The majority of teachers would not be better paid if they moved to a different profession, research has found.

This includes teachers under 30, whose salaries are “highly competitive”, according to research by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex.

While three in 10 teachers could earn more if they moved jobs - particularly men - for most teachers, there was no strong evidence that they would immediately find a higher paying job elsewhere.

However, the researchers also found that teachers’ wages tend to grow at a slower rate than they would expect in an alternative profession, meaning “many teachers would be financially better off over the course of their career if they leave”. 

The findings come despite a year-long public sector pay freeze, and a fall in real-term pay for experienced teachers of around 8 per cent compared with 15 years ago.

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The University of Essex research found male teachers were more than 50 per cent more likely to earn more if they left the profession. 

It also found no strong evidence that science, technology, engineering or maths (Stem) teachers leaving the profession would enter higher-paid occupations.

Joshua Fullard, a lecturer in the Department of Economics at the university and who carried out the study, suggested that this could be because “the skills a teacher acquires are so occupation-specific that they constrain future labour market opportunities”.

He added: “However, we also observe that, since the public sector pay freeze, non-Stem graduates who leave teaching appear to be entering higher-paying occupations (10 per cent higher since 2015).

“While it is possible that teaching might constrain future labour market opportunities differently for Stem and non-Stem graduates, it is possible these graduates also have systematically different preferences in the types of jobs they would be interested in outside of teaching.”

Effects on pupils

The study also found that a 10 per cent rise in teacher salaries produces a “modest” effect on pupil attainment, roughly equivalent to an additional hour of weekly tuition and an average rise of 3 per cent in assessment results.

Mr Fullard said this “could be the difference between passing and not passing a test”.

Wellbeing also increased, mainly in science, where a 10 per cent increase in teacher pay increased pupil enjoyment by 1.8 per cent.

Methodology

The research looked at 27 years of Office for National Statistics data on teacher wages relative to peers in other professions.

The study included pupils from both primary and secondary schools, in Years 4, 5, 8 and 9.

It estimated the effect of teacher pay on pupil performance using results from five waves of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study between 1995 and 2015.

The results were taken from a sample of 25,346 primary-age pupils in both maths and science, 15,177 secondary students in maths and 17,302 in science.

Pupil wellbeing was measured by a survey in which students were asked to respond to the statement “I enjoy learning” with “agree a lot”, “agree a little”, “disagree a little” or “disagree a lot”.

Policy implications

In the Budget last month, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the year-long pay freeze would be lifted, although schools will have to absorb the costs of any pay rises within their main budgets.

Mr Fullard said: “This paper shows that policymakers should expect benefits from raising the salaries of existing teachers.”

He added that his findings supported the planned increase in new teachers’ salaries to £30,000 - which the government has delayed for an unspecified period.

However, he warned against complacency around teacher pay.

He said: “We are very fortunate that personal motivations ensure that there are enough professionals willing to do this critically important job.

“However, we might not be so lucky in the future. If policymakers want to recruit and retain the most effective teachers, they need to ensure that teachers starting salaries remain competitive and that the pay scales are adjusted so that experience is rewarded, because as things stand, for many, it does not pay to be a teacher.”

A 10 per cent increase in teachers’ relative wages is likely to cost an additional £1.3 billion per year in primary schools, according to the research. The figure for secondary schools was not recorded.