How I join from a corporate job to become a teacher and I loved it.

I was in corporate for 3 years before going into primary school teaching.

As I was a fresh grad whose starting work was not related to the field I studied, the pay was below average. Hence, the jump to pri teaching (PGDE) was a pay increase.

Progression feels alright so far. I’ve been getting increments yearly and was just given a (standard) promotion after my 3rd year.

Pay is definitely comfortable. On top of your monthly salary, you have performance, mid year, end year and 13th month bonus. Teachers also have something called the CONNECT plan which was topped up last year.

If you have a keen interest in teaching and are comfortable with event planning, managing large groups of students, conversing with different stakeholders, going for professional development to improve your teaching skills, dong admin work like procurement, budgets and subject planning, do try it out! That said, do note that it is very different being a pri, sec and jc teacher because of the age groups.

It definitely is a meaningful career but at the same time, it can drain you physically and mentally. However, it is also your responsibility to manage your stress and workload in a healthy manner. This goes the same for all jobs.

If you have the interest, I would suggest to apply for contract teaching. You can always reject going into NIE if you feel teaching is not suitable for you :)