Got email
 

I have gotten an email saying I'm shortlisted, and will call me to tell me about the interview later.

Congras ! :) is this your to-be-first job?

Hi Guys,

I'll be moving to Singapore in September with my girlfriend who's a teacher. She teaches English, has a degree in Psychology & a PGCE in English Teaching. She also has 2 years teaching experience, one of which at an International School in London and the remainder in London.

I notice that a lot of teaching jobs online require that if someone is coming from abroad, they need to be a 'native' English speaker to teach English - ie from US,UK,Ireland etc. Whilst she speaks fluent English and has lived in the US, Canada & UK for over 10 years, she has a Norwegian passport. Does this mean no schools, international or MOE, will look at her? Also, would she be able to get a visa?

Thanks!

388
 

as long as she has a English-medium degree, most international schools should have no problem. For MOE, it is highly possible that she will be required to take an English test if she is selected. u can check it out at moe website under career or something.

anyone also waiting for MOE interview invitation?

Hi Guys,

I am currently in the Civil Service but I would like to make a transition into teaching Secondary.

I have terrible poly grades (2.0 GPA graduating) so I'm at a dilemma. (Yes I know its terrible)

Should I take a chance and apply for the BA / BSC Degree at NTU/NIE than go into PDGE or is that highly unlikely? Not sure whether they will admit me into the course with my GPA.

I also have a choice of studying overseas in the UK; so if the first choice is not viable, is this a better option? (Overseas degree than apply PDGE in NIE)
I am confident I can do alot better than my poly days and I'll be shooting for FCH for whatever degree i'll be taking. If this is the better option, does anyone have any degree choices to recommend so I can have a better shot at the NIE interview into PDGE? I would want to teach Science or Literature.

Thank you for the advice!

How old are you? Also what is the level of job you are doing in civil service now? Considering your poor academic grades, chances are not high through the NIE route unless you are not too old and have a good career progression track record in CS.

As for studying overseas in UK, I wouldn't advise that route unless your family is very rich and everything is paid by your parents for free. The cost in money & time is way too high to justify a career as a primary/secondary school teacher. You just end up depleting all your savings and spending the next 10 years paying off your study loan.

I'm 23 male finished with NS. School lab technician TSO. The money is decent but I feel like I want to teach because I want to be challenged and I know I can step up my game when it comes to Singapore's youths.

Thanks for your advice but considering I really wanna teach, do you think getting overseas degree than getting into PDGE is the better choice?

If you wanna teach in Singapore, a PGDE is a very powerful compared to overseas degree.. Unless you study all the way till PhD and teach in a university.. you can look at many teaching jobs nowadays, they want NIE Trained/MOE Trained/PGDE.. cannot escape one.. I was once like you, wanted to be a teacher.. was a relief teacher and always get challenged by students regarding Mathematics questions and I find it very interesting to be one.. but sadly I can't get into MOE.. applied 13 times already.. seek MP help to appeal.. up to now nothing.. moreover I graduated with BSc (Hons) Mathematics from a local uni oso cant get in..

I see, thanks for the info. Honestly I would recommend you try to take up some teaching/tuition assignments in private education companies as a hobby/sideline if you really feel passionate about teaching.

Reason I say this based on my experience, the teacher route through MOE for you is just not practical for you:

1) NIE/PGDE - Ideal route, but with a seriously deficient diploma result and a lackluster career experience as, chances of you getting is close to 0. After all, teacher is one of those rare jobs where good academics is very important. Sometimes exceptions can be made if the candidate has demonstrated rich working experience, but this is certainly not the case for you with just a couple of years as a lab tech.

2) Study in UK - Seriously not a good idea. In order for you to be competitive with the local u grads, you will need to either grab a degree from a prestigious u (which prob u can't get in anyway) or go for higher level studies up to Masters or PHD.

If you think about the economics it just doesn't make sense. Going UK to study is gonna cost you at least S$70k a year all-in. 4-5 years there can easily cost you $300k+, you come back even if you get a typical GEO job, the pay inclusive of everything is only $50k+ p.a. Even if you save 100% of salary and dont eat dont drink also need 6 years to recoup the study expenses.

No logic in this deal at all. Look at it from your age also. You now 23, after study maybe 27/28, after paying off student loan already mid 30s. Essentially you end up with zero savings/net worth in your mid 30s and armed with only a junior teacher CV. Very bad idea.