Singapore Expats

Salary of a School Psychologist

Discuss about getting a well paid job or career advancement. Ask about salaries, expat packages, CPF & taxes for expatriate.
Post Reply
papakutkut
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 5:02 pm
Location: Singapore

Salary of a School Psychologist

Post by papakutkut » Wed, 20 Jan 2010 4:26 pm

Hi All,

I was looking for information on the Salary of a School Psychologist (Psychologist Grade IIIa).

My wife has been offered 2400 SGD to start with. She is in India currently and will be coming over soon. I was wondering what category of Employment Pass will she be coming on (any suggestions) ? She has around 5 years of experience working as a Special Educator to Children with Learning Disabilities. Is the salary ok, I thought she deserved somewhat higher.

Will really appreciate if someone could help.

Thanks

User avatar
gravida
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 222
Joined: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 9:22 pm

Post by gravida » Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:45 pm

If I remember correctly IIIa is for a fresh graduate, the pass will be most likely Q2 or S. Working as a Special Educator is different from being a Psychologist, so I am guessing
she does not have experience to get a higher grade.
$2,400 is a standard salary for a fresh graduate in local/'governmental' schools, an experienced one (with minimum 3 years of relevant experience) may expect $3,000... At least this was the case couple of years ago.

User avatar
ksl
Governor
Governor
Posts: 5989
Joined: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 8:52 pm
Location: Singapore
Contact:

Post by ksl » Thu, 21 Jan 2010 1:49 am

Gravida is not commonly used in English is it? I was thinking you are maybe Danish :o
She has around 5 years of experience working as a Special Educator to Children with Learning Disabilities. Is the salary ok, I thought she deserved somewhat higher.
That's always the case I think, but its better to get a foot in the door first, don't you think? You can of course try to get more and risk the job opportunity. Business will take advantage of skills if you let it, that is business. They all know how desperate foreigners are to come to Singapore, so hold the ace card!

User avatar
gravida
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 222
Joined: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 9:22 pm

Post by gravida » Thu, 21 Jan 2010 9:20 am

ksl wrote:Gravida is not commonly used in English is it? I was thinking you are maybe Danish :o
I am Polish and it is not my real name. Just a nick, originating from Latin btw :)

User avatar
ksl
Governor
Governor
Posts: 5989
Joined: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 8:52 pm
Location: Singapore
Contact:

Post by ksl » Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:40 pm

gravida wrote:
ksl wrote:Gravida is not commonly used in English is it? I was thinking you are maybe Danish :o
I am Polish and it is not my real name. Just a nick, originating from Latin btw :)
8-)

User avatar
k1w1
Reporter
Reporter
Posts: 665
Joined: Mon, 30 May 2005 8:20 pm

Re: Salary of a School Psychologist

Post by k1w1 » Sun, 24 Jan 2010 1:36 pm

papakutkut wrote:Hi All,

I was looking for information on the Salary of a School Psychologist (Psychologist Grade IIIa).

My wife has been offered 2400 SGD to start with. She is in India currently and will be coming over soon. I was wondering what category of Employment Pass will she be coming on (any suggestions) ? She has around 5 years of experience working as a Special Educator to Children with Learning Disabilities. Is the salary ok, I thought she deserved somewhat higher.

Will really appreciate if someone could help.

Thanks
Is she a special ed teacher or a school psychologist?

I suggest she looks at the International Schools here. $2400 is really a very low salary for someone trained and with 5 years experience. Special education, and anything associated with it, is not very highly regarded in Singapore. A large number of Singaporean students who have learning difficulties apply to attend International Schools, where there is often some support.

SAS has school psychologists, as does Dover Court. I'm not sure, but I think Tanglin does too. Otherwise, a number of schools have special ed teachers and many are advertising now for roles to start in August. It is a very good time for your wife to be looking around.

papakutkut
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 5:02 pm
Location: Singapore

Salary of a School Psychologist

Post by papakutkut » Mon, 25 Jan 2010 4:55 pm

Hi All,

Thanks a lot for your reply.

