Everything I really needed to know, I learned in sniper school

[livewareissue]

Ok, who thinks I should become a teacher?

(Seriously.)

EDIT: Initially I was looking for a knee jerk reaction to this from people who actually know me and so far it's been pretty ok - no one has screamed "No! Don't DO IT!!!" so I'm happy with that.

However, people actually want to talk about this with me (yay!) so I'm going to post some background.

My personal philosophy when it comes to work is that a job is something you do for money. A calling is something you do because it's your life / it defines you / you HAVE to do it / you feel someone has to and there's nobody else volunteering. As I don't have a calling, I'm not very obsessed with having a career or a career path.

EE is much more career oriented than I am and keeps asking me the following questions:

1. Doesn't every one need a career path in order to get promoted and make more money over time?
   (This is probably his most valid argument for having a career, if I want to earn more money than I do now)
   
2. Don't I get bored doing administration?
   (no :P )
   
3. Doesn't it feel weird having a degree and doing administration?
   (In Singapore there's a definite status divide between those who have degrees and those who don't. Administration posts tend to be held by people without degrees, having a degree creates some expectation that a professional career will follow. I get constant prodding that I am 'wasting' my degree in my current job.)
   
4. Isn't it weird that I make less money than him?
   (I pointed out that as long as he works in the finance industry I will never make as much money as him unless I work in finance too.)
   

Lastly, people keep recommending that I take up teaching, it seems to be a kind of career path for the degreed and undecided in Singapore. So, I thought I'd consider it.

Pros:

• The Singaporean teaching degree is recognised by the WA College of Teaching.
• Australian teachers make decent money, first year teachers make $51,331 AUD and, since  experienced teachers are paid according to their years of experience, by the time I return to Perth I should be paid around $63,950 AUS. Not bad.
• I'd get school holidays off.

Cons:

• I have to do a Post Graduate Diploma of Education - a year of uni basically.
• Singapore doesn't allow people to pay for their teaching degrees, they're centrally taught at the National Institute of Education (NIE) and all teachers are bonded for 3 years minimum. This might not be so bad since EE is also bonded and it doesn't extend our time in Singapore at all.
• Teachers in Singapore aren't paid very much, somewhere between $2600 and $2900 SGD a month (between $31, 200 and $34, 800 SGD a year)
• Singapore school holidays don't coincide with Swancon, I'd be missing that every year until I return to Perth permanently.
• I'd have to deal with the Singapore government bureaucracy and then the Australian government bureaucracy. The Australian side will probably be much better than the Singaporean side (I think)
• In Singapore I would be teaching English and English Literature. I might look into teaching Politics and Law when I go back to Perth :P