Nursery World - You just can't win on these wages

I qualified with the NNEB in 1988 and the NVQ Level 3 in 1997. I worked for more than 11 years in a local maternity unit caring for newborn babies until I left to get a job in another maternity unit, where I have been for the past three years. House prices are so bad in London, where I currently work, that on my salary (Grade C NHS scale) I have been unable to either get a mortgage or qualify for any Government help to buy a property near to where I work. After more than two years of trying to buy a property, I bought a flat in Folkestone near my family and decided to look for a job nearer home.

After more than two years of trying to buy a property, I bought a flat in Folkestone near my family and decided to look for a job nearer home.

However, I have found that if I was to work with children in a nursery I would be unable to afford to pay my mortgage because the wages are so poor.

So here I am, caught between commuting for up to three hours door to door or taking a poorly-paid job locally that has fewer holidays and would leave me struggling financially. Eventually I will probably have to give up nursery nursing altogether just to be able to afford to live in my own home.

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