Korean Job Discussion Forums

[GreenlightmeansGO]

I've been chatting to my girlfriend about possibilities if we get married, and I was wondering what one could do to make the most (money) of your time.
On an F visa (whichever one it is) you could max out on private classes, but I want to keep the hours worked a bit reasonable. I think this option leaves you expecting about 4.5-5 mil a month.
You could work multiple jobs...but I have no idea about what conditions an F visa holder could ask for. It would be way too much work to hold two full time jobs, working 12 hours a day. I read about someone having 10 jobs - how the hell do you manage that?
Any ideas on opening your own hagwon?

Thanks, in advance.

[Juregen]

My guess is that you want to stay in the ESL business.

There are a few options open, depending how you want to go.

1. Be employed by hagwon; lets say that the income will be capped at about 3M. You could do more, you never know.

2. Legal privates; assuming you ask 50k per teaching hour and working 20 hours a week, you can get 4M per month, work harder earn more BUT no free housing, deduct taxes etc ...

3. Go business Start teaching at companies @ 100k per hour, 4 hours a day, can get you 8M revenue. problem; how are you going to get in?

4. Go hagwon style. A lot of money can be made starting your own hagwon, but may i advise you to go carefully and dig deep into the requirements for starting up a hagwon. It is not that easy if you want to keep the business straight and honest, and as a foreigner it is best done straight and honest because they watch your every move even closer.


So the money gets better going up the ladder, but the risk and efforts go up too. I suggest that you first do what you think you can handle, and if its a lot of money you want, why not first get a decent hagwon job secured, do some privates on the side, and network your way up to businesses or owning the hagwon yourself.

There is no get rich qick scheme in the ESL industry.
It takes time and endurance.

[Roch]

[Mi Yum mi]

Working at a company is the easiest way. Like any other job you'll need to know some people. The money can be great, but the hours will suck.

I have a Samsung class at 6:00 am then I go to my regular job. Then I have another class at the same place at 5:30 pm. I'm not making 100k an hour but close.

Even one class a day will make you more $$ than a Korea working fulltime.

[Cheonmunka]

There's a hakwon on every corner in 2008, unlike 2003, and more so unlike 1999.
You could buy into the big hakwon style by laying out 300-500 million won now and hope there's no eco. recession while building it. But that is something only wealthy people do. If you have that much wealth to play with then you wouldn't be thinking about it and discussing it but doing whatever pops into your head. (In 1999 a Wonderland franchise sold for 1.2 ok won - a little over 100k. By 2002 the franchise cost was 300+. A recession will wipe out your investment. Though a few good years will bring it back and then some ... I believe that's called 'luck.')

Anyway, without wealth, you could start a small studyroom. But you have caps such as not being able to employ another teacher and you have a limit of nine students per class. There may be limits on fees you can charge set by the local council, and also arbitrary fee caps set by the local brutes in the hakwon association and MoE. (Which will more likely occur if you have a larger hakwon, if you are not politically aligned or have someone influential near you.) You could still run a kids collection van/bus for exposure from a studyroom though, and I believe you can act as a small fry without attracting too much trouble.
If I lost my present job I'd be looking to the latter, as I have been for a couple of years now. (If not just emigrate to the US or back to NZ/Aus for simplicity's sake and wash my hands on it all. )

As for being more exciting in 2003, that wasn't any good to the married guy, he still couldn't start his own business but had to work on the E2. That law changed in late 2005. Now every man and his dog want to be married. Fair enough.

I agree that there is no sure way for gaining a sudden capital increase. But, from what I have heard from people who are self-made wealthy, you have to be doing what you love, what you enjoy - that's what makes you good at it.

[plus99]

why are we not talking about room salons. are there no men here.

[OneWayTraffic]

If you want to get in to company classes, you may have to start by working through agents. Don't accept less than 40 an hour, and be aware that it's doable to get 50 from an agent. Also be aware that they'll collect 90 or so from the company and keep half for doing very little besides setting up the contract. But if you can build up a resume of doing some company classes and get some contacts in the HR department, then you'll either be able to get more from agencies or you'll be able to find your own work. It's not easy as the companies often do prefer to work with agents. But all you need is one class a day at 75-100k and you're set.

[Chris Kwon]

[plus99]

what are you talking about j kwon

[Corky]

Making a home school with your wife/husband (if they can teach) is the real cash-cow.

Get an apartment in a residential complex, and teach classes of 6-8 students (two classes simulateously). Teach four hours a day, four days a week. Charge each student 125,000 won a month. You do the math.


It's pretty simple. $$$$

[Cheonmunka]

[PRagic]

'Wealth' is relative. If you are debt free and can bank 50-60K or more a year, you'll be comfortable before you know it.

People generally don't go into teaching to make money, and the concept of actually going into ESL to make money is just funny.

There are avenues, though, and some posters have made great suggestions. One of the best reasons to be in Seoul is that you never know when opportunities will pop up. Often, it's best to just take a job with minimum contact hours and then hustle up some extra work. When something interesting comes up, be it teaching or non-teaching, jump on it.

[maingman]

...

[meangradin]

How do I work over ten jobs? On MondayI get up at 6am and come home at 10pm. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.

[PRagic]

How old are you? Over the years, my strategy has been to work less hours for more pay. To attain this, I constantly tried to upgrade my qualifications and experience; you're not usually going to make more unless you can bring something to the table.

When I was in my 20s, I worked some long hours. When I was in my 30s, and had better degrees, I agled for better jobs with fewer hours. Now, having just hit 40, and having the qualifications and experience I need, I can work just a few hours a week for more than I ever made running around the city like a madman. Sometimes I do work more if a good opportunity comes around. Most of what I do now is research and writing, so it doesn't even really feel like work; I make my own schedule and am interested in what I do. The university, especially for a Korean university, is pretty flexible and supportive.

What's next? Maybe more consulting. Maybe more teaching. The good thing is that it'll be my choice.

Cheers. There's a lot going on here.