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Adult education lecturer : Salary and conditions

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Case studies

  • Many lecturers are paid an hourly rate and this varies between organisations, ranging from £16 to upwards of £30 an hour, but the rate may be higher than this in a university setting, i.e. around £36 an hour.
  • The range of typical full-time starting salaries is £17,000 - £23,000, although most posts are not full time and lecturers are then paid on a pro-rata basis.
  • The range of typical salaries at senior or management level is £28,000 - £43,000, but these opportunities are not frequent.
  • It is usual that lecturers on part-time contracts are only paid for contact hours as the rate includes recognition for time spent on preparation, planning, marking and administration, and usually cover an element of paid holiday. Some employers contribute to travel expenses.
  • Evening and weekend work is very common as this is when many adult education courses are offered.
  • Adult education takes place in a variety of contexts and so teaching environments vary widely, from high-specification rooms in residential colleges to relatively spartan classrooms in local schools.
  • As the sector is funding and learner-demand led, most employers retain flexibility by offering part-time contracts. If you want full-time, or near full-time, work in adult education, you are likely to begin with several part-time contracts, perhaps with different employers. As a consequence, you would be working on more than one site with more than one set of work colleagues.
  • Posts are available throughout the UK, as all local authorities provide some adult education and there are charitable organisations that provide a national service. Other providers are also widely distributed and may include outreach to rural communities. However, the greatest concentration of work tends to be in cities and large towns.
  • Most students in adult education want to be there, but you may find yourself teaching groups where attendance is compulsory. Student groups vary enormously, ranging from adults studying a subject for pleasure to adults attending literacy classes as part of a probation rehabilitation programme.
  • Travel between different centres during the working day is usual for lecturers with several contracts, but overnight absence from home will generally only be necessary if you choose to teach in residential colleges.
  • Overseas work is not widely available, but occasional opportunities arise for tutors on cruise ships, for example. There are also opportunities for adult literacy work through voluntary organisations overseas, but this may often be as a volunteer receiving basic expenses.
 
AGCAS
Written by Hilary R. Whorrall, University of Sheffield
Date: 
August 2009
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