Career Switch To Be A Teacher

[Lost in Direction]

Hi, i have an intention to switch career from a senior manager equivalent position in the semiconductor industry to a teacher, preferably in the post-secondary or secondary schools. I am a PhD degree holder from the school of EEE, NTU, and have 14+ years of working experience in the semiconductor industry.

Before i make the final decision of this career switch, i have below list of questions. Can any seniors from the education sector help to share your valuable thoughts? Thank you in advance!!

Q1. Is it possible or common for such career switch? I mean for applicants like me without any teaching experience?

Q2. What is the procedure to be officially qualified for a teacher if there is an offer from some school? From this forum, i understand that the candidate needs to start with a teaching stint (1 yr) followed by the NIE training (16 mth) to obtain the PGDE. Is this procedure applicable to all candidates, regardless of qualifications?

Q3. What is the workload? From this forum, i see a lot of negative descriptions which are quite scary. I would like to understand some quantitative information such as 1) total number of working hours per week, 2) time allocation percentage between teaching and administrative / miscellaneous.

Q4. What is the remuneration? I would like to understand the monthly basic salary (estimated range) based on my qualifications mentioned above. How many month will be paid per year? Is there any other type of bonus or allowance?

With 14+ years of experience in the semiconductor industry, why not be a lecturer at poly? This could help those students understand better about the semiconductor industry.

[Lost in Direction]

Thanks for the suggestion.

My understanding is that teacher is lecturer, and poly is one kind of post-secondary. Is this understanding correct? If not, then I need to re-define the scope.

hi im a teacher at poly, teaching business course. it sucks, lots of overtime, pay is ****. 4k after 4 years.. i have a degree in marketing.

the students are cute, only reason i stay is for them. sometimes the student offer u something for better grades

[Lost in Direction]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi im a teacher at poly, teaching business course. it sucks, lots of overtime, pay is ****. 4k after 4 years.. i have a degree in marketing.

the students are cute, only reason i stay is for them. sometimes the student offer u something for better grades

Thanks for your sharing - interesting.

Did you hear any successful case like me - switch career from industry to poly without any teaching experience? What is the standard procedure to become a lecturer officially?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi im a teacher at poly, teaching business course. it sucks, lots of overtime, pay is ****. 4k after 4 years.. i have a degree in marketing.

the students are cute, only reason i stay is for them. sometimes the student offer u something for better grades

i hope its food hehehe

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi im a teacher at poly, teaching business course. it sucks, lots of overtime, pay is ****. 4k after 4 years.. i have a degree in marketing.

the students are cute, only reason i stay is for them. sometimes the student offer u something for better grades

lecturer in poly pay that bad? 4k after 4 years. I always assume they earn from 5-6k

I just grad from uni with electrical engineering degree and i am unsure of what industry to pursue. I was thinking of going to semiconductor industry. do you recommend that industry? also do you have any other experience of other field that you can recommend me? Many has recommend to me to go for IT sector as it pays well but my programming isnt that good. If during interview i kena test, die lo. Maybe can do basic nia. otherwise gone case.

[Lost in Direction]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I just grad from uni with electrical engineering degree and i am unsure of what industry to pursue. I was thinking of going to semiconductor industry. do you recommend that industry? also do you have any other experience of other field that you can recommend me? Many has recommend to me to go for IT sector as it pays well but my programming isnt that good. If during interview i kena test, die lo. Maybe can do basic nia. otherwise gone case.

Congratulations on your graduation from University. It marks the ending of some theoretical study and the beginning of a new journey for some ptactical study.

It is quite common for fresh graduates that they feel nervous before their first job because 1) they are not sure whether they are sufficiently qualified for certain industry and 2) they have no feeling about how is the life in that industry.

For 1), it is not what you have learned from the University, but how fast can you learn from the industry that will determine how successful you will be. Nobody is sufficiently prepared from University study such that he can immediately perform well in the industry without the need for further training or continuous learning. Many employers will indicate their job openings with "fresh graduates welcome to apply". This means their expectation will not be high. So, just proceed to apply if you are interested with that position.

For 2), I do not have working experience in any industry other than semiconductor manufacturing. This industry is challenging with fun. There will be different issues almost everyday, big or small, to be solved by engineers, and sometimes urgently. But, not every issue has a solution, or the solution is not satisfactory, or it takes long time to solve. That is the time you will feel frustrating. But when the issue is finally solved, you will be recognized by the managers and you can enjoy the fulfillment. If you are good at or interested in problem solving, massive data analysis, logic reasoning, inter-personal communication and collaboration, and do not mind living in a fast-paced environment, then you may consider to join this industry.

Since you are fresh graduate, just go ahead to start your very first job. If you feel it is not suitable later, you still have time to try other industry. So, no need to think about too much and over-worry unnecessarily.

Originally Posted by Lost in Direction

Congratulations on your graduation from University. It marks the ending of some theoretical study and the beginning of a new journey for some ptactical study.

It is quite common for fresh graduates that they feel nervous before their first job because 1) they are not sure whether they are sufficiently qualified for certain industry and 2) they have no feeling about how is the life in that industry.

For 1), it is not what you have learned from the University, but how fast can you learn from the industry that will determine how successful you will be. Nobody is sufficiently prepared from University study such that he can immediately perform well in the industry without the need for further training or continuous learning. Many employers will indicate their job openings with "fresh graduates welcome to apply". This means their expectation will not be high. So, just proceed to apply if you are interested with that position.

For 2), I do not have working experience in any industry other than semiconductor manufacturing. This industry is challenging with fun. There will be different issues almost everyday, big or small, to be solved by engineers, and sometimes urgently. But, not every issue has a solution, or the solution is not satisfactory, or it takes long time to solve. That is the time you will feel frustrating. But when the issue is finally solved, you will be recognized by the managers and you can enjoy the fulfillment. If you are good at or interested in problem solving, massive data analysis, logic reasoning, inter-personal communication and collaboration, and do not mind living in a fast-paced environment, then you may consider to join this industry.

Since you are fresh graduate, just go ahead to start your very first job. If you feel it is not suitable later, you still have time to try other industry. So, no need to think about too much and over-worry unnecessarily.

can you recommend some semiconductor companies?