Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eamo]

I think you should marry Vanislander. Be a kept woman.

[kiwiduncan]

[Draz]

[VanIslander]

[Mr. Pink]

Okay, I hope you read this reply:

I got ants in my pants and headed back to Canada thinking it was all roses and sunshine. You may want to think about the following when thinking of returning to Canada:

1) The teaching job market is over saturated atm (like a previous poster said). I personally refuse to be on a substitute list for 2yrs all the while kissing monster butt trying to secure a position.

2) When you do get that teaching job, 99% of the schools won't recognize your Korean experience and thus you start at the bottom of the ladder. The pay in Ontario is about 38k-41k for beginners, depending on your level of education.

3) You are right about taxes and cost of living in Canada:
i) Your 10k won't last you long at all when you come back. I came back with a wife and kid, and we spent like 5k just in buying crap for an apartment. Another 15k on a car - and that was a used car. I gotta love paying 15% tax on a $10,000 purchase that has already had tax paid on it. Then the money to live each month is insane unless you want to live like a student. I don't live like a student, nor will I do that again.
ii) Your 40k beginning job will end up being less than 20k after taxes, pension, cpp, EI, union dues, etc. Then there is rent, utilities, gas, car expenses, food, entertainment, etc. You will be lucky to have a few grand saved up at the end of the year.

4) Working in Korea is easy...especially compared to "real" teaching. No offense to all the ESL jockeys out there, but teaching at a public school in one's home country is WAY harder. You have to deal with:
i) Special needs students
ii) ESL students in regular integrated classes
iii) Kids with tons of family/home life problems
iv) Kids who don't care about school (no assignments done, skipping classes, disruptive in classes, etc.)
v) Parents who couldn't parent to save their arse, yet expect you to do all the work
vi) Administrators who take the side of parents over you (where have you seen that before?)
vii) A higher level of accountability.
vii) In Ontario you might be responsible for aiding with the literacy or numeracy tests.

5) Schools are going to ask you what professional development you've done in the past 6 years. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say none? They always want to see teachers doing extra additional qualification courses or other types of professional development.

Okay, so I've made a case for why Canada isn't a good call. It could be a good call if you got connections, IE, your aunt is a principal or person of power in a school board. If that were the case though, would you have gone to Korea?

So, how about this option:

Goto www.search-associates.com Check them out. It is $200 US to register with them and they have an International School fair in Bangkok next January. If you score a job through them, there is always a chance of getting a job at a Korean International school, and bingo you can stay in country. There are tons of countries and schools out there. The website will list what schools are going to what fairs.

My plan is to go to one of their fairs next year (if I don't score an International school job by then) and 100% leave Canada next year.

Lastly:

Why the hell do you use credit cards and not pay them off every month? At your age this should be something you need to get ahold of. The interest on $5000 @ like 19% a year is killer. Wait to buy whatever the hell it is you want to buy. In the end, more money will be in your pocket, instead of theirs.

Pay off your cards!!!

Stop supporting your husband. On 2.7mil a month with credit card debts you cannot afford this!!!

[Janny]

OK...you people are the best. Honestly, my opinion of Dave's is much higher now. What great advice. I am so glad I posted..

So....yes, credit cards. Seems I buy whatever I want as soon as I want it. (Usually expensive meals and grocery items are #1) And I buy expensive flights to different places. I just don't 'worry' about money. It always seems to be there when I need it, for whatever reason. And because Im a teacher, I feel strongly I'll be employable *somewhere* in the world for the 20-30 years of my life. I like that feeling of not being worried about it. I feel so happy and free. Seriously, it's not a joke. I don't feel worried.

But I may be thinking more and more about saving for my golden years. I just wish I had a plan. Maybe this is where a husband would come in handy. But the man I married is still unemployable in Canada and most other places as well (looooong story full of stupidity and ego). So at least now that's over and I am THINKING about planning for myself. That's why I posted.

Mr. Pink, thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll end up doing that. Jane, you made me feel better too by bringing up the "pressure" thing. It really does drive my mother that Im not in Canada teaching now with a house n hubby. Isn't it grand though, all the choices we have now?

Thanks again people. You've got some good karma coming.

[nene]

You might consider furthering your education. With your teaching experience, you should be competitive for some pretty sweet EFL jobs, maybe even without further training. I'm thinking of the Persian Gulf in particular, but also some of the nicer jobs in Asia, be them in Hong Kong, or the better positions in Korea/China/Japan. Do you have a TEFL certificate? Could you get an MA while working and without piling on too much debt?

You do need to get your finances in order, but that doesn't have to mean huge sacrifices. You could boost your earnings by at least quarter within a couple years with an intense job search and/or some education. Then you can start saving without your lifestyle taking a hit.

All that said, always listen to your heart. You get one shot at life; make sure you're always living the way you want to.

One more thing to think about.... The toughest decisions are those where the options are of similar value to you. Once you've educated yourself to the pros and cons of each side, if there were a big difference between the two, it would be an easy decision. So when you find yourself really struggling with a choice, as long as you've done a good job gathering information, you can usually relax knowing that neither path is likely to be much worse than the other.

[D.D.]

[E_athlete]

mr pink is the truth.

one thing I forgot to mention is the 85 factor for teaching retirement in Canada. Your age + years worked in Canada as a teacher have to equal to 85 to get full pension. At 36 yrs old you have a hard time receiving full pension in Canada and even if you were to get it I'm not so sure how long you would live to enjoy it. In the best case scenario you are looking at being 62 when you retire.

not canada, stay in Korea where everything is sparkling.

[nene]

[DCJames]

The longer you stay in Korea, the harder it'll be to go back to life in the west.

Korea is an illusion and many people sacrifice tooth and nail to live here for long periods of time only to have nothing to show for it in the end.

Don't be that guy (or gal).

Go home.

[Mr. Pink]