Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nyc2010]

Hi,

I was wondering if people can give me their experiences on a split shift. Is it something they would recommend for a newbie? Hours are 6:30am-9:30am and 6:30pm to 9:30pm.

Thanks

[InDaGu]

Yuck.

I've never done it, and with good reason. Think about it - your early evenings are spent at work, and you can't really stay out late because you start so early. So basically, your free time is from 9:30am-6:30pm. What are you going to do during those times? Especially when everyone you know will be sleeping then going to work.
Sure, there's people who do it and like it, but I guess you have to decide if that schedule fits the lifestyle you want to have.

[movybuf]

My wife worked a split shift as a Korean English teacher for adult students. I think about the same hours you are looking at and she lasted 6 months before she was so tired she had to quit. I would say, unless they are paying you a boat-load of money, look elsewhere.

[RMNC]

Don't do it. Ever. It's not worth it to get 7 hours of sleep max a night. You will become a zombie.

[earthquakez]

Er, OP those hours might not be the end of it. I've heard of people being offered a job like that only to find out that the prospective exploiter, er employer, also will expect them to roll up to a kindie of all places and teach there not so long after they've finished their early shift.

They will work from 6.30 am to 9.30pm, teach at kindie from 10am or 11am, God knows when they will finish that, and then they will be expected to roll up for the adult classes again in the evening. What scummy employers. All for 2.1 million won per month before deductions.

Are you sure this is not the little surprise those employers are going to spring on you? Korea is sinking to the bottom very fast, the exchange rate makes anything less than 2.4 million per month before deductions not worth it and so do the hours, whether they're hagwon hours or school hours.

I think public schools also demand too much for the pay considering many of them saddle the foreign teacher with classes of 32 plus students, many of whom make no effort despite the best teaching, no co teacher in the room, tons of sh##t to deal with which is then blamed on foreigners for apparently not understanding the 'Korean mind' etc etc..........

Unless you're an old timer with a family, an old timer without a family, somebody with great pay and low hours, etc, is Korea really worth it for all the rubbish you and I go through? E-2ers are locked out of the jobs that would make it worthwhile for those of us with experience staying here longer.

I think the bull about more and more expensive documents demanded before a job is even given by recruiters is the crowning insult. I'm at a 'good' hagwon but even with a decent boss, the pay is fairly mediocre for someone with my cv and the vacation is miserly.

I'm going to a uni elsewhere in the world in May but even if I didn't have that gig lined up, I'd leave Korea. Why encourage all this by staying?

[oldtrafford]

To the last poster, I couldn't agree more!

[AHawk843]

I've been doing a split shift pretty much identical to that for 8 months. It's certainly not desirable, but if you can get a good routine going and handle sometimes only sleeping 5-6 hours a night supplemented by the occasional powernap it's not all bad. But, I go to the gym every day and try to be meticulous about my diet because if you break down it's really hard to get back on track.

[brauggi]

I kind of like it
A commute would probably make all the difference in the world. I live less than 2 minutes' walk from my job. If it was more like half an hour, I probably wouldn't be happy about the split.

[EddieH]

Avoid split shifts like the plague. There's a good reason why so many schools advertise in their job postings "no split shifts!"

They know how unpopular they are, rightfully.

[happiness]

i worked in gangnam at a good gig. i made some decent money. i gained weight but weight can be lost. i met alot of people. depends if thats ok with you and where you are doing it/

[sallymonster]

I've never done split shifts in Korea, but I occasionally did them in the US. Trust me, they make your day soooooo much longer - do you really want a longer workday?