I teach in
ITE for close to 3 years.
i've wanted to teach ever since i'm in the uni becos i'm an idealist and feel that i can make a difference to the lives of others, for the better of course.
anyway, after 7 years in my field in the industry, I decided to try to apply for a lecturing position in
ITE. my decision to leave the industry is simple, i'm chasing an earlier dream of mine, coupled with the fact that I wanted a work-life balance.
after going through 5 rounds of informal and formal interviews, I was finally offered the contract. however, i've to accept a significant pay cut to the tune of S$800/. this simply meant that I must re-organise my lifestyle and adapt accordingly.
i accepted the offer and was sent on course to learn how to be a more effective lecturer. I was worried that the students might come to school with bicycle chains and the likes, simply looking for trouble but was reassured that the students are very much mellowed and different.
ITE today is no longer the
ITE of yesteryears. the students are more studious and are generally very well behaved. in my close to 3 years, i've not witnessed any gang related activities, fights and even outright discipline issues with students. i've never seen nor heard of any incident whereby a student is rude to his/her teacher. there might be but i've not seen.
from my own point of view, i realised that there is no greater job satisfaction than having your past students visit you, thank you for your help and finding out that they are doing well in their present workplace/school.
if you are thinking of earning big $$, then teaching is definitely not the one for you. the bonuses and such are alrite, nothing fantastic. i'm nowhere nearer to my previous pay after close to 3 years but i'm VERY happy to be able to teach, guide and even inspire some of my students.
best of all, the discussion among lecturers is always about how best to help certain student, how best to deliver lessons etc. as compared to my past experiences in the industry where we only talk about how much $$ we can earn, how much to charge and even office politics. not saying that there isn't office politics but it is way lesser.
if your aim is to help, nurture and care for the younger generation, then maybe teaching might be your cup of tea.
i look forward to school every day. can't say the same in my old line.
if anyone of you need further clarifications on teaching life in
ITE, feel free to ask in this forum. i will reply when I read it.