Korean Job Discussion Forums

[crazy_arcade]

Hello all,

Well, I've got 4.5 years of English teaching experience in Korean public schools, a TEFL cert, and intermediate Korean ability.

Next year I'll be doing my B.ED and Canadian teacher cert in High School History/Social Studies. Due to invested interests in Korea--I will most likely be coming back after the program is finished.

What would my options employment wise?

I know I could score a very high paying ESL gig with my experience and certs but I want to teach in my subject area--or at least somewhat closer to it...

There's only a couple of good international schools and they want teachers who have 2 years experience at an accredited North American curriculum based school. I'll be applying to these schools nevertheless.

There are other fully accredited schools that range from ok to the not ok...I will look into them but some of their compensation packages are rather laughable.

The other option would be Foreign Language High Schools-but I've heard that the Korean gov't actually made it illegal for a non-Korean teacher to actually teach any non-ESL classes at these schools. Is that for real?

Of course there are university jobs--these have already been on the table for me and I'm sure I'd have even more opportunity with these after acquiring my Teacher's Cert, however, going into a university gig will also put me further away from my desired goals.

..........any input would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

You could teach social studies at Paju English Village (alongside a 22-year-old computer science major).

[PRagic]

You'll honestly be better served by knocking out a couple of years worth of experience in Canada. As you've already noted, the better international schools want experienced, certified teachers.

Unfortunately, the time you've put in at Korean schools doesn't count for much. In fact, I wouldn't even bank on a 'very high paying ESL gig' as your certification won't be backed up by home country experience. You'll be competing for better ESL jobs against others with as much or more experience and the same or higher degrees. The upside is that maybe the education degree will get you into a higher pay bracket in Korean public schools.

The long and short of it is that you'll be certified, yes, but you'll only have your Bachelor's degree. Even if you can get a university position, it will undoubtably be in ESL. You won't be teaching content in your dicipline with just a BEd. Ironically, even if for some reason a university does pick you up to teach history, it won't help your career much as the university will, without question, be very low on the ladder of rankings. What's that quote? "I wouldn't want to work for any place that would hire a person like me."

It is impressive that you've taken your commitment to teaching to the next level, and it can be a let down when a lot of hard work still isn't enough to haul in the potential rewards of a career teaching in your dicipline, but remain realistic and optimistic. The world is your oyster; unfortunately, you don't have the shucking knife just yet.