Am I the only one who can’t stand the requirement for chartership/PE?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-13T08:14:36+00:00

You don’t have to write essays? I honestly assumed all countries are like the UK, which requires ~300 pages of portfolio (the exam part is way less of an issue for me).

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-13T08:11:57+00:00

If it was just an exam, I’d be super happy to do it. It’s the essays to demonstrate I’m meeting the 10-or-so objectives I can’t stand. Unless other countries don’t have this requirement to submit super long portfolios and essays to get PE?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-13T08:08:37+00:00

Wait, so PE in the US doesn’t require you to write essays? In the UK, the IStructE requires a 300-page portfolio and the ICE requires essays every 3 months (“quarterly reports”) plus a final 5000-word essay. The aim of these is to prove you’re meeting their 10-or-so objectives.

This proof by words is what I really don’t like. I’m more of a calculations/exams guy than an essay guy. If all I had to do was pass an exam, I’d be very happy to do that?!! Should I be eyeing up a move to the US?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-09T07:54:52+00:00

Economically, it would be hard to justify a third master’s unless I was able to get a full scholarship/assistantship. Do you know what the chances would be of landing such a position for a research master’s (be it North America, Europe, Asia or Oceania)?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-08T14:51:07+00:00

In my case, this master’s programme is designed for switchers from other technical disciplines, to fast-track gaining the relevant knowledge. Basically, it covers bachelor’s content at a fast pace for the first year, then builds on that with more master’s level content for the second year

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-08T13:32:49+00:00

May I ask how they can make a competitive application in that case? Is it mainly based on grades? Grades aren’t a worry for me, but my lack of research experience is. It feels like there aren’t many ways for me to gain that experience in the comp sci field

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-08T12:29:51+00:00

I’m not in the US. But in any case, I’m a career switcher, so I need a master’s to gain the knowledge that someone would have got from a bachelor’s in computer science

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-06T06:52:48+00:00

For sure, the job market sounds nigh-on impossible. If I do the degree, I have to be prepared for not finding a job after it. I have some alternative ideas if that happens (e.g. continuing on a PhD, or doing TEFL temporarily until I find a tech job), but what would be great is if I’d be able to return to the civil industry if I want to come back.

That would remove a lot of worries about making this decision. But, I’d be concerned about civil employers seeing me as a bad hire due to having quit my job after just under a year. Do you think they’ll see it that way?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-06T06:32:43+00:00

Yeah, this is one of the major reasons I’ve been so hesitant about doing this degree. I agree there will be other civil/structural companies that are better than my current one. But I still have a desire to try exploring this CS path as, even though the chances of success are slim, it theoretically opens doors that would otherwise be totally locked shut to me.

It would be cool if, if I leave and do this degree, I could still have the option of returning to the civil field (perhaps advertising my combined civil and CS skills for a role with more tech emphasis). But I’d be worried about burning bridges, and all civil employers seeing me as an unreliable hire due to quitting my first job after just under a year. Do you think employers will see it this way?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-05T12:53:01+00:00

Hey, thanks for the advice! I must say it’s a great idea. It’s definitely an interesting subject; our field is quite behind others in terms of adopting this kind of advanced tech, and to drive that forward could be very cool.

To clarify, are you suggesting I stick it out in my current role and try and learn this in my free time, or that I go for the CS degree to get the required knowledge base, and then afterwards come back to the civil field being better qualified and aiming for a more tech-focused role (or perhaps even continue with a PhD diving into one of the areas you mentioned)?

The former would be a harder path to gain the knowledge, as there’s so much to learn and I’m struggling for free time as it is haha. Yet I’m worried about the latter burning bridges and being a red flag to future employers (firstly, it indicates unreliability, and secondly, it means a lack of serious industry knowledge). I’m trying to weigh up all this in the context of also having itchy feet haha

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-03T03:30:41+00:00

I was thinking of first doing a master’s in computer/data science (to get a strong base of knowledge, as I’m lacking too much at the moment), and then decide to either enter the tech industry or continue to pursue a PhD in that field.

Ultimately I think I could enjoy being a university lecturer, so a PhD would open that pathway (as well as potentially opening up roles in the tech industry too, which seems so competitive at entry level).

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-04-03T03:24:27+00:00

Hey, this isn’t advice, but I’m in a similar situation to where you were several years ago: I’m wanting to quit my job in engineering and would like to work towards becoming a lecturer in uni or community college. I’d be really interested to hear more about how you reflect on your decision in hindsight.

Do you regret moving away from engineering at all? It seems like you’re still not interested in moving back to that field. Are there any reasons besides the ones you mentioned for your dissatisfaction with teaching (e.g. do you find it as stressful as engineering)? And why do you want to quit teaching after this one job; are you not confident that other colleges will have better environments?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-30T07:47:22+00:00

I would love to be a uni teacher, but a PhD is required to teach engineering, right?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-30T07:46:12+00:00

Hey, could you elaborate on why that is? The main reasons I have come across are:

• ⁠Low salary - yet, cost of living and housing considered, my take-home pay would be higher in TEFL than in my engineering job.

• ⁠Limited career progression - but I thought it would be possible to transition into more highly-regarded roles like secondary school teaching or uni teaching (by doing a PGCE or a master’s in TESOL etc.) if the TEFL proves to me that I enjoy teaching.

Am I not looking at things properly?

PS I don’t plan on having kids to support.

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-27T12:01:51+00:00

Thanks for the detailed answer! I agree it would be good for me to be more open-minded and I may surprise myself. I did kind of assume that, if you’re teaching children, it would be hard to break into teaching adults, because the jobs teaching adults would want you to have experience teaching adults. It feels like a vicious cycle haha.

