Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bobbybigfoot]

[bbud656]

Universities in the US have really high drop/fail out rates. I haven't heard much about the difficulty of Korean univesities apart from getting in. Which is strange considering how hard these kids work to get to university.

As far as 'loser esl teacher' stereotypes. many young people come over to teach because of the economy and the experience. Most will go home after one or two years and many will be successful outside of the ESL industry. People who are older and taking entry level jobs here or people who have decided to stay here forever may raise some suspicions whether they can hack it doing anything else. Not that it is fair, because everyone's situation and motivations are different. For recent uni grads I don't think there is that perception so much unless they are blatently bonkers.

[Otus]

If the uni wants to sponsor only E1 visas, then as has been mentioned, you need either an MA or a BA with a minimum of 3 years previous teaching experience at uni level. Some immigration departments are extremely reluctant to change E2's to E1's, others will do it without too much fuss.

More unis these days want teachers on just about any visa except the E2. The E2 has such a stigma and it puts them under more scrutiny from the government education dept.

All this has nothing to do with what kind of teaching ability an applicant actually has.

The MA is often just used to filter applicants. A couple of years ago I dealt with over a 1000 applications for a couple of positions. It was a horrible job. Applicants would often hide their resumes amongst all kinds of other documentation. All anybody doing that job wants to see first is the resume with the qualifications clearly printed at the top. It's just a filter process - nothing more, nothing less. You may be the greatest inspirational teacher ever - but 500 others may also 'claim' to be.

[bbud656]

Why is the E2 so restrictive anyway? If the goal is to learn English here, why don't they take the gloves off and let teachers compete to teach anyone who wants the service?

[gay in korea]

@bobbybigfoot--- that's a valid assessment as an overview. At Harvard you are essentially guaranteed a B avg in even the upper crust programs such as the MPP, MBA etc. Mind you, the screening process is also pretty darn good to get in and so when you're sitting in class every seat is filled with someone who has either serious academic or professional credentials.

On the whole if you're getting your MA/MS/MBA from a top tier school in any country, then there's still something to it. Though with the major increase in MA holders, they are being devalued.

As for the E2 vs E1, well, the E2 policy as has been discussed ad nauseam on this board and has nothing to do with education. Taiwan requires a teaching degree to teach in their public schools. Korea, especially with the planned scaling back of the EPIK etc programs, should follow their model. They wont, but they should. It's not even a re-affirmation process for quality of teachers, to be honest. If they took the time, money and effort that goes into the drug and STD testing and put it in to training programs, they would be much better off.

But rather than re-hashing that whole argument, most universities that take their program at all seriously wouldn't want to deal with the E2 nonsense. It's a waste of their time. You are treated as an adult and as a professional at most of the universities and are hired because you are those things and you are presumably skilled and qualified. Treating you as a drug addict, criminal with an out of control sex life means you never should have been hired in the first place. So why would unis want the e-2???

lower tiered Korean universities will still opt for it, as will most christian universities, but that's because for the former they know they are likely getting the low tier teachers and so can use it as a check on their behaviour, and for the latter for the same reason, but having to do with maintaining the morals they deem of value.

But many programs even in the mid and upper tier unis here only have one office girl who is responsible for the entire HR component. It makes her life a hell of a lot easier if it's the E1, and that's reason enough for many universities.

[Who's Your Daddy?]

[Kwangjuchicken]

[drcrazy]

[Otus]

Sorry, didn't look at what's currently being advertised. I knew teachers in the top ten or so unis in Seoul that were getting their visas switched from E2 to E1 at the beginnin of 2008. Can't say I know that many teachers at the higher ranking Seoul unis, but just about all I do know are on E1s if they are working for a department and not the uni institute.

My college refused to hire anyone on an E2 from the beginning of this year and are carrying this policy through for next year. They will only interview teachers who can get the E1 or are on the appropriate F series visa. The admin claims that it takes some heat off them with their external assessments from the board of education; but that's difficult to verify.

If the above is true, then similar to the MA issue, it sometimes has little to do with the merits of the individual teacher and a little more to do with what gains extra points on external assessments. Having more MA's definitely gets extra points regardless of whether or not the teacher(s) totally suck. That's just the academic system.

[pecan]

The answer is quite simple, and it has little to do with qualifications. Universities receive funding from the government, and there is a point system. More points are awarded for PhDs than for MAs; if it's the English Department, more points are given for hiring MAs in English than in some non-related area.

-Nut

[earthquakez]

Interesting info. I didn't know that about the points system.

It explains why I have never got an interview with a Korean university while people with MAs who have never taught college or university students in their life, especially those are being taught as ESL/EFL students, get interviews and often jobs.

Clears that one up.

[dongjak]

[Otus]

Pecan wrote:

[Los Angeloser]

[dongjak]

My friend is black. And she signed a contract last week. She is just a vibrant person and it shows in both her application package and her interview.