Korean Job Discussion Forums

[stevieg4ever]

I was wondering if we could start a thread on exactly how to progress through Korea's esl ranks, mainly aimed as public school teachers.

I am working in a Seoul based elementary school. My plan is to renew my contract at the end of this one (around next August) and stay for one more year. After that I would like to think about progressing to a better job with better pay and opportunities.

My main school has always been an elementary school (I had a middle school as my second school but that was only for one day per week, during my last contract) and this is starting to play on my mind. I am 28, I don't have any further teaching certification or anything, basically my Korea-based experience is all I have. I am also from the UK so my bachelors degree is a 3 year degree (in English literature however).

Lastly, I can speak Korean relatively well and am level 3 in the TOPIK examination, I will probably acquire level four status come next April and will be attending Yonsei from this winter.

I don't want to be in the public school system forever but am kind of wondering how is the best way of going about moving up and progressing. I cannot imagine universities would be too interested in me at this time having mainly elementary experience behind me.

How is the best way to improve one's job prospects in Korea? Should I seek out a CELTA, TEFL or equivalent? Or would a bachelor's in education or even a masters be more worthwhile?

[OneWayTraffic]

Your best shot is a uni job, or even better a job for one of the foreign or Korean owned publishing companies or similar. Basically as long as you're a foreign body at a Korean school you are unlikely to go anywhere. Still it's a nice cosy job as long as you want it.

Friend of mine went Hagwon->Korea university language school (attached hagwon on campus)->Oxford English in Seoul->Oxford English in New York. That's almost a best case situation.

I went Hagwon-> Pagoda->Struggling freelancer ->more successful freelancer -> Struggling trainee high school teacher at home. I was making better money than her as a freelancer, but always knew that she'd have the better connections for her career.

From where you are, I would look at universities especially those outside Seoul. Even a university job won't be worth much back home, if that's an issue for you. If you want to go back to your home country, try to get in with one of the multinationals if you possibly can.

[ttompatz]

[Junior]

[Radius]

[minos]

Inside the system?

Hell no....not to mention the staff changes mean any sort of financially beneficial relationship between you and the school won't last more than 2-3 years likely.

Your district may throw down some extra work...it tends to pay pretty well(50k an hour in my case).

Far as I know, there is no foreigner admin level.

The guy who was here the longest was here 8 years I think during my orientation....I don't think he was promoted to anything other than giving a speech at orientation.

There is a foreigner working in the head SMOE office....I always wondered how much he and the other gyopos like Jon Pak made.

[ttompatz]

[stevieg4ever]

From Tompatzs original post

Short of getting married to a Korean and learning Korean (get out from under the E2 and open doors to corporate work) the other choices depend LARGELY on where you want to go and what you want to do.

IF you want to stay in Korea the market is FLAT and the glass ceiling is low (max out at just over 3 million in a PS setting) with no hope of getting out of the "English Zone".

options:

If you want to stay in Korea AND

teach kids: look at transfer to a different school within your school district. If they like you the district office can go a long way toward facilitating a move.

teach at a uni then get a TESOL cert and look for a smaller college in a rural area.
What is the best way to go about looking and searching for college jobs? Is there a difference between a college in a rural area and in Seoul? Do I need the TESOL to work in a college?teach at a larger college/uni then get a MATESOL.
Once again, do you need any certification for these positions at university or a college?


If you want to LEAVE Korea then your options would be:

teach kids: private schools, public schools in some of Asia = get a TESOL cert/

Teach adults in SE Asia = get a CELTA.
Tompatz, do you know a lot about countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore? Are these difficult to get into once you have the CELTA / TESOL or whatever? Are there many positions in these countries?
I was looking at some of the positions in Malaysia and am quite a way off of them. It required a CELTA, driver�s license and three years of experience. None of which I have as yet lol.

Singapore seems like its ESL field has been scaled down in recent years. Not sure what to make of it yet but rent is high and some were even suggesting that English teachers were sharing accommodation.

Move to Europe (you have a UK passport) = get a CELTA.

Move into international schools = go home for a year or 2 and get your PGCE and QTS (opens up a whole different world and about twice the benefits package).

So it ends up back in your lap. Where do you want to go and who do you want to teach (or what else do you want to get into)?

[ttompatz]

[southernman]

There is the opportunity to make more money in the PS environment.

Some districts pay 2.7 for a level 1+ teacher
Pay key money (the exchange rate sucks anyway right now) the cost is as little as 5 Mil in some some smaller cities. So you pocket the 400K accomadation allowance. You get the key money back at the end of your lease.
Do extra classes, hopefully 2 a day

Equals about 3.9 Mil a month

Thats what I'm aiming for in my next contract. It's not huge money but you would be saving a truckload

[stevieg4ever]

eh?!? If you pay key money you still need to pay rent dude.

I was earning that much in EPIK. Now i am in SMOE and earning no way near that amount.

[Illysook]

I've been wondering if my master's in human resources would ever come in handy here. I think that they view it as a plus, but I'm not sure that it's helped me very much thus far. I'd like to see if it will help me advance.

This is my second year in Korea and I would like to get a CELTA this summer. My first year was at a kindy/elem. hagwon and I am now at a public high school. My present job is super easy, except that my co-teacher often thinks my lessons are too hard. She also thinks I'd be happier at a university. I don't know if I need a smaller paycheck and more vacation. It sounds like a recipe for poverty.

Ideally, I'd like to skip the low paid and low ranking University job and jump to a better one, and if I can't do that, I'd like to stay put for another year. The freedom that I have in my job has really helped me grow as a teacher and it would be nice to get a cerification and put it to use in this environment. Still, whenever I do decide to move on from this place, can I sell my degree in HR as proof that I would be great for business English, and get a better job with better money?

[southernman]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[stevieg4ever]

I think you would pay around 400k outside of Seoul to be honest. 400k isn't going to get you that much rent wise in Korea.

Here, in short, is why you make less in Seoul:

1. overtime / after school classes pay 10k an hour less and there are far fewer after school programmes as there are more hagwons in Seoul and because more after school programmes are being shipped off to third parties, you've seen the job ads right?!?

2. there is no round fare air ticket if you renew. In EPIK you get a return airfare when you renew (independent of your inbound/outbound flight to and from Korea, this is something different). Viz-a-viz if I want to return to Euroland in the summer it would cost me 1mil approx.

3. accommodation - I have an office-tel but that comes with a high maintenence bill (approx. 150k per month). A lot of people are in this position. I had a 2 bedroom flat in Chungbuk and maintenence was half the price of what I am paying now.

4. Its Seoul, the capital, it just costs more.

I broke with my contract with EPIK and returned with SMOE.