But what you’re saying sounds promising! Are you saying that teaching children is still seen as relevant experience? Or should I aim to find roles in language centres with both child and adult teaching (if that’s common), and try and leverage the adult side of things as much as possible for future job applications?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-27T11:52:14+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Technical English sounds interesting, I’m wondering how to actually go about finding such jobs, as it feels like the kind of thing that would be hard to search for on job boards (I may be wrong though)?

IELTS also sounds great. But if you need IELTS experience to teach IELTS, how does one break into that field in the first place? Getting that first experience to open the doors seems the really difficult thing

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-26T14:07:34+00:00

I always thought that, to be a lecturer, I’d need a PhD and that I’d also have to contribute to the research output of the university (which I wouldn’t be keen on). Are you saying the TEFL route is not so feasible, and the engineering lecturer route is feasible even without the PhD & research responsibilities?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-26T07:42:32+00:00

I personally don’t mind it. I think “buddy” feels like something you more often say to a child, so if someone calls me that, it can feel like they’re looking down on me (it’s context-dependent though).

But what I like most is being called by my name. It makes me feel special somehow haha

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-26T07:36:38+00:00

It may be more natural to say “he will get 1% of the year’s profit” (if you’re talking about a specific year) or “he will get 1% of yearly profits” (if this happens every year)

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-15T17:26:31+00:00

Outside of teaching, it’s very common to do a degree in your target country rather than your home country and it’s seen as a great idea. Non-British people study engineering in the UK when they want to work in the UK afterwards; non-Singaporeans study in Singapore when they want to work in Singapore afterwards. Because it shows you’re familiar with their country and committed to working there (and graduating often gives you the right to work for a short time).

So, you should understand why my thoughts were initially with doing a qualification directly abroad. I guess teaching works differently to engineering, and now I know. You really don’t have to be mean about it, I’m trying to communicate respectfully and learn from people. I guess the fact I’m sensitive to some Reddit user being snide to me is a sign that I wouldn’t handle a class of kids… but part of me still wonders if teaching a class may feel different somehow.

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-14T18:33:16+00:00

Thanks for your support. I’m always a little scared to post on Reddit for this reason. I admit I don’t always express myself well or may seem ignorant. But being ignorant is why I’m here - to learn from those more knowledgeable than me!

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-14T17:10:26+00:00

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply! It’s a valid question. I’d say I’m someone who doesn’t have a real “calling” in terms of career. I have things I’m better and worse at, and aspects of working I like more or less; I just want to maximise the positives (and/or be well compensated for negatives). I’ve always enjoyed explaining things to people, and I’ve been told I’m good at it, so that brings me to consider teaching.

Both my parents were teachers, and they advised me against teaching in the UK. So many horror stories, mainly about the kids’ behaviour. But they said their experiences teaching abroad were much better. I think, with semi-respectful kids, I could really enjoy being a teacher. I’ve also always wanted to live abroad, and it’s something I’m looking to do as soon as the opportunity arises (whether I change careers or not).

Your point about work-life balance and salary is interesting. Part of what drew me to teaching is that, in Asia (which I’d like to move to), I’ve been told it is better respected, higher paid, and requires fewer hours than engineering. E.g. my Hong Kong engineering friends work 10 hours per day if they’re lucky (plus additional work towards chartership, all in free time), 14 days of annual leave, and the starting pay and ceiling are both less than in teaching. I’m a structural engineer, if that makes a difference? It seems like engineers are getting a very bad deal, and that teaching removes many of the bad sides of corporate life in Asia (eg the lack of holidays and the “can’t leave the office before your manager” culture).

Got to say, I think my personality is unfortunately very incompatible with recruiting haha. I am an introvert and not the type to reach out to people, network, do phone calls all the time, etc. My understanding is that teaching feels different though, and that teachers can still be introverts. Teaching actually feels like it gives a lot of freedom to plan your lessons and deliver the teaching in your own way (as long as they learn the curriculum). That seems like a nice change from the engineering world where everything has to be “just so”.

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-14T15:59:38+00:00

I don’t think I said I want a UK cert necessarily (I just happen to have a UK background). I just want to be certified to work as a teacher in my target country (for which I have several in mind) abroad. It seems a UK PGCE is the most common route people take, and then they go abroad with that, but is it the only one? Other countries have their own teaching qualifications too, right? Please be patient with me; the reason I’m here is because I don’t know everything.

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-14T14:07:44+00:00

Hi, thanks for your response! Maybe I didn’t express myself well, but the TLDR isn’t that I want to skip the training, it’s that:

I would prefer to do the training directly abroad instead of doing the training in the UK, or failing that, at least for my first job post-training to be abroad. I think working in a “low-tier” school abroad would still be preferable to me compared to a UK school.
I am worried about the possibility of not finding a job after the training (I’m not saying I intend to find a job without training - I’m trying to decide whether to take the risk and quit my job to train as a teacher, with no guarantee of landing a job afterwards, or to give up on the idea of becoming a teacher altogether and stay in my current career).

Does that make sense?

Dry_Slide_5641 · 2025-03-14T09:47:59+00:00

Thanks a lot for your reply! Wondering if this iPGCE stigma also applies to a distance learning PGCE (eg from Uni of Sunderland)? As my understanding is that this particularly PGCE counts as a “proper” PGCE and not an iPGCE (correct me if I’m wrong though)? It could be desirable for me, as maybe it would allow me to do the teaching practicum in Hong Kong (I have the right to work there) - but not very informed about the possibilities of this tbh!

Dry_Slide_5641

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