Korean Job Discussion Forums

[iggyb]

I could google for this, but I want some specifics and up-to-date info --- and I'm just bone tired at the moment in doing all the googling and emailing and paper processing associated with looking for a good position in Korea...

...How bad is the age discrimination in job hiring these days?

......and about what age does it start becoming a significant factor in job placement outside of public schools?

I'm 38.

I'm asking after having applied for a few hakwon adult teaching jobs and getting no response whatsoever - even though I have several years of teaching experience in Korea - with Korean adults - and have experience and certification in the US in TESOL...

[asmith]

[iggyb]

Thanks.

I worked in hakwons in the mid to late 90s and there was some age discrimination then, but I can't remember around what age it really picked up. I did work with someone in his mid to late 40s, but in general, it seemed they thought the younger the better...

[asmith]

[different]

38 means you're past your prime for job hiring? What a f-ing joke the ESL industry in Korea is.

[D.D.]

I got my job at 39 and was told I was the ideal age. In ten years they will be hiring guys who are 65 if the economy is good then.

[iggyb]

different,

Try being 30 and female and unmarried...

This is the kind of thing I'm interested to see if it has changed much since the last time I was teaching Korean adults.

Back then, 95%+ of the 20-something students I taught said they wanted to get married when I'd ask my standard new student question about "What is your short-term goal?" It took me a couple of months in Korea before I realized 80% of them didn't even have a girlfriend yet...

But for women, going from 29 to 30 was like some magical number - a point at which they became unmarryable. I knew some women who did get married after that point, but it was painfully clear a girl's options dried up in a heart beat once she reached her third decade.

[Epicurus]

[smoggy]

I'm 51 (just turned) and I knew that I had to teach here as a newbie now or never. I will work for ECC Seongseo. I know there will be lots of hours, but it is not for ever.

[iggyb]

I don't think age was much of a factor in university gigs back in the day. I did know one prof who was let go after many years at the school, but he was in his 70s and administrations in the US would have started to wonder when he was going to retire - especially since he got more and more soft spoken as time passed (and classes had a hard time hearing him).

But, university gigs were not as common back then as today, and hakwons did seem to care about age --- and of course looks...(and skin color)...

[Don Mario]

Try applying for your first TEFL job at 48, being a male,
single, never married, and...! The list of negatives goes on,
but so does your life. I pursed jobs, and got jobs. I applied
for a job in Korea at age 50, and got one. I am starting my
3rd contract, so, I guess age matters� Or not? It depends
on you, your youthfull attitude to life and your ability to
deal with new situations, beauracracy and people, albiet
in a strange and complexing, new environment. Think about
this when you reach...40!
Dm

[gaffe]

I don't think age bias exists in Korea. In Japan, I was out after 35. My last job in Korea was adult teaching and I got it at 47. I'm pretty sure I've got an offer in public schools now, and nobody has suggested I'm "too old."

[Juregen]