Korean Job Discussion Forums

[twg]

I said fresh out of university because of the hope that the ESL mines of Korea can smack the "The world owes me" from their mouths.

[maddog]

As I get older I become more and more thick-skinned, so I'd say the later the better. I've seen lots of youngters bail because they are so overwhelmed by the place.

More important than age is experience. People who have experience of teaching or living abroad or both seem to do much better than 22-year-old grads fresh out of uni. Of course, anyone used to a topsy-turvy lifestyle should be fine.

MD

[Chris Kwon]

[bejarano-korea]

I only speak for myself but if I would have came here at the age of 22, I would have done time because I would have planted some poor Korean sap.

This is not a place for quick impulses or short tempers which is what a lot of younger people are all about. It is not a place where you are allowed to get wound up and 'lose it'

The older you get the more you can laugh things off, the more comfortable you are in your own skin.

None of my kids in the school call me fat or big face or whatever because they know it does not bother me one iota - when I was younger it would have made me angry because I didn't have the self assurdness thats comes with age, I like being me and know what I'm about and when Koreans see it, they don't even try to challenge it.

I like to go to work, do a good job, go home and relax, last thing I want is to be puking my guts out with a load of new Canadian friends outside O'Briens - thank god for being 35!

[Dome Vans]

[nicholas_chiasson]

I agree. If I hadn't started working in Russia at 22, I'd have no comparison for Korea. I've yet to see a bloody corpse yet, and I don't think it is going to happen here. But I think Gangwon-do gets the crazier, tougher, people. If you need people you go to Seoul.

[articulate_ink]

There are pros and cons no matter how you look at it. I'm 37. I came here when I was 34. I've had a fair amount of life experience, I know myself, and I know how to stand up for myself. These things have served me well here. For people entering hagwon jobs, I think being a recent college grad or still in their 20s can be an asset for reasons that have already been discussed. On the other hand, so many people this age are not able to advocate for themselves in the face of shoddy treatment or outright abuse. Saying no is a valuable skill in Korea. Thick skin takes time to acquire, though. Also, there's a tendency on here to equate hagwon jobs with the entire ESL experience here. I can't speak to public school jobs because I have no experience with them, but in the university world, expectations are different. I know a couple of guys who, despite having MAs and some teaching experience in this country, have been unable to land university jobs because they're in their early or mid 20s. Depending on your career goals here, being older than 30 is helpful. Case in point, I helped a friend get a job at my own university a year ago. He was 30. Despite the MA, the university teaching experience, and his time in the country, his age counted against him. Why? Too young. So I'd say that if you want to do the hagwon thing for a couple of years before moving on, sure, the 20s might be the right time. But for the university gigs, it's better to be in your 30s.

[Don Gately]

22 or 23.

[bgreenster]

I came here at 22, and while it may not be the best for everyone, I think that there are many positives to coming here soon after graduating. For me, I had basically no ties at home- no car, no apartment lease, no "real" job, and I was single... I think being right out of college can be good because you don't feel as much like you are "missing out" back at home. It's not like I had to quit the career path, or give up a higher-paying position; especially since (as someone posted earlier) it's pretty common for people to start entry-level jobs in their mid/late-twenties these days, so it won't be tough to re-enter life back home. Even if I don't want to be a teacher forever, at least I am getting work experience and a reference for when (if) I go back to get a job or go to grad school.

Another positive is that at my age, I am used to living in cheap housing, I actually think the pay is good, and am not yet set in my ways.

But, I do meet other people my age that do not seem to fare as well here because of inexperience and such. Personally, I have had a job since I was 13, studied abroad in university, and stayed in a Nicaraguan fishing village right before moving to Korea, so the move here was super-easy.

[twavelingteacher]

the best time for someone to come to korea or anywhere else to teach english is when they want to.

i've learned in my life that being true to my own happiness, and being a good, decent person, is what's important.

who cares what other people think?

the happiest and most pleasant guy i ever met was a guy who worked for me in the states. he was 70 years old and the youngest, funnest at heart person i had ever met. he was like a good buddy/friend with lots of wrinkles. he exuded youth.

life is what you make it. just don't live to please others.

[Night Ranger]

Christ I could have done this job when I was 11 years old. The dog is brown. what is she wearing...whats your favorite ice cream....get your fingers out of my anal cavity. No problem

[eamo]

Young, good looking, white and naive....that's how Korea likes it's foreigners.

[Natalia]

I think the ages are a little weird.

Twenty-four is straight out of university??

I was twenty when I graduated.

By twenty-five I had lived and worked overseas for three years, and had travelled all around the world on my own.

I certainly think I was 'ready' for Korea before the age of twenty-five, and I certainly wouldn't have considered myself a recent graduate at that age.

[ardis]