SINGAPORE: Leaving the Ministry of Education (MOE) can feel like stepping off a ladder to success — the rhythm of the school year, the steady pay, and the iron-clad “rice bowl” security suddenly replaced with a much less predictable track, but as a recent r/askSingapore thread shows, many ex-public school teachers have found new careers that enable them to use their skills in very different ways.
One reply summed up the most common pivot — private tuition, “Many went to become tutor or open their own tuition centres, an industry that never dies.”
This pathway makes sense, wherein tuition offers autonomy, flexible hours, and income potential directly tied to effort, with less work spilling over into personal lives, and for those sceptical about artificial intelligence (AI) replacing certain aspects of teaching jobs, one tutor explained, “Teaching isn’t just transferring knowledge but about empathy, flexibility and adaptability. Students need encouragement when they lose patience with themselves. Can AI recognise that moment? I doubt it.”
Another popular move is to international schools, where ex-MOE teachers often enjoy higher salaries, more generous holidays, and lighter administrative loads, but it’s not without challenges. One commenter who made the switch said that “The culture shock was on another level at first. I feel MOE has better job stability though!”
One educator who made the move traded lesson plans and parent-teacher meetings for marketing strategies and client pitches, founding a company that they said has now been running successfully for over a decade.
In teaching, the workload is often shared across departments and administrative structures. In start-ups, the stakes can feel much bigger with more stakeholders to deliver to and far greater accountability for outcomes.
Perhaps the hardest adjustment for many was personal rather than professional.
“I had to deal with the adverse reactions from my parents and elder relatives that I no longer have an iron-clad rice bowl,” one shared.
In Singapore’s relatively risk-averse culture, leaving the security of a government job can be seen as reckless.
Often, the shift means trading job security for freedom and a predictable career ladder for the uncertainty and potential rewards of self-employment or private sector work. For some, leaving the public sector is a way to reclaim work-life balance, and for others, it’s a natural leap to develop a new identity.
