Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ukon]

I've been doing research and looking at jobs for teaching in korea and find conflicting accounts of why public schools are great or horrible & worse than Hagwons....

Maybe things in the past were much worse, but from what I gather:

Pay comparable to Hagwons ( Min: $1900 a month to $2200+ for a complete newbie like myself, depending on program and location).

Every like housing and airfare paid for, including some other stuff.

9-5 work schedule as opposed to split shifts in Hagwons.

More students, but less likely to deal with idiot bosses who try to screw you over.

For a newb, I'm trying to find out why so many people say to avoid GEPIK, EPIK, SMOE, and go for Hagwons.....it seems to be the safest bet.

[chris_J2]

There are good & bad public schools, just as there are good & bad hakwons, & University positions. You need to research the individual school. Talk to the current teacher if possible or go through a reputable recruiter. Many recruiters blacklist bad schools.

For a first timer, I'd recommend a public school, as overall , they're better than hagwons. Uni positions usually require a year or 2 prior experience.

Gepik were okay to me last year, & Epik have been good this year. I've not yet worked for SMOE.

[nobbyken]

Most public schools, I would venture to say are OK and excellent environments to work in.
With a year and 2 camps under my belt, I would be very easily able to cope with another year at my school.

I came and worked the first 5-month semester, then straight into my first summer camp for 4 weeks and 1 week vacation before the start of the new semester. The VP did allow me to leave early after camps if prep was done for the following day. So I had 4 weeks of almost half-days/early finishes although I was very stressful and tired those days and wanted to pack it in.
I done a 3.5 week camp in winter, but had a good 2 weeks holiday over Christmas and possibly getting some more days off/halfs before the next 2 weeks is up. Overall not bad, and I think schools will get better if the forecasted supply of teachers reduces.

One negative in elementary schools, is that you CAN get a Principal who has been chosen by parent popularity and not on management or communication abilities.80-90% will be OK though, and if you ride out the first year all will be OK.

Made some great friends here, and English dialogue at lunch time is really a good time to chat and have fun, if you find a teacher willing to practice their English.

Afternoons can be boring, unless you find something to do. I find it good for bible study and Korean study, after prep is done in 20 mins.

Just my thoughts, don't take it as Gospel. A good way to get your foot in the door, and think of the year as training.

EDIT: CAN

[Ukon]

[Dome Vans]

Ukon, I'd say the opposite. I've not worked in a Hagwon and disagree with the idea of money based education. Interfering parents etc. I couldn't imagine anything than working my a$s off for a year, 30-40 hours a week and then being jipped in the final 11th month or not being paid at all. How cr$p is that? Or lack of pension or insurance being paid.

I chose PS directly with EPIK and have such a sweet deal. I get paid 2.4. Am always paid on time and any extra is paid directly. My co-teachers and other teachers are so nice as is the VP and the P.

The main thing people take to task is the class size. If you can teach classes of 30 students and take the small victories with having to teach 300-400 students a week then PS is for you. Some people hate getting up early so Hagwons are the best solution for them.

It really comes down the individual. In my city, the teachers here have re-signed 2 or 3 times. So much so that positions very rarely come up. Must say something about our treatment and how the Office of Education thinks of us. This, I understand, is not the same everywhere.

UKON, everywhere in Korea is maximum a three hour bus ride I live 150 km south of Seoul and regular express coaches take 2 hours. When it comes to cheap, easily available transport links, Korea trumps Englandby a long shot. You'll be even closer, so I'd guess an hour maximum.

[maingman]

I personally would say that you have a better chance of success within a Public school Elementary /Middle etc
but agree that clearly the school at the end of the day and your work/.relationships will directly effect your time

I have no advice on the SMOE, EPIK etc entry and applying straighyt with them - seems a good route though and I wouldnt really trust some recruiters
Also I dont think the hakwon (thats privates) necessarily.. pay much more - saying that I have worked in a hagwon and was getting paid more
than what my csalary is now
Im currently in a High school

G Luck with your choice

[chris_J2]

A o/w train ticket to Seoul from Paju in 2007, was 1200 won, or about $1.40. The Seoul subway is good & goes just about everywhere. There is also an extensive public bus network.

And be aware that some posters on Daves, whinge, whine, & gripe about anything & everything. So far, they haven't made an appearance on this thread.

[ceesgetdegrees]

Public schools versus hagwons really comes down to how much money you want to be making and how hard you are willing to push yourself to make it. If you want to be on 1.9-2.4 a month with a lot of sitting around do nothing time and quite reasonable vacations then public schools are a good option. There is a high chance that you will feel quite isolated though as generally public school teachers don't speak much english and some resent the fact that you are even there.

Now if you want the possibility to earn double that money then working morning and afternoon/evening hagwon jobs are the way to go. Personally, after 2 years with GEPIK, i've had enough. I have friends sending home as much money as i make a month, they work for it though but i'm not scared of a little hard work. The thing about public schools is that they will take absolutley anybody they can get their hands on meaning that they are basically scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of the labour pool. If you don't have what it takes to survive in hagwons then public schools are a good gig, personally i'd rather take the risk and try to get on the money.

[Ukon]

Thanks for the advice and clearing things up!

Lastly, is it possible to negoiate your school contract to get higher pay? If I do a TESOL course online after signing the contract, can I get my level bumped for the higher pay raise, or am I stuck with whatever my contract outlined?

[Otherside]

[xCustomx]

[nomad-ish]

definitely go with a public school. while you can make more money at hagwons, there seem to be so many dodgy ones over here. and then you have to deal with the parents, reports, and marking papers.

although i'm not happy with my public school, at least i never have to worry about my school paying into my pension and health plans every month. nor do i worry about getting paid.

however the one thing i do find hard is not being able to contribute much time to each kid (i teach roughly 800kids a week), so i don't get to see much, if any, improvement.

[wings]

It is possible to make a lot of money working at a public school, but of course it depends on the school. A lot of bigger schools will offer you extra classes. Overtime pay is only 20,000 for a 40 minute class in SMOE contracts, but if you have 2 extra classes a day that is an extra 200,000 a week, and you still finish by 4:40. My school is small so I teach all of the kids and give 3 teachers classes a week to fill in my 22 classes per week. I wanted to make extra money so I talked to my coteacher and principal and they set up an after school programme where kids pay to take the classes so I get more than my contracted overtime pay, making an extra 150,000 a week for 1 extra class a day.

On this forum I've heard alot about people making big money at hogwans, but I sure don't know any of them personally. I do know other public school teachers making 3.2 a month (plus housing) with extra classes and still finishing work by 5.

If you are at a public school and you want to make extra money bring up extra classes to your co teacher, when I brought it up they were really happy. They told me that they had wanted to offer extra classes but didn't want me to feel overworked so they had decided not to bother me about it.

[ceesgetdegrees]

Job satisfaction comes into it as well, if you like teaching upwards of (as a previous poster said) 800 kids a week and seeing little to no improvement then go with public schools but if you would rather teach in small groups where (if the right curriculum/management is in place) you can see real results then go with hagwons. Public schools can be just as much of a crapshoot as hagwons but in different ways, for example one school i teach at gives me my own room with computer/internet/heaps of teaching resources, where the other school gives me nothing but crappy co teachers, some of whom show open resentment at my being there. Don't beleive that it's all roses in public schools.

[ceesgetdegrees]