Hello fellow nurses

As the title of my thread indicates...this is completely off topic but I was hoping since many of you that frequent this specific section of the site live and work in England could provide me with assistance.

I am currently an American nurse. But have wanted to relocate to London for the last year or so. I am not going to pursue working as an RN in the UK simply because the process is way too demanding and from what I have read on these threads not a financially savvy endeavor. Hence, I am decided to redirect my career into becoming a Math teacher.

Can I ask you all what teaching is like in the UK? I am looking to live and work in London or in one of the suburbs. I am single with a little savings and planning to take out loans for school and living as well. Can teachers live comfortably in the area? Are there jobs post graduation/qualification? Do you know with a BS degree already how long programs are? Can I pursue a masters rather than another bachelor's degree?

Instead of pursuing the degree in the states I would rather pursue it in the UK and hopefully from there have more mobility to move around Europe to teach if I wanted. I could see myself living there long term. As I am aware I probably can't use a UK teaching degree in the US (but that is ok).

I could use any and all advice from those of you who know the school system and whether or not this would be feasible as an American?

Thanks!

Teaching pay is not very different to nurses, in other words, about half what you are used to in the US!

London is an exceptionally expensive place to live and so the government decided to help all the "keyworkers" with subsidised accommodation.

Keyworkers are teachers, nurses, paramedics, firemen and police, all the low pay public service staff.

Only problem is that they never followed through. I have been on the Keyworker Housing list since 1999 and still waiting. I'm living in Chicago now, and tired of waiting.

A single person keyworker living in London will have to live a distance away and commute. You might be able to rent a room but a mortgage is pretty much impossible on a keyworker salary unless you have a decent deposit first.

A BS degree is 3 years, but if you have a previous related BS you can do a teachers certificate instead as an additional course, its called PGCE, post graduate certificate in education.

I don't know if this can be used in the rest of Europe. With Brexit looming I don't think anyone knows right now.

Thank you for that thorough response @ skylark...lots to think about...

Just to add onto this,if you already have a Mathematics Bachelor's degree, the PGCE takes between 1 year and 18 months, depending on the programme, and will give you credits towards a Masters degree as well as QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). There's a search tool for programmes here (you need to choose "Higher Education Programme" & "QTS and Post Graduate" options.

Search for training programmes

Salary scales for England and Wales are here:

Teacher salaries | Get Into Teaching

Meant to add, a newly qualified teacher in central London will start on £28660, which is enough to rent a studio flat in outer London. You won't have much disposable income though. It's also about the same as you would earn as a new RN at Band 5 once you factor in shift allowances.