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Private schools versus Public schools
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nevermindb



Joined: 13 Oct 2007

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:38 pm    Post subject: Private schools versus Public schools Reply with quote

Which is better to teach English at? Are private schools better or public schools? Pros and cons about each would be great! Thanks!
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nomad-ish



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Location: On the bottom of the food chain

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

personally, i think public school is the safest, more enjoyable route. however many people still gravitate towards hagwons because of later hours, smaller classes, and the promise of more money. i'm sure you'll get a lot of responses about the pros and cons of each, but i'll put in this faq link anyways:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=5641
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Thunndarr



Joined: 30 Sep 2003

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Private school doesn't necessarily mean hagwon. Actually, I usually read private school to mean exactly that, a private school.

In any case, private schools generally have better hours (I'm talking start and finish times here) and more contractual vacation with smaller class sizes than public schools. However, they also usually have more classes per week than public schools.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Private schools versus Public schools Reply with quote

nevermindb wrote:
Which is better to teach English at? Are private schools better or public schools? Pros and cons about each would be great! Thanks!


Private school or hakwon/hagwon? They are 2 different kettles of fish.

Private schools tend to be similar to public schools with the notable exception that they usually offer more vacation time.

Hakwons on the other hand.... there are thousands of threads about that particular topic - just look back a few (or a few hundred) pages.
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Nexus11



Joined: 29 Nov 2006

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is far too generic of a question to ask. Different types of positions are better for different types of people. Public schools are much safer and you know what to expect. When it comes to a hagwon, most are garbage but with a lot of careful research, you can find a good one. If you want to work later hours or make a high salary without extra qualifications, they are the only option.

Since most people don't seem to understand how much time and research really needs to be put into finding a job, I would suggest public schools to most newbies applying from abroad. However, if you are willing to make researching positions your full time job for a month or two, you can find hagwon positions that are better than public schools.

It is easier if you are actually in Korea and can physically visit the hagwon. Even so, there will always be a certain degree of risk with a hagwon.
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nevermindb



Joined: 13 Oct 2007

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have 2 options I can take. One is a hakwon and the other is a public school. The hakwon is offering a base salary of 900,000 won more than the public school. I know someone from this hakwon so I trust this place. However, there's no overtime opportunities or any other opportunities to make more money. At the public school, they may be offering 900,000won less but they have over time opportunities. Now, I'm wondering, can I get THAT much overtime to get more than 900,000 won on top of the base salary a month? Is it pretty easy to sign up for overtime at public schools? I don't have much experience with teaching.
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RufusW



Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Location: Busan

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
The hakwon is offering a base salary of 900,000 won more than the public school.


That's a big difference... what's the overtime rate offered in the contract? That'd help.
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nomad-ish



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Location: On the bottom of the food chain

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nevermindb wrote:
I have 2 options I can take. One is a hakwon and the other is a public school. The hakwon is offering a base salary of 900,000 won more than the public school. I know someone from this hakwon so I trust this place.


there's also a contract posting thread at the top of the job-related page if you'd like to get a review of the contract clauses before you sign.

nevermindb wrote:

However, there's no overtime opportunities or any other opportunities to make more money. At the public school, they may be offering 900,000won less but they have over time opportunities. Now, I'm wondering, can I get THAT much overtime to get more than 900,000 won on top of the base salary a month? Is it pretty easy to sign up for overtime at public schools? I don't have much experience with teaching.


at my last public school, OT options were very available: extra classes, non-English teacher classes, but this was in a middle school in a big city. with a decent OT rate, i think you could teach 26-27 hrs/wk and make an extra 300,000-400,000 a month
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KoreanAmbition



Joined: 03 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nevermindb wrote:
I have 2 options I can take. One is a hakwon and the other is a public school. The hakwon is offering a base salary of 900,000 won more than the public school. I know someone from this hakwon so I trust this place. However, there's no overtime opportunities or any other opportunities to make more money. At the public school, they may be offering 900,000won less but they have over time opportunities. Now, I'm wondering, can I get THAT much overtime to get more than 900,000 won on top of the base salary a month? Is it pretty easy to sign up for overtime at public schools? I don't have much experience with teaching.



900,000 won is certainly a lot of money and a difference to be really considered as lucrative. Unfortunately the fact you make 900,000 more at one job than the other is entirely useless without knowing the difference in the hours worked and the amount of vacation you get.

I mean, obviously if the hours are the same it's a no-brainer, but I'm going to guess that's not the case.

Does the hagwon require prep-time? The public school probably will.

