Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Voyeur]

I have a buddy who might want to do a 1-2 year stint here and he is seeking to better understand the public school option.

I have an acquaintance here that teaches public school and he said there were three "magic" secrets to making public school worthwhile. I'd like some confirmation on them.

He said the 3 magic things were:

1. Using the 40 hours productively: He said that the downside of PS is that they want you in longer than MOST Hogwons - 40 hours a week. Though he did stress that 40 hours (or at least more and more non-teaching hours) on-site is a major trend in Hogwon contracts. However, he said that as long as you have some kind of personal area with a computer at school, and you can find something where you can apply those hours: university courses, learning a language, etc... then effectively they aren't wasted and those hours become HIS hours again and not the schools. He stressed that he doesn't need anywhere near all those on-site hours for prep. He only teaches 22 40 minute classes a week or something. So not much actual face time. Also, even if you only get the mandated holidays, during the students' vacation period, teaching hours drop even lower. So once again, as long as you can make those hours YOUR hours, really, there isn't that much work to do compared to a Hogwon (27-30 CONTACT hours is standard there - not even mentioning prep).

OTOH he stressed that if you can't make productive use of your at school time, then find a Hogwon where you can get more at home time.

2. Get your TESOL cert: For little investment he added 100k to his salary or something.

3. Extra-Classes: He said it was important to be at a school that can regularly offer you extra classes to teach that fall within the 40 hours on-site mandated at school time. He said it was important for those classes to not put you at over 40 hours a week at school as that was not efficient.

Basically, he said pay at public schools seems low and work hours high. But in reality, if you have something you can do, it is alsmot like being at home for many of those hours. And for like 18 basic hours face time + 4+ more hours of extra classes and a tesol he can effectively pull in 2.3+ as a first year while doing maybe 22 total teaching hours a week and maybe 4-5 hours of prep. Plus you won't get screwed like you do in Hogwons.

Meanwhile, a Hogwon newb is getting 2.2 or 2.3 but has 27 to 30 hours of class time plus at least another 4-5 hours a week at school where you probably will have stuff you must do to. No surprise canceled classes you still get paid for. No slow times during student vacations, etc...

Does his advice jibe with other people's experiences?

[ttompatz]

That is essentially accurate BUT:

take into consideration your co-teacher.

If your "friend" understands how things work and how to function in a largely Korean environment then it is all good.

Many newbies (or even those coming from hakwons with large foreign staffs) run into trouble dealing with the co-teacher and by NOT understanding how to go up the chain of command when the co-teacher gets stupid and tries to deal with the FT like a junior KT.

There are still work issues to deal with - they are just different from the ones a hakwon worker has to deal with.

.

[garykasparov]

Voyeur = CDI Recruiter so err on the side of caution.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Rather mundane and obvious but accurate.

[BS.Dos.]

My tuppence worth.

"Desk time" obviously varies with the amount of lessons you teach. I only teach 14 classes per week and so get around 26-hours of desk time. I'm studying so for me it's a bonus, but for some, having so much time to fill could become very frustrating. If this is likely to be an issue for you, then you may want to consider applying to teach at a large urban school where you'll probably have to teach more classes. A small school (180 students)in the sticks (like mine) will unlikely to be able to offer you those extra classes you mention in point three.

[Voyeur]

Not a CDI recuiter lol

Sorry that it was kind of pedantic. Just covering the bases.

AT urban schools can you usually get extra classes? And can that time be part of the 40 hours a week you have to be at school or does it take you over?

[Sody]

Yes you can get extra classes but it depends on the school. You can do extra classes even in a rural school.

What do you mean by "take you over?"

If you are scheduled for 22 hours a week then you will teach 22 classes and then any extra classes from 8:30-4:30 will be your overtime.

Standard overtime in most public schools is anywhere from 20k - 30k an hour.

If you decide to do overtime be wary of GEPIK schools since they try to calculate your overtime based on the amount of hours you work in total as opposed to your schedule. So if you have canceled classes they sometimes try to pay you less.

Also be wary of teaching extra classes in Korea that are offered free to students. This is what happens in many rural schools.

Why? Let me quote the great Napoleon Hill:

"One of the strange things about human beings is that they value only that which has a price."

This is especially true in Korea.

Forget the TESOL certificate unless you are a completely new teacher with no training at all.

Sody

[Voyeur]

I thought the TESOl added a 100k bump...

I meant that is you are scheduled for 22 classes and you do some overtime classes, will you still only have to be at school a total of 40 hours a week? Do those extra classes happen during the school day when you have to be there anyways, or can they happen after school? If so, what time? Is there any way by doing extra classes you could end up with over 40 hours a week at school?

[ttompatz]

[bogey666]

ttompatz..

can you be forced to work overtime in "after school" hours? (meaning after 4:30?)

I accepted such a situation recently, (because principal decreed that there would be required special classes for the entire school, the Korean teachers are REALLY pissed about it)

but was curious whether had I said no, if they had any leverage, especially because my normal classload within the regular 40 hour workweek is below 22 classes)

[Voyeur]

[bogey666]

[Voyeur]

let me see...public school SEEMS so horrible on the surface for a newbie:

40 hours a week
1.8 million pay

I mean it seems like the contract from hell lol

But if you can get 6 extra classes and do a 100 hour tesol then you are looking at:

1.8
100k
500k / month

___

2.4

for 28 x 40 min

18.5 contact hours? That isn't so horrible provided you can fill your days. How hard is getting those classes?

How many hours a week of prep do you have?


AT CDI I know a newbie on 2.4 gets 28 contact hours a week. And about 3.5 mandated hours a week including training. Your prep will take up that 30 min a day you are here., so you usally need to come earlier to eat lunch or make sure you aren't late etc... So realistically you are talking 28 contact hours, 3-4 hours a week of prep and workshops, and maybe 33 hours total onsite a week. OFC they also have 5 days a year vacation, no holidays, and a week of unpaid training. Interesting comparison.

A lot seems to come down to getting those extra classes.

[ttompatz]

I don't know of any government program that still starts at 1.8.

GePIK starts at 2.0 and works up to about 2.7 for your base salary, gives you 6 weeks of paid vacation (if you renewed) + all the other benefits.

Depending on where you work (urban or rural) and you can add another 5 (working) days of paid vacation and an extra 100k per month (even if you live in a place like Seohyun/Bundang.

Then you can add in the extra classes (even the smallest rural schools can create an "after school" program so you can get them if you ask (and if your co-teacher is not a lazy dick).

I usually gross about 3 mil per month along with all the other benefits AND, since public schools only have 200 instructional days per year, usually get an additional 2 weeks or so of unofficial holidays (one or 2 days at a time) scattered throughout the year.

Bottom line is to not base your judgment on just the base salary.

The perks add up and a newbie with a brand new BA starting at 24 mil per year can end up with close to 30+ mil per year PLUS all the other benefits (annual return airfare (or cash in lieu), lots of paid holidays, pension, medical, housing, settlement allowance, severance paid annually... It all adds up ...

.

[Voyeur]

I thought SMOE was 1.8 to start...