Korean Job Discussion Forums

KYC · Joined: 11 May 2006

So, I've been offered some overtime at my school. I accepted the weekday ones. Only 2 classes per week at 20,000 each class.

The Saturday classes...I would get 30,000 for each student though. It sounds really tempting. It'll only be like 2 saturdays a month. I told them I would think about it. Anyway..would you do it?

plynx · Joined: 03 Jun 2008

the money sounds good, but i've been there, done that. my boss told me it would only be "one class" for a certain amount of hours. then she added on another class without asking - 6 hours of my saturdays gone. right now they "say" it'll only be for two saturdays a month, but you never know what might happen after classes have commenced. are you ready/willing to give up your weekends? working the six days made me want to quit my job. which i did. in my opinion, you should keep your weekends for yourself unless you're desperate for money (and even then, think of other - more lucrative - alternatives) or have nothing better to do.

KYC · Joined: 11 May 2006

Well it's a public school so I don't think they'll add more classes without letting me know. Most of my friends have left anyway. I didn't save any money during my first year & I never did any overtime or private tutoring. I'm not interested in teaching privates either. If anything, I'd rather do it through the school. hmm still dunno

nobbyken · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Location: Yongin ^^

I would work if I was asked and available. As long as I never had too many hours through the week.
Saturday mornings are over very quickly if taking a long-lie.
I would rather do upto 4 hours in the morning and then go home at lunch with the whole day ahead of me. I would probably be more active the remainder of the day with the bonus of having earned extra money.

If it's every Saturday, which Korean teachers don't do, try to wangle some time off through the week too?

bogey666 · Joined: 17 Mar 2008 Location: Korea, the ass free zone

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

I once agreed to teach a couple of hours on Saturday once a month. It didn't sound too taxing and the money was good. What I found, and this is my personal experience, was that it made the weekend all but disappear. I was home shortly after noon, but by the time I'd eaten lunch it was more or less the middle of the afternoon. Throw in things like doing laundry and weekly shopping and suddenly it's Sunday. I was tired the whole next week.

I didn't find the money compensated for the lack of free time.

KoreanAmbition · Joined: 03 Feb 2008

I work any overtime that I can get, and always wish I could get more. Smile

OP, you said previous OT was at 20,000 but this is at 30,000. I would assume that means your regular hourly rate is also below 30,000. In this case, I would be taking OT for sure.

Go work the OT. Would you be "lucky" enough to get 3 hours per day? That's 180,000 per month based on 2 Saturdays. Just think what you want to spend the money on and then enjoy it.

If you could do it for 4 months, that's 720,000. I'm pretty sure you could reward yourself with a nice vacation to another country on that money. What was so important for 3 hours on Saturday that you wouldn't trade that for an international flight?

Just my opinion. Good luck.

cruisemonkey · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject:

Everyone is different, but like Ya-ta, I value my time off more than (almost) any monitary compensation. They would have to offer 'really big bucks' to get me to teach on Saturdays. W30,000/class doesn't even come close. I've been offered W40,000/class for 'afterschool' (Mon.-Fri.) classes and turned it down.

cruisemonkey · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:33 pm Post subject:

I jusr re-read the OP's post, and W30,000/student is so ambiguous as to guarantee he/she will get 'screwed'.

saw6436 · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Daejeon, ROK

I did Saturday TOEFL classes for 5 years. 2pm to 5pm. 4 classes at W30,000 per hour. Good money and good for my relationsip with my boss.

KoreanAmbition · Joined: 03 Feb 2008

OP,

I do empathize witih other opinions on this thread regarding valuing free time. I guess a big issue would be how many hours each week you currently spend doing school-related work.

I have full days of teaching on Mondays and Wednesdays. However, I only teach from 9:10am - 11:10am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Fridays I only teach from 7:20am -12:00 noon. For me, I have tons of free time in my opinion and I don't really have a lot of other things I want to do anyways, so for me to work overtime is fine. In addition, I like working so I welcome extra hours.

I think you should also factor in what you will be spending your extra earnings on. If you are paying off debt then maybe there is more reason to work longer. Also, if you have a "luxury" item you want like a new laptop, plasma tv, or a vacation, then maybe you are more inclined to work extra hours.

The marginal utility of wages curve does bend "back" onto itself as you earn more money, but I think everyone is at a different point on that curve. You should evaluate your lifestyle and how much you covet extra revenue.