Korean Job Discussion Forums

MollyBloom · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Location: James Joyce's pants

I was reading that elementary/secondary positions should be opening up in the upcoming years because the baby boomers are retiring. I hope that means I will get a job after I get my MSSE!

krats1976 · Joined: 14 May 2003

browneyedgirl · Joined: 17 Jul 2007

A lot of teachers in the States who were going to retire this year are staying on because they lost their savings when the stock market fell.

Viaje · Joined: 03 Feb 2009 Location: Indebted, USA

I'm in the states and am considering coming to Korea, as I can't find a job here at all. Teachers are now being laid off in California and the state is bankrupt. Government employees now have to take two Fridays off per month without pay, in order to save the state money. You are lucky to be well-employed anywhere now, though I understand if you would like to return home. I would say things will change for the better, but not for two or three years at least, at least not for teachers. In some sectors specific to Obama's stimulus plan, such as alternative energy, there may be jobs for those who are qualified. This is a good time for those who are so inclined and able to do it--to go to grad school or something which will pay off down the road, as earning now may not present much opportunity. Having said that if its possible to make good money still in Korea I would like to hear about that. One teacher told me he got a pay cut because of the economy, after he returned from his vacation to the US, I guess he signed a new contract but at a smaller salary.

ReeseDog · Joined: 05 Apr 2008 Location: Classified

One might need to be a little geographically mobile for the next couple of years in order to secure a job, but it isn't like a qualified teacher simply can't find work. If one refuses to consider working more than a five-mile radius from home or can't stomach working anywhere other than whitebread suburbia, then of course (s)he might have difficulty finding work.

The boomers are already beginning to retire. Over the next several years they'll be leaving the profession en masse, especially as the economy revives.

Right now is a fine time to begin a teaching career in the US (or a career as a nurse specializing in geriatrics, for that matter).