jobfacts

Higher education teaching professionals

SOC 2020 2311

Higher education teaching professionals deliver lectures and teach students to at least first degree level, undertake research and write journal articles and books in their chosen field of study.

Also calledHigher education lecturerHE lecturerUniversity lecturerTeacherTutorDemonstratorand 47 more titles
Typical full-time pay£52,8002025 Provisional
People in the job259,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month2,200↓ 19%on last year · 82nd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time higher education teaching professionals earn between £42,100 and £66,200 a year.

What full-time higher education teaching professionals earn, 2025
£52,800 typical£32,900lowest 10%£42,10025%£66,20075%£77,700top 10%
Middle half (£42,100–£66,200)
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£32,900
Lowest 20% earn less than£39,200
25%£42,100
Median£52,800
75%£66,200
Top 20% earn more than£69,600
Top 10% earn more than£77,700
Typical pay by regionUK median £52,800
London£56,200
Yorkshire and The Humber!£55,100
South West!£53,100
North West£52,800
West Midlands£52,300
Scotland£51,800
Wales£51,200
East Midlands!£50,100
South East£49,000
East of England!£45,100
North EastNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £52,800
London£56,200
Yorkshire and The Humber£55,100 (small sample)
South West£53,100 (small sample)
North West£52,800
West Midlands£52,300
Scotland£51,800
Wales£51,200
East Midlands£50,100 (small sample)
South East£49,000
East of England£45,100 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £47,700
  • 2024 £52,600
  • 2025 Provisional£52,800
↑ 11% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 2,200 jobs for higher education teaching professionals are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20262,068
Jul 20262,181
Jun 20262,186
May 20262,234
Apr 20261,954
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,760
Jan 20262,065
Dec 20251,338
Nov 20252,788
Oct 20252,498
Sept 20252,783
Aug 20252,404
Jul 20252,844
Jun 20253,322
May 20253,025
Apr 20252,283
Mar 20252,909
Feb 20252,749
Jan 20252,638
Dec 20241,899
Nov 20242,452
Oct 20242,596
Sept 20243,275
Aug 20242,658
Jul 20243,120
Jun 20243,245
May 20243,413
Apr 20242,805
Mar 20242,697
Feb 20242,675
Jan 20243,160
Dec 20232,620
Nov 20232,578
Oct 20232,574
Sept 20232,669
Aug 20232,827
Jul 20233,180
Jun 20233,816
May 20233,881
Apr 20233,049
Mar 20233,237
Feb 20233,465
Jan 20233,689
Dec 20223,704
Nov 20223,996
Oct 20224,009
Sept 20223,882
Aug 20224,017
Jul 20224,940
Jun 20224,777
May 20224,662
Apr 20223,255
Mar 20224,212
Feb 20223,736
Jan 20223,942
Dec 20213,387
Nov 20214,137
Oct 20214,044
Sept 20214,425
Aug 20213,907
Jul 20214,561
Jun 20214,316
May 20214,211
Apr 20213,250
Mar 20213,970
Feb 20212,332
Jan 20212,626
Dec 20202,925
Nov 20203,100
Oct 20203,413
Sept 20202,874
Aug 20202,348
Jul 20202,897
Jun 20202,674
May 20202,369
Apr 20202,753
Mar 20203,720
Feb 20204,423
Jan 20204,189
Dec 20193,227
Nov 20193,861
Oct 20194,503
Sept 20194,486
Aug 20195,117
Jul 20197,437
Jun 20196,969
May 20195,552
Apr 20192,987
Mar 20193,654
Feb 20193,088
Jan 20193,197
Dec 20182,871
Nov 20184,040
Oct 20183,910
Sept 20184,143
Aug 20183,590
Jul 20184,435
Jun 20184,534
May 20183,666
Apr 20182,913
Mar 20183,809
Feb 20183,281
Jan 20183,874
Dec 20172,604
Nov 20173,406
Oct 20173,233
Sept 20173,331
Aug 20173,490
Jul 20173,540
Jun 20174,593
May 20173,411
Apr 20172,977
Mar 20173,319
Feb 20173,055
Jan 20173,753
Is there a shortage of higher education teaching professionals?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertainty in online job advert density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
39%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for teaching professionals, which includes higher education teaching professionals. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London1,866
Manchester204
Birmingham198
Leeds140
Liverpool102
Bristol, City of101
Newcastle upon Tyne84
West Northamptonshire78
Sheffield71
Nottingham66
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where higher education teaching professionals are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 620 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from China, United States, India, ranking it 30th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of higher education teaching professionals
n/p
16%!
28%
29%
19%
6.5%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3416% (small sample)
35–4428%
45–5429%
55–6419%
65+6.5% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent96%
Higher education below degree!1.2%
A levels or equivalent!0.7%
GCSEs or equivalent–
Not published
Other qualifications!2.1%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent96%
Higher education below degree1.2% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent0.7% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalentNot published
Other qualifications2.1% (small sample)

Main employers: tertiary education (86%), post-secondary non-tertiary education (4%), other education nec (2.8%), activities of professional membership organisations (1%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
96%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
1
from level 7
Apprenticeships take
18 months
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You'll usually need a first class or upper second class degree, relevant to the subject you want to teach.

You'll also need to have completed a postgraduate master's or PhD qualification, or be working towards one. It's common to have had academic work published.

You'll be expected to do a teaching qualification soon after you start. This is normally offered by your university and is done while working.

You may be able to get experience by taking on teaching duties while you're a postgraduate student. Some universities also offer posts as a graduate teaching assistant.

You'll need several years' relevant work experience if you want to teach vocational subjects, for example art or engineering.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

Apprenticeship

You may be able to do an Academic Professional Level 7 Apprenticeship, which is equivalent to postgraduate study.

You can specialise in teaching or research.

To apply, you'll normally need a minimum of a postgraduate qualification in your subject area, or several years' equivalent work experience, plus the agreement of your employer.

It can take between 18 and 24 months to complete.

Entry requirements

Employers will set their own entry requirements.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Further information

You can find out more about working in higher education from Advance HE.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for higher education lecturer. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • prepares, delivers and directs lectures, seminars and tutorials
  • prepares, administers and marks examinations, essays and other assignments
  • advises students on academic matters and encourages independent research
  • provides pastoral care or guidance to students
  • participates in decision making processes regarding curricula, budgetary, departmental and other matters
  • directs the work of postgraduate students
  • undertakes research, writes articles and books and attends conferences and other meetings

Skills

  • accept own accountability
  • address problems critically
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • advocate for social service users
  • apply anti-oppressive practices
  • apply case management
  • apply crisis intervention
  • apply decision making within social work
  • apply holistic approach within social services
  • apply intercultural teaching strategies
  • apply organisational techniques
  • apply person-centred care
  • apply problem solving in social service
  • apply quality standards in social services

Knowledge

  • scientific research methodology
  • adult education
  • assessment processes
  • company policies
  • curriculum objectives

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Working with ideas and solving problems

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for teaching and other educational professionals, a group of 13 jobs that includes higher education teaching professionals.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 15%about 268,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.