My wife currently is teaching in India as a Special educator and will be shifting soon here. 2400SGD looks low to me as well especially considering her qualifications (Masters in Psychology & an experience of a little more than 5 years now in special education).

The School here will also be giving her a housing allowance of SGD600. So in total that makes it SGD3000.

Looking forward to a reply from you all again.

Thanks & Regards

User avatar
sundaymorningstaple
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 40532
Joined: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 1:26 pm
Answers: 21
Location: Retired on the Little Red Dot

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 25 Jan 2010 6:12 pm

Frankly, if I were her, I'd tell 'em to kiss my grits!
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

User avatar
k1w1
Reporter
Reporter
Posts: 665
Joined: Mon, 30 May 2005 8:20 pm

Post by k1w1 » Tue, 26 Jan 2010 1:55 pm

Very good timing. Google, and find the International Schools that are hiring. There are definitely jobs going for special ed teachers. PM me if you want more details.

I'd recommend getting onto this ASAP and contacting schools via email.

User avatar
road.not.taken
Editor
Editor
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat, 06 Oct 2007 9:24 am

Re: Salary of a School Psychologist

Post by road.not.taken » Tue, 26 Jan 2010 2:10 pm

papakutkut wrote:The School here will also be giving her a housing allowance of SGD600.
Absolutely, ridiculously low ~ $600/month for someone with a Masters in Psychology & relevant experience? That's absurd.

User avatar
k1w1
Reporter
Reporter
Posts: 665
Joined: Mon, 30 May 2005 8:20 pm

Post by k1w1 » Wed, 27 Jan 2010 8:42 am

I'm guessing the original offer was from the MOE - but I could be wrong. They make noises about bringing in trained teachers, native speakers in English etc, and then offer them absolute garbage like this... Their justification is that local teachers earn this salary and are paid $600 or thereabouts into CPF (which they can use as housing).

I've heard they will even put a pamphlet into the application pack about the wonders and benefits of living in HDB flats... (Not that there's anything wrong with this - if this is what you choose...)

madura
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 220
Joined: Tue, 01 Jan 2008 1:30 am

Post by madura » Wed, 17 Mar 2010 2:25 pm

k1w1 wrote:Their justification is that local teachers earn this salary and are paid $600 or thereabouts into CPF (which they can use as housing).
I'm absolutely certain the local teachers earn more than $2400 :)

papakutkut
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 5:02 pm
Location: Singapore

Post by papakutkut » Thu, 18 Mar 2010 7:07 pm

Hi All....

Needed some advice....

My wife had decided to go ahead with the offer with the School at the salary of 2400 SGD. As mentioned earlier her experience as a special educator is a little more than 5 years.

Now the latest is that S Pass has been rejected by the MoM. May be a blessing in disguise (I always thought that she was very underpaid). Now there were a couple of things I wanted advise in:

1) Does the rejection mean that she cant apply for some specific period of time or if she gets an opportunity with a better pay we should go ahead

2) I checked online and she is also eligible for an EPEC, do you all think it is a good time to apply for it ....should we go ahead after the S Pass being rejected

She is here on Social visit pass right now , had thought that she would go back once the pass gets approved and then come back well sponsored...but it is a changed equation now.

Would really appreciate guidance again.

Thanks & Regards

User avatar
gravida
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 222
Joined: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 9:22 pm

Post by gravida » Thu, 18 Mar 2010 9:15 pm

It could be that he pass hes been rejected, because the company already used the quota for such kind of passes. So, in that case t should not affect her future applications at all. Moreover, even if the reason for rejection was different (i. e., her qualifications, experience), she may still try to apply for another pass with different company/try to appeal with the current company etc. If this will affect the application, it is hard to say, as for example my experience is from 7 years back, so completely not useful in the current employment market...

icmathieson
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 7:57 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by icmathieson » Tue, 11 Oct 2011 8:01 am

Does anyone have any knowledge of salaries (range) for psychologists employed by internaitonal schools?

Thanks!

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Careers & Jobs in Singapore”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests