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silkhighway
Joined: 24 Oct 2010
Location: Canada
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 Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:15 am Post subject: |
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| brucefox wrote: |
| Geumchondave wrote: |
| as above - we only teach for 20 hrs a week but we are at work for 40 - which would work out at just over 10 dollars an hour - which in england would only be just over minimum wage so for some of us its not that great. the main financial incentive for me at least is the free housing. and the free travel. the pay itself is pretty poor for an actual teacher as is the vacation time |
your calculations are grossly inaccurate. First of all, you almost never deskwarm in North America at any decent job. The ones where you are able to wear suits anyway.
I worked for 40 hours at 10 bux an hour once before, and that works up to 1400 dollars NET income after bare minimum deductions from 1600 gross. |
That's not true at all, in fact it's the reverse. IF you work an hourly waged job, especially on the level of call centres or fastfood restaurants, they're going to time you to the minute. If you work a salaried job, you're going to have high and low periods.
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At the same time the cost of living is much higher in north America, and I assume from my many years of experience in Europe that it's still more expensive in Europe as well.
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The ol' cost of living argument again. Yes, you can survive day to day on less money in Korea than say, in Canada. Yes, as a carefree 20 something you can have a lot more disposable income on drinking and eating out. What you can't do with less money is anything beyond that.
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I was not able to save much at all working my ass off in a mailroom at that wage. Took me a full year to save 5000 dollars.
Over here, I've received three paychques so far and I'm sitting on more money than the money I had saved in a year back home. And I am eating out/ordering/drinking MORE often than back home.
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You worked in a mailroom. That's a terrible comparison.
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Just because someone's yearly income is 30,000 a year doesn't mean the guy is poor if his cost of livin is 4~500,000 won a month.
A guy earning 100,000 back home paying 35% tax then spending money on his beamer and mortgages that ends up with just about a thousand more than the necessary expenses (just like so many lawyers at huge lawfirms I got to know back home) is not someone I envy at the moment.
Yeah, with $30,000 a year here, I can do a little better than that. And above all, I don't have to suck up to politicians and get harrassed by Human Resource for some fat secretary thinking I hit on her. |
I'm not sure what you're saying, that you make equivalent to someone who earns 100K back home (Ha!) or that you know people who mismanage their money so you're glad that you don't earn a lot of money so that you don't mismanage it too. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:55 pm Post subject: Re: I noticed that teaching English in Korea earn a lot |
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| earthquakez wrote: |
| HanlSky wrote: |
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/index.cgi?read=47438
I saw here working 20 hrs a week for 2 ~ 2.4 million wons.
When I calculated 2.2 mill is about 2050 dollars
2050 / 80 hours in 4 weeks (a month) is about 25.6 dollars per hour, which is a lot. I guess if you get some students for private tutoring charging the same amount you could earn a lot! |
 Um, I've looked at some of your other posts on other threads and I know you're into cruising around here asking non Korean ethnicity posters all these questions about pay and conditions etc. But I'd like to ask why you as a poster of Korean ethnicity is mentioning private tutoring when surely you should know that it will get English teachers deported asap when they are on an E-2 visa.
I recall other posters at various stages who clearly don't write English as if it's their first language angling about the private tutoring jobs that we E-2ers are supposed to be doing illegally. I have never tutored privately in Korea and although I am going soon from here, I never would. The great majority of native speakers on E-2 visas do not break the law like this.
What's your agenda here? |
He's a troll fishing for information (read: dirt) on us. I think it'd be best to stop feeding him. |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:12 pm Post subject: |
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| CasperTheFriendlyGhost wrote: |
| No doubt about it, the pay sucks, and for me at least, the hours are long. I'm at work 9-6 for my measley 2.5 mil. My apartment is similar to the dorm room I moved out of years ago. If money was all you were after, you'd do better to find a decent waitstaff position and save every dollar. I think the Korean inferiority-complex knee-jerk reaction is that only someone desperate for a living would come to Korea to work and live. Korea may lack the glamour of Japan, but there are other reasons besides money to work here. Living simply and opportunities for travel are pretty high on my list. |
9-6 is the industry standard you know...
that said, 2.5 with free housing is not bad at all for your average person. |
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Tigerstyleone
Joined: 01 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:23 pm Post subject: Re: I noticed that teaching English in Korea earn a lot |
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| HanlSky wrote: |
2050 / 80 hours in 4 weeks (a month) is about 25.6 dollars per hour, which is a lot. |
This formula is wrong. February is the only month with exactly 4 weeks.
You can't calculate your hourly wage like this.
I've seen this mistake on other posts too. You have to divide your annual salary by 2080 working hours.
2 million a month is 24 million a year and then consider the current exchange rate and that is about $21,000 usd per year. Divide that by 2080 hours you work per year and the hourly salary is just above $10 per hour.
That's a pretty crappy salary.
But.... with free housing and airfare and cheap food and booze, teachers can save some money over time. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:31 pm Post subject: |
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| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
| CasperTheFriendlyGhost wrote: |
| No doubt about it, the pay sucks, and for me at least, the hours are long. I'm at work 9-6 for my measley 2.5 mil. My apartment is similar to the dorm room I moved out of years ago. If money was all you were after, you'd do better to find a decent waitstaff position and save every dollar. I think the Korean inferiority-complex knee-jerk reaction is that only someone desperate for a living would come to Korea to work and live. Korea may lack the glamour of Japan, but there are other reasons besides money to work here. Living simply and opportunities for travel are pretty high on my list. |
9-6 is the industry standard you know...
that said, 2.5 with free housing is not bad at all for your average person. |
Even though I've only ever been public school, me thinks there are still plenty of 1 to 9's and 2 to 10 type of shifts too. I almost get tempted to make the switch just so I could sleep in.  |
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rowdie3
Joined: 22 Sep 2003
Location: Itaewon, Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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Dude is clearly trolling for some dirt on NET's in Korea teaching privates etc. Probably one of those Anti-English Spectrum scumbags.
Don't feed the troll kiddies or it will bite you. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 12:49 am Post subject: |
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| rowdie3 wrote: |
Dude is clearly trolling for some dirt on NET's in Korea teaching privates etc. Probably one of those Anti-English Spectrum scumbags.
Don't feed the troll kiddies or it will bite you. |
Not just on privates but likely on how we're a waste of money for Korea.
But I see people see fit to keep providing information when this guy has yet to ask a question that is relevant to himself, personally.
He's not asking for help and he's clearly not (nor is he going to be) an English teacher.
Enough, you guys! |
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ssuprnova
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Location: Saigon
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 2:04 am Post subject: |
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| I don't get what the problem is. Many E2 teachers spend everything they earn, thereby effectively helping the Korean economy. |
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RMNC
Joined: 21 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:11 am Post subject: |
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Ever notice how HanlSky never came back after being called out?
Next time don't put "Han" in your name if you're trying to conceal the fact that you're a Korean information miner. I guess nationalism gets the best of most Koreans, even when it comes to aliases!  |
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Illysook
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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The truth is that the Hagwon owners charge parents some hefty fees and they probably raise them on a regular basis. Then they blame the cost of NETs for this. If this were true, we would be getting regular raises and clearly we are not.
Maybe this is the scandal that he is trolling for...but the Hagwon owners do have other costs that rise frequently, they are entitled to profit from their investments, and as long as they do so, NETs will have jobs, so it's not really a scandal. |
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nate1983
Joined: 30 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| silkhighway wrote: |
I'm not sure what you're saying, that you make equivalent to someone who earns 100K back home (Ha!) or that you know people who mismanage their money so you're glad that you don't earn a lot of money so that you don't mismanage it too. |
You know, it's not that inconceivable that someone could have the same standard of living (or better) teaching in Korea than someone in the states on 100k. I taught in a university in Seoul, I think salary was ~2.7 plus various other stuff put it at about 3.5 most months. No taxes, severance, free housing, pension - I was going out a lot more, saving much more, and overall enjoying life more than I am back home though my "salary" is much higher...and that's when the won was a lot weaker too.
