'Not worth it': Netizens polarised after teacher-turned-property investor reveals former salary

"They are paid very well." "They have [a] high salary." These are just some of the comments Mak Geng Yuan received when he shared a video on how he used to be a Ministry of Education (MOE) teacher when he bought his first investment property. 

The 33-year-old took to TikTok on August 1 to reveal how much he actually earned as a MOE scholar before he left  in 2020.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@g.y.mak/video/7262343308284873985?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7145017837760431618[/embed]

He was transparent in his video, as he shared his last-drawn monthly salary with a screenshot of the payslip. The magic number is $5,133.67, not including CPF deduction and other funds contribution. 

After all the deductibles, it is revealed that Geng Yuan took home a nett pay of $4,093.67. Perhaps, fittingly, he encouraged people to apply to be a MOE teacher if they "have a very strong passion to mould the future of our nation." 

The comments section was, of course, filled with polarising sentiments. 

Some netizens found that the salary was quite low. 

Other netizens even highlighted the strenuous workload of teachers which people don't usually think about such as lesson planning, grading papers and the long hours. 

On the other hand, there were a handful of netizens who felt that his pay was quite high.

One netizen pointed out that his pay doesn't include bonus, implying that he probably would have earned more during the course of his teaching career.

His first investment 

Geng Yuan's knack for teaching didn't really stop as he uses his TikTok platform to educate people on property investments.

So how did he manage to buy his first property while being a teacher? 

In a separate video, Geng Yuan explained how he got into property investment. "Back in 2019, I had no idea of property investing," he mentioned. 

He would use his recess time and after school hours to hunt for properties. His first property was an industrial office space valued at $778,000. 

Since he was sharing the cost with five other friends, it was an affordable investment for Mak. Now the property value has increased to $850,000 according to Mak. 

Fast forward to now, he is a property investor and a realtor who owns a total of 9 properties.

He shared about the other properties he had bought, ranging from industrial offices to residential homes in Singapore and the UK. 

According to Geng Yuan, eight of his properties have increased in value while one of them has not shown any signs of appreciation since he bought it this year. 

Speaking to AsiaOne, he encourages people to start investing in properties. "Start as soon as possible because some opportunities once gone [will] never come back. Start small and be creative and resourceful."

ALSO READ: This Singaporean owns 8 properties, and he's only 27

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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