LC Written Examiners, 2022

spurious

Speed doesn't always help accuracy and they are more interested in accuracy than necessarily making deadlines.

I can't remember if you said you were doing JC or LC, but sometimes with JC (possibly also with LC) it can take four or even five re-readings to make sense of what they are writing. You can't really rush through them.

Time-wise, while you might (should) not be spending 13 hours a day at them, you shouldn't really be spending less than maybe a solid 4 hours minimum at them each day, more likely 5 or even more at the start.

am_zarathustra

Did anyone get info on advances this year? Some of the superintendents I know did get them, bit of a surprise! Wonder will correctors get the usual advance but taxed.

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119271825#Comment_119271825

I got a text asking for my prsi details and it was mentioned that it was so they could give an advance.

am_zarathustra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119271927#Comment_119271927

Cheers, thanks! Mostly just curious. In fairness the payments have been a hell of a lot faster in recent years and without the expense of the conference it's not as big an issue but it was damn useful when I wasn't being paid in the summer years ago!

There was talk of going back to athlone next year, wasn't much appetite for it in our group anyway!!!

dory

When does one find out how many papers they're going to get? The day of the conference? Mine is starting on Monday.

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119272666#Comment_119272666

Are you online or paper?

If online, they will give you a ballpark figure at the conference. You will be told how many you can download per day and when it ends.

If it’s paper you will find out when you count them. Last year mine arrived day 2 of the conference, so I knew then.

dory

Thanks. I'm online.

am_zarathustra

If you got the pink piece of paper in your finance pack it gave the limit for the excess payment. For my subject its a little over the normal number of scripts you'd expect. It really will vary massively by subject.

Seannew1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119276063#Comment_119276063

Is this different to the enhanced 150 euro per 25 scripts marked this year??

am_zarathustra

Yeah, 2 possible extra payments this year. So all your scripts are an extra 6eu each (150 per 25) and any you do over the allotted amount on the pink slip are an extra bit!

Edit: It's a crazy amount for my subject btw.......by then end they'd be hard pressed to find any money to make me take on that number and then more

pandoraj09

We're getting very well paid this year, LCHL subject, though I think I'll earn mine as I've just corrected 1 exam online and its taken me all afternoon. 210 is our cutoff for the extra for over allotted amount. It was great not having the trek to Athlone, the overnight and the hassle of collecting bags of papers, bringing them home, opening and counting them. It's also great not to have to do any adding up.

am_zarathustra

I was sending an email to finance anyway so I asked about the advance too, there will be a pay schedule from Monday apparently! Strange it wasn't mentioned in the official letters ect

rainbowtrout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119303755#Comment_119303755

My guess is that it will be a welcome surprise if money lands in people's accounts and keep them marking. If it had been stated in a letter and then was weeks late/didn't happen everyone would be grumbling.

History Queen

288 euro just landed in to my account fton the SEC. Wasn't expecting it.

am_zarathustra

I think my old advance was 1200, that's a strange drop! I assume it'll be taxed this year like the superintending!

Not telling people is definitely smart. We seem to be ok for correctors currently, but I suppose we won't know if there is a problem til the end! I have to say the extra covid money is really keeping me doing it, I wonder will they loose a lot if they get rid of that next year! The bad weather currently is definitely making it more bearable!

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119309370#Comment_119309370

Ah I was happy enough with it til you said this! 😅

am_zarathustra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119310314#Comment_119310314

🤣🤣 I could be getting the same as you this year, I haven't a clue! But it was a nice surprise that I was getting anything

In fairness I think my advance for JC was around 700 and maybe less the first year I did it. It jumped a good bit when I went to HL LC! I never really understood how they came up with them anyway, always seemed arbitrary. The JC corrections were more time consuming and annoying but a third of the price per script. And the advances seemed the same, almost randomly generated, sort of scaled JC to LC

dory

This thread had me all excited for an advance! Did everyone get one??

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119323146#Comment_119323146

Not yet.

am_zarathustra

Got a reply from financial, in fairness they are quick this year. Most advances should issue this week depending on the finish date of your conference.

gaiscioch

I got the princely sum of €288 lodged into my bank yesterday morning by "SEC Written CTO".

Online marking is, in general, much easier in my view. I know it's my own mistake (well, actually, often the numbers are squashed together on the screen so it's easy to choose the wrong one) but it is, nonetheless, annoying when you fill in the wrong question number and have to cancel the marks and remark the 8 or whatever pages for that question again. Is there a way for just renumbering the question rather than remarking it?

We are all doing a lot of remarking in our subject anyway... I have to say my Advising Examiner this year is a really professional, supportive person. Even when I'm being corrected, it's done in a very encouraging way. The last time I did it the AE was quite intense with deadlines (and the SEC payment was four months late). It all seems much more civilised and calm without boxes and paper ar fud na háite.

gaiscioch

Just received paper confirmation of the €288 payment. It was out of €600 so, to be clear, my nett pay is 48% of the gross. It would depress one to think about the work in those terms, so forget I said anything. 😔

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119352961#Comment_119352961

Ya I realised that when I saw my payslip for the advance too... I mean logically I know that you only come out with around half but it's soul destroying to see.

am_zarathustra

Weird it was so little and generally the same across subjects and levels. It's way down on what the old advances were.

Have to say it's hard going with the sun and heat.

pandoraj09

I feel particularly sorry for teachers not getting paid for the Summer who are marking at the moment. 288 Euro won't go far. I remember getting handed a cheque for 1200 Euro at the end of the marking conference not too many years ago. I find online marking fine but a full exam ie paper 1, paper 2 and the aural section is taking me 20 minutes more or less which is the same as the time it took me to mark with a red biro. I don't miss the queuing in the post office or having the sofa taken up with exam papers for the month of July. However I am finding it very very intense, not difficult just intense. I think this will be my last year at it. 33 Julys taken up with marking is enough.

Random sample

Old advance was €500 the first year and €1200 after that, and not taxed, so the end pay didn’t seem as good.

am_zarathustra

The advance really makes no odds to me now but I remember that 1200 being really important when I wasn't being paid for the summer. Just seems random to change a system which was of benefit to the most vulnerable correctors financially.

The online is different alright, I don't miss the random trips and paper cuts but it's hard to concentrate on a screen for so long........and when I have a long question in the wrong field there may be some swearing

happyoutscan

Any pro's and con's about the online corrections?

I corrected JC for the first time this year and really enjoyed having the physical scripts. I love my PC but just wondering how it would be doing JC History online? Or Senior History?

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119369788#Comment_119369788

Pros for me are not having my house taken over with scripts, not having to count them, order them, pull out a sample. Not having to go the post office. Immediate feedback on scripts from advisor, advisor being able to pull a script up on their computer when I have a question, rather than having to read it out. No marking sheets, tots, scrud60s.

Cons, having to stop after the random sample and each 50, and wait to get clearance to continue again. It can mean random days off when I don’t need them, and then pressure on a weekend, when I’d rather not work. Not knowing how many scripts I will have to do.

Benefits outweigh the drawbacks for me.

happyoutscan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119369899#Comment_119369899

Thank you for that, some great info! Taking your post into account, it would be a no for me so if the JC History goes online. I like to have a bit of control over my schedule and having to wait after every 50 just takes away from being able to fit some 'life' into the schedule.