Korean Job Discussion Forums

[englisheeeteachaaa]

I cant help but notice the increase in hours hagwons are expecting new teachers to work. Of course anyone with experience would turn down these positions but I honestly think a lot of new teachers are accepting them. Whether or not they actually finish their contract or renegotiate their hours upon arrival is a different story.
I know public schools are not perfect but at least you only have to teach 22 hours a week, get 14-21 vacations plus holidays, 10 sick days, and generally don�t have to work more than 8 hours a day.
Why would anyone agree to teach 7 hours or even 6 hours a day, with no vacation, no sick days, and the possibility of doing extra side work for free e.g. making work sheets for other teachers, grading essays, ect. ???
Also, 2.1-2.3 is not a lot considering the exchange rate. If one works 8 hours a day it ends up being about 8 dollars U.S, which is the same as working at Mc Donalds. You have to think, is that what you went to University for?
Please new teachers, stop hurting yourselves.

[lifeinkorea]

The hours advertised are NOT the actual hours you have to work. They simply want to schedule you within those hours. If you are scheduled for 30 hours, then you will be paid overtime if you go over. Try to do blocks instead of one class every other hour, and it won't seem like much.

I have done 2 of these kind of hagwon jobs and I ended up getting the better end of it (less than 25 hours teaching, and Fridays off).

[Street Magic]

[VanIslander]

I'd rather teach 30 hours a week
than
20 hours of teaching and 20 hours of deskwarming

there is a lot less chance of paperwork, meetings and office politics at a busy hagwon: just teach your classes and go home, little prep time (max. one hour before first class, head home right after finish teaching last class)

i love teaching.

i show up at 1pm,
do an hour of prep (barely enough, i hustle and am busy for that hour),
teach six classes back to back with only ten minutes inbetween (usually spent erasing the board, straightening chairs and chatting with the next class as they stream in)
go home at 8pm

every day is focused on teaching from start to finish, never bored, never killing time, never sitting at a desk

wonderful

7 years and still flyin'

[Provence]

I partially agree with the OP. Last year I took the first job I was offered and regretted it the entire year. Without getting into details I was severely taken advantage of at my last hagwon. I would never sign an 8 hour a day contract, knowing now how hagwons work. Unless it was for a public school for the reasons the OP stated.
However, not all hagwons are bad. This year I have a much better position at a hagwon that actually wants to teach the children English instead of just taking their money and has acceptable working hours. I also personally know the director and consider him a friend. I trust he will not pull the same dirty tricks that some hagwons tend to try on their employees.
However, I tend not to trust most other hagwons. I have experienced for myself how bad some hagwons can be, they will try and take advantage of you in anyway they can and not feel the slightest sense of guilt for doing it. A word of advice to anyone thinking of coming to Korea: be extremely cautious when dealing with hagwons.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[englisheeeteachaaa]

[englisheeeteachaaa]

[hagwonnewbie]

The OP was clearly no math major.

2.3 mil equals about 2 thousand dollars times 13. plus housing ~500$ times 12. That's 2500 times thirteen. 30,000 dollars tax free insurance paid for. The cost of living is low, and many teachers have "alternative" sources of income that add considerably to this.

Question: How much money would one have to earn per hour in North America to be able to save 20+ grand each year? $30?

I do agree that most of the jobs posted have long hours and the contract conditions seem to be getting worse.

[meangradin]

[wesharris]

[CPJ]

Here's are some negatives of a public school job.

What I didn't like about working at a public school was my tiny apartment too far from my school. Most people don't know what they're walking into until they've already bought their flight and arrived in Korea. I guess they do that so you won't back out. At every hagwon job I took, I knew exactly what my classes and apartment was like before I arrived as I would ask the teachers working there and the schools even paid for my flights upfront. I was stuck commuting 40 minutes to get to work at my public school job so it added almost an hour and a half to the day. At my hagwons, I've always been less than 10 minutes away from my apartment. The public school classrooms had no heat so it was really cold in the winter. It was worse in the summer as there was no air conditioning and you had a few wall fans to try to cool a big room full of smelly, sweaty kids. I'd sweat a lot through the hot, humid summers. At my hagwons, we had air conditioning in all the classes so it was really comfortable. Add the bathrooms that really didn't bother me except for the few times a year where you had to go #2 (really awkward feeling squatting without a seat to do that) but if I were a female teacher, I don't think I would like to use the squat toilets at the public schools. The hagwon bathrooms were all modern with a normal toilet.

I know some hagwons require you to teach more but other have you teaching less. And it's better having 4 or 8 kids in your class at about the same English ability compared to 30 or 40 in a public school class based on their age rather than ability. Some kids are fluent while others in the same class barely know their ABCs.

The extra 5 days of vacation at a public school might be a big plus to some but more salary at a hagwon is also a big plus to others.

Don't get me wrong as I'm not knocking public schools. There are good ones and there are bad ones as there are good hagwons and bad hagwons. I only did one year there and didn't want to stay at my public school for another year. If I had a different public school, my experience could have been much better. What I am knocking is that I was never given a chance to choose or even know up front! I was never allowed to talk to the teacher I was replacing, know what part of the city I would be in, how far away may apartment was, how big or old my apartment was, things like that. It would be nice to know ahead of time what you're getting yourself into.

[CPJ]

[jugbandjames]

So then, what are some suggestions for noobs who are trying to distinguish between schools with a legitimate interest in teaching students and rewarding teachers for hard work and schools that just want to grab parents money and exploit unsavvy foreign workers? From my perspective, as a current new job seeker, all of the jobs seem to have similar pay grades and hours. Are there any tell-tale signs that can help job seekers spot shady hagwons? I've read through a lot of the stickies, but they seem outdated. I can't imagine that the situation is the same as it was 3-5 years ago.

[CPJ]