Job Discussion Forums

[southerngirl]

Hello All

And thanks again for responses to my earlier question. What I am wondering now is how great a role does a teachers age play in getting hired for a PNET/SNET job in Hong Kong.

Korea - where I am currently - is notorious for age discrimination in many instances. Though many employers are starting to realize older teachers, especially if they have a professional work history in their home country, are often more dependable and presentable than the recent college graduates who've never been away from home before

Yet as I have always taken care of myself and have been athletic my whole life, I am taken to be 10 years younger than my age of 46 and I MYSELF have never had problems finding well paying job in Korea

Upon completion of my teachers certificate, I will be 48. Might this be a problem in Hong Kong?

Thanks again, one and all!

Leigh

[Marcoregano]

First off SG, congrats on being 46 - what a great age to be! Yes, Korea is very ageist but HK isn't. Many NETS are well into their 50s and I know of two ex NETS who are over 60 and despite being too old to continue with the NET prog have managed to find new contracts, albeit without some of the NET perks. The standard age for teacher retirement in HK is 60, but quite a few locals also soldier on for a few years.

[Horizontal Hero]

You won't have a problem with age discrimination in Hong Kong. But you will have to begin at the bottom of the pay scale - as only post- qual experince counts - so you'd be on about HK$30 000 or so, or maybe a little more with recent pay increases.

[Marcoregano]

[Serious_Fun]

only post-cert/post-qual/post-credential

[Marcoregano]

Well, rules are rules I guess, but as someone once said, the law is an ass. IMO, any teaching experience should be given some salary recognition. Even if it's pre-certification, the teacher is still learning the tricks of the trade, which add value to that person's teaching ability.

[Serious_Fun]

[Horizontal Hero]

As SF pointed out, only post-teaching cert experience counts. It's a bummer I know. I have an English teaching Dip ed, and so for working for the British Council, they would count none of my seven years of ESL teaching (including head teacher and Director of Studies experience) until I did the ESOL qual - and I'd have to wait 2 years after that qual was gained before they's hire me!

And you will not keep going up the pay scale every year if you don't have the teaching qual. You will be capped at a low point on the scale. I'm not sure what that is, though - but it's pretty low relative to the top of the scale).

[hkteach]

Yes, that's correct.
When I came here I was told I wouldn't be placed on top of salary scele, despite enough years'experience to put me there.
Phoebe Mok explained that EDB would count my years of experience post degree and not count all the years I'd had in before that i.e. with just teaching diploma.

I thought that I was being disadvantaged but she explained that if I got credited with all those years, I'd be placed as high as possible but that would be much lower than top of scale and I'd stay on that level indefinitely.
If they disregarded the pre-degree experience and only counted the post-degree years, I'd be placed higher when I started and hit top of scale a year or so later.
That's what happened.
I got my increment within the first year, but unfortunately have stayed there ever since (once you hit the top there's no further payrise possible,unlike back home where you'd be able to go higher with promotion) That's one of the disadvantages of being a NET - you can be here ten years and, apart from the retention incentive bonus and periodic government payrises to all teachers and civil servants, your salary remains the same. The special allowance (housing) may go up but that's a very protracted process.

Just for the record... in the years that Iv� been here my pay has risen by about 6000 HKD a month due to RI and general payrises but bad exchange rates mean I'm actually a lot worse off now than I was when I first came here.

[Marcoregano]

[hkteach]

Maybe true for some, depending on which country you're from, tax rates there and COL etc.
If I were in my own country right now I'd be earning the same as I earn here and after a couple of years, I'd earn much more.
The reason being that you can be on top of scale here when you're about 40 and then you hit the ceiling, whereas in your own country you can get promotion to a senior role - something that NETs can't get.

Many older NETs here have retired early from their jobs back home and their NET salary is for topping up their retirement savings, so perhaps they don't mind either.
But for those who aren't in that position and need to work for awhile longer, HK means they''re standing still or even going backwards so home starts to look a better proposition.

[Marcoregano]

[hkteach]

Again you make some very good points marksy, not to mention the questions you ask.

As for teachers who are here after retiring from teaching in their home countries, I think they've got every right to be here if that's what they choose to do. After all, many of them don't want to actually retire just yet - some want a cultural experience or to experience a different educational system, some are sick and tired of teaching where paperwork is their main duty and with kids who don't want to learn. Others just want the opportunity to have a bit of adventrure and let's face it, Hong Kong does seem a fab place to those who've only ever been here on holidays.
These are the reasons that other NETs have given during discussions on this subject.
There are in fact several PNETs who've been principals in their home country and their retirement stash should be pretty good but they're here for reasons above.
Apart from all those people, there are many who are here just for the money (or few teacher vacancies in their home country).

But seeing there's a shortage of NETs, EDB will continue to hire a variety of ages, nationalities and experiences so these older people will continue to form a significant group of NETs.

As for me, I was already in a promoted position back home ( quite a bit higher than department head) and if I went back there I'd be hired pretty quickly as I teach a subject with a big shortage of qualified/experienced teachers and I don't expect it would take too long for my salary to exceed my NET package.
But now, the thought of classroom teaching back home is NOT on my agenda - I'd only be interested in something that gave me some job satisfaction, which I have not had much of as a NET.

I've worked in other jobs besides teaching but teaching qualifications open many doors so I decided to teach overseas in order to have new experiences - never did the working holiday thing when younger, never lived in another culture etc. I just made different choices but then the chance to do that beckoned strongly.

Now that time has come to move on and after this holiday, I'll be pursuing other opportunities.

[Serious_Fun]

[hkteach]

Actually,the highest pay point on the scale is 29 for PNETs. That's what I've been on for the past four years and so have several friends. Despite recent adjustments, they didn't raise the ceiling.


SNETs can progress higher up the scale (just like local secondary teachers can progress higher than local primary teachers). I think they can go to some point in the 30s.

That pay scale also applies to other non-teaching jobs I think so perhaps it's reserved for civil servants.

Interestingly, when my bursar was checking my salary on the school pay list, I just happened to notice my principal's salary - her salary was lower than mine (also the case in my last school) so for the big responsiblity of running a primary school of over 1000 students, the principals aren't on such a great salary (could this be the reason why so many of them are so hard on their NET/s?????