Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hagwonnewbie]

Everything is a big plus at a good academy except the vacation.

I'll never understand why people take PS jobs.

There are too many solid academy jobs out there.

Don't be frightened away by a handful of horror stories.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

'What's it like teaching in a hagwon' is like 'How large is a pile of dung'. It could be anything, but it likely stinks.

[Toffenheim]

I'm at school about 4-5 hours each day, starting in the afternoon, and I get paid more than PS teachers. Classes are small so you get to know your students and they actually learn English. Vacation isn't such a big deal. Enjoy your two weeks during the year and when you've finished your contract take as long of a vacation as you like. It won't be paid vacation but think about it, hagwon jobs start at 2.2m versus 1.8m a public school. That's 400k extra a month, or 4.8m a year. That's like 2.5 months of paid vacation on a public school salary.

That said, just taking any old hagwon job is a terrible idea. There's plenty of bad ones out there. You need to ask a lot of questions before you accept a job. Make sure your contract clearly outlines pay, work hours, vacation, extra duties, etc. Ask for pictures of the apartment you'll be living in. Ask to talk to a current foreign teacher and find out if there's any issues getting paid on time and in full, and if there are any other issues.

If you do all that and they start to jerk you around once you start working don't be afraid to mention the labor board or the possibility of you quitting. Ultimately your school needs you. Recruiting new teachers can take months and students will quit if there's too much teacher turnover.

[some waygug-in]

Check here:

http://blacklist.tokyojon.com/

and here:

http://www.efl-law.com/

Read a lot, especially about this:

http://www.efl-law.com/deceptive-practices.php

It's better to be safe than sorry.

[Gideon]

[alphakennyone]

I worked at two hagwons. One a reputable chain and once a joke of a start-up. The order of that for most people is swapped around, but I got lured in by shorter days and slightly higher pay from the start-up and ended up having to deal with a lot of stuff - Will I get my pension? Can I get health care? When the hell is vacation? These aren't necessarily horror stories, but you can find those if you take a cursory glance around.

Even the reputable chain..well..I didn't have to worry about the basics, but I paid for it in longer hours, less pay, and a fair amount of corporate posturing. I'll be trying public schools this time around.

I agree there can be great hagwon positions, but they're generally not that easy to find and would also agree that you might not find them in Seoul. Maybe that's something that can be networked after a year or two in country.

I think the best deal I've ever heard of is several of my acquaintances who (legally) work part time at an adult hagwon in the mornings and then teach after-school programs (kind of a gray area between public and hagwon) in the afternoon. Reasonable hours and great pay. I've tried to get my foot in that door many times.

[Karea]

[Gideon]

[Lou Giconi]

Man! How can you work for 10 years in a hagwon? That's nuts!

I don't know what you've been smoking, but I'll take 12 hours a week -block hours and 10 plus weeks of paid vacation per semester any time of the week over some academy job that gives you 2 plus weeks vacation per year if you're lucky!

If you think you're making more than someone at a university job, you're either have come across some very very crappy university gigs or you're delusional as individuals that play it right, continually upgrade their educational ability, and sell themselves have time during the week to generate additional income quite easily around a university schedule.

Perhaps you might want to reach out a bit in the future as 10 years in a hagwon is serious lateral movement...

[VanIslander]

[Gideon]

[Lou Giconi]

Management? Materials Publishing? You're kidding right?

So, basically if I understand you correctly, you're working three days a week, but they simply loaded you up with your total hours over three days?

That simply doesn't sound good at all. I'm sorry but you simply might be selling yourself short if you actually think you have a good deal going at the moment.

And yes I agree with you, you'd have to be delusional to follow and hagwon-ps-uni route. I surely wouldn't and most people wouldn't either.

If you have a CELTA, well that's a start, but after seven years you may want to branch out a bit and see what doors open for you at a higher institution.

It's not simply about the job, it's the conditons that come with it...

[VanIslander]

[VanIslander]

[Gideon]