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prsprsbks
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
Posts: 11
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 Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 10:46 pm Post subject: Getting out of Korea ... |
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Just can't take it any more ...
The general tenseness, extreme formality, and Confucianism makes me want to avoid interacting with just about everyone here--from my school principal to the cashier at 7-11 next door.
It's nothing personal, Korea. We're just not made for each other.
I've completely lost interest in you. The sights, sounds, and smells just put me off. The ubiquitous K-pop is like razors in my ears. The obsession with superficialities. The anti-intellectualism. The superstition. The xenophobia. And the food ... oh man, the food ... well, I'll stop there. Been here 4 years (and about 2 years too long).
Seems like Hong Kong is the only other place one can go and earn as much (or more) teaching ESL as one can here in Korea.
Am I correct in this assumption? Or does anyone have any suggestions for other alternatives? |
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Sadebugo
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 524
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| Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:03 pm Post subject: Re: Getting out of Korea ... |
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| prsprsbks wrote: |
Just can't take it any more ...
The general tenseness, extreme formality, and Confucianism makes me want to avoid interacting with just about everyone here--from my school principal to the cashier at 7-11 next door.
It's nothing personal, Korea. We're just not made for each other.
I've completely lost interest in you. The sights, sounds, and smells just put me off. The ubiquitous K-pop is like razors in my ears. The obsession with superficialities. The anti-intellectualism. The superstition. The xenophobia. And the food ... oh man, the food ... well, I'll stop there. Been here 4 years (and about 2 years too long).
Seems like Hong Kong is the only other place one can go and earn as much (or more) teaching ESL as one can here in Korea.
Am I correct in this assumption? Or does anyone have any suggestions for other alternatives? |
I left Korea for Saudi Arabia where the pay is much better but you need solid qualifications to make the move.
Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/ |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:19 pm Post subject: Re: Getting out of Korea ... |
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| prsprsbks wrote: |
Just can't take it any more ...
The general tenseness, extreme formality, and Confucianism makes me want to avoid interacting with just about everyone here--from my school principal to the cashier at 7-11 next door.
It's nothing personal, Korea. We're just not made for each other.
I've completely lost interest in you. The sights, sounds, and smells just put me off. The ubiquitous K-pop is like razors in my ears. The obsession with superficialities. The anti-intellectualism. The superstition. The xenophobia. And the food ... oh man, the food ... well, I'll stop there. Been here 4 years (and about 2 years too long).
Seems like Hong Kong is the only other place one can go and earn as much (or more) teaching ESL as one can here in Korea.
Am I correct in this assumption? Or does anyone have any suggestions for other alternatives? |
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, even Thailand .. You can make good money in all of them if you have something more than a BA to offer.
IF you only have a BA and 4 years as an EFL teacher in Korea it will be tough to find a position in HK and you will be limited to working in the language institutes in Taiwan.
If you have the credentials to work in a public school you can earn between USD2800-6000. If you only have the BA to offer you will be limited in both job opportunities and salaries. The same problems with job availability in Korea are also affecting the language academies in HK and Taiwan.
It is a bit off-season but if you are careful in your search you can find positions in Vietnam and Thailand that offer salaries that are just a little lower (50k-60k Baht in Thailand) than you find in Korea but with the significantly lower costs of living you can actually save as much there as you would in Korea. (net in the range of US$1000 per month).
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Emile Cioran
Joined: 15 Aug 2010
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 2:32 am Post subject: |
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Your view of South Korea really overlaps with mine (fortunately I was only there for about 9 months). The food really does suck donkeys' balls!!! Yuck!!! I found much of it to be genuinelly offensive!!
Anyway, I've just signed a contract with a private school in Saudi Arabia and I negotiated a salary with them for around �25, 000 per annum tax-free with 82 days off a year (not including weekends) to boot. I only have modest qualifications - A Bsc, a post-grad dip in an unrelated discipline, a CELTA and 4 years' TEFL experience - so I'm sure you could find an opening somewhere in SA if you put your mind to it.
I'm sure you are aware that there are many hardships involved in living in The Kingdom but if finances is a significant issue for you at this point in your life (as it is for me) you could do a lot worse than working there.
Good luck whatever you decide to do!!  |
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Perilla
Joined: 09 Jul 2010
Posts: 792
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 2:50 am Post subject: |
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For HK you'll need full teacher credentials for the well paid schools sector jobs (public and international schools), or a PhD for the top university jobs. With BA + CELTA + TEFL experience you can still find OK work, but nothing spectacular.
