Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fakeplastiktree]

Hello. This is my first post. I've been perusing these forums for the past week and I have some questions I could really use some expert advice on!

I recently quit my low-paying, 9-5 office job working for a start-up company (at start-ups they hire a very small number of people for a vast amount of work). It was making me miserable, extremely stressed out, and, ultimately, causing my debts from school to grow even larger.
My Mom teaches English at a university in Korea and has always thought I would love it and be great at it. So, for a number of reasons, I've made the decision to give teaching English in Korea a shot. Right now, I'm trying to figure out what the best course of action is for me.

My Mom has warned me against teaching English to children in Korea. I'd much rather teach adults. I have my BA in Psychology as well as a one-year graduate certificate in Technical Writing. So, my question is.... is it possible to get a job teaching English to adults in Korea without any experience or an MA? Will it help my case that I am a young female with blond hair and blue eyes?

I had planned to get the CELTA certificate but then noticed many people in these forums saying not to bother with it to teach in Korea. However, if I was trying to get a job teaching adults without an MA, would it, then, put me at an advantage? Ultimately, if I enjoy teaching English overseas, I'd like to get my Masters anyway, so should I not bother spending money on the CELTA if I potentially get an MA TESOL later on?

Thanks!!

[cdninkorea]

You can teach adults without an MA or a CELTA at one of the many adult academies. Pagoda, YBM, English Channel, Direct English, and Wall Street Institute all come to mind.

I have a friend who works for Wall Street Institute. Give me a PM if you want and I'll get more details for you about it.

[fakeplastiktree]

Oh, good....thanks, that's great to know! I can't PM yet....guess I don't have enough posts yet. Are those positions more competitive than the ones for teaching kids?

[peppermint]

I did it for a couple of years, and personally, I much preferred teaching kids.

Adult hagwons usually demand obscene working hours (there are a million and three places I'd enjoy being at 6:30 in the morning, in front of a classroom isn't one of them) and as well, your promised two weeks of vacation generally comes in the form of long weekends, not a solid block where you can travel.

That said, I taught a lot of really interesting people, had some great discussions with the more advanced students, learned a lot of stuff about Korea, and the worst discipline problem I ever had to deal with was college kids still drunk from the night before

[Young FRANKenstein]

[anyangoldboy]

Try to teach at an after-school elementary school program. Mine is only 15 hours a week. All the other time I teach adults. I like the mixture of it. It's a long day but the money is worth it.

[jlb]

Most of the people at my uni. did the hagwon thing for a year and then moved up the food chain. Many of them don't have a Masters degree (but have started a distance one).

So teaching kids for a year isn't so bad if you network during that year and make plans for the next.

[Flash Ipanema]

[OiGirl]

[shaunew]

[Milwaukiedave]

Yeah the draw back with the private companies is most likely you are going to have a split shift of some kind. I pondered at one point teaching for several schools like that and decided against it.

Teaching kids is hard (it drains you energy wise), I did it the first 3 1/2 years I was here. The last year was better as I taught at a public school.

[Whistleblower]

[OiGirl]

[aarontendo]

And cock sure as hell ain't one of the choices I hope

[Flash Ipanema]

And yet another thread degenerates into sex talk.

Here's an actual on-topic question: if I don't mind split shifts, which adult hagwon offers the most vacation (paid or otherwise) with the most potential for high pay (since they're often paid by classes taught)?