Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hogwonguy1979]

I know of people with MBA's teaching business courses at univs, only problem they complain about is the class size

also look at corporate positions, there are foreigners here who did their MBA's at Sejong etc who have gone corporate, most of them seem fairly happy not teaching English. Build your network and you might land something good.

[Jarome_Turner]

So I guess at this point I'll add a little background information on myself to broaden the discussion. My undergraduate degree is in Business and I lived in Korea from '04-'08 (1 year at a hagwon, 2 at an elementary school/university language center). I've been back in Canada for 5 years now, during which time I have successfully applied my undergraduate degree and gained quite a bit of professional experience, and most recently moved into a management position. My most recent endeavor has been to commence my MBA through the UofA (specialization in Natural Resources, Energy, & Environment).

My reasons for considering a move back to Korea are numerous. First of all, my wife (who I met in Korea) is Korean and misses it dearly. We have a 10 month old son and are currently pregnant with #2, and it's killing her not being close to her family.

Since moving home, I've often pondered a move back to Korea, but to be honest the reason I left in the first place was because I couldn't see myself being a 'lifer' in the ESL industry. Not that there's anything wrong with that and I know there are a lot of people who do it and take pride in it, but for me it just didn't feel satisfying. I've given it lots of thought, and have discussed with my wife at length, and have come to the conclusion that the only way I would be able to make a long term commitment would be if I could a) Find work directly related to my field of study outside of ESL, or at an absolute minimum b) Get work at a university teaching business students, thus directly applying my education. Since moving to Canada 5 years ago, we've managed to set ourselves up financially beyond what we ever thought possible. The idea of taking the nest egg we've built up and moving back East does seem appealing. The English skills my wife has acquired from working in Canada (coupled with the fact that she has an English Interpretation diploma from a Korean college and worked as an ESL instructor herself in our previous life) would allow her to do quite well if we were to move back, and while it wouldn't quite offset the cut my salary would take it would certainly make things manageable.

The non-esl market for native English speaking business degree holders is very competitive from what I can gather, so the best idea I can come up with is to try and get in with a decent university where I can pursue plan b as outlined above, with the idea that being in the country and on the ground may make it more possible to pursue plan a.

PaddyCakes - apologies if I was short in my previous post. I was more referring to your comments that you "assumed" I had no applied experience , but in hindsight maybe I should have been more descriptive in my original post.

[Paddycakes]

No worries, but what you're contemplating is insane.

You've got a good job. With your MBA, you'll have the keys to a senior management position someday. And you've got 2 kids. Sounds like you are all set up.

And you want to give this up to work as a teacher in Korea?????

Tell your wife you will fly her mom in from korea so she can be there during the pregnancy. And let your wife visit korea once a year.

I suspect that will tide your wife over.

And if it doesn't, show her the yearly fees for the Seoul international school to drive reality home... unless you want to put your kids in the public system.

If you could come to korea as a non teacher in a professional job on a full expat package. .. different story... but those jobs are pretty few and far between as you say.

[jaytee8432]

I'm curious to know how did things work out for Jarome? I hope everything worked out

[PRagic]

I've known a couple of people over the years who have taught in business programs here with just an MBA or law degree. For the most part, you'll be teaching international business communication and maybe some basic cross-cultural management (international organizational behavior) classes if there's a need.

Get ready to work on a lot of student resumes and cover letters, and to grade a ton of practice business letters and emails.

There might be more upside to working at a smaller, private university. The larger R1 universities will rarely if ever have anyone teaching content with just an MBA.

The upside is that you'll get the 5 months of paid leave a year. The downside is that the salary probably tops out at 2.5-3.0 a month with no housing.

Once here and situated, you might be able to luck into a financial editing position, though. Might have to start out in a smaller house, but if you work at it, who knows?

[Milwaukiedave]

That may have been the case in the past, but those kinds of positions are getting harder to find because schools want people with a terminal degree.

I finished my doctorate and am about to sign on with a university for next term.

Finding a university that will hire me with only a year of experience teaching business has been difficult. The time I taught ESL pretty much counts as nothing.

I plan on staying in Korea at this point since I have no children and have been here for so long (coming up on 14 years).

[PRagic]

Congrats on completion. Serious accomplishment.

Did you do your degree at a Korean university or distance? You mentioned having been here 14 years, so I ask. Either way, and not in any way to diminish your accomplishment, but those won't make you as marketable as someone with a B&M degree. Publications in decently ranked SSCI journals can help, though. And, hey, you've gotten over the hiring hurtle.

Don't despair too much if it isn't your dream job, especially if your job is tenure track and, as such, gets your tenure clock started. Few academics stay at their first place of employment; most need to work their way up through the system while they simultaneously navigate promotions and tenure.

If your job isn't TT, move to a TT job as soon as possible!

[Milwaukiedave]

Yes, my degree was done at an online school. It took me 4 years 7 1/2 months. I did work during most most of that time, but I had some gaps where I only did doctoral work.

I think some of the reason I've had a difficult time is due to the limited amount of position as maybe only a handful are open every year. I don't begrudge the people that stay in their job if they like it, I certainly wouldn't leave.

My meeting is tomorrow with the department chair to finalize my position for next spring. I'm hoping the meeting goes well.

[PRagic]

Good luck to you and keep us posted. Hope it's a TT job.

TT jobs, even in business, don't crop up too often, as you suggested, but they do come around. Kind of the same for what I do (can't put that on an open board as it'd give me away in no time flat).

The problem is that most of the jobs are at the top universities, and they'll tend to go with bigger name degrees and/or scads of publications. But you never know!