Pay rates in the UK/Ireland

[pjungfisio]

Hi guys,
I am an Australian physio, keen to travel abroad to either UK or Ireland. Just wondering if anyone can tell me what the pay rates for work in public hospitals in the UK and Ireland for a senior physiotherapist.

From previous messages, the UK is going to be tough to find work, so maybe 'try the luck of the Irish.' I really don't know what new grads are faced with in the UK but seriously...is physio really worth it?! I think for the time and effort we had to spend studying at university, the marks we had get to get into the darn course, I think we deserve a bit better (pay and respect), don't ya think?! Cheers guys.

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[Laura01]

I couldn't agree more! I graduated in July and am still unemployed and starting to think about a change in career already! The job situation in Scotland apperars to be there are loads of positions at senior level- but nothing at a junior level. The starting salary for a junior PT in Scotland is approx £19K PA and for a senior 1 level approx £24-28K pa which equates to about 5 years postgraduate experince. Be aware of agenda for change, where implementation seems to be quite progressed in England, it slowly but surely coming in Scotland. All allied health professionals in the Uk are having their pay and conditions re-evaluated which is causing a bit of a backlog causing nobody to want to move into senior positions at the moment.
The best place to check out is the NHS website (Scotlands health on the web if your interested in current vacancies in Scotland) you can apply online as well. As for Ireland I hear that Physios are quite highly regarded there, but i have no idea about their job situation.
I wish i could swap places with you! Best of luck
Laura

[pjungfisio]

thanks for the tips laura01....
have you tried to look for work overseas, particularly australia?! theres plenty of work in private practice and some locum jobs in the public system. I really do feel for you and your colleagues. It doesn't help when I hear the NHS blows their budget by more than 500 million pounds resulting in massive job cuts and you can't work in private practice with the insurance problems. In the next 5-10 years Australia will experience the same problem but mainly because so many more universities are offering physiotherapy as either an undergrad or postgrad degree. Hope you have some luck soon mate. Keep your chin up and don't give up!! Cheers

[oscar]

Hey,

I'm afraid it's just as bad in Ireland as the UK, I know a lot of Irish grduates who studied in the UK and have moved back to Ireland to try and get jobs and they're not having any luck either! One girl I know has just managed to secure a job in Dublin and there were 300 applications for the job!

Of course if you are a senior then you've much better chances of getting a job in the UK or Ireland, it's the new grads that are having the problems

I think the feeling is moving overseas is the only way to use your skills soon, otherwise you face the problems of having to wait a very, very long time!

[Laura01]

I would love to head abroad but the finances at the moment just won't allow it!I think I will just have to stick it out here and see what it throws at me.
Problem is for the 6 or so jobs that i have applied for I havent had one interview. I am volunteering for a football team every weekend and doing a care job to attempt to maintain my skills at present, i have even been on courses since qualifying but no takers!The most frustrating thing is I know I am doing all I can but I still aint good enough. Any suggestions welcome.
thanks for the support.
Laura

[oscar]

I would love to head abroad but the finances at the moment just won't allow it!I think I will just have to stick it out here and see what it throws at me.
Problem is for the 6 or so jobs that i have applied for I havent had one interview. I am volunteering for a football team every weekend and doing a care job to attempt to maintain my skills at present, i have even been on courses since qualifying but no takers!The most frustrating thing is I know I am doing all I can but I still aint good enough. Any suggestions welcome.
thanks for the support.
Laura

sorry to hear you're having a rough time Laura, I'm graduating in the autumn this year so will no doubt be joining you on the hunt!!

It certainly sounds like you are doing everything you can, just stick with it, you'll find something eventually! Incidentally have you tried contacting any of the places you've applied to and asked for feedback? It might be worth having a go at that, I know a few new grads that have done that and have had productive feedback!

