It's getting harder and harder to get into teacjing through Path 1. If you really really confirm you want to do teaching, go for Path 2 for certainty. Path 1 has more flexibility and also if u love the subject.

This route, which I will term Path 3, may not work out for everyone either.

Some are unable to get used to the working style in civil service.

Some are unhappy to end up in a teaching level or to teach certain subjects not of their preference.

In the end they leave for somewhere else again after that.

Smart nephew smart uncle/aunt. ;)

Mid-career. With relevant working exp. Work in fields directly related to what you want to teach. Better yet, work in education-related areas. Then jump to MOE if you really want to be an MOE teacher. It's the best for advancement, if you have no scholarship.

100% agree. If not a scholar, DON'T go in as fresh grad PGDE applicant. You see all those hentak kaki at GEO3 until 8, 9, 10 years of service one. Short end of the stick.

I have to clarify this. Your nephew is probably already good and is deemed by the ministry to have better CEP, that's why the promotion is fast.

Mid-Career or not has nothing to do with faster promotion or higher salary. When you compare it directly to that 'friend'. It can be quite misleading. The 'friend' is probably average or below average in this case.

Mid-career when they come in, are usually equally pegged with current teachers based on highest qualifications and honours. Meaning, MOE looks at the median salary of similar teachers with similar YOE and peg the salary for that mid-career teacher. For example, someone with 6 YOE, and at median salary, will be used as data for MOE to look at someone who is from private sector (6 years) and entering teaching. So let's say at the 10th year, The teacher with 10 YOE, and mid career (4 YOE + 6 priv years), may differ because of the performance etc. But the starting salary that was at 6YOE, would have been similar.

I would say the advantage of mid-career aside from the private sector experience, is that if you have carved something out for yourself in the private sector within that few years, then it will be recognised duly.

But it's also the same for a teacher who goes into teaching directly. Albeit 'harder' to carve something out, it is still possible.

In the end, it will still boil down to performance once entering schools.

Those that are lamenting that they are not progressing fast enough, may also not do well in the private sector. Because it's not because they are limited by their chances. I would say more often than not, it's because of the person themselves just not able to reach the next level (so highly likely they won't do well outside either).

Actually your Y4 to Y6 if you were on partial or full NPL, it will affect your YOE when they decide your advancement and progression. So technically you should count yourself as 11 YOE especially if those 3 years you took the full years.

Nevertheless, you are on track for HOD already because to be covering, means that the school sees that you are a possible replacement and can send you for interviews. Even if it doesn't happen, when you apply for OPE, you can state that you are covering HOD so it also helps you in your next advancement.

i agree with this.. am a mid-career myself (came over from ASTAR), male

i consider myself average performer, maybe slightly above average. i still lose out in pay and advancement to some other more capable male teachers in my school that are in the similar subgrade as me.

4 years in and a bit jaded now.. but in ASTAR it was similar situation also. i guess the more capable ones will just stand out. that's life

I have some friends mid-career try to apply but rejected lol. And its the not bad performer kind. Quite hard to get in now. Even if they willing to take paycut

Safest is still go in directly

You say it like going in directly is so easy.

Acceptance rate is still really low through all possible paths.