Korean Job Discussion Forums

[j0anne]

Hi ^^ I will be graduating with my H.BSc. in Psychology this year (my convocation is in June 2011), and I've recently decided to apply for teaching opportunities in Korea or Japan. I hope to start working as soon as possible.

I haven't applied to any jobs in Korea yet. However, here is what I have in mind in order to prepare..please let me know if I am missing anything or if you can foresee any issues with my plan:

- I am currently researching hagwons/public schools/recruiting companies to apply to (I have so many websites bookmarked right now).

- I will receive my diploma at convocation, however, I will ask my university for a letter indicating my expected graduation date.

- I will get my Criminal Record Search done at my local police HQ as soon as possible (since it can take up to 6-8 weeks until I receive it)

- I have taken a few linguistic courses during my university studies, and I plan on taking a TESOL course (i.e., Trinity CertTESOL course) in April-May 2011.

- I know I should be prepared to send a copy of my passport as well as any additional documents requested (e.g., transcript, recent photo, etc.).

- Main lessons that I've learned from reading other posts: A good indicator is if I'm able to contact other foreigners working at the school; I should avoid jobs which require more than 8 hours of teaching a day; and overall, i should be cautious but it depends on my luck at a certain branch, with future co-workers, etc.

Please offer me any advice~ I'm pretty overwhelmed with the amount of information on the internet.

Thanks in advance =)

Joanne

[Auslegung]

I taught in Korea from 3/2009-3/2010, and am currently applying again. As for recruiters, I'm using Morgan Recruiters this time around, but the first time I just got a job where a friend already worked. Morgan Recruiters is the company that the Korean embassy suggests, so give them a try, they look impressive.

Your criminal record search is MUCH more difficult now, you've gotta go through the FBI and it can take up to 3 months. Go here for help: https://sites.google.com/site/jmphry/documents. That entire site is pretty good, it tells you things like how much stuff costs, information on using foreign electronics over there, etc.

As for teaching 8 hours a day, you definitely don't want to teach that much. At most you should be at the school 8 hours a day, but no more than 6 should be teaching.

You're right about being cautious and hoping for good coworkers, etc; I've heard horror stories and dream-come-true stories from different employees of the same campus, same semester. And you need to realize that getting a perfect job is a long-shot; it's much more likely your job is going to have the average amount of stress, maybe more, and an incompetent boss and a couple incompetent coworkers.

All that is in answer to your questions, but here's some of my own advice from my experience there. First off, don't compromise on what job you want. If you want to teach middle school for example, don't let them tell you they don't have any positions. If they don't, then go to a different organization. Now, if you're pressed for time then yes you're going to have to compromise, but it doesn't seem like you're pressed for time.

Secondly, if they offer 2.2 million won, you can probably get 2.3 million won, or 2.4 if you have experience or a teaching degree/TESOL. Everyone in the world has teaching experience in some form or another, so make sure to highlight that in your resume. If nothing else, I'm sure you have helped train new employees at a job or helped a friend with their homework; play that up.

Another thing to ask about is the opportunity for overtime if you're interested. And I'm not talking teaching extra classes because 30 hours/week is a full week and they probably don't have anymore classes. When I first worked for Topia, they offered us the opportunity to grade online homework which netted ~$100/week.

Finally, feel free to PM me if you have any more questions and I'll do my best to answer them. I really wished I had access to this kind of information before I went my first time, I didn't discover this site until I had been there for a couple months so you're definitely ahead of me, and probably most others.

[I-am-me]

Dont expect much for pay. Budget crisis going on here.

[ttompatz]

[dyc]

[j0anne]

@ Auslegung

Hey, I wish I could PM you but I haven�t made 25 posts yet =(
- I will look into Morgan Recruiters when I start applying & your link was helpful as well � thank you.
- Yeah I�ll keep in mind that, inevitably, I�ll have some stress from my job/boss/co-workers/students, etc. even though I try to be cautious =p
- I don�t have a particular preference for elementary/middle-school/high school students right now; it will be my first time teaching a class�any comments regarding teaching the different age groups?
- Thanks for the tip on highlighting any related teaching experience. I hope that tutoring experience and the TESOL certificate (which I plan to get in April) will get me a decent offer.

[j0anne]

@ttompatz

Hey�yes, I know~ I have a habit of over-thinking. Thanks for your feedback, it was very helpful =)

- I found out how to get my RCMP check from this website: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cr-cj/fing-empr2-eng.htm It says that the processing time could take up to 120 days. Do you think Feb. is a good time to apply for it, if I hope to start working in July 2011 or later?

- So based on what I read on this website: http://www.koreanconsulate.on.ca/en/?mnu=a02b04
�Once I get my degree parchment, I need to have my degree notarized by a notary public && then I need to get the consulate certification on a photocopy of my degree (as well as on my CBC)

- I do have my passport ready � so when I am making my first contact with recruiters, should I send my resume + CBC + my scanned passport (info page)..all at once OR should I just mention that I have all of my documents ready?

[ttompatz]

[Auslegung]

[j0anne]

Thank you ttompatz, Auslegung & lalartu for your help. I really appreciate the valuable info that you've all given me~

Right now, I haven't decided whether I should work at a public school or a private school. I will probably apply to both, and decide after reviewing any contracts that I'm offered--- is this an appropriate approach?

I've read about some pros and cons of each workplace env't on forums as well on websites such as this one: http://www.suite101.com/content/teaching-english-in-korea-a127306

So what do I want to get out of my overseas teaching experience? To be honest, I'm not exactly sure yet.

--> I would like to explore a career in teaching and have a new/exciting experience (e.g., living on my own for the first time and adapting to a different culture). On the other hand, if it's possible, I will try to earn extra money & pay off some of my student loans =p

[Auslegung]

Until you know why you're going to teach English overseas, none of us can help you choose the right position for you, not even you. That sentence sounds harsh when I re-read it, but it's not meant to be, it's just a fact. It's not a bad thing for you to be indecisive at this time, you're about 6 months ahead of lots of people who will be graduating in June and teaching shortly thereafter. If you never decide exactly why you want to go over, oh well, not that big of a deal, just do what you said you'd do; apply to both and choose the best one.

Many may call me pessimistic for this, but this is coming from my (limited) experience and hearing stories from friends, but neither EPIK or hagwons really teach the students English. The entire Korean education system teaches them just a few things, like how to pull all-nighters as an elementary student and how to cram 5 minutes before the test and still get a 100. And as that website you mentioned points out, hagwons are a business first and foremost, never forget that. Of course the American education system ain't all that hot, either, at teaching foreign language.

That's why I want to teach at a pre-school/kindergarten. Even though it will still be a business, with kids that young, they can't help but learn the language. And if they learn it that early, it's going to make the rest of their English schooling much easier. Of course, if I really wanted to make a difference I suppose I'd be out there recruiting little toddlers to go to an English pre-school, but that's not what I do, I'm a teacher at heart.

[J Leach]

I am new to this website myself. These warnings of my own are incredibly ordinary, the kind of thing that one never expects..


One thing you might want to remember is the summer heat in Korea can be quite stifling. I found it awfully difficult to deal with, but that just may be my own constitution; things are incredibly mild where I live.

Also, if you're a cook, plz don't do your vegetables UNDERDONE. I leave u to think about the reasons for that~

Again, something that maybe peculiar to my own constitution because I never previously had to show such caution....


all the best

[tanklor1]

Can you use chopsticks?