Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PolishKorean]

I'm planning on going to S. Korea April/May.

I'm already aware of the work expectation and am going for a cultural experience in a work environment, and not so much for tourism. That being said I am perfectly fine with working 45-60 hours a week.

Other than hearing about long hours does anyone have any pro/cons or feedback on these two institutes/recruiters?

Thanks!

[tanklor1]

Chungdahm is a mistake. Take it from someone who works there; it ain't worth the time or effort. But it sounds like you're the young fresh-out-of-college type that they prefer to hire so you may look past all the complaints and end up having a work-filled, draining, exploitative year. Sorry, for sounding so jaded but if you work with them they will exploit every hour out of you that they can.

[jjajangmyun]

"that being said I am perfectly fine with working 45-60 hours a week"

ha. ha ha. ha ha ha ha. lord have pity on the fools.

"going for a cultural experience in a work environment"

maybe this is possible. but then you mentioned chungdahm. where the only "culture" you're likely to "experience" is going to involve a korean boss withholding/changing your pay because your contract means jack $hit to chungdahm.

find me a single chungdahm that didn't violate their contracts, and i'll *beep* kim jong eun bareback while my mother watches.

[faeriehazel]

I used to work at the main branch. It wasn't the perfect job but they always paid me on time, and I think it's an okay place for a newbie to get a good start. I have a few friends who still work there. If you want a regular paycheck and you don't mind having to teach to a strictly set curriculum then Chungdahm might not be a bad choice. The management is full of shit but if you keep your head down and just teach your hours, you should be all right.

[Times30]

i'm not stranger to hard work and long hours.

Be careful because when I worked, and this is the same for all CDI's there are a LOT of unpaid hours. I'm not talking a few, I'm talking about 2-3 hours a day are unpaid. If you do the math, you actually aren't paid more than other hagwons. Saturdays are taken from you and the schedules are RIDICULOUS. You probably will get a 10 to 10 schedule at some point, and you will be sleep deprived and extremely cheesed off at everything.

I had no time to do anything... I worked hard, I was voted best teachers by the kids, I did my job very well. But the particular branch I worked had absolutely no respect the amount of hard work you put in, and only demanded you worked more.

Just be careful about deciding to work at CDI. You can check my post history. I'm pretty defensive about CDI when I first started but now I see how much I regret my decision.