Korean food - I love it! |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 3:04 am Post subject: |
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| You can try applying for the NET program. I believe that they accept primary NETs without teaching qualifications. |
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prsprsbks
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:45 pm Post subject: |
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thanks for your responses.
tttompatz: about your salary in thailand. you said that you net in the range of US $1000 per month. you mean that this is how much you are able to save in thailand, or how much you earn?
living in korea, i'm able to save and send home about US $1,000 per month. if i really could send home that much money from thailand ... i'm on the next plane over.
as for living in saudi arabia ... i haven't read any posts about life for expats there ... but i can imagine. i just read an account of a public beheading that took place in 1992 of a man whose only "crime" was being gay. yikes! perhaps they've really made some social progress since then? |
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prsprsbks
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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and for the HK teachers ...
if you are earning between 3,000 to 6,000 USD a month, what would the basic monthly costs of living run? i take it they don't offer free housing? a person earning 3,000 USD might be able to save a minimum of how many dollars per month?
muchas gracias. |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:39 am Post subject: |
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| prsprsbks wrote: |
[size=18]thanks for your responses.
tttompatz: about your salary in thailand. you said that you net in the range of US $1000 per month. you mean that this is how much you are able to save in thailand, or how much you earn?
living in korea, i'm able to save and send home about US $1,000 per month. if i really could send home that much money from thailand ... i'm on the next plane over.
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I earn about 60k baht per month, DO NOT LIVE RIGHT IN BKK, and my net SAVINGS per month are on the order of about 30-35kk baht (about $1000 at today's exchange rate).
I get just shy of 4 months paid annual vacation (with the option of doing extra work for extra pay if I desire) and if not then there are cheap flights to everywhere from BKK.
Like Korea, it does have its share of problems and office politics (what country doesn't?) but with a little care it is still very do-able and not that hard to stomach.
With only your BA to offer you should still be able to find work (even as late as now - end of 1st term) in the 40-50k baht range (40 hour week and 2-3 months (paid) off).
Living (90km) outside of BKK definitely makes it easier to save but it does have the drawback of a more quiet home life and fewer "western" comforts although I really do lack for nothing and we still have a TESCO and a MAKRO within walking distance.
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Perilla
Joined: 09 Jul 2010
Posts: 792
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:39 am Post subject: |
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| prsprsbks wrote: |
and for the HK teachers ...
if you are earning between 3,000 to 6,000 USD a month, what would the basic monthly costs of living run? i take it they don't offer free housing? a person earning 3,000 USD might be able to save a minimum of how many dollars per month?
muchas gracias. |
Suggest you post this on the HK forum, and/or do a search there as this kind of stuff has been discussed before ... |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:48 am Post subject: |
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| If you get a job with the NET program you should save $1000 a month. If you work in a language school you will probably spend ever time you earn. I hope this helps. |
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MrMrLuckyKhan
Joined: 08 Feb 2008
Posts: 282
Location: Kingdom of Cambodia
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| Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:13 am Post subject: |
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| I would cross Thailand off your list. Most TEFLers make right around $1000p/m, let alone save that much. |
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prsprsbks
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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That's what I thought, MrMrLuckyKhan. Based on what I've seen, the salaries in Thailand are around $1,000 US ... not SAVINGS of $1,000 US per month.
For those claiming to SAVE $1,000 per month in Thailand teaching ESL, what sort of jobs do you have exactly? |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:38 pm Post subject: |
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| prsprsbks wrote: |
That's what I thought, MrMrLuckyKhan. Based on what I've seen, the salaries in Thailand are around $1,000 US ... not SAVINGS of $1,000 US per month.
For those claiming to SAVE $1,000 per month in Thailand teaching ESL, what sort of jobs do you have exactly? |
Besides all the unnecessary shouting (why the large fonts?), where are you looking that you are only finding jobs in the $1000 (31k baht at today's exchange rate) range?
I just had a peek on a couple of the boards that specialize in Thailand and the only crap jobs at 30k were a few out of the way government schools, a few on the beaches (where they can get teachers for next to nothing anyway) and some crap language academies and dispatch services (using folks doing 90 day visa runs)..
Anyone with more than 2 baht to rub together and the wherewithal to look and can manage to keep their head out of the bottle long enough to do an interview can easily find jobs in the 40-45k range and there are enough subject teachers positions out there (if you have some qualifications other than a CELTA from the beach or KoSan Road) that pay in the 50-60k range + benefits. |
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MrMrLuckyKhan
Joined: 08 Feb 2008
Posts: 282
Location: Kingdom of Cambodia
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 5:36 am Post subject: |
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| tttompatz wrote: |
| prsprsbks wrote: |
That's what I thought, MrMrLuckyKhan. Based on what I've seen, the salaries in Thailand are around $1,000 US ... not SAVINGS of $1,000 US per month.
For those claiming to SAVE $1,000 per month in Thailand teaching ESL, what sort of jobs do you have exactly? |
Besides all the unnecessary shouting (why the large fonts?), where are you looking that you are only finding jobs in the $1000 (31k baht at today's exchange rate) range?
I just had a peek on a couple of the boards that specialize in Thailand and the only crap jobs at 30k were a few out of the way government schools, a few on the beaches (where they can get teachers for next to nothing anyway) and some crap language academies and dispatch services (using folks doing 90 day visa runs)..
Anyone with more than 2 baht to rub together and the wherewithal to look and can manage to keep their head out of the bottle long enough to do an interview can easily find jobs in the 40-45k range and there are enough subject teachers positions out there (if you have some qualifications other than a CELTA from the beach or KoSan Road) that pay in the 50-60k range + benefits. |
45K in BKK is poverty level |
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