Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rojees]

I want to teach adults and this manager says that they wat to hire me but because i do not have teaching experience, administration are not so sure if hiring me would be too risky or not. So manager suggestd to work on a 3 month contract, and if im any good, they will make it to a one year contract.

Does anyone know about 3 month contracts? My biggest worries are:

1. how will it affect the visa process/
2. accommodation - can i find anywhere for a short time?
3. if my 3 month contract is not renewed i.e. they dont want me , then what are my options?

any comments or advice would be welcome!

[Milwaukiedave]

Honestly, hagwons hire lots of inexperienced people coming from western countries (hell I was one of them). I would say walk away and find another job.

There are some thing to consider:

1) Are they going to get you a visa for just 3 months? If not, don't walk away, run away. You would be working illegally. (I'm assuming you aren't on another visa)

2) If they aren't willing to commit to you for a year now, that might tell you something about their motivation.

3) Have you researched the school throughly? If you haven't, you should try to find out as much as possible.

4) Usually when you rent a place it's for a year. If they don't provide housing for you (which it sounds like that's the case) that could pose another problem.

I hope that helps. Just to let you know I'm skeptical.

[rojees]

[Ya-ta Boy]

Actually, this is a good development. SOMEONE is actually finally thinking about whether or not a totally inexperienced person can teach. This could be a red-letter day in the 5,000 year history of this place. However, for you, this is not a good thing. You would be the guinea pig for the entire hakwon/public school/university English-teaching industry.

Say goodbye to this company and wait 20 minutes for an offer from someone who thinks that ANYONE at all can teach English. That is the common attitude.

[Milwaukiedave]

rojees,

It was hard to tell with some of the information you provided in your origional post. Maybe it's not that bad a deal then if they are offering you housing. In the case they don't resign you in three months, then you can look for another job.

As I said, a lot of people get hired with no experience though. But as Ya-Ta Boy points out that's one of the draw backs of how they do things here in Korea. I came to Korea with zero experience and was hired. Granted the woman who ran the hagwon is a terrible old hag (that's another story).

If the research is good, then I would say think about it long and hard. Not sure if you are inside or outside of Korea or whether you will have your visa before you get here (if your outside the country). Again, providing a few more details goes a long ways toward people being able to give you their opinions.

[rojees]

[Fresh Prince]

Isn't 3 months the length of a tourist visa for the U.S.?

It sounds like they want you to come over on a tourist visa and work so they can see what kind of teaching skills you have and so they can find out if they like you or not. If they like you they will write up a contract.

Don't teach on a tourist visa. There are plenty of hogwans where you can start out teaching children and hone your skills.

The current standard with hogwans is give an E-2 visa to the person that they hire before they come to Korea, along with a prepaid plane ticket and pre-arranged housing.

[rojees]

[lastat06513]

A 3-month visa would be a C4 visa, which is for temporary employment.

From the time I started working in Korea til the time I left, all I taught were adults, the problem was the other way around when I tried to apply for children's institutes...

[Cheonmunka]

You'd also be sensible to state and get it confirmed two times verbally, that in your three month contract that by renewing to one year your severence pay for the year will have begun on the first date you started the three month contract. Or, you'd lose 600.000 won off a 2 million salary for those three months.
But, stipulating that this 'apprentice' time is part of the one year does not work on paper. Not for E2 anyway.
They will supply you a new one year contract after three months. That is the way it will be presented to you three months hence.
Let's think about it. At the end of one year there, you'll be thinking, "Crickey I've still got another three months before I can upgrade to a new job or new school. I've already been here a year. These other guys who started after me are off to Thailand with severence in their pockets. There's this other girl who just re-nogotiated. I've been here longer than her and she got a pay rise.
Now is the hiring period, especially for public schools. But, when you finish in 15-16 months, you'll be in the middle of semester!
During your post 13,14,15th months you will realise you had been given the run around (because people do like to keep money (severence pay) that they should have given but got away with it) and that will create an ill feeling in you. The severence money is one thing, but the waiting for your contract to finally end so you can renegotiate or move on will be tiresome and wearing on you.

If the US is three months tourist visa there is a way. It's what I did and at the height of policing, too. I got a one-year contract signed but worked on a tourist visa. If they are happy with you, and you them, then you can go to Japan for your work visa. The visa and contracts are not concurrent. You need a contract to get a visa (my contract was okay even though back-dated nearly three-months.) You don't need a contract to break one, that is the release form. After 12 months you can show your employer that you have no contract. The only thing they can do is release you or renegotiate. Otherwise they'd be in breach of the law for hiring you or holding your visa without a contract. You see?