Korean Job Discussion Forums

[galbi]

Hi. I'm currently a 19 year old Korean-American college student. I am in my second year of community college and will be transferring to one of the UC(University of California) schools next year.

I want to teach in Korea inbetween transferring from my community college to a UC. I have been doing a lot of research about teaching in Korea and have learned its pretty limited without a 4 year degree. I know my best option at the moment is TaLK (Teach and Learn in Korea) which is the public program designed for current college students from native English speaking countries.

But this brings me to the question: Is TaLK my only option?

TaLK seems great, but there are two things I am hesitant about:
1. TaLK is for teaching children in early primary school; I'd rather teach older students (junior high?).
2. According to the TaLK website, the program is mainly designated in rural areas. I would prefer to teach in a metropolitan area such as Seoul. (though metropolitan cities such as Incheon and Daegu are listed as cities for the TaLK program; anyone know anything about this?)

Here are some of my informal and formal "credentials":
.Fluent in Korean
.Will have an Associate's degree after my second year at community college
.Majoring in History
.Scored in the 90th percentile for English/Writing on the SAT's as well as a 4/5 on the Languge and Composition AP exam(yeah, I doubt these will help, but throwing it in here just in case.)

Furthermore, would getting an online TEFL certificate help my situation at all?

Thanks in advance!

[PRagic]

Coming over on the F4 ('Gyopo') visa might be an option, but you'd have to check around and get input from other Gyopo. Imagine that you'd be able to get a job teaching older kids, or maybe even test-prep. While your scores were decent, they still prefer to tout a big-name, 4-year degree holding teacher to the parents, though. In the end, if you'll work cheaper, you'll get the work.

How long do you expect to teach 'between degrees'? That could be a factor as employers would naturally want someone who could teach for a year or so. IMHO, it'd be better to just knock out the BA and then come over.

Good luck with it all...

[Slowmotion]

How do you score that high and end up at a community college???

[Louis VI]

Lots of gyopos without degrees are teaching here these days. You'll fit right in.

[engrishprease]

[galbi]

[northway]

If you're Kyopo it makes things a bit easier. My school has hired a couple Kyopo temporarily and paid them quite well. Finding a permanent job would be a bit harder.

[PRagic]

Even if you have great grades and score in the top 1% on the SAT, unless a 4-year school is forking over serious scholarship money, why not go to a community college? You get a degree in the process, knock out your pre-requisites and a lot of the fluff courses, and might even figure out what you want to do. For many who don't do will in high school, whether because of aptitude or lack of effort (see the OP's previous post), a 2-year school can be a confidence booster, too. You can always transfer, and your final 4-year diploma will read just the same as someone who paid that extra 10K-50K+ for theirs.

As for scholarships and aid, in the end they are impacted by the income of your family regardless of whether or not they will be paying anything toward your tuition.

Having said all this, my 2 cents is that the OP should just knock out the BA as soon as possible. I took a break from my BA studies, and all it showed me was that I really needed to finish the degree. Now I know why everyone told me then what I'm suggesting to the OP now - don't put it off because a) it's nice to make money and be 'free' of college for now, but one can get sucked in by having a bit of spread money and/or accumulate responsibilities in the process, and b) by the time you may be presented with opportunities, not having the degree may shut the door for you.

Again, just my 2 cents. Nobody could tell me different then, so I don't imagine this will turn out any differently.

[PRagic]

Oh, and as for how to get jobs, you can look in the ads on Dave's. Also, I think there is a thread for private teaching.

[pkjh]

[galbi]

[smartwentcrazy]

Get your BA. Why would you want to postpone getting your bachelors? I'll give you some reasons why you should forego this plan of teaching in Korea w/o a BA:

1. Competition is tough. The TaLK program is getting phased out due to the flood of applicants from English speaking countries. There is simply no need to hire from TaLK when you have a large pool of applicants with higher qualifications. You'll be competing not only with applicants with BA's, but applicants who majored in English/English literature, Education, ESL, etc. Many applicants nowadays possess either a MA or have several years of teaching experience. Forget about teaching anything higher than at an kindergarten/elementary level.

2. Finish your education. Right now is the BEST time to be in college. Economy is in the gutter and unemployment is high. There is no better time to be in college and studying to get that BA.

3. You're 19 years old. I'm not saying that condescendingly, but rather as a sense of envy. At your age you should be enjoying college life. You have the luxury of studying in college while meeting a vast network of people. The best years of my life were during college. You can always teach in Korea after you graduate - the jobs will always be here. Have fun in college, meet people, and get that BA. After you graduate, you will be open to many more options, better pay, and maybe even a job outside of the teaching sphere.

4. Teaching in Korea w/o a 4-year degree has become far more limited than it has been in the past. Even if you wanted to private tutor on a F-4, why would any parents hire you over someone who has graduated from college and might possess an English degree and/or teaching experience? Your SAT scores are frankly useless here. What employers are looking for is that piece of paper that says you've graduated from an university.

I'm not trying to discourage you from coming, I'm just giving you my 2 cents. These are the realities in Korea due to the declining economies in the west and the flood of newly graduates willing to work for pennies in Korea. PM me if you have any other questions. I have friends who are in very similar situations.

[ThingsComeAround]

I knew some Koreans that came over without having finished their degree (against my advice) It is possible to get work, but you will work harder for less. If you lack the discipline, it could be worse.

PRagic gave some solid advice. You could come over for a summer and teach at a camp, but teaching for six months is a waste of time IMO. A year would be better, and having a 4-year degree would be ideal

[almightyze]

You seem interested in going to the homeland. Instead of teaching, why not just study over there for a semester or so? The UC system offers an exchange program with Yonsei University in Seoul.

I mean, just makes more sense in my mind, unless you desperately need money or something.

[galbi]

I'm getting a lot of conflicting opinions here. Some people are implying it would be rather easy for me to get a job while others are saying it will be difficult.

Also, I have been under the impression that it is rather easy to get accepted into the TaLK program. Has this changed? Has competition increased?

I want to make it pretty clear that I do not want to wait until I get my BA. Like I said, I've dreamed of living/working in Korea for a very long time in large part since I am of Korean heritage. I think working in Korea CAN be a good experience for me, contrary to some doubts expressed by posters.

My central question is: How and where can I find a job?

As I've stated before, TaLK is the only option I've discovered so far. But from my research and some of the replies I feel like there are other possibilities for me.