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seb
Joined: 19 Oct 2009
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 Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 9:49 am Post subject: Non teaching English jobs in Korea? |
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Hi there
I would really appreciate if anyone had any links to available jobs other than ESL , particularly in the IT field here in S.Korea.
I have done some research but i wasn`t able to come up with anything significant.
Thank you . |
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mc_jc
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Location: C4B- Cp Red Cloud, Area-I
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:30 am Post subject: |
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What you need to ask yourself is do you have certain skills that Koreans don't have. If you don't, chances are you won't get the job. Most companies would hire a Korean before a foreigner for most non-ESL jobs.
And for those that do, pay very little.
I am sorry to say, but just having a degree, IT skills and being able to speak English really won't help you. |
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seb
Joined: 19 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 11:02 am Post subject: .. |
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I do speak Korean- upper intermediate - lived in the country for about 5 years teaching English and i`m quite familiar with the environment. Now trying to change work fields seems a bit challenging .
Thanx 4 reply though. |
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Trinidad
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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Actually a LOT of Korean companies would like to hire foreigners for
things like sales, webpage design, marketing. I have an E-7 visa and
work in a factory. ALL of our correspondence is written in perfect
English. Our website is likewise. Customers are impressed with this and
so are enlightened management from other firms I bump into. The thing
is they don't know where to find foreigners with suitable skills and
business experience. They don't want a 24-year-old yahoo who is only
going to be here a year. It took me a year just to learn about our
products.
Try contacting people at KOTRA: http://english.kotra.or.kr/wps/portal/dken
Worknplay: http://www.worknplay.co.kr/ |
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what the thunder said
Joined: 23 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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| It's much easier to get a non-teaching job once you've lived in Korea for a while and have "paid your dues." The more connections you make, the more people are willing to overlook your lack of qualifications. |
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orosee
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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There are jobs available here if you have the right qualifications, unfortunately these are often quite high (e.g. engineering experience in very specific fields >5 years; Korean fluency). The big chaebols regularly have 'young professionals' programs at least once a year (basically they load up on foreigners under 30 in management, sales, r&d, engineering, service...). This year there were plenty of openings for wind turbine experts willing to work just down and left of Pusan.
You could talk an overseas company into opening an office/representation here headed by you (which at least 3 of my friends did), this could be easier now than the usual expat route (many companies are pulling their expats back or get rid of them, to reduce costs).
What you need are contacts, connections. Also use business networking sites (Xing, LinkedIn, ...) to promote yourself and add contacts.
I've been in a Korean company for 6+ months now but I really really really really really don't think that I will or want to be here forever or even a long time. People are nice though and no need to learn or speak Korean as almost everybody speaks English 
If you're good in IT and have the proper degrees and experience, why not try Singapore? Lots of IT jobs down there. |
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mc_jc
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Location: C4B- Cp Red Cloud, Area-I
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:14 pm Post subject: |
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One of the requirements to get an E7 is that the company show evidence that they tried to recruit locally. As others have said, if you have the experience and the qualifications, there should be no problem getting a non-ESL teaching job.
| Quote: |
| I do speak Korean- upper intermediate - lived in the country for about 5 years teaching English... |
I speak upper intermediate-level Korean and I was here 13 years before I got my non-ESL job back in 2003. It wasn't my language ability or how long I was here that helped me get my job. What helped me was what someone here already mentioned- contacts, networking.
The problem is many people come here thinking that they don't need anyone and what happens is that many turn away people who could help them find non-ESL jobs. If I weren't working here at Yongsan Garrison, I'd probably be working at the KNTO because of the connections I gained there.
| Quote: |
| ..i`m quite familiar with the environment... |
Then you'd have no problem getting a non-ESL job with the connections you have from the 5 years you've been here, right? |
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seb
Joined: 19 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 11:13 pm Post subject: .. |
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| Right . thanx guys . To be more exact i left Korea in 2006 so it`s been 3 years now . I`ve been back`n forth few times just to see some friends so i kindda lost touch with the job market. Seems like I gotta do some networking for a while . |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:55 am Post subject: Re: .. |
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| seb wrote: |
| Right . thanx guys . To be more exact i left Korea in 2006 so it`s been 3 years now . I`ve been back`n forth few times just to see some friends so i kindda lost touch with the job market. Seems like I gotta do some networking for a while . |
If your Korean is good, why not search on Naver? |
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fustiancorduroy
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 7:03 am Post subject: |
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....
Last edited by fustiancorduroy on Sat Feb 21, 2015 6:06 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Trinidad
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 7:06 am Post subject: |
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Hmmm, a few interesting comments here. The non-teaching job market
in Korea is like a jungle. Uncharted and virgin. You have to be prepared
to make your own job. The E-7 is actually really easy, you just have to
lie to immigration. For example, if you took a course that mentioned
China in school, say (on your resume) that you are an expert on the
Chinese market. That is what I did. Also, I think the E-7 visa needs
something like economics, business etc. (or experience)
But it kicks ass over teaching. If I worked full time I would be making
1.5 million a week! Plus bonuses and commission.
The difference between the teaching industry and "real" industry in
Korea is immense. All decisions and plans are made 3-6 months in
advance. No last minute crap. You are treated with respect. |
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orosee
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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| fustiancorduroy wrote: |
| orosee wrote: |
People are nice though and no need to learn or speak Korean as almost everybody speaks English
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I'm kind of curious about this. My co-worker's wife is a Russian woman who works as a camera lens engineer at Samsung. According to her, most of the Korean staff she works with speak little to no English, although they are supposed to. Also, she, along with all the other non-Korean staff, takes Korean classes every week, though perhaps that's more for day-to-day living than it is for work. Also, I would guess the English-proficiency of the Korean staff varies from company to company, industry to industry. |
I worked for 2 different companies here. The first one was a major Korean inspection company that was bought by my previous employer; I was then put into management as the only foreigner without much of a plan. This was a very traditional Korean company with management all well into their 60's and hardly anyone speaking English. In fact they hired a translator for me who turned out not to speak English at all  Ultimately of about 30 people in the HQ, only 2 were fluent in English, a handful could hold a basic conversation and the rest was for all practical purposes mute.
Present company is in semiconductor manufacturing/processing and I work in the international sales department, most of the older people here have studied and then worked abroad, the younger ones have at least one foreign language. Not always fluent but everyone's eager to try. Now I am the only foreigner among around 150 Koreans  and I wish there were at least a few more. But most people here are in the 25-45 age bracket so we have things to talk about.
I wouldn't even think about moving into a work environment where nobody speaks English (not unless my Korean would be better than decent, which it is not).
It's another lesson in life but I keep looking for a job with more "like me". |
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