Korean Job Discussion Forums

[coolestest]

What's the view on accepting an offer from YBM ECC near seoul branch?

[Theo]

Don't do it.

[coolestest]

thanks for the word of warning, any particular reason though?

[Theo]

If you search this, and other ESL-related websites, you'll find lots of negative testimonies regarding YBM ECC. All YBM employers (including the adult division) should be avoided for numerous reasons. Keep looking, and good luck.

[CPT]

There are tons of them, and you have to evaluate them on a case to case basis.

I've worked at two, and I don't see anything wrong with them. You could do better (in terms of hours and salary), but you could do a hell of a lot worse.

[definitely maybe]

[definitely maybe]

Almost forgot. The first ECC I worked for has had numerous teachers re-sign for second years at the same location. Additionally, the number of teachers from that branch who had positive experiences and chose to stay in Korea following their stint is really high. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 since I landed in 2004. Considering the migrant nature of this field, there's something to be said for that.
If you'd like branch suggestions, let me know. I'll send you a PM.

[coolestest]

Thanks all...yeah, i've tried to search the forums for others suggestions, seems to depend a lot on a case to case basis.

That would be great if you recommend some branches . Am currently waiting for Danny Kim to come back to me with an offer for me and my mate.

[smoggy]

Hi Definitely Maybe,
Do you know anyone who works at ECC Seongseo? (Daegu) That's where I am going to be soon. They don't follow the same rules as on the website. Perhaps you know about this school. Smoggy

[Conrad B Hart]

The only 2 jobs I have been offered so far have both been with ECC places. This could mean that they have trouble filling their positions and need unsuspecting noobs, that they just have many positions as they are such a big company or that they consider me (or at least the photo I sent) attractive


..............or perhaps none of the above.

[runthegauntlet]

I worked at ECC for a year. It was exhausting. I got paid, though.

As a comparison to above posters, of ten former coworkers, eight are back in Korea. None at ECC, myself included.

[never_easy1]

My first contract was for an ECC branch in 2007.

Good= They do honor their contract to the letter. This was true for myself and all of the foreign teachers I worked with. The reputation YBM has created by honoring their contract allows them to pay worried first year teachers 2.0-2.3.

Bad= They suck all of the life out of you. Working kindy at 9:50am, elementary at 3pm and then on to middle school at 6pm was exhausting. I averaged around 36-40 classes per week for the year I was there. Intensives were 40+ classes per week and they were creative with finding ways never to pay overtime. Both of the apartments I lived in were pretty bad. Doing 60-70 report cards every month saying how smart the kids were sucked. Grading journals every day was a waste of time. I could go on and on with the bad things, but it would be a long list. I don't regret working there for my first year, but I wouldn't advise it to anyone.

My advice is that you can find much better schools that also pay more.

[Debk2000]

[AliciaJC]

I work for one of the ybm eccs in seoul and i cant complain. The pay could be higher but my school has a pretty good support system between the teachers (korean and foreign). They put me up in a studio in a cool ass neighborhood, so im good.

[sluggle]

Is this different from YBM PINE, or YBM IA?

Out of curiosity, not being snarky, but the people say they worked too much: is this in comparison to other jobs with the same pay where you would generally work 6 hours, or is an 8 hour day generally too long?