Korean Job Discussion Forums

[davejohnson333]

Is the economic downturn affecting or expected to affect the hiring of
new English teachers in South Korea?


Anyone have experience with the school they are working at tightening
their belt yet in regard to their hiring?


Dave Johnson

[Adventurer]

[Juregen]

I am hiring.

But it seems difficult to find minimal qualified teachers interested working just outside of Seoul.

Cheers

PS: I did lose some students due to economic slowdowns (most of them their husbands are in the real estate business).

[moosehead]

[ChinaBoy]

[Socks]

[Milwaukiedave]

I think some of it may also depend on the exchange rate, the new regulations on E-2's (which are coming up on a full year of being in effect) and the economy (which is likely to get worse). In my opinion it's too early to tell at this point.

[Juregen]

[bassexpander]

So, Jurgen, you're saying it's difficult for your school to find people with BA's?

"Qualified" in Korea means the teacher has a BA in anything.

That's the problem with Korea. According to government visa standards, "qualified" means BA in anything. If Koreans disagree with this, then they need to change the law to allow E-2 visas only for certified teachers. If they can't/won't do that, then they are guilty of following their own stupid rules, and have no room for complaint. It's not the waygook's fault.

Schools and recruiters bitch because they can't get people with actual teaching experience, certifications, and what-not. They do this bitching while they refuse to pay what it would cost for certified teachers to come here.

So... my questions for you are as follows:

1. What do you consider "qualified"?
2. What are you paying for this position? (and I realize it's your school, not you -- don't take this personally)


Think about it. Does your school, or any other Korean school for that matter, have any room whatsoever to complain about not finding qualified teachers?

I could start an electronics company tomorrow and bitch that I couldn't find "qualified" engineers -- especially if I want to pay qualified engineers 2/3 of what I should pay, and only hire people who aren't certified engineers because I'm too frugal to pay for what the job demands.


Assuming you're a teacher, this is not your fault, Jurgen. Please tell your school they need to pay more if they expect to hire someone with qualifications exceeding what the local visa rules demand. If you want someone with an education degree, or actual Western certifications, I suggest you start the pay at between 3.0 and 3.5 million plus housing. If the school can't afford it, then they need to stop bitching and either NOT hire someone, or accept someone with a BA in whatever and also stop bitching.

Likewise, parents who are fearful that "unqualified" waygooks are teaching their children need to demand that their hagwon or public school raise pay in order to hire people at the level of qualification they want. As for now, the level of qualified, per the Korean government, is BA in anything. Don't like it? Change it.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[bassexpander]