Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Job seekers will suffer another hard year, as private companies plan to tighten recruitment this year, especially in hiring experienced workers, despite recent rosy job market reports made by several ministries.

Experienced workers will be faced with more hardships than new college graduates. "Hiring experienced workers is costly. After years of hiring many experienced workers, we don't see any more advantages in paying high salaries for them than hiring and training fresh college graduates," a human resource manager in a steel company said.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200402/kt2004021617540311900.htm

Experience may be a handicap. Well, if it is a handicap, then do experienced people qualify for rights protection and affirmative action programs? (Woe unto you, experienced foreigner, working or trying to find work in Korea.)

Can companies and universities more easily take advantage of inexperienced workers?

[rapier]

I reackon there should be properly enforced pay scales for esl teachers here. I for one am sick of seeing some blonde American paid more than me because of his appearance- no matter how inexperienced he is. likewise, length of time spent in Korea and references, plus teaching qualifications should be taken into account....
1)newbie, no teaching experience or quals, under 25: 1.6
2)newbie, no experience/ teaching quals over 25: 1.7
3)Newbie, no teaching exp, but with teaching quals: 1.8
4) Newbie, some exp, and quals 1:9
5)I yrs exp, no teaching quals:1.95
6) 1 yrs exp, teaching quals: 2.0
7) 2 yrs exp+, teaching qual.: 2.1, 3yrs exp, 2.2, 4 yrs exp,2.3, and so on.

This should apply equally to American, British, Canadian, S.African, and N.Z nationalities.

[Corporal]

[sadsac]

rapier wrote:
I reackon there should be properly enforced pay scales for esl teachers here. I for one am sick of seeing some blonde American paid more than me because of his appearance- no matter how inexperienced he is. likewise, length of time spent in Korea and references, plus teaching qualifications should be taken into account....
1)newbie, no teaching experience or quals, under 25: 1.6
2)newbie, no experience/ teaching quals over 25: 1.7
3)Newbie, no teaching exp, but with teaching quals: 1.8
4) Newbie, some exp, and quals 1:9
5)I yrs exp, no teaching quals:1.95
6) 1 yrs exp, teaching quals: 2.0
7) 2 yrs exp+, teaching qual.: 2.1, 3yrs exp, 2.2, 4 yrs exp,2.3, and so on.

This should apply equally to American, British, Canadian, S.African, and N.Z nationalities.

What about Australians. If someone can negotiate a better rate than what you have stated, then so be it. I believe 1.8 should be the starting rate for any first year teacher, particularly as the won sucks against every world currency at the moment.

[Yesterday]

You guys just have to look harder when seeking teaching positions - I am a teacher/part-time recruiter - and I just finished recruiting 20 (twenty) new teachers from all of the 5 major countries England, Canada, Australia, USA and NZ - (as all five countried produce good teachers) and all their salaries will be 2.6 mil and higher per month - 30 hours per week - easy teaching - easy jobs.

But the main thing was - I only wanted teachers with more than 2 years teaching in Korea - why?? this board clearly shows that many new teachers in Korea (and some oldies - as in been here a long time) - still cannot handle some of the differences between their home country and Korea - .. bcause of that it really leaves no options than to only hire teachers who have already experienced Korean teaching over a couple of years.

Sorry for any newbies who feel their salary should be higher - but hey! - things will get better the longer you are here - it comes with the experience..

[ryleeys]

Welcome to Rapier's School of Economics... i.e. Socialism for the 21st Century.

This pay scale is 100% anti-capitalist. Generally, you should earn what you can talk some sucker into paying for you. Free markets are cool like that... but then again, this is coming from the same guy that refuses to pay his student loans because he hates the capitalists that gave him the money and because he is "entitled" to a free college education (but the other people that pay off their loans aren't...).

Plus, applying it equally to all nationalities isn't gonna work. Koreans have shown reluctance to speak with a British, Kiwi, or Aussie accent... so that's why Americans get paid more. That's a qualification for teaching in Korea right there... a North American accent (and Canadians better not say "eh" too much).

So, I'm an American with no significant teaching experience, the same grammar skills as most "normal" state run university graduates, and no teaching degree, but that doesn't mean I don't feel entitled to my 2 mil per month, since that's what I negotiated.

[rapier]

All i'm asking for is a pay scale based on merit- ie qualifications and experience- that rises with each new year you sign on.
Not a system that favours people based on their appearance, eye color, or nationality. All native speaker nationalities should be equal- the real english speaking world is large and a students education should reflect this mixture of subtly differing accents and expressions.
Corporal i agree- if I had my own accomodation I'd be after at least 2.3 as well. If you're still teaching here in 5 years, wouldn't you want your paycheque to rise commensurate with your experience though? - because if you're on 2.2 now, you're still going to be on the same in 5 years. And I'm sure you're going to be pissed, to see some clueless newbie arrive and get paid the same.

[Yesterday]

[rapier]

yesterday:- do you think we are at the beginning of a new korean love affair with British and European English, as opposed to North American?- and, if so, would you attribute this to the rise of the Euro?

[J.B. Clamence]

[rapier]

American English is a substandard offshoot from the genuine article. It is a hybridised, ba**ard tongue, a slangey and inneficient form of baby language when compared to the real thing. The japanese realise this, and its only a matter of time before the Koreans follow suit in their usual copycat way.

[J.B. Clamence]

"Genuine" English no longer exists -- no one speaks it anymore (I've heard that English spoken around Birmingham comes closest). Every variety of English, including British English, is an offshoot of the original.

Besides, what makes a language? How it was used 300 years ago? I don't think so! The U.S. is by far the largest English-speaking country in the world. It produces more English-language movies and puts out more internationally distributed Engllish-language music than any other country. Not to mention that it is by far the largest economy in the English speaking world. But American English isn't "real" because it is spoken slightly differently than it was spoken in England centuries ago, even though people in England don't even speak it that way anymore? What a load of rubbish!

[Yesterday]

Finally - a discussion worth discussing -

When I was a newbie in Korea - I had to change my accent, my pronunciation and half my vocabulary to sound more "American" - those days were yesterday.... these days - are different.

Koreans of Yesterday - wanted to be American... wanted to dress American... wanted to sound American.... these days many Koreans only want to eat American (both literally and illiterally)....

Times are changing - get used to it.... the Mayor of Seoul has decided to open the doors and make Seoul more ENGLISH - He knows FULL well - how tensions are between Korea-US relations at the moment - he does not want to lose his votes - however he is determined to show Seoulites/Koreans that Megook DOES NOT EQUAL Weregook - that not all Foreigners in Korea are American - and that American English is not necessarily the "World's English"

Example - England, N.Z. Australia, Hong kong, Phillipines, South Africa, China, speak more European/British English - Japan/Taiwan speak both - only Korea had the old love affair with America - love affairs do not last forever.

anyway - I do not want to say too much further - in case I offend someone - have fun with the discussion.....

[buddy bradley]

I have a student who is absolutely enamoured with British English. She asked me if we spoke British English in South Africa. I told her yes, but I'm teaching her American English because that's what I'm paid to do. With a submissive nod, she agreed! Yay!

[J.B. Clamence]