Job Discussion Forums

[Rooster_2006]

Hello. I'm new to these forums as a poster, but I sure read a lot of these posts!

Basically, my Korean language program at Yonsei University in Seoul ends in late March, 2008. I'm going to be pretty much out of money at that point. I plan to go to China to teach and earn money (unfortunately, since I don't have a bachelor's degree, I can't teach legally in Korea).

I've been to Yanji in Yanbian, Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin (in China) once before and liked it. I would like to teach English there.

My main concern is that I won't be able to find a job teaching English there around that time. Can someone please tell me what my chances of finding a job there in late March/early April are?

Here are my selling points:
- I'm a native English speaker who grew up in Northern Virginia (the part that doesn't have the southern twang).
- I'm CELTA certified.
- I will be 21 when I go job hunting.
- I am of European ethnic extraction (even if it's wrong to use this as a selling point, I know for a fact that it helps).
- I am unlikely to run away in the middle of the night because I've lived in Asia for over six years and speak Korean (KLPT Level 3: 3000-4000 words) and basic Chinese, so I'm pretty well-adjusted and unlikely to have serious culture shock.

Here are some points where I'm not so strong:
- I am a high school graduate, but I only have about a year of college.
- I don't have any experience in teaching ESL besides the nine evaluated lessons that I did through CELTA, and explaining things to my Korean language exchange partners.

I realize no one can say definitively whether I'll get a job or not. I'm just wondering, realistically, if I can be 80% sure of getting one there in April, or if I should look elsewhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[tw]

Apply to as many language training centre jobs as you can. I am positive you will be hired.

[Rooster_2006]

Thank you, tw.

To everyone, including tw:
Do you think it'll be a problem that the school year has already started?

[7969]

[tw]

[Rooster_2006]

[Rooster_2006]

Oh, okay, so it looks like a thumbs up from both of you on language training centers. Good news, good news.

I'm probably not qualified enough to teach at a uni anyway. You need a degree to do that, I'd expect, even in China...

[tw]

[Rooster_2006]

[7969]

your biggest problem is that you dont have much cash to tide you over till you find a decent job. others who have come before you in a similar position sometimes found themselves taking any job that came along as their cash dried up. people without the means (money) to get themselves out of a bad situation, or wait for a better offer to come along, are easy prey for unscrupulous employers. there are a few similar stories in the archives.

[Rooster_2006]

[Rooster_2006]

Well, these are interesting replies. Does anyone else have any views to share?

I was there (in Yanji) for about four days during the summer. It was hot as hell, and there was pretty much no air conditioning or showers outside the jjimjilbang, but it was a nice place. I mean, it was like a little, tiny, much cheaper Seoul. They had Kimbap Cheonguk, except that the menu items were like three times cheaper. I stayed in a Yeogwan (called a "Ryeogwan" in their dialect) that was 20 RMB a night. There's no need to buy a PC because the local PC bang only charges 1 RMB per hour. They have a university there with classes in Korean, including Korean language classes. Lots of people speak Korean natively, and despite what Koreans in Seoul warned me, the dialect isn't that different. Unlike Seoul, where people immediately assume you're mentally incapable of speaking Korean, people in Yanji are much more likely to be willing to have a Korean conversation with you. In retrospect, I should've gone there originally instead of Seoul. However, I'm now entrenched in the Yonsei program, and intend to finish, so I can't go there until March, 2008 unless I want to cut my program of studies short.

Anyways, I'll go there in March or April and just take the best job that's available to me. I had offers from one a while ago for a salary of 5,500 RMB a month and shared accommodation with another English teacher or a housing subsidy of 500 a month (nearly enough to rent a decent hotel room without any money from my pocket), but I ended up turning it down in favor of studying more at Yonsei. I'll be sure to contact them again.

I know there are at least four English training centers in the city. I have corresponded with one online and seen three in person. I'm sure there are ones that I didn't see with my own eyes. Yet, during four days in the city, I doubt I saw more than five foreigners total, so I'd imagine there's an FT shortage. So I'm optimistic, but am just curious if anyone else has any more input.

[Rooster_2006]

Huh? Who is Mr. K? How was he f---ing with the US? Or do you mean "us," and you capitalized it?

I don't see anyone in this thread with a screen name that starts with K. Did he delete his post? This is really, really cryptic...

[tw]

[Rooster_2006]