Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said having more mid-career individuals joining the teaching profession with different life experiences can enrich the teaching fraternity (Flexi-work, porosity in careers: MOE looking into how to meet teachers’ evolving needs, April 28).

As a mid-career professional who joined the education service with much enthusiasm but left after six years, I would advise potential mid-career transitioners over 35 to consider their decision carefully.

While I had no qualms joining as a beginner teacher given my lack of classroom teaching experience, I felt that I was denied the same opportunities as my fellow (younger) batchmates to demonstrate my potential.

A teacher’s deployment in co-curricular activities (CCAs) and committees has a bearing on how she gets assessed in the year-end appraisals, which in turn affects prospects for promotion.

Inevitably, there is a hierarchy in the CCAs and committees, with some having a greater potential for “creating impact”. A teacher’s current estimated potential (CEP) would determine to which CCAs and committees she is assigned – those with higher CEPs being given the opportunity to fulfil their estimated potential.

As an older mid-career entrant, I felt my potential was underestimated, resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy where a lower CEP resulted in a less demanding deployment leading to a lower ranking, hampering my promotion chances.

I am not sure how much the system values diverse life experiences. I had over 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry, and had indicated a preference for the education and career guidance committee, but someone else was assigned the spot.

The private sector offers many transferable skills that could be of value to the education system. These should not be overlooked.

Vidhya Logendran