Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PaperTiger]

For all the crap places there are to work at, there are surely a fair number of places that are either tolerable or very nice to work at. I like to think I work at one of the latter.

1.Our school is large, each teacher has their own homeroom they can decorate as they please and all of our afternoon classes come to us, not the other way around.
2.Our boss is an educated, experience business person with an education background and several years of personal experience teaching children English. She also has several years experience working with foreigners, communicates well and doesn't micromanage. A boss that's a financial success is a must here in Korea, there are far too many losers who thought they could make a quick buck in ESL only to find the only way to scrape by is to cheat their teachers, Korean staff, students, and parents.
3.We only have meetings as needed or once a month to get caught up, get together, or make important announcements.
4.We get quite a bit of discretion in how and when we have our classes, and how we implement the weekly themes. We can also take our kids down to the ball room or to the park if it seems appropriate (kids are distracted or fidgety).
5.We have a lot of computers to do our tests and planning/research on, they're not perfect...but they do what they should most of the time. We have three Korean staff members that help maintain the computers, make forms and templates for us, and fix problems with the printer. They've also converted three of the computers to English OS.
6. We each have a TA that cares for the kids between classes and lunch, we can go home for lunch or go out, and no one looks at us sideways.
7.I think a lot of time and effort go toward creating a positive learning and teaching environment at our school...something many of my other jobs were sorely lacking in.

I could go on, but we have a meeting this morning. Not all ESL jobs are one year or more of bad road...tell about your decent or great job.

[Missile Command Kid]

I'm working at a great academy in Daegu - Honors Language Academy. Great hours, great students, absolutely fantastic teachers and administration. I've never been paid late, received my ARC card a week after I arrived, received medical and pension in the first month, and have received a tremendous amount of support in all matters great and small. I get to choose all my own textbooks and don't have to rely on subpar texts to get the job done. I'm given plenty of prep time and only actually teach 4.5 hours per day at the most. I really wish I didn't have to leave (wife's pregnant with number three), but what can you do?

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/index.cgi?read=23805

[spyro25]

last year i was fortunate enough to work at brighton in dang-gam dong, busan. this place was a dream to work at - office hours, paid in full and on time, full support of all staff, great kids, a director who knew how to handle parents, a great syllabus and just all round awesomeness. i left to take a uni position and part of me wishes i hadn't with this unigwon the way it is now.

[mnhnhyouh]

I also work in a good Haggie.

1) Own room, kids come to me.

2) Good director, he lived in Australia from 4 until 22 and has been here for 10 years teaching ESL and being a recruiter. This means that he understands where I come from, making my transition here easier.

3) He only hires older teachers, preferably those with educational backgrounds.

4) Good, though not great, apartments.

5) Paid in full and on time. My first payday fell on a Sunday, and his usual practice is to pay on the following Monday, but he put my pay in on the Friday as it was the first one.

6) He offered to either refund my airfare in full in cash or give it to me a few hundred k at a time, I chose the latter option, and got the lot.

7) Successful, he has just opened a second and third school.

While we are required to be there for half an hour after classes finish, he had no problem with me taking off when I was sick, or on a couple of Fridays when I was going for long trips, once to Changwon, and another time to Indaegwon. We finish at 10pm..

9) Small classes, no more than 6 and some classes of 3. Average class size has been growing, but this is a sign of a successful school, and none over 6.

10) Good Korean co-teachers. Most students go to two classes per day, one with a native speaker, and one with a Korean teacher. The other two early classes go to one on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the other on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. These setups change every 4 weeks.

Downsides.....

I am in school for 8 hours per day, and in class for over 30 per week.

Cracking pace through the set books.

h

[Saxiif]

1. Plenty of won.

[kscouse]

I work for a fantastic Mom and Pop Haggie in Incheon.

I am the only native speaker - however - we have 20 teachers who teach the full range of subjects.

16 times 40 minutes classes a week
Own Classroom
Computer and Projector
Paid on Time
Great Apartment
6 Weeks Vacation

Not too shabby

[VanIslander]

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=80792&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[TheDude]

This topic is covered in the good job thread.


Follow the link above in Vanislanders post.