I am a lecturer with about 20 years experience teaching. I am a decent programmer, but probably a little blunt coming into the SE workspace. That said, I am better than most of our graduates so I should be able to come in and pick things up quickly.

I am looking at salaries, and the starting salary for a grad is higher than my current salary, so I am starting to think I should just make the switch. Let's put whether I would get a job to one side for the moment.. I want to get your perspective on how sensible the switch is..

Lecturing: Decent union protection, probably more secure job than SE right now, but equally, not many jobs about. If my job goes, it will probably be due to course closure, so I'd be looking at a 2/3 year notice period while the students finish their degree.

SE: I am hearing about lots of job cuts, but a higher salary.…