I think we need more information before an opinion on salary is made. I personally don't think the end salary is the only thing that matters.
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KoreanAmbition



Joined: 03 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

duplicate
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nevermindb



Joined: 13 Oct 2007

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The public school is 22 hours/week. I was told they have many overtime opportunities but I'm getting paid 1.8 mill won and I feel like it's a huge risk cuz overtime isn't guaranteed you know?

The hakwon is 45 hours/week. And NO overtime at this hakwon. But I'm guaranteed 2.7 mill won. Both contracts offer 2 weeks vacation time, half health ins, housing, pension, and severance. Money's important to me. How do you feel about the overtime at public schools? Are they abundantly available from you opinion? The public school is in Ulsan I believe.
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kprrok



Joined: 06 Apr 2004
Location: KC

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nevermindb wrote:
The public school is 22 hours/week. I was told they have many overtime opportunities but I'm getting paid 1.8 mill won and I feel like it's a huge risk cuz overtime isn't guaranteed you know?

The hakwon is 45 hours/week. And NO overtime at this hakwon. But I'm guaranteed 2.7 mill won. Both contracts offer 2 weeks vacation time, half health ins, housing, pension, and severance. Money's important to me. How do you feel about the overtime at public schools? Are they abundantly available from you opinion? The public school is in Ulsan I believe.


If that's 45 teaching hours per week (could be up to 50 classes), that's not worth it. If that's 45 office hours per week and only 30-35 teaching hours, it could be worth it.

How do they count an hour? How many classes? How much prep time? How many other teachers? How much support can you expect?

2.7 is a good salary, but if you're working 45 hours per week, you will be VERY tired and not able to enjoy it much.
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nevermindb



Joined: 13 Oct 2007

PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
How do they count an hour? How many classes? How much prep time? How many other teachers? How much support can you expect?


Employee shall work five (5) calendar days per week from Monday to Friday from 09:00 ~ 19:30. Employee shall not work on Saturdays, Sundays, and any national holidays of the Republic of Korea. Actual class instruction hours of Employee will be 6.7 hours per day and 2.3 hours per day for class material preparation (predetermined by Employer).

This is exactly what it says on my contract. It doesn't say how many classes and how long each class is and stuff. From what I saw, I think there are like 3 teachers for each grade.
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semi-fly



Joined: 07 Apr 2008

PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nevermindb wrote:
Quote:
How do they count an hour? How many classes? How much prep time? How many other teachers? How much support can you expect?


Employee shall work five (5) calendar days per week from Monday to Friday from 09:00 ~ 19:30. Employee shall not work on Saturdays, Sundays, and any national holidays of the Republic of Korea. Actual class instruction hours of Employee will be 6.7 hours per day and 2.3 hours per day for class material preparation (predetermined by Employer).

This is exactly what it says on my contract. It doesn't say how many classes and how long each class is and stuff. From what I saw, I think there are like 3 teachers for each grade.


Does the contract state how long a working hour is? 50 minute = 1 working hour, etc. You may want to look in on this while asking how many classes are being taught.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get into a public school. Work your way up. Use your extra office time to get a TESOL cert. and move up a level.

Public schools now start at 2.0 for 22 classes and move up at 200k per level till you reach the top then add 100k per year after that.

Add in 20k per extra afternoon class and even a newbie can pull in 2.4-2.5 + full benefits and not have the stress of a burnout hakwon.

I teach 28 classes of 40 minutes per week. (22 regular and 6 extra curricular).
I get 3 mil per month.
I (officially) get 6 weeks of annual paid holiday. Standard GEPIK contract - 14 WORKING days for the base + 5 working days because I work at a rural designated school). (as compared to 14 calender days in a hakwon).
(The reality was closer to 9 weeks last year).

I get return airfare paid out each year.
I get my severance paid out yearly.
I AM enrolled in the national pension plan. (gonna be a nice golden parachute next year when I leave).

I have medical (NHIC) coverage for myself AND my family (with a monthly premium of 2.54% of my salary).
I have a 60m2 furnished officetel.

Officially I have only ever presented my BA and TESOL cert. to my school.

BE CAREFUL when you only look at the salary as a number and not the whole remuneration package as a whole.

6.7 TEACHING hours per day (33.5 teaching hours per week) could end up being as high as 50 classes of 40 minutes per week and that would be a year in hakwon hell and you still make less than I do.

If you think my job is too good to be true then you can apply for it. I will be retiring (early) next March - there are 2 hectares of white sand beach front with my name on it calling to me.

.
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