Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Voyeur]

This thought came up while PMing another member here.

I have been in Korea 4 years and it seems to me that the basic 1st year salary has not really climbed that much. I'm not talking statistical average that includes tons of crap even a simpleton could see coming and ignore, or over-inflated Dave's ESL idea of what the perfectly prepared 1st time teacher could possibly find if they do 5 years of interviews and research. Just a common sense middle-ground.

Seems to me that 4 years ago I was making 2.0 with a BA and no experience. My fellow teachers were making 1.9 to 2.0. I had a TESOL cert and that got me 100k more. Seems to me a lot of newbies are still making the same.

However, from talks with peoples at bars and such, the actual job at many places was easy. No prep, games, games, games in class. I worked SLP and they required 8 hours a day on-site - 40 hours a week on-site! We felt SCREWED and most people thought we were. But we surfed the internet and ordered Pizza for most of that time. Actual teaching hours were about 24 a week, maybe less.

Other teachers from other schools did not have mandated on-site time and their jobs were similarly easy.

It occurred to me that collectively teachers, new ad old, may seem to base some of their expectations and beliefs as to what the OTHER guy is doing based on this old conception of what the basic ESL in Korea job requires. Meanwhile, many are feeling screwed and thinking that they picked the one school that demands so much more - for no real extra money. But maybe collectively we have an outdated concept *on average*?

A guy who owns a Hogwon that I met the other day while drinking, not my own owner, says that as a group owners have felt that the typical 1st year recruit simply had it too easy. They got too much money for too little work and that they needed to demand more. His idea was that schools have indeed asked more and more for little extra money from the typical Hogwon teacher over the last few years. Gone are the hungover days and partying nights with hangman all day and sleeping in the corner. But he was drunk, so who knows...

What are you feelings? Anyone want to add in some specifics of how much work is required for their first year recruits at their school? Try to be quantitative when you can - and the qualitative for how hard the actual in-class work is.

[Voyeur]

I'll go first. At my school:

First Year Recruit

2.2 Million / month

27 Teaching Hours / week (30 is mandated inc ontract, but few get full 30)
~2.5 mandated on-site prep hours (mostly photocopying and getting set up for your classes) / week
~1 hour of training meetings / week
~2.5 hours of housekeeping meetings and grading & grunt work / week
~2 hours of additional prep (beyond the mandated on-site prep)

Total: 35 hours / week (up to maybe 41 hours / week in some cases)


It could be 38 if you got forced to work the full 30 hours. If you teach higher level casses you could be looking at 2-3 hours more prep a week or more. In most cases you would still have the same base salary.

Also:

*weekend work - schedule is often spread over 6 days. Sometimes 7.
*classes are all monitored
*1 week of full-time, unpaid training
*2 offical holidays a year if they fall on a teaching day(central days of Chusok and Lunar New years)
*1 calendar week of paid holiday per year that you can take only during certain windows
*classes are all monitored with audio/visual
*performance is stressed: little sitting down, must be active and energetic at all times, must know your stuff
*games are forbidden and curriculum is packed - little room for personal modifiocation
*OTOH no need to make your own materials
*Kids are well behaved - few discipline problems ever
*you really learn to teach
*Curriculum is GOOD and kids learn

[ChuckECheese]

I know a lot of new folks making 2.2 and even more. I don't know anyone making 1.9/2.0.

[Voyeur]

Maybe the salaries have risen. Hmm.... What is the Public School starting salary? What are their weekly requirements? That would be a good benchmark.

[Qinella]

[ChuckECheese]

[Kimchieluver]

[Voyeur]

When I look in the contracts section I see 30 teaching hours a week as normal and many contracts have mandated prep.

wow.

[mack the knife]

What's really going to steam you is how both public and private schools make the salaries of the renewing teachers the same as the noobs.

Let's say I've worked at a school for a year so my contract went from 2.2 to 2.3 as per the contract (let's say the contract stipulated a W100,000 annual raise). Then, I see on the internet that all the new recruits are being offered 2.3 to start!!! So I never really got a raise. This is soooo common. Of course, you will fight for a raise, but most schools would rather just let you go and keep the noobs around at lower salaries.

That's the thick and thin of it.

[Voyeur]

What kind of teaching hours do public school teachers have to put in? What about on-site hours or mandatory prep?

[Mr. BlackCat]

I see all kinds of claims of great jobs on here even for newbies, but I talk it with a grain of salt.

I think 2.0 is the general starting salary for newbies and at least 40 hours+ are required. At my first job last year I got 1.8 for more than 40 hours of work, real work, a week. That's low pay/high hours, but its not like the other 1st timers had astronomically better gigs. With that one year experience I got a big increase in salary/decrease in hours at a new place through back channels. I put in my time and I have arrived. But I'm not going to pretend that I get 2.7 for 8 classes a week.

I don't know if the workload has been going up per year, but I think the my salary this year plus the benefits match the work I do (cost of living adjusted, of course). I wouldn't expect my boss to pay me to play games all day while I nursed a hangover (although that's what I've done here and there). At the same time, I don't really think of myself as a fully qualified teacher and I make mistakes. So you get what you pay for.

[Voyeur]

I would say that 4 years ago I met a lot more teachers who told me stories of essentially not having to work hard during class hours. Now I hear a lot fewer. But this is entirely anectotal. Do you think there has been a change?

[saybanana]

I work for a GEPIK school.
Mind that what I do at my school is not similar to other public schools. Many have it better, some have it worse.

TIME: 8:30-4:30 Monday-Friday
TEACHING: 22 classes @ 40 minutes.
LUNCH: 5 hours total per week.
EXTRA TEACHING: 50 mins for 10 classes/week @20K

Looking at that, it looks like a piece of cake.

OK, now non-teaching work.
LESSON PLANNING, BRAINSTORMING and RESEARCH: 5 hours
LESSON PLAN TYPING: 15 hours
MAKING MATERIALS/PHOTO COPY/LAMINATE/CUT: 3 hours
GRADING AND EVALUATING: 2 hours

I have to write up and teach 14 different lessons/week.

I end up doing a lot of non-paid work at home since there isnt enough time at school to do it.
I am actually going to stop the extra classes becaue I want a life outside of work.

This is not a typical public school, but many teachers I know do similar non-teaching work. I am new and pretty slow and dont have lesson plans set up for me.
Many questions I ask myself are how do I make it fun? Am I teaching them the right thing? Will the understand? What games on ESL cafe's cookbook can I use/modify for my lessons?

I am hoping next year, if I teach, it would a lot easier for me since I know what to do and I am able to be more time efficient.

[seoul_nhl]

I too found schools offers really crap lately! I was here in 2002 and earned 2.1 million for a 10-6 job. I had my resume up and I got tons of offers from 1.65 million to 2.2 million for 9-91/2 hour days!

I posted an auto reply that I wouldn't consider any positions with more then an 8 hour day and nothing paying less then 2.3 million....still tons of low offers and offers that were higher but so too were the hours. I got what I wanted; an 8 hour day 3 days a week and a 5 hour day two days a week for 2.4 million + no paper work! People might not agree with me being demanding but its gonna be my job for the next year or years to come. I'm sure there are better offers out there but I'm happy with it.

I think the main reason is there are too many Hog Wans and not enough students to make $ added with greedy owners, and poor management. Patience is key especially if you want to stick around for more then one year. Want to make dough hold out and wait for the deperate schools who didn't get a teacher for the upcoming semester!

I don't know what my point is anymore.......GO NEW ORLEANS!

[bixlerscott]

Tis' a joy to be in Korea...