Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kenners]

i'm trying, albeit slowly, to get together a list of "good" recruiters to apply for teaching positions with for starting around march 2010 time.

i've searched the site and can see that anything under 2mil won isn't enough to live on, or a bit of a piss take on the employer's part.

cannadian connection have got back to me about a position in seoul and they say the salary will be between 1.8 - 2.3 mil won. does that seem too low, especially for seoul, even for a first time teacher?

sorry if this has already been asked, i've spent my free time in the last few days trying to pilfer out information from all the threads. there's so much information on here and sometimes it's bloody hard to know where to start.

also, the inevitable, are there any other good recruiters for seoul area?

cheers for your help, guys!

[whiteshoes]

Depends on your qualifications, but if you're looking at a hagwon, you shouldn't accept less than 2.0 IMHO. If new teachers start taking less than 2.0 it will spur wages downward. Please don't do that. Most people I know start around 2.0 to 2.3. Most likely towards the lower end.

Don't worry, you can live on 2.0 in Seoul. But you might have to limit your drinking to weekends only

[kenners]

sweet, cheers for the heads up..

do you know of any good sites for recruiters round seoul area? i'm looking into asknow, touch4teaching and like i said canadian connection came back to me.

thing is, i don't much wanna move out there, be on a pitiful salary of less than 1.9 and struggle to get by. i'm good with money but it'd be nice to be able to have a bit left over each month

[expat2001]

My first contract was in 2001/2002 . The contract hours were from 2 :30-8:50 .We usually had a open period for supper.Working 5 days a week. Back then I was making 1.8 mil. The gravy train is coming to an end

[kenners]

So do these starting jobs starting at around 2.1 not exist, then? I'd want to be living ina bigger city, as well. Seoul or Busan, maybe.

I'm trying to lay out all the pros and cons of going to Korea over Japan first. The usual debate goes on in my head!

[ippy]

i have four years experience as an alt in japan, and i tell you, its pretty saturated right now. Also private dispatches seem to be really pushing the whole interac monopoly hard right now. And they seem to be doing it with your wages. Truth is Japan right now is tough to break into outside of a big employer outside the country (geos, interac and jet). Its probably also worth mentioning that jet and interac have their own specific recruitment periods and ioutside those its pretty barren unless youre in japan and have a visa. It may just be from this year, but not only did i not get a job in japan, but i also failed to even get a knockback (well except for interac, but they wouldnt even consider a placement before april next year).

Once again, its worth mentioning that i have four years teaching experience, was quite a solid and enthusiastic teacher, and have excellent references. What i no longer have is a visa since i moved back to the UK in April.
Worse yet, as i said earlier, wages have plummeted. To try and keep me, my company offered me a quite decent pay rise. I refused for my own reasons, but the same job is now advertised on gaijin pot for 210,000 yen. Thats 3man less than i was earning with my dispatch, and ill be honest, after JET, i thought the wage they paid me on my dispatch was shocking!

You may want to go to japan, but your chances are pretty slim unless youre really willing to take those crappy crappy wages... and more than likely, the current state of things, therell be someone already in japan with 2 years left on tehir visa more than happy to interview at the Board of Education/school (as more boes seem to be demanding these days since the deregulation of the industry).

Its an employers market in japan right now. And unless you have experience, a very highly sought qualification, a visa, and can commit to heading around the country for an interview, youll probably find youre not getting much joy there. dont believe me? go look at all the red asterisks on gaijin pot.. (the ones that arent asterisked youll soon find out simply forgot).

I would honestly have loved to go back to japan and in particular hokkaido or nagano, but it really wasnt to be. Thats not to say youll have the same awful luck or terrible (non)responses, but it would be wise of you to not think the two markets are 50/50 in terms of opportunity.

[DeLaRed]

[storysinger81]

It depends on your qualifications.

I think Seoul is over-saturated because "everyone" wants to live there (similar situation in Busan). So in those cities, people will accept the 1.8 or 1.9 thrown at them. In Daegu, starting salaries for no-experience newbies is 2.0-2.2. More experience, more pay.

[detourne_me]

Keep in mind, if you have no experience, no certification and work for a public school in the city, the pay will be significantly less.
For example I'm a class 2+ but I only get 2.2, and I have 3 years exp. but no certification.
That pay is much lower than my hagwon days. (but i have much less stress, a much bigger apartment, fewer working hours, and time for other opportunities)

[winterwawa]

Starting pay for most jobs, uni and hogwan, are about the same as they were in 1998 when I first came to Korea. I was making 1.8 at a Uni then and most unis are starting between 1.8 and 2.0 now. It's sad, really.

[xCustomx]

I made 2.0 working about 25 hours a week in March 2005. I know the job market is tight, but I wouldn't take anything for less than 2.2

[morrisonhotel]

I'm just about to sign my first contract in Seoul. Over the course of my job hunt, I've been offered from between 1.9 and 2.6 by various employers (hagwons). I have a M.A., no certification and no experience. I would probably say that the average I've been offered would be close to 2.3.

[isthisreally]

I'd say the pay is in the employers hands these days. There is a large influx of teachers all competing and accepting average or below average salaries. It's unfortunate, but for the time being that's the way it looks like it will be.

[HookedX]

To the OP, I went through parkenglish.com and they were pretty helpful. They were prompt in responding and incredibly polite; check them out.

[frankly speaking]

schools will always try and lowball you. Recruiters don't care how much you make they get the same fee regardless, so don't expect them to try and get you a better salary.

I cannot believe that people are still signing for 1.8. I know of places in Busan and its neighboring cities try to low ball for 1.8 because they claim so many want to live there. Seoul the standard is 2- 2.2 for newbies. Don't ever accept less than that in Seoul, you will regret it.

One thing that you can do instead of asking for higher salary, try to bargain that they pay your taxes. 1.8 net is ok, but never gross salary. That has worked out for me a few times.

Try to show in your resume some kind of related experience or at least try and read some things about EFL teaching methodologies that way you can sound the part for the interview. You might have something to bargain with.

Good luck.

I still don't know why people piss on Hagwons so much. I prefer the autonomy that I have there than I ever did in public schools or Universities. Korean Universities for the most part suck ass. I only know of a few that have really cushy jobs with great pay. One school tried to make me work for my holiday. The only reason that I took the job was so I could have 3 months holiday. They made me teach 3 days a week a few hours a day. The OT wasn't worth being stuck there.

My only real advice is read the fine print of any contract 2-3 times before signing. Anything that you don't understand or dont' like get it changed before you sign it. Never get tricked, it will be your own fault for signing.