school you are working at? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 1 minute ago, benj1980 said: Well that's a shame for you. Do you think that is all schools or simply the school you are working at? I think it's worse at my current school but based on conversations with colleagues at other state high schools, it's a general trend across the state. The QLD teacher crisis has been well-documented in the media. They estimate over 7% of the entire workforce have quit in the last 18 months alone, with the workload being cited as the main reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benj1980 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 2 minutes ago, InnerVoice said: I think it's worse at my current school but based on conversations with colleagues at other state high schools, it's a general trend across the state. The QLD teacher crisis has been well-documented in the media. They estimate over 7% of the entire workforce have quit in the last 18 months alone, with the workload being cited as the main reason. Policing is like that over here! There's a teacher shortage here as well, particularly Maths and DT. I don't really think workload has gone up but our teachers have gone into more lucrative professions such as mining. Even at entry level they seem to be earning more than as a qualified teacher. The demographic of our workforce has always been fairly old and quite rightly they are keen to retire, we also have hundreds of vacancies in university courses. So we have plenty more years of pain ahead... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 5 hours ago, benj1980 said: Policing is like that over here! There's a teacher shortage here as well, particularly Maths and DT. I don't really think workload has gone up but our teachers have gone into more lucrative professions such as mining. Even at entry level they seem to be earning more than as a qualified teacher. The demographic of our workforce has always been fairly old and quite rightly they are keen to retire, we also have hundreds of vacancies in university courses. So we have plenty more years of pain ahead... How can blame them when you work one week on and have one week off, and still earn more money. I'd be doing it myself if I was a few years younger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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