Average Child Life Specialist Salary in United Kingdom for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Child Life Specialist salary for 2024 in United Kingdom and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the British pound. To keep things simple, we are using the GBP currency code instead of the currency symbol £.

How Much Does a Child Life Specialist Make in United Kingdom?

A Child Life Specialist working in United Kingdom will typically earn around 95,100 GBP per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 45,200 GBP to the highest average salary of 151,800 GBP.

Average Annual Salary
95,100 GBP
Average Monthly Salary
7,925 GBP

Lowest Annual Salary
45,200 GBP
Lowest Monthly Salary
3,766 GBP

Highest Annual Salary
151,800 GBP
Highest Monthly Salary
12,650 GBP

These are average salaries for a Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Child Life Specialist to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Child Life Specialist salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Child Life Specialist Salaries in United Kingdom

So we've looked at the average salaries a Child Life Specialist will earn in United Kingdom. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Child Life Specialist can earn between 45,200 GBP and 151,800 GBP on average in United Kingdom. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom is 102,700 GBP. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 102,700 GBP, and 50% of the population earn more than 102,700 GBP.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Child Life Specialist salary in United Kingdom, 25% of the population are earning less than 65,800 GBP while 75% of the population earn more than 65,800 GBP.

75% of the population earn less than 138,700 GBP, and 25% of the population earn more than 138,700 GBP.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Child Life Specialist Salary by Experience Level in United Kingdom

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average child life specialist salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 50,300 GBP.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Child Life Specialist salary would increase to 66,900 GBP.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Child Life Specialist, the average salary would be 99,600 GBP.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 119,700 GBP.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Child Life Specialist with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 128,400 GBP.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Child Life Specialist with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 142,100 GBP.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
50,300 GBP
2-5 Years +34%
66,900 GBP
5-10 Years +48%
99,600 GBP
10-15 Years +22%
119,700 GBP
15-20 Years +9%
128,400 GBP
20+ Years +8%
142,100 GBP

Child Life Specialist Salary by Education Level in United Kingdom

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 58,600 GBP.

  • Master's Degree. A Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 87,900 GBP.

  • PhD. A Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom with a phd education can earn an average salary of 150,100 GBP.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
58,600 GBP
Master's Degree +57%
87,900 GBP
PhD +68%
150,100 GBP

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United Kingdom is around 29,600 to 88,700 GBP and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Child Life Specialist Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In United Kingdom, a male child life specialist will earn an average of 94,300 GBP, while a female child life specialist will earn around 99,400 GBP.

This means that a male child life specialist earns approximately 5% less than a female child life specialist for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in United Kingdom

Male
94,300 GBP
Female +5%
99,400 GBP

Child Life Specialist Average Pay Raise in United Kingdom

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom is around 12% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United Kingdom is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 12 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that a Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in United Kingdom for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United Kingdom.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Child Life Specialist Bonus and Incentive Rates in United Kingdom

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Child Life Specialist is a high bonus based job, with 87% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

13% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9%.

Received Bonus
87%
No Bonus
13%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United Kingdom earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
72,700 GBP
Private Sector -7%
68,200 GBP

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Child Life Specialist

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Child Life Specialist in United Kingdom.

Job Title Category Salary
Activity Assistant Care Giving and Child Care 23,600 GBP
Advice Worker Care Giving and Child Care 30,100 GBP
Care Manager Care Giving and Child Care 88,000 GBP
Care Worker Care Giving and Child Care 26,500 GBP
Child Care Assistant Director Care Giving and Child Care 64,300 GBP
Child Care Specialist Care Giving and Child Care 102,700 GBP
Child Care Teacher Care Giving and Child Care 30,800 GBP
Child Development Center Assistant Care Giving and Child Care 40,200 GBP
Child Development Specialist Care Giving and Child Care 103,600 GBP
Child Protection Officer Care Giving and Child Care 32,900 GBP
Child Psychotherapist Care Giving and Child Care 112,700 GBP
Child Support Officer Care Giving and Child Care 31,300 GBP
Clinical Care Coordinator Care Giving and Child Care 30,300 GBP
Clinical Officer Care Giving and Child Care 31,800 GBP
Custodian Care Giving and Child Care 49,000 GBP
Day Care Director Care Giving and Child Care 121,800 GBP
Elderly Care Giver Care Giving and Child Care 24,800 GBP
Group Home Manager Care Giving and Child Care 127,600 GBP
Kids Activity Assistant Care Giving and Child Care 26,200 GBP
Live In Carer Care Giving and Child Care 25,800 GBP
Nanny Care Giving and Child Care 29,300 GBP
Nursery Nurse Care Giving and Child Care 31,400 GBP
Nursery Teacher Care Giving and Child Care 26,200 GBP
Nursing Home Administrator Care Giving and Child Care 39,800 GBP
Personal Assistant Care Giving and Child Care 22,800 GBP
Physical Health and Wellness Specialist Care Giving and Child Care 105,800 GBP
Preschool Education Coordinator Care Giving and Child Care 47,400 GBP
Primary Therapist Care Giving and Child Care 74,200 GBP
Psychiatric Aide Care Giving and Child Care 35,300 GBP
Rehabilitation Counselor Care Giving and Child Care 94,100 GBP
Support Worker Care Giving and Child Care 27,400 GBP

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United Kingdom, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Aberdeen 99,700 GBP
Abingdon 92,500 GBP
Armagh 95,500 GBP
Bangor 85,700 GBP
Belfast 111,700 GBP
Birmingham 114,300 GBP
Bradford 109,000 GBP
Brighton 105,200 GBP
Bristol 109,700 GBP
Cambridge 93,200 GBP
Canterbury 94,900 GBP
Cardiff 107,300 GBP
Chester 96,600 GBP
Coventry 108,200 GBP
Derby 105,800 GBP
Derry 97,400 GBP
Dundee 96,600 GBP
Durham 90,600 GBP
Edinburgh 105,800 GBP
Exeter 93,100 GBP
Glasgow 117,100 GBP
Gloucester 94,100 GBP
Hartlepool 98,000 GBP
Inverness 93,800 GBP
Kingston upon Hull 111,700 GBP
Kirkwall 88,000 GBP
Leeds 116,400 GBP
Leicester 108,200 GBP
Lincoln 95,600 GBP
Lisburn 93,800 GBP
Liverpool 109,700 GBP
London 108,200 GBP
Manchester 114,300 GBP
Newcastle 108,200 GBP
Newport 95,500 GBP
Newry 95,100 GBP
Norwich 99,900 GBP
Nottingham 109,000 GBP
Oxford 100,500 GBP
Peterborough 100,300 GBP
Plymouth 99,700 GBP
Poole 102,700 GBP
Portsmouth 107,300 GBP
Ripon 88,500 GBP
Salisbury 92,100 GBP
Sheffield 108,200 GBP
Somerset 114,600 GBP
Southampton 100,700 GBP
St Davids 90,300 GBP
Stirling 93,900 GBP
Stromness 83,700 GBP
Strontian 84,600 GBP
Swansea 107,300 GBP
Truro 84,300 GBP
Wakefield 90,600 GBP
Wells 92,300 GBP
Winchester 93,300 GBP
Wolverhampton 105,800 GBP
York 100,700 GBP

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United Kingdom.

City Average Salary
England 195,500 GBP
Northern Ireland 92,300 GBP
Scotland 142,300 GBP
Wales 90,900 GBP

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