Korean Job Discussion Forums

[marlow]

What do you think the maximum pay would be for a good hagwon gig? I know it's a broad and vague question, but bear with me.

Let's say that about 400,000 is given for housing, that they pay pension and half of health, that they give severance, and that they give airfare each year.

Let's put the work week at 40 hours, as well. And, I mean 40 hours as in whatever prep, teaching or anything that needs to be done, it's done between 9 and 5, or 2 and 10, what have you, M-F.

2.5M, 3.0M, 3.5M? How about vacation? Say 2, 3, 4, or 5 weeks?

Public schools seem to be going down the tubes, and obviously the money is in the private sector. Parents seem OK paying 50,000 per class for their little Minsu or Minji for privates, so money is no real object. They obviously shell out for hagwons, as well. What portion can an employee expect if they do their research and find the right sort of place?

[Nexus11]

2.5 for an eight hour day would be an embarrassment. Lots of hagwons offer that and sucker in newbs who think "Wow! An extra 300,000 an month over a regular 6 hour a day hagwon!"

Do the math. An extra two hours a day is an extra 43 hours a month. 43 hours a month for 300,000 is 6976/hour. You're getting paid like a McDonalds employee for those extra hours.

If you are willing to invest a few weeks or even months of daily searching into your next job and have a year or two of experience, even an unqualified teacher can get over 2.5 for a six hour work day.

For hagwons, making 3.5 is definitely possible and is not the highest you can go. However, you won't get those jobs doing a phone interview from your mother's basement. You'll need experience and you'll need to be able to convince the director that you are better than you really are.

However, if you don't have the patience to spend an hour a day for weeks or months searching job ads, a couple of years in a public school should still be able to get you 2.5 for 6 hours in a hagwon.

[esetters21]

[Hyeon Een]

There are hagwans out there that pay well, BUT they usually have specific requirements, for example:

- Teaching AP classes
- Teaching TOEIC or TOEFL
- Teaching GCSE or A Level subjects
- Teaching IB

If you're qualified, those jobs pay well. A regular hagwan teaching English as a foreign language, for no specific purpose, probably isn't going to pay awesomely because they can't charge parents enough. As soon as they have a specific target market (such as one of the above subjects) they can start charging parents a boatload, and thus pay qualified teachers more.

Just so you know, I had a hagwan job where I worked 4 hours a day 3 times a week, and 6 hours 2 times a week (total = 24 hours a week) for 3.6m. That was including a 300k housing allowance. The alternative would have been about 3.2 with a studio apartment. I had to make monthly report cards, but there was very very little lesson prep due to excellent resources.

These jobs do exist, they're just NOT common, NOT often advertised, and for QUALIFIED candidates. And when I say qualified, a lot of Americans and Canadians here are at least qualified enough to teach AP History or English or something similar =) Most of those jobs go to gyopos though who can work on the side legally though.

[reimund]

[air76]

I agree that the jobs that pay 3.0 million or more are not just regular run of the mill jobs...they have longer working hours, require more responsibility and more work, and generally require specific qualifications, and the majority of these jobs are of course in Seoul. Of course there are exceptions, but this is the case in any industry, it's like a waiter at a 5-star restaurant claiming that "any" waiter should be able to make $200-300/night in tips, and not mentioning that you're lucky to clear $40 working the skank shift at Denny's.

2.5 is a great salary for just a regular old hagwon job with a 6 hour schedule and no real responsibility other than just showing up and going through the motions.

For a newbie 2.1-2.2 is a reasonable salary and is what the majority of the regular jobs are paying. Sure, you CAN get more, but it isn't the norm as many of the posters on here would like people to think.

I know that several people will have some snide comment about not rolling out of bed for 2.5, but if the average newbie refuses to work for anything less than 2.5 then they could be looking for a job for quite some time.

[Juregen]

I wonder why people just out of college think they are worth 3.5M a month?

Some might, but they pbbly will not be working in the ESL Industry.

[Hyeon Een]

[KoreanAmbition]

I did not accept, but was offered a job, at a Hagwon with the following job specs:

Monday - Friday 4pm-10pm
Saturday 2:30 - 8pm (i think)

Not much prep because you taught out of a book.

The pay was 3.0 million per month if you wanted housing.
The pay was 3.5 million per month if you didn't want housing.

They gave all the extras every Hagwon offers.

I think I would have gotten 2 weeks of vacation a year.


By the way, I did pass the contact info onto another Dave's patron a while ago but I have no idea if he ended up signing with them. I'm not sure but I think the hagwon might have been in Gangnam (but don't hold me to that.)

[bobranger]

My hagwon gig is a good gig. I get 2.5 plus 250,000 pension plus basic perks and a weekly stipend if needed (housing, bonus and airfare money) based on 22 class schedule. The class times are 50 minutes but can finish in 40 without administration complaint. I work at a local high school during the day so I did increase attendance. Besides the money or lack there of, I basically supplement the speaking part of the English Department. I have complete autonomy in the class. I get paid on time and can take vacation days within reason. I�ve taken three in the last six months. They even gave me a private stall in the bathroom. For me piece of mind is as important as money. After teaching in a big city school system (USA), I really appreciate the freedom and respect I get. My hogwon job is a lot less stressful then my PS job. I will say I did get lucky. It exceeds all my expectations which I set low for sanity�s sake.

[marlow]