Even earning 2.2 teaching at a hagwon, you can usually throw in privates a couple days a week and the free housing and lower tax rates are huge (I was paying $1400 for a tiny room recently in nyc). Whether you're just trying to pay off loans, party for a couple years, or set yourself up for good, ESL in Korea can provide a pretty unique opportunity. |
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silkhighway
Joined: 24 Oct 2010
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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| nate1983 wrote: |
| silkhighway wrote: |
I'm not sure what you're saying, that you make equivalent to someone who earns 100K back home (Ha!) or that you know people who mismanage their money so you're glad that you don't earn a lot of money so that you don't mismanage it too. |
You know, it's not that inconceivable that someone could have the same standard of living (or better) teaching in Korea than someone in the states on 100k. I taught in a university in Seoul, I think salary was ~2.7 plus various other stuff put it at about 3.5 most months. No taxes, severance, free housing, pension - I was going out a lot more, saving much more, and overall enjoying life more than I am back home though my "salary" is much higher...and that's when the won was a lot weaker too.
Even earning 2.2 teaching at a hagwon, you can usually throw in privates a couple days a week and the free housing and lower tax rates are huge (I was paying $1400 for a tiny room recently in nyc). Whether you're just trying to pay off loans, party for a couple years, or set yourself up for good, ESL in Korea can provide a pretty unique opportunity. |
YOu're only kidding yourself if you think you make on par with someone who earns a 100K in the States. Does money buy happiness? Not necessarily. Do people who make 100K manage their money well? Not necessarily. Do people who earn 100K a year work too much? Possibly. It doesn't matter, you still don't earn the equivalent of 100K a year. |
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Skyblue
Joined: 02 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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| ssuprnova wrote: |
| I don't get what the problem is. Many E2 teachers spend everything they earn, thereby effectively helping the Korean economy. |
That's right: the majority of the money foreigners make here gets ploughed back into the local economy. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| YOu're only kidding yourself if you think you make on par with someone who earns a 100K in the States. Does money buy happiness? Not necessarily. Do people who make 100K manage their money well? Not necessarily. Do people who earn 100K a year work too much? Possibly. It doesn't matter, you still don't earn the equivalent of 100K a year. |
Not on 3.5 a month no but 100k works out to 44,000 pounds a year after tax in the UK, which works out to 3,400 a month, which works out to 6 million won a month at the current rate of exchange. There are plenty of people on here claiming they can make that and more teaching in Korea |
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silkhighway
Joined: 24 Oct 2010
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
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| YOu're only kidding yourself if you think you make on par with someone who earns a 100K in the States. Does money buy happiness? Not necessarily. Do people who make 100K manage their money well? Not necessarily. Do people who earn 100K a year work too much? Possibly. It doesn't matter, you still don't earn the equivalent of 100K a year. |
Not on 3.5 a month no but 100k works out to 44,000 pounds a year after tax in the UK, which works out to 3,400 a month, which works out to 6 million won a month at the current rate of exchange. There are plenty of people on here claiming they can make that and more teaching in Korea |
At leat one barber became a millionaire by managing his money wisely, but I wouldn't expect to beome a millionaire myself giving people haircuts. There are outliers, so ok, I'll concede. There are possibly a few teachers in Korea who earn equivalent to 100K US a year, but they are by far the minority, so few it's reasonable to say that if your life ambition is to earn 100K US a year, teaching in Korea should not be among your priorities.2.7m won a month is a good living but it's nowhere near 100K. Dont' confuse lifestyle choices with lifestyle options here. |
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