Korean Job Discussion Forums

[curlygirl]

I've been offered a part-time (legal) teaching postion at a local hagwon. The owner wants to pay me an hourly rate and has offered W30,000.

The class size is 5 students, low-level elementary age.
I have 2 years' experience teaching high school students in Korea.
I've also taught elementary students at 5 English camps.

In addition I have a CELTA certificate.

I think W30,000 is on the low side but I'd like to have a ball park figure to negotiate around. So what's the normal hourly rate for a part-time teacher?

Any advice gratefully accepted.

[dean_burrito]

I've heard everywhere from 20k to 80k. I guess it all depends on how much you need the money. I'm getting 40k for my Saturday classes and people have told me that is low. But people tend to say a lot of things in these parts.

[FistFace]

1 hour at time should be a minimum of 50,000.

Block hours (more than 2 hours in a block) should be paid at a minimum of 35,000/hr. Personally, I wouldn't get out of bed for less than 40,000/hr block. It's just not worth my time.

[dean_burrito]

Personally I wouldn't get out of bed for less than......

Gotta be one of my favorite Dave's catch phrases.

[KoreanAmbition]

BURRITO,

I agree. I wonder how many people on here make that claim but actually get up every day for their regular job which pays less than 40k / hour.


Up next is a massive influx of comments about how their regular jobs actually pay way more as well.

[curlygirl]

Good comments thus far. Please keep them coming.

I did a quick equation as follows:

Average hagwon job pays 2.3 million plus an apartment (maybe 0.5 million) for 30 contact hours. So that makes 2.8 million for 30 contact hours (not including the obligatory meetings, calling students, marking homework etc). So let's round it up to 40 hours so we're working with an easy to work with figure.

2.8 million / 40 hours = W70,000

Hmmm...that seems a little on the high side. Please keep your suggestions coming. I don't want to piss off the potential boss by proposing too high a figure, but nor do I want to low-ball myself as this will inevitably lead to disatisfaction.

Thanks to those who have posted thus far.

[frankly speaking]

If you calculate a normal 2.2 salary, your hourly wage is less than 20,000.

Cuty girl, I think that you must have failed math.

Average hagwon job pays 2.3 million plus an apartment (maybe 0.5 million) for 30 contact hours. So that makes 2.8 million for 30 contact hours (not including the obligatory meetings, calling students, marking homework etc). So let's round it up to 40 hours so we're working with an easy to work with figure.

2.8 million / 40 hours = W70,000


Your contact hours of 30 are per week and there are 4 weeks a month. So your monthly contact hours are around 120
2.8/120 +23,333 won an hour.

Other things to consider is how many times a week, and the number of hours the class will be. Will you have to do any grading or testing, will there be anything that you need to prep for before hand. If there is extra things that you must do, then charge more.

As for a part time job 30,000 per hour isn't bad. 30-40,000 is the standard for privates in Seoul. Less if you live in a more rural area.

Instead of per hour. I would instead agree upon a monthly fee regardless if students cancel a class. The reason is that if one day there isn't class, you still have booked that hour, so you cannot teach somewhere else. Schools charge students up front for a months classes regardless of how often they miss or if there is a holiday on class day.

A lot of people talk a lot of crap about how much they get paid. Don't get greedy and give them something for their money. I don't know anyone who get's paid 80,000 an hour for teaching conversation to elementary students. If you were teaching SAT prep or other college level prep courses and had lots of experience or great credentials, then you could easily get 80,000+ an hour.

I think that you are doing well at 30,000, but it wouldn't hurt to ask for 35,000. I wouldn't use your credentials as your bargaining chip. I would stress, the level of commitment that you have to give to create excellent lessons. The amount of time that you put into a class before you teach.

Good luck. However I don't see how this is legal. Unless their name is on your visa or if you have an F2 visa.

[yingwenlaoshi]

[nachoinkorea]

OK, 2 things:

First, 2.8 million KRW / 40 hours DOES NOT EQUAL 70,000 KRW per hour.

You are doing your math wrong. You need to divide it by the whole month, not by one week. So, 2.8 million divided by 160 hours (a full month) comes out to 17,500 KRW per hour.

Second, I think a lot of your guys are confusing part-time work with private work. Private work, absolutely you should not be doing anything under 40,000 KRW per hour, bare minimum. They are coming to you, so charge them what you think your spare, valuable private time is worth.

But to expect a company to pay those same wages per hour is ridiculous. 40,000 KRW per hour, at 6 hours a day, 5 days a week comes out to 4.8 million KRW per month. Let's also assume they are playing by the rules and also sponsoring your visa, providing you with housing (or housing assistance), pension, health insurance, etc. Who in their right mind is going to pay for this? Even if you are doing it for just 2 hours a day, that is still 1.6 million KRW per month, not a small amount of change for 40 hours a month. Good luck finding any company who will pay this and still provide you with benefits.

OP, if you find a company that is willing to sponsor your visa, provide you with at least some benefits, and pays you more than 20,000 KRW per hour then you have a fairly sweet deal. Do the math and you realize that a top public school teacher is making 22,500 KRW per hour at 2.7 million per month, not including what the school pays on their housing.

[nachoinkorea]

Let me also add, if the company you are working part-time for also allows you to add other companies to your visa (as in you work at a hagwon and they allow you to add an after-school position) then you have a really sweet deal. Plenty of people pull in 3.5 million+ easy doing this.

[curlygirl]

Ha ha you are so right, I was a math dunce. I divided the salary by the number of hours in a week instead of the number of hours in a month, doh! I was always top of the class at English though so that's my saving grace.

Now I have a much better idea of what to ask for. Thank you guys so much for your help - much appreciated.

curlygirl