Korean Job Discussion Forums

[withnail]

Is it just me or have universities decided to really start taking the mickey? Take a look at what the latest batch are offering:(all taken from Dave's) What on earth's going on?

Jeonju National University of Education

18 teaching hours (in a credit and non-credit programs) per week
Overtime compensated at 20,000 won per hour
4 weeks paid vacation per year
Two million won monthly salary

Kyonggi University
A yearly salary of 24 million won (2 million won per month) for a bachelor's degree holder and 26.4 million won (2.2 million won per month) for a master's degree holder will be paid. �four weeks of paid vacation in winter and summer is provided.

Yonsei University
Teaching workload: 26 hours/week (Wednesdays off, 7:00am-8:40pm split shifts-subject to change)
3) Vacations: An average of 2 week term break after completing 10 week program, 4 times a year. (Vacation period is subject to change depending on FLI schedule)
4) Contract Duration: 1 calendar year. Renewable based on instructor��s performance
5) Salary: from 21,600,000won

Kyungnam University
15 hour/wk base salary of 2.05 to 2.15 million won per month depending on qualifications and experience.
-22,000 won per hour overtime. The current average is 24 hours per week

Busan National University of Education
Salary: 2.13 million won
(One US dollar corresponds to 1403.50 won as of Oct. 23rd, 2008)
7. Overtime Pay: 12,000 won for regular classes

[cdninkorea]

As C.S Lewis put it: "The better a thing can be, the worse it can be."

[red_devil]

Yeah, i saw a posting saying Masters degree+teaching cert+min. 2 years experience teaching at collegiate level...ALL FOR 2.0Mil.

Whutdafuxup with that? Do they honestly think an extra few weeks pay justifies that jackshit pay? Oh and another thing, you know it's bad when they post the salary per YEAR instead of monthly. As if they hope we won't be able to do the math and divide...

[Juregen]

If you don't like the deal, don't sign it.

[xCustomx]

[bassexpander]

You'll see them advertising again -- in a desperate sort of way -- come February. This after they realize the top 5 candidates they wanted have taken better offers.

What they will end up doing is hiring a BA, who wants the job for the vacation, at the last minute.

By the way the 2.13 pay for the Busan gig isn't the worst to come out of that city.

[Return Jones]

University jobs have never ever been that great. People have always been duped and starstruck by the word "university" and the 16 hours a week. They failed to realize that low pay for low hours equals a crappy part-time job. The only benefit that I must concede is the extended vacation. Not worth it though, IMO.

[SHANE02]

How can anyone afford a decent vacation on 2 mill anyway?

[IlIlNine]

Uni gigs are totally not worth it. My sincere advice to everyone is to stay away from the university jobs!

[I_Am_The_Kiwi]

Pay peanuts and you get monkeys.......they must be looking to extend their zoo enclosures.

Less pay than PS, less vacation thatn PS and more hours, and most likely more stress. fuk that.

[marlow]

In case no one realized most university instructors are just that--instructors. If the position requires just ANY masters, they obviously aren't looking for high quality material.

[PRagic]

Check out some of the threads from as far back as 2004-2005. We've been calling this situation for years.

There are a few people with BAs still in comparatively decent jobs, and some of them that are now connected where they work might even be able to keep their jobs. People with BAs looking to start university work should know that the glory days have passed.

There are also fewer and fewer competitively paying MA positions out there now, too, and most of them have implemented term limits. I know a few people who thought their jobs were secure and were satisfied, only to have the rug pulled out from under their collective feet.

MAs in ESL related fields + loads of certificates + loads of experience will be competing for the best ESL jobs out there. A newer trend is teaching dicipline specific ESL (e.g. business, engineering, or law). People with degrees in those diciplines + some ESL certification and/or experience may be able to score better jobs. Why? Those jobs are outside of the traditional English programs, and other departments have more say in what they pay. Not always the case, but it does happen.

Seems the Koreans are playing it right. Hey, if people are still lining up for the jobs, why pay more? If the decent paying jobs that require professionals dry up, the experienced and qualified will simply jump ship to another country. In this respect, Korea is also taking a gamble.

[Faunaki]

I have a very good chance of getting into a uni near my house but I'm not going for it cause it would mean I'd have to take a 1,000,000 pay cut.

No thanks.

[The_Source]

Korean universities are a joke. I wouldn't recommend a uni job in Korea to my worst enemy. The pay is low, the hours are long (if you include prep time and grading), the conditions are atrocious, and the students are whiners, among other things.

I'll never work for a Korean university again. I'm thrilled to be back at a hagwon.

[PRagic]

If you have your MA, certifications, and experience, Korean universities actually pay as well or better than positions in N. America IF, and this is a big IF, you can get one of the few remaining jobs left for professionals.

For Ph.D. holders, positions in Korea, again, pay on par with what one would make in N. America (current devasting slide in the won aside). And truth be told, you can bank a lot more here than you'd be able to in the US or Canada based on salary rates despite the won crash.

Ewha, for example just started a new grad program in ESL teaching, and they are looking to hire either Ph.D.s or uber qualified MA holders.

It's just supply and demand: for every poster here who says they will never take a university job, there are 5 people lined up willing to work at the going rates to get an extra month of vacation. Sad, but true.