Salaries in higher education

Salaries in higher education are respectable within the public sector. In fact, these staff have received some of the highest increases in pay in recent years. Salaries for administration and support staff are healthy, although private sector companies generally do offer more.

There are national payscales for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with English pay reaching from £19,000 for unqualified staff through to £91,000 at the top end for experienced senior managers.

Salaries in higher education

Some examples of roles and potential salaries as of November 2018 include a Senior Systems Administrator on £43,000, a lecturer in Law on £38,000 and a finance admin assistant on £18,000. These jobs require a range of skills from a PhD through to five GCSEs.

The salaries on offer in the private sector for doctoral graduates are comparatively higher than the education sector. However, academic work - say researchers - offers challenges not found in the private sector. This includes the option to continue wider research work. Or more flexible and generous leave schemes.

• Academic roles include active teaching or research – lecturers, research officers or heads of department.
• Administration roles in universities are diverse. This could be as communications or events officer, a course administrator or in finance and accounting.
• Facilities - it takes a lot of work to keep a small town going! There are opportunities in estates, catering staff, maintenance and other technical services.

Employment in HE also usually offers monetary benefits in terms of final pension schemes and paid holiday allowance. Other common benefits include:

• Staff can usually use university services like sports centres and libraries.
• Universities are usually progressive in their people management. As centres of learning they respect equality and diversity in terms of both recruitment and working environment.

Search our database for available vacancies here.