Gill and Rob

Hello
We are having a pretty lively debate about nursing salaries and I am just wondering if any teachers or plumbers can quote their salary and how long they have been "qualified" in that occupation and the number ofyears of experience they have.

Any other trades worker or health professional who feels able to give details would also be really welcome.

Cheers and thanks.

Dustybin

Most of the trades I know make between half and two thirds of what they could make in the UK. So do I now I think about it. The best thing is not to compare, then you wont be disapointed.

BEVS

Plumbers wife reporting in

Husband is a UK trained C&G advanced level plumber and gasfitter.
4 years of training and study plus one extra year night school to gain extra quals.
CORGI + 8 ACS modules . Gas requires assessment and testing of gas fitters every 5 years .
Solar acreditation. Trained and UK recognised qual.
H&S , CITB etc
Over 30+ years trade experience
Ran own business for 10+ years.
NZ equivalent of a Master Craftsman.

Started off in NZ on $21 per hour June 2004. Busted back to final year apprentice level.

Now NZ registered and on $26 per hour. Had to fight extremely hard to get this wage. It's taken 3 years to get it.
Must continued to work for an NZ employer until passes three further exams . One in plumbing. One in gasfitting. One in business studies.

Earnings are around 40% of what was earned in the UK.

Kiwiprincess

Well I am neither but i do have a couple of friends who are teachers and the dozy bints admitted their salary to me (hehe so now i will plaster it on the net!)

the first one:
Graduated in 2000. Did relief (supply) teaching in NZ for probably about 6 months in addition to the part time job she was working at a department store. She was therefore in NZ provisionally registered. She went to the Uk and found work easily. When doing supply teaching she was paid quite well (comparatively) and when she got a permanent job she was on (i think) £24,000 a year. She was not nvq (or whatever the british registered teacher thing is) but left the UK in January 2007 and when she came back to NZ had to go through the registration process a bit again. No problem though. She is on about $53,000 in NZ. Some of this is funded by the school out of their 'bulk funding' in addition to the Ministry payment of teachers.

2nd friend:
Also graduated in 2000 and was therefore upon graduation provisionally registered. She went to the UK about a week after her exams (therefore no teaching experience other than classroom training during her study which was actually quite extensive). She worked in London (pretty grotty area of London - boarded up windows etc) at a school for almost 6 years and became the head of her department (or whatever they call it, i forget). She was on £32,000 a year.

She returned to NZ in Jan 2006 and almost walked straight into a job in Lower Hutt and was earning i think $55,000. Again some of this was paid from the schools bulk funding in addition to the Ministry payment. Due to her experience she became officially registered after one year here (i think it was just that she had to be supervised at various intervals). She actually returned to the London school (for non financial reasons...affairs of the heart bleurghh) and also to be a British Qualified teacher, which she now is.

In both cases they found that while the £ to $ conversion wasn't fantasatic, they both enjoyed the teaching in NZ and preferred their standard of living here too. They were a lot closer to the beach, they got to actually meet and talk to the parents (as opposed to simply greeting them at 3:00pm) and again in both cases found that they could spend more time actually teaching children rather than doing 'crowd control'. Though they both have said that they loved teaching in the UK - it was just very different.

Similar sized classrooms too - about 30 kids in each. This was the one thing they didn't like in both places. In the UK it was because the kids got rowdy. In NZ it was this as well at times but it was also because the classrooms were a bit small!

One was in a decile 9 school, the other in a decile 1. So it wasn't simply a case of going to different types of school. They also had done relief teaching in both countries so had a fair idea of the different kinds of demands made at different schools.

They both loved the fact they had carparks at their schools in NZ too!

Finally, i mentioned the schools funding teachers out of their 'bulk funding'. This is apparently quite common, especially in the more expensive cities. A teacher may get a salary from the Ministry of $XYZ but the school tops it up.


Just my 2 cents

dlmckay

To add to Bev's post, apprentice plumbers earn $12 an hour... that's what my husband's currently employed on... hoping like hell that third time will be lucky for his exam next week! Then he can earn something around twice that amount with luck!

BEVS

Fingers and toes crossed for him.I hope your hubby passes with flying colours.
As a final year apprentice he really should be earning far more than twelve bucks. Nightmare.


Me and Phil could not face the craftsman papers this year. Just had enough of it all for now.

dlmckay

We need all the help we can get!!! Just missed it twice by 1 or 2% short of the pass mark...

Too many apprentices in Auckland, not enough employers - can you imagine!!

Poor Phil - give him a thumbs up from me

BEVS

AArrg. Don't you just hate that.The old 59% jobby happened to Phil and the re-considerations were no help either I found.

Ah ! I gather that's why his wage is lower than it should be. Big shame that, for as he has his National cert. he has proven he has the skill and exp. to to warrant a skilled wage

Ta for that He's run out of steam at the moment . Poor bugger. We have a huge pile of Open Poly study help just sitting on the lounge floor gathering dust. Maybe after the Christmas shut-down he'll feel more like it.

vingar

Teaching for 5 years (secondary) $54000 salary. Beautiful country. Piss poor wages. Going back in April after 4 years. Shame really, but I need to earn some real money. I will be back however.