Mid-Career Teachers: More switch jobs to teaching
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Singapore Features
Latest Home News
By Leonard Lim, 21 Nov 2011
They are forming a growing proportion of the classroom
brigade, and staying longer than those who plumped for
teaching as a first career.
Mid-career recruits - defined as those with at least a
year’s working experience before they became educators
- now make up a quarter of the approximately 31,000
teachers.
The corresponding figures were 15 per cent and 22 per
cent in 2002 and 2007 respectively, according to data
from the Ministry of Education.
They also tend to stay in the job longer. About 90 per
cent remain after three years, compared to around 85
per cent for fresh graduate recruits.
Commenting on the trend, a ministry spokesman said
mid-career teachers, having worked in other jobs, are
usually more certain of their career choices. And some of
them also perform well and rise up fast, some principals
noted, because they are able to draw on their richer
work and life experiences when they teach.
Said Riverside Secondary School principal, Mrs Sng Siew
Hong, 49: ‘Being older, they have been exposed, and are
also aware of expectations like productivity when working
for an organisation.
‘They tend to rise up quite fast to leadership positions.’
When Mrs Sng, a ‘pure-bred’ teacher, assumed the top
post at the school in 2007, two out of 14 in her
leadership team - comprising heads of department,
subject heads and vice-principals - were mid-career
types.
Today, seven are mid-career teachers.
The top five sectors mid-career teachers come from are:
the civil service, tertiary and private educational
institutions, finance and insurance, information and
communications, and manufacturing.
Some are also high-flying bankers, military officers and
accountants.
Most take substantial pay cuts.
Madam Sandra Ho, 49, a former director in Seagate
Technology International, took an 80 per cent pay cut
when she joined Zhangde Primary School in 2005.
Trainee teacher Tan Mian Ou, who worked as a combat
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Trainee teacher Tan Mian Ou, who worked as a combat
engineers officer in the army for 10 years, had his pay
slashed by half to $2,900 when he made the career
switch. ‘It was painful, but I went in with my eyes wide
open,’ said the 30-year-old.
With the ministry set to grow its teaching force to
33,000 by 2015, the number of mid-career teachers is
likely to increase.
A recent half-page advertisement put up by the
Education Ministry was targeted specifically at mid-career
types. It reads: ‘Every day, you wake up and ask
yourself if you’re making a difference at work. There’s
one way to be sure. Wake up and go to school instead.’
To help mid-career teachers catch up with their peers
who chose teaching as their first job, it was announced
in 2007 that they would enjoy faster promotions and
extra salary increments.
New mid-career recruits who were graduates and had at
least three years’ working experience could also start
one rung up in the teaching scale after they finished their
training. This meant a few hundred dollars more each
month in starting pay.
Many making it to senior positions
Also, up to 80 per cent of their non-teaching work
experience would be taken into account when computing
their starting pay, up from 50 per cent previously. Mid-
career teachers are also making it to the highest
echelons. Of the 22 newly-appointed principals that were
announced last month, two are mid-career educators.
Many mid-career teachers interviewed said they took the
leap because they believe they can make a difference in
students’ lives. The improved package did not figure as a
big factor, though it was a draw.
Mr David Chong, a former assistant director in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he wanted to be a bridge
between the theoretical world of education and the real
working world.
‘So far, interaction with students has been a great
experience. While tiring at times, it has been satisfying,’
said the 35-year-old economics lecturer at Hwa Chong
Institution.
Still, there are transition issues to face - top of which is
getting re-acquainted with the subject content. They
also have to adjust the way they speak and interact with
those around them. Mr Chong said: ‘There is a distinct
difference in working with adults, and with students.’
Many also have to adjust their lifestyles, because of the
drop in salary.
Those interviewed proclaim they have largely no regrets.
Bedok Green Primary’s Madam Norashinah Mohamed
Yusope, 38, who was previously working in a statutory
board, laments that her weekends are now spent
marking instead of relaxing since she took up teaching
13 years ago.
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13 years ago.
She was, however, quick to add: ‘But I know I’ve made
the right choice.’
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings
Limited. Reprinted with permission.