I don't think it disadvantages you as far as qualifications go, but I do think it limits your understanding of the full nature of the job (as an MOE teacher).

If you're willing to provide an (throwaway?) email address on this (highly anonymous) forum 😂, I could probably help refer you to a colleague… EL teachers, even relief ones, are pretty highly in demand!

To the seniors and experienced people here...When declaring investments, which ones need to be declared specifically?

What's an unlisted business?

Does STI ETF count?

What about overseas ETFs? US? China?

Buying through brokers? Banks? Roboadvisors?

Think there's a document that details it. But pretty much everything you've listed doesn't need to be declared (publicly traded shares etc.)

Unlisted businesses would be like private businesses that are not listed on a stock exchange, e.g. if you have a stake in a family business.

You only need to declare any holdings in private companies. If you buy and own anything public listed, anything that is traded on stock markets, you don't need to declare those.

It's great you have a desire to teach, and that is a vital starting point for anyone considering teaching I think. But what most people looking at teaching from the other side of the school fence don't see is the enormous amount of responsibilities that come with it. On any given day, you may find yourself juggling any or all of the following tasks: discipline issues in your form class, CCA planning and execution, committee work (most teachers are in 2 committees), department duties (English teacher? Have fun planning/executing/ conducting oral exams), ad-hoc projects, setting and vetting of exam papers, marking marking marking marking marking, professional learning team projects (every department has one of these).. and other administrative duties.

And if you thought that was all, remember, you still need to plan and run highly engaging lessons for multiple classes on a daily basis for your students.. while paying attention to individual student needs and wellbeing :)

It is doable, but it won't be easy at all. But very rewarding work though.

I completely understand where you're coming from, it takes a certain level of empathy and putting oneself in the students' shoes to effectively guide them. I do think that the relief teaching scheme might be a good way for me to get a feel of how things are run in MOE schools; will definitely try that out once COVID lets up.

12-hour days do sound much better than whatever law has going for it, but it is a good consideration I'll keep in mind. The time-for-money clock starts ticking maybe three years into legal practice, but the legal market is so terrifyingly bad and the competition is extremely stiff, and I honestly see myself being eliminated too soon in the game, especially when my head/ passion is not entirely in it. Thank you again for all the pointers! Really helped me look at this alternative career path in a panoramic way.

Yes, I completely understand! There might be a barrier to understanding what students under the MOE system go through in their education.

Thank you so much for the offer! I'd definitely take you up on this. I created a throwaway email address: [email protected]. I'd really appreciate if you could refer me to a colleague so I can gain better understanding on a career as a teacher 😊 it's great to know EL teachers are in demand!

i got C grade and during review, my RO say she can push me for internal SH appointment (if im interested), so that can secure better ranking in the future. Is it worth to take it since internal appointments are "fake"?

Thank you for this insightful answer! Wow, I didn't know that teachers have such a heavy load on their shoulders, makes me respect mine even more 😊 A lot of work sounds administrative in nature, definitely something I expected to come with the job, and this list you provided does sound like a challenge to juggle. Oral exams were a nightmare not just for the students, but for the teachers too, huh? 🥴

This was a great picture you painted about the multi-faceted professional life of a teacher. I definitely realise it isn't a bed of roses, and that the role of an educator comes with a set of many struggles, too.

There is one thing I am curious about, though. Does promotion to HOD or higher-level positions stem from a teacher's ability to balance many fringe projects on his/ her plate? Since engagement and quality of teaching might be hard to directly quantify, I have this doubt about how one climbs up the career ladder in education.

Does Honour class play a part in CEP? Always had an impression it only affects starting pay.

Joined in 2015, 2nd lower but with NS, got GEO4 this year. Part of the school's internal COVID task force for HBL, social distancing etc since 2020. Also part of school NE committee. So I am involved when it comes to NDP concert, civil defence day, that sort of stuff.. Gotten C, B, B for the past 3 years.


My colleague, non scholar, female, but 1st class, joined in 2016, got GEO4 last year. She claimed she had B only once and it was not recent and gotten C- last year. In fact, she doesn't even have any committee assignments last year, so even she herself was surprised about the promotion.

Feeling about salty about it, considering I served NS. I am wondering if it's because of the difference in Honours that had an impact on her promotion time frame and CEP or she's just a lucky chap?

it's C+ not C-. typo

They dont say it, but i thought its kinda obvious honours play a part in CEP?

Principal mentioned before that honours does play a part

P has the biggest role to play, which makes the system so flawed. Some may look at honours and whether you're a scholar. Some may choose to focus on holistic performance, while others may value specific areas of work, or nitpick at one area and use it as a basis to determine CEP. Who knows?

How is internal appointment "fake"? One has to be internally appointed to know more about the role first. After spending about a year or two, then you can talk to your school about going for interview.

If you want to get a better PB grade, I'd say, just go for it. By accepting the role, you are already doing alot more compared to your peers of the same scale.

Not true. I have seen others getting directly appointed without any prior internal appointments.

Wah you think u done NS very big? Newsflash, you already started with a few hundred dollars more with your NS accounted for, now you still want NS to be a reason to accelerate your promotion?

