Korean Job Discussion Forums

[white tiger]

here's some details of a contract i'm looking at; what do you think?

9:30-6:30 ... 7 classes of 40 minutes each. mon-fri.
obligatory OT (if needed)
apartment is in same building as school.

these were my concerns on the contract; is this so bad? especially the work hours...love to hear some thoughts...cheers

[Mody Ba]

Here are my thoughts on your post.I have worked at three different hakwons in the past.I would never do it again,unless I was starving and it was the only thing I could do to put food in my mouth.
1.The hours.Seem a bit excessive,even for a hakwon.How much are they paying you?
2.Obligatory overtime.Another sticking point.How much pay for overtime?
3.Housing.This is the worst part in my opinion.NEVER live at the school where you work.You will probably have very little privacy,and there will probably be other problems.too. In other words,the school is too cheap(or broke,which is almost as bad) to pay for an apartment for you.This is quite outrageous,even in this business.Personally, I would turn down the "offer" on this one alone.Believe me,after teaching long hours at a hakwon,you will want to RELAX.If you live at the school, students, the owner,etc will probably always be pestering you.I would tell them that if they want you,to get you SEPARATE housing.

If I were you,I would look for another job.This one sounds like a REAL loser. good luck.

[white tiger]

they pay 1.9million won... the teacher i'm replacing also said that she is leaving after 5 months because of 'family emergency'. her bf is also leaving the same school for that reason. seems all too common an excuse to run like h*ll and save face at the same time.

[Mody Ba]

I agree with you.Those "family emergencies"...a catchall excuse for getting out.Again,this place sounds like one to really avoid.I am sure you can do better than this,although it will take some checking around.You do not want to work for people like this. Good luck.

[RedRob]

Sounds like it to me, there are heaps more jobs here than there are teachers, so if you are still at home take your time , keep shopping around, and if you can, (I think this is quite important) try and make contact with a western teacher who is at the school, to get the lowdown on the place....also, I don't really put too much stock in the contracts, they seem to be very "flexible" or open to interpretation-by the school that is, not by you!
Good hunting, there are good jobs to be had!

[hellofaniceguy]

Stay away from the place. 7 40 minute classes a day!! Housing in the same building! OT! Nope!
Even if they pay you 2.1, it's a bad deal. You will burn out. The current teachers already "told" you to stay away; family emergency equals bad school owner. The problem is not the school but the owner.

[Valora]

Family emergency is esl teacher speak for this school is horrible. I know because its how I left my awful school and how 12 other people left the same school in a year. The owner probably won't tell but I bet that the other teachers ran because of how they were treated there.

Don't work for this school they have some sort of problem that they won't tell you about

Dont get burned

[The Den]

Is this job in Pusan?

[Mr. Literal]

[mika_21]

This wouldn't happen to be a branch of a new chain called SBSI, would it?
By the way, all teachers avoid SBSI.

[Gord]

[Mody Ba]

Let's see.I count six posters who advise the original poster to forget about working at the place that he mentions.Then along comes "Gord" and says maybe the place would not be so bad to work for...I hope the original poster takes the advice of the majority...

[hellofaniceguy]

7 classes a day? Yes it's a bad schedule! No teacher can teach 7 classes a day, day in and day out 5 days a week AND do a good job. It's not possible. You are preparing for 7 classes a day. It might be split schedules or you might have classes scattered throughout the day. It'll be a long day and you will burn out. The school hopes teachers burn out and leave early. They save money. Hokwons/language schools are not schools; they are a business. Did you come to korea to slave away for someone, have headaches, stress, etc.? Hell, you can do that back home! Why come to another country and have the same thing? Get the best deal you can for yourself and don't worry about what other teachers have or don't have. Living in the same building has its good and bad points. It all depends on the school owner. Just remember, no one can use you unless you let them. Officetels? You'll have to pay a monthly fee for maintenance. It could cost you 150.000 Won each month or as low as 100.000 a month. Bathrooms are smaller than the airplane bathrooms. Usually no hot water in the summer, they turn it off to save money.

[OiGirl]

[Gord]