Korean Job Discussion Forums

starbunny · Joined: 22 Mar 2009 Location: U.S.

I am getting offers to teach in both public and private schools in Korea and I was wondering what people would recommend... Question

lifeinkorea · Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Location: somewhere in China

Depends on what the details are of the private school job. Public school jobs should be straight forward. However, if you want real feedback, post details of the job you want or both.

Kikomom · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:59 am Post subject:

double post, yikes

Kikomom · Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:59 am Post subject:

Traveling into the great unknown, Wario made his decision solely on the basis of hours. Keeping vampire hours, it was almost a no-brainer, morning or afternoon/evening work time. Then he chose the hagwon offering the most money. Sometimes I wonder how he ever made it to class. But he finished every semester so maybe he sent a double?

And incidentally, he claimed that by staying up all night/sleeping all day prior to traveling half-ways around the world saved him from jet lag. He was already on Korean time. Rolling Eyes

Ruraljuror · Joined: 08 Dec 2007

It depends what you mean by "private school".

If by private school you mean hagwon, you are generally better off with a public school job.

If by private school you mean an actual school that charges tuition, these gigs can be pretty sweet...comparable with mid-level university jobs.

Since you have no experience, I'm assuming that you mean hagwon since private schools don't hire newbies...unless you have some good credentials like a teaching certificate or a Masters...in which case I'd highly recommend the private school job.

As for hagwon v.s. public school, there are (and I'm not exaggerating here) HUNDREDS of threads trying to get to the bottom of this. But the general wisdom (with which I concur) is a public school job is *usually* better than a hagwon job -- but this is not always the case.

private school > public school > hagwon. Usually.

It's hard to give concrete advice without knowing more details about the jobs and what your background is and what you are looking for.

Ukon · Joined: 29 Jan 2008

Private schools have higher base pay for starters....however some PS schools will give you more money than any private school....

I had the same situation and went with the public school....I lucked out...if I ended up at a bad ps job I'd switch to that private school in a heartbeat.