Talk about being entitled.

And please, if by now you still dont know class of HONOURs plays a part in career progression by now and nothing you would ever do at work can accelerate your promotion, all i can say to you is you deserve to be lowballed for the rest of your life as a teacher. Too late to escape now lol.

I’m a former EL teacher. I would strongly encourage you to join another sector, other than law there are many other places which you could consider. Please think very carefully before making this jump. Teaching is more than the act of teaching itself. If you talk to young EL teachers, those who had done well in uni and had other better options and somehow chose to join teaching, if you are close enough to them, you may get a better understanding of the full picture - beyond the job role (ie dealing with non job factors that are much more crucial in career progression. I can’t say much, but just think about the typical mindset of a principal, that’s a good hint.

This is possible, but you will need to be prepared for it in some other way, for example being coached by a KP or SL. It's harder to clear the interview without having some firsthand experience working the role, because the interview will zoom in on your knowledge of the role profile and jobscope (some will call this "role clarity"), among other things.

Yes, I agree that one should not take up internal appointments. Just ask to be put up for interview if they think you are suitable. There’s a lot of additional work but as an internal appointment holder, you are not entitled to ‘reduced’ teaching workload and you do not get extra remuneration for holding the appointment. (If you are not SEO1).

Anyone has a rough idea of the expected progression for the annual salary package (base + bonus) for an MOE teacher over the years based on number of years of experience??

Thank you!

Generally depends on the School Leaders (esp. the P). If you've seen it done at your school, then yes you are getting a rawer deal.

But as someone shared earlier - if you're looking for a chance to prove yourself without changing school, this is probably it. If you last got C (not even C+), don't think it's realistic to expect immediate appointment. If you're willing to work harder for a chance to shine, go ahead! If not… well, plenty of people find happiness as HOTs, too!

I just saw this.. I think a SH or HOD would be able to give you a clearer answer of what promotion to the position entails, but based on my limited understanding, you would need to have demonstrated the necessary competencies and dispositions first before appointment to the role.

SH/HOD do teach, but their role is primarily managerial. Teaching well is a baseline expectation for all teachers. For heads, you'd also have to be able to drive department AND school-level policies, projects and processes to ensure alignment of programmes and results to the school's strategic thrusts. Also you need to be good at managing those who work under you, so good interpersonal skills are vital for heads. Teaching has very little to do directly with whether you would make a good SH/HOD, although good teaching does inform good practices and processes.

But dont take my word for it.. ask an actual head :)

Dun count your chickens before they are hatched. A scholar once asked how many years to be seo. Then ended up, the scholar kena stucked at geo 2 when the scholar left teaching after the 4 years bond was over.

Stuck at geo2? Sure bo? Anyhow also will get cohort promotion to geo3 leh.

Cohort promotion is valid only if your performance is at least default grade C.

I miss teaching badly
 

I enjoy working with the students and I miss teaching them badly

How s&&t do you have to be to manage to get a scholarship but not even be able to meet the minimum performance level to get a C grade at GEO2? I find it quite hard to believe.

Unless the scholar committed serious professional misconduct with students or with finance related stuff. Then I don't think they should be compared with below-avg performing teachers (but still good enough to meet the minimum requirements of the job).

Sometimes the problems don't come from the students but from the fellow colleagues. Former teachers I knew left the profession because of their schools.

Not all scholars are good. You find it hard to believe but there are really cases.. Serious misconduct would mean immediate suspension and dismissal from service already.

Spent 5 years teaching at Pathlight school before becoming a lecturer at SIM university. Felt really good connecting with my previous students :D

How are the career prospects like teaching at Pathlight and lecturing at SIM?

what can a teacher do after he/she leave the service?

im thinking of resigning end of the year. but realised that im stuck with no transferable skills or education background.

v depressing

How about considering open posting? New school, new environment. Or new role like student welfare officer etc?? HQ posting which has more regular hours?

Teach tuition.

Far, far better than the career prospects of the 'students' attending those schools. Although admittedly, that's not a very high bar to surpass.

Don't be rude la! HONOURS does NOT play a part in starting CEP. Yes, good honours gives a higher starting pay and more visibility by higher ups, but that's about it. Your CEP is determined by yourself unless you are a scholar.

The scholarship must at least be at MOE Education Scholar and above like PSC, else its not guaranteed. Seen MOE teaching scholarships and awards ended up cmi and left service.

I'm currently a SEO2 in HQ. I was formerly a HOD, applied for AD post in HQ. My appointment was redesignated as "senior assistant director" as was promoted during my stint in HQ. If I were to be posted back to school, will it be a VP or HOD appointment? I know there's an interview for VP candidates but I have not been called for any interview yet. Thanks!

For you to hit SEO 2, it means the potential is there. May I ask if you are in your late 30s or early 40s? I have 2 friends who were identified as VPs potential, they were invited for tea sessions, the one in the late 30s turned down the offer to be VP, the one in early 40s cleared the VP interview but at this moment, the vacancies for VPs are hard to come by with the merging of schools. As such the one who cleared the VP tea session interview was told to wait or be deployed to HQ. He is doing VP work in his school as VP3.