Career Switch To Be A Teacher

[Lost in Direction]

Thank you so much for taking your time to answer all my questions in details. 👍👍

Originally Posted by Teaching in MOE?

Back to your original query - based on your recent response, I agree that a poly might actually make better use of your qualifications. You can check out poly vacancies on their respective websites (think careers@gov would list as well) - it's a separate system from the main MOE teaching pool.

If you're really keen to consider teaching, then yes - there are PhD holders as well (though it's not common). You can apply as a mid-career entrant. The process is still pretty similar - a stint of contract teaching, followed by NIE (if found suitable) and then posting to school as a teacher.

Workload can be pretty tough. Other than the volume of it, there's the wide variety to deal with - one moment counselling a student, marking assignments the next, and also juggling administrative work (e.g. crafting a government-style Invitation to Quote). It's not that common for an officer to be proficient/enjoy all the wide variety of work.

As for remuneration - there's a standard payscale (can try searching on the other forum; it's been shared before). I don't know the specifics, but HR tends to offer mid-career applicants a relatively low starting pay, but with accelerated progression that allows applicants to (start) catching up with peers who'd started teaching earlier.

What I can add to the thread is that, your ' workload' will get severely diminished as you accumulate more teaching experience.

Say you teach 12 hours a week - for the first time you are teaching a course, it may take you 4-5 hours to prepare 1 hour of lecture content. That prep time might become 1 hour per 1 hour of content, and eventually 5 minutes as you have been teaching the same course for a few times already. Depending on the course, you may want to update the content or improve them as you get better as a lecturer.

Same thing with student consulting, admin, management tasks, and whatever you get to do. You will learn how to deal with them much more effectively. Thus, your work-life balance will improve.

There are quite a few mid-career switchers I know. So you aren't going to be that unique. I would go as far as saying that lecturers with substantial industry experience will have a great chance of landing the desired job and excel.

Fresh grad here unable to find jobs. I thought being a teacher might be better. What is the typical salary for SIM fresh grad?