‘My friends save €15,000 a year in Abu Dhabi while I am down €7,000’

One teacher is refusing to advise students to take up a career in his profession because the money new entrants earn does not equate to the amount of work they put in.

Sean Lynch (24), from Rue, Co Sligo, teaches woodwork, technical graphics and social, personal and health education at Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School in Blanchardstown, Co Dublin. He earns €24,000 a year but after moving to the capital and with rent and bills mounting, he admitted he was finding it hard to get by.

Sean said: “You can make a living when you are on a full-time timetable but so many people are not getting full hours, so things are not as ideal as some people might think.”

He started studying to become a teacher in 2008 after applying for a college place when times were still good. By the time he reached third year in college in 2011, the economy had crashed, the public sector was under severe pressure and teachers’ pay was cut for new entrants.

Sean was left in a difficult spot. He was too far into his course to transfer to another one yet his career opportunities in teaching looked bleak.

“I am down about €7,000 per year and this is my fifth year out of college, so that is €35,000 gone already,” Sean said. “When you hear your friends are going to Abu Dhabi or Dubai, it is hard not to consider doing that too because they are saving €15,000 a year.”

He insisted he was happy in his new job, working 22 hours a week, but said the poor pay was making it difficult to justify sticking with teaching in Ireland as a career. “It is not looking like a profession any more,” he said. “I am not suggesting it to the kids as something they should take up because it (is hard to see) how it would benefit them.”