Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

Who has made the transition from teaching in Korea to another job in an unrelated field in another country?

Me, Five years teaching uni, military academy, elementary school and hagwons in Goyang si, Seoul and Cheongju. Now, general manager/Dev. Officer for a small NGO in Jakarta Indonesia. Took a lot of hard work, networking, tears and false starts, but I'm here now and it's the best thing I ever did, career-wise.

Tell us your story.

[Paji eh Wong]

Congrats. I am in the process of making the change.

Unfortunately, there isn't much for non F class visa types in Korea. So I'm holding my nose and teaching in Shanghai for four more months, looking for a job. I want to get into business in Shanghai or Singapore but my timing sucks. My plan is to teach English, network, and find something.

How did you come by your position in Jakarta?

How long did it take you?

[confucianbewildered]

hahaha,

i tried to make the switch. after five years in korea, i foolishly went to visit a friend who works at a small NGO in jakarta, indonesia. after much antics tooling around southeast asia with said devil-friend, the stench of sulfer had rubbed off and left me nearly unemployable.

oh, and the nest egg got invested in shakey waters, but that's a whole different ball of wax.

glad to hear you landed on your feet, mr. shankley

[Paji eh Wong]

^ That was such a lame troll.

You could at least be funny or plausible.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

[confucianbewildered]

toll? really? a bit protective of the purity of a message board, no?


anyway, i'm really interested to hear some success stories as well. i'm currently back in korea, but looking to transfer to tourism/hospitality industry come august.

networking is tough for me in country, but i've found that it snowballs quickly if done properly. i'm looking for specific advice about how to transfer a decent resume(for EFL in korea) into an entirely different field.

any past experiences would be great reading. for example, did anyone use their experience recruiting and scheduling private lessons/company work as a bridge to a marketing position?

i'm lost in the woods so any adivce would be helpful.

[confucianbewildered]

toll? really? a bit protective of the purity of a message board, no?


anyway, i'm really interested to hear some success stories as well. i'm currently back in korea, but looking to transfer to tourism/hospitality industry come august.

networking is tough for me in country, but i've found that it snowballs quickly if done properly. i'm looking for specific advice about how to transfer a decent resume(for EFL in korea) into an entirely different field.

any past experiences would be great reading. for example, did anyone use their experience recruiting and scheduling private lessons/company work as a bridge to a marketing position?

i'm lost in the woods so any adivce would be helpful.

[Captain Corea]

Actually, I've went back and fourth through a number of fields.

Back in education right now and enjoying it.

[IAMAROBOT]

i want to go back to school, but it's gotta be in something that makes money, fairly stable in good times and bad, and pretty much un-outsourceable. enough screwing around on my english lit degree. if there's one thing i'd tell my kids if i were lucky enough to have some, is to never, ever, ever go to college because everyone else is and be a liberal arts major because it's "something to do". i'm going to go as far as not helping them out financially if they decide to do that.

we're freaking lucky we speak a language that people want to learn.

[red_devil]

Thank all that is good, that i'm in the middle of transitioning out of teaching.

[Alyssa]

I got a job in JAPAN! My husband is working for a software company, and we both study Japanese in the morning. It is so much fun to walk outside of our apartment. It is not a big apartment, but it has a garden with a pond and goldfish inside. The people in Japan are so wonderful, full of so much goodness and a dignity that is hard to describe. I have too much free time, I suppose that is why I like reading about the troubles people have on daves, it is kind of fun as I go to a quiet coffee shop and type in silence while the beautiful sound of the Japanese language is heard so softly around me. I am so glad I left korea, that was the best decision I ever made. The food, the people, the language in Japan is like a feast. Each day (even in winter) we have a great time. Not once have I been pushed, or seen someone spitting on the road, or people staring at me like oxes. I teach part time at a kindergarten, the mothers are SO KIND, and often they bring me presents. The Japanese are so interesting, I want to stay here forever! And my husband loves it as well!~

[ChinaBoy]

[jajdude]

Well done Mr Shankly, did not know you were in Indonesia. Cheers.

[Zyzyfer]

Working on it. Last job didn't give me any skills that would be useful outside of that very, very narrow field that couldn't really carry over into other countries because I had to essentially translate gibberish half the time. Current one will probably carry over outside of Korea quite a bit better, even though it still more or less blows. It should hopefully either bump me up to the next level within Korea, or give me enough backing to make the jump at last.

[strange_brew]