[pjungfisio]

Hey!
I remember when I was a new grad it was a bit difficult to find a job, particularly when you are competing with so many other new grads and everyone is all starting out on the same boat, the same amount of experience. Laura and Oscar as a senior I recommend you guys to keep up with any course you can go to after you graduate to keep up with CPD, looks great on our CV and as a propective employer it shows that you are making the effort. Also Laura, its great that you doing some work withthe football club, keep it up! Oscar is right, see if you can get some feedback from the jobs you applied for and didn't get an interview. See what you can improve on?! did you sell yourself in the cover letter, tell them how brilliant you are?!
were there any typos on your CV and cover letter?!
Was your CV easy to read. An employer if he/she receives hundreds of applicants would onl read the cover letter and then decide whether to read on.. Any typos straight to the bin. Maybe printing your CV in nice shiny white paper with coloured headings...make your application look better...it seems small but it would grab my attention.

Another thing too, in Australia most physio jobs are given to people who know rather than how much they are. meaning say if I did a clinical placement at a certain hospital, I did well there as a student and got along with my supervisor, I would have more chance getting that job than someone who got 90 percentile for their marks b/c they know me. If I were you, I would be sending my applications to the places where you did your clinical placements when you were a student, if you did well there and you got along with the physios you probably have a better chance to get an interview at least.

If your scouting for jobs, maybe looking at hostels or nursing homes. I don't know what the situation is like in Scotland but there are heaps of jobs in those aged care facilities in Australia b/c no-one wants to work there but with ageing population throughout the world many more physios maybe needed I think. And at least it keeps you in the game until a hospital job pops up and bam you go in!
Hope this helps guys

Just for interest sake are you watching the Australian Open Tennis, your Andy Murray is doing alright, I watched his game against this spanish dude, he beat him 6-0, 6-0, 6-1, nearly a 3 egg trifecta

btw oscar, england are no good at the cricket. They were very disappointing this ashes serie hey.

[oscar]

btw oscar, england are no good at the cricket. They were very disappointing this ashes serie hey.

Ha! Cricket is not really my thing but yep, England were rubbish!!

[vicstott]

Hi there - I too really feel for you as I graduated in 2006 and for months could not even get an interview and it was impossible to get feedback due to the volume of applications trusts were receiving; some of the jobs I applied for had around 450 applications, what a riduculous situation, how did it ever get this bad?!? I too was doing bits of voluntary but had to work full time to pay my mortgage and bills and it was pretty depressing however I have found work now as a full time physio working for a private hospital in a mainly outpatient setting with some orthopaedic inpatient work. I feel very lucky and I would suggest to any new grads to search around the private organisations and see if they can offer anything. I believe some are taking on juniors now in order to try and help alleviate the problem. Also a tip when applying for an NHS post, I believe that potential employers only see your personal statement, not all the other stuff that goes with it so if you have been on any courses or have done any voluntary work, make sure its in your personal statement because if you've just entered it in the 'courses' section, it wont be noted. I really wish you and everyone else the best of luck!

I also wondered if anyone could help me on my situation? As I am working in only outpatients and orthopaedics in a very small private hospital, working with only 2 other physio's; if I return to the NHS in a year or two, will I have to start again as a junior as there are no grading levels here - I am not classed as a junior, although obviously on comparable wage but this means I cannot progress through the traditional 'ranks'. Can anyone give me advice on this as it will affect how long I should remain here in order to progress my career? I would like to experience different specialities but realistically could I gain experience here and then go back into the NHS and be accepted as simply a musculosketal physio without having had the experience of rotations? I feel that due to the current climate, this will affect quite a few physio's who are forced to go down non-traditional routes. Thanks!

[oscar]

Thanks for that posting, it seems you've been one of the lucky ones! Certainly encouraging to hear someone has managed to get a job one way or another!

Regarding your question, I'm not an expert but could you not just try and stay in the private sector and get experience that way? I mean everyone says go private as soon as you can (or basically avoid the NHS if at all possible!) and I'm sure you could get lots of experience in the different fields in different hospitals? You also have the possibility of working abroad to gain experience if you are in the position to be able to do that of course!

If you have some security in the private sector I would defninatley try and stay there if I were you!