Career as Teacher

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It really depends on the school. There are over 200 pri and sec schs as well as JCs, and each sch has its discretion in setting the official time for teachers to leave the workplace. In my previous school, teachers can only leave after 2.45pm on Mon, Tues & Thurs; 3.45pm on Wed; and 12.30pm on Friday. Some schools are quite liberal - 2pm or even 1pm. In schools where the Principal or management breathes down the necks of teachers, it's probably 4pm or 5pm for everybody. I'm glad that in my current school, the management trusts us, so our official departure time is quite good.

Yup it's possible to moonlight. I'm currently giving tuition to 4 students. In August alone I brought back $2000 in cash, so I save up my salary in full. (I live with my parents and I'm planning to get married soon). Tuition is indeed lucrative, and I rather use spare time helping other students as well as earning extra cash, than to plan sch activities or other time-consuming stuff. As long as you fulfill your minimum duties e.g. taking care of form class, planning lessons, marking etc, no one can fault you in sch.

How is it possible that you can moonlight and teach 4 students? There are teachers who say that they have to bring work home to mark till 12midnight. Is it an issue with time management?

Also, are those projects and event planning done on a voluntary basis or an assignmed basis - by the higher ups.

lastly, as a normal teacher (fulfilling the minimum duties), will progression up to GEO 5 and bonuses be much slower.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

HOD may still be possible. To reach the rank of VP and beyond, it is rather impossible for normal teachers (there are exceptions of course). These positions are mainly reserved for the overseas scholars, who are groomed to take those positions.

No lah, VP and even Principal are just middle or mid-high management. There are many examples of non-overseas scholars reaching Principal or even higher. Overseas scholars are groomed to take up senior level positions in MOE like PS/DS/AS/DG etc. An overseas scholar plateauing at VP would be considered a career disaster.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

No lah, VP and even Principal are just middle or mid-high management. There are many examples of non-overseas scholars reaching Principal or even higher. Overseas scholars are groomed to take up senior level positions in MOE like PS/DS/AS/DG etc. An overseas scholar plateauing at VP would be considered a career disaster.

Any idea how much a principal earns? $16,000 pm? Also is there a difference in the pay of principals of primary school vs secondary school vs JCs?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Any idea how much a principal earns? $16,000 pm? Also is there a difference in the pay of principals of primary school vs secondary school vs JCs?

Principal scales are quite wide, in terms of pay they stretch through the equivalent range of MX8/9/10 in the civil service depending on the complexity and type of school they are heading. While a normal non-scholar will definitely need to be an identified high performer to reach principal, it is by no means reserved only for scholars.

In fact most scholars will not even go through a stint as a school principal as they advance to senior levels within various ministries including MOE. For e.g. the 2 top civil servant PS in MOE now were not even teaching before and were simply rotating within many portfolios in multiple ministries and SAF.

Overseas scholars like SAFOS or those in AO scheme or equivalent have entirely different career tracks, cannot use basic "farmer" sort of linear concept like Teacher -> SH/LH -> HOD -> VP -> Principal to evaluate.

Hi, does anyone know what is the likely starting payscale for a male with FCH.
Many thanks in advance.

So why is there a shortage of PE teachers? Isn't it quite a fun role with little stress?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

No marking no need set papers no homework, no classroom management issues cos rowdy students all enjoy PE lessons. No parents to question over results and teaching. No consultations.

The most challenging is to organize sports day. But just repeat past year proposals can already.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

How is it possible that you can moonlight and teach 4 students? There are teachers who say that they have to bring work home to mark till 12midnight. Is it an issue with time management?

Also, are those projects and event planning done on a voluntary basis or an assignmed basis - by the higher ups.

lastly, as a normal teacher (fulfilling the minimum duties), will progression up to GEO 5 and bonuses be much slower.

Many teachers work inefficiently or do extra stuff...for me I just do things which fulfill my duty in a smart manner.

Heh event planning etc is actually kena arrowed. This is again to fulfill KPI. Most teachers, if don't do anything wrong, will eventually progress to GEO5 latest by their mid-40s.

Hi all, I would like to seek some advice here.

I've completed 2 years of teaching, but to be honest, I don't think I can stick to this career for long. Mainly because I don't feel comfortable dealing with some students' problems and their parents, ranging from theft to suicide to mental illness. Most of the time I feel like a social worker and/or a counsellor, rather than helping students to learn. Moreover, even though the age gap between my students and I isn't huge, I feel that there has been a generational shift - today's kids are more entitled, less patient, more distracted, and more bored easily. So I don't think I'm actually the right fit for this career.

I'm thinking of changing my career to something else. I know that there are many ex-teachers who left teaching not just for tuition, but jobs in both public and private sectors. I wonder if any of you can share your experiences about job-hunting and the transition? Thank you in advance!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Many teachers work inefficiently or do extra stuff...for me I just do things which fulfill my duty in a smart manner.

Heh event planning etc is actually kena arrowed. This is again to fulfill KPI. Most teachers, if don't do anything wrong, will eventually progress to GEO5 latest by their mid-40s.

So are new teachers (BT) usually the ones who will be arrowed to do the planning and other sai kang? If kena arrowed, no way to siam right?

To fulfill KPI? - Means that planning events are also part of KPI?

[lesmisrable]

35, female
graduated in 2007 , Dip Ed. salary: 1.6k
after promoted to GEO 2A1, till 2.13, my pay was 2.8k
pursue a part time degree and graduated in 2013
got emplaced into Geo 1.1 in 2014 , salary: 3.3k
promoted to 1A1 in 2015, salary: 3.9k
promoted to GEO 4 in 2016, salary: 4.5k
2017, remain as GEO 4, after increment, salary: 4.8k .... this is my 10th year in the service.

All salary stated are gross pay.

how? the story of non-grad.