Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ed1980]

I am hoping to find work teaching English in Korea.

Ideally I would like to start as soon as I finish my degree, which is in June.

Has anybody got any advise on how I can apply for positions even though i am not in possession of a degree (yet).

The only answers I have got so far have been to wait. just wondering if there was another solution.


cheers

[gajackson1]

if you don't mind the costs, you CAN secure copies of your transcripts and degree plan, showing your degree is 'pending.' That will at least get you off to a start.

Definitely spend the time learning/prepping as much as you can - read different boards & books, try meeting some Koreans where you live, find a restaurant to see what you like/don't, find a pair of the korean flat, metal chopsticks, etc.

make the most of the time you have there!!! (And graduate, duh.)
lol

G.

[ed1980]

cheers - looks like the waiting game for me !

[sid]

What's the attitude of Korean Universities to MA degrees-in-progress? i.e. Would they take me on September, when I will have submitted a final dissertation but won't technically have the MA until a few months later.

[gajackson1]

Sid ~

Do you have a TESOL certif? Do you have teaching exp. as well, either here or elsewhere in Asia???

Junior Colleges would definitely give you the nod with just the 'almost-Masters); most others probably wouldn't trash you out of hand.

Good luck!

[Zyzyfer]

You would have to find some organization in order to find work with a pending degree. For instance, both JET in Japan and TFA in America allow you to apply without a degree, as long as you can demonstrate you will receive it before you begin work.

I don't think anything of that calibre exists in Korea.

[chronicpride]

There's lots of private work over here if you want. Most teachers that I know work privately full-time on a tourist visa or teach privates on the side of their E2 contract gig. It's much more prevalent and commonplace over here than this board lets on. Many recruiters have contacts with schools that will take on F/T or P/T teachers without a degree, if you ask them. The whole immigration bust thing is very overexaggerated. The real downside is that in most cases with private work, you will have to look after your own accomodation and the key money for it, as well as no benefits.

If you want to have the security and stability that an E2 contract will provide, then you'll have to buy a fake degree. You can buy these in Asian street markets, but you'd be better off with getting one from an online vendor. Contrary to what people may tell you, they don't verify degrees over here. Just make sure that your degree looks and says that the uni is from an english-speaking country. I know a guy that had a fakie from a uni in Brazil. He eventually found a school that would take him on, but he had to deal with some schools that turned their noses up at it.

Hope this helps

[ed1980]

Cheers for the help people - i reckon I will try and get the ball rolloing now somehow.

Anybody got any suggestions for good recruitment agencies etc. ?

[gajackson1]

Ed - ok, i normally don't take offence, but I think CP is WAY off base on this one.

[chronicpride]

I agree and understand with the angle that you're approaching this subject and I appreciate your candor, however, I think that our viewpoints are merely subjective. We both have had and are continuing to have two different experiences over here. I do see and know of, daily, the 'underbelly' of the english teaching industry. From regularly socializing with recruiters, friends that came over with fake degrees and are operating on a tourist visa and who are not living a 'cloak-and-dagger' lifestyle. I have a friend that did get a uni job, last fall, with a fakie and transcripts (no verification follow-up was done) and I know through him, one other teacher that got on at another uni, several months earlier, also with a fake degree/transcript. I also have two Korean friends, who are directors, which is where I've learned a fair bit of the insight that I was able to pass on, in my last post.

But as I said, everyone accumulates their own version of how things shake down over here and I only wanted to offer up my solutions to his situation, based on the perspective that I'm seeing the industry from.

[gajackson1]

CP, dae-dan-hi kam-sa-ham-ni-da! I appreciate you for keeping it civil.

I also know several prople - currently - who are here on fake degrees provided by online sources or RECRUITERS (that, in my honest opinion, is a barrel full of worm-ridden apples with a few good ones).

And I have known/met a few that happen to benefit from long tourist visas - the kinds that can come in & stay for 3 months at a time. Generally, USA 'tourists' are given a 1 month stamp, so it doesn't do them much good.

I still think it is a bad idea/trade-off. Given the choice, I'd rather see someone do some research & suss things out before coming over, and make a good run of it. Some people - ready and even with a good employer - still won't 'like' it, and choose not to stay.

I know a lot more teachers who are doing modified versions of what I am doing - work a contract year, and then take 2-3 months off for a RTW rip, circling through home in the process.

There is also the 'pre-IMF' plan, where people work & save for a year, and then take a year off to laze and travel. Niceeee!

Ed, you asked a question about recruiters. The 'bad' ones get a lot of attention on these boards. Generally, I do not like/recommend recruiters - as others have said, there are enough good jobs, if you research.

However! That being said, last time I posted my stuff here, I was contacted by a husband & wife couple here in Korea - He's Canadian (I think) & she's Korean. They are a young couple (the 'been there, dealt with that' types), and seemed sincere. I'll try to dig up their names, if you are interested.

Regards, all!

G.

[mslaoshi]

I just graduated last month. My new job is asking for my diploma which I won't get until a month after I am supposed to arrive in Korea.

I read your strand about "pending degree" but what about "pending diploma?"

Thanks,

mslaoshi

[chronicpride]

is it a 4 year?

[yayforme]

Hello! time to revive this topic please!

My university screwed up on my diploma, so I won't be getting it for a while longer. But they can provide proof of graduation or letter of forthcoming degree, etc. All the recruiters so far have been cool about it, but I just spoke with one who says the immigration people need the actual degree for my visa and won't accept a letter of graduation. So have the rules become stricter? Do I need to wait for my stupid university to give me my diploma? Or can I still take a job NOW?

[Stann]