You have to slog for 2-5 years as a confirmed KP before you get GEO5 -> SEO1. If you are appointed while geo4, be prepared to feel insanely underpaid for even more years. Especially when you become the RO of job holders who draw higher salary than you. It's the ultimate "youth tax".

It does sound like a very fine line between geo5 (cap pay) n seo1 and it depends on what one wants I guess

You will really only notice a substantial difference in salary compared to same age/same YOE non-KP peers when you hit VP or DD level. Before that, the gap is pretty much only enough for two or three extra tanks of petrol every month. Yeah it's still several hundred bucks but the amount of extra slogging and firefighting you do daily as a seo1/seo2 is worth more than that.

If you are a HOT, your progression is not bad. If you are earmarked for KP roles or are already a KP, your geo5 is quite slow.

How about geo3 to geo5 in 5 years but stuck at geo5 for next 7 years… what would U think of someone like that?

Hi all, wondering about the iexam declaration procedure

I just have to write down the student name right and seab will take note of this ie not causing me to have a conflict of interest?

Geo5 is already max what. Stuck for 7 years means you got your geo1a1 to geo1a3 before 2015. The normal promotion pace back then was faster.

Not sure why so many ppl see any issue with this situation. Assuming no KP/ST position… that just means the officer was fairly high-performing and was promoted to the ceiling quite quickly. Presumably the officer has little interest in further progression (otherwise, he/she might want to consider more actively seeking appointment somewhere).

If just aiming to remain a HOT, I'd be happy to max my ceiling ASAP and think about how to grow (e.g. invest) the salary I'm getting…

What is HOT

It refers to boomer GEOs who have hit their salary ceiling, hence they are able to just fulfill the standard roles of T&L (whether it is of quality or not is another story) and other minor roles in school. Without any possible increment, most will not be inclined to do more.

This enables them to tai ji all new and major responsibilities to the lower grades, who are more referred to as SOT (the S simply being the opposite of H), a term recently coined in the discussions here. This persuasion gives SOTs hope for promotion or progression, which may or may not materialise.

Ironically, this phenomenon has resulted in more and more HOTs staying put in the system and the lower grade SOTs leaving the system completely i.e. resigning - a continuous vicious cycle everywhere right now. But upon leaving, most SOTs revert from S to H again. Many of my friends belong to the latter, and I am genuinely happy for them :)