Korean Job Discussion Forums

Choman10 · Joined: 27 Apr 2010

Hi,

I was thinking about doing a program called Council of International Exchange of Education (www.ciee.org), but they're asking for like 1900 USD to enroll in the program and then 2900 to obtain an ESL teaching certificate before leaving to teach. Has anyone done this program? Thoughts? Opinions?

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

ACT III · Joined: 14 Nov 2006

ttompatz +1

jamasian · Joined: 01 May 2011

I would prefer to assure that I'll get good housing and a good school. Is there not one person that has used their service? I'm trying to study abroad with them too because they seem to have the best offer for China (and my Chinese skill level).

plchron · Joined: 26 Feb 2011 Location: Korea

I used them for study aboad in '08. It was awesome. I was also told that it is a non-profit and that all my fees went to various things included in the program. I had a great time and it was worth it.

That being said, you aren't a student traveling abroad, this is for a job, don't 'pay to work'. They are going to give you the same job that you could get for free, only you would have more choices doing it on your own, instead of through a program.

Also, if for some reason you had a bad experience with the school that CIEE set you up with, you would feel obligated to stick it out because fo the money you already paid CIEE, but if you did it on your own than you can set your own terms.

As far as support, just go on web forums, you can bet that the people at CIEE that you call with your problems are searching the web for the correct answers to your questions as they speak to you.

akacyn · Joined: 29 Sep 2011 Location: Chicago

Hi there,
You should NOT pay to teach in Korea, especially when you can get prime teaching positions through the government and public schools. Be wary of hag wans also (private schools) which are not endorsed by the government as I've heard horror stories from our teachers who were promised pay and never were paid.

Greenheart Travel works with EPIK (Ministry of Education), for example, and offers excellent salary and benefits. because the program is free, teachers easily save $10k-$15,000 per year.

There is no reason whatsoever to pay to go to Korea when you can get even better positions for FREE.