Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rollthadice4]

Hi everyone,
Me and my girlfriend are applying to teach English in Busan. We both have our Master's Degree and are applying for couple positions. I am wondering how much we should expect to get paid. Should we get compensated extra because we will be living in the same apartment?
We have been offered 2.4 million won for a kindergarten/elementary school position in Namcheon dong near Gwangalli beach. Does this sound reasonable? What other things should we specify that we want/need before signing the contract. It says the hours are 9:30am - 7:10pm, which seems longer than usual (I was under the impression that we would work 30 hours per week)
Thanks in advance for any help and information you can give me.

[Ramen]

a mansion, limo, house maid, butler, chef, gardener, ......

as them to show you the contract and read it first before making any more demands.

[rollthadice4]

[Ramen]

[SeoulNate]

[thegadfly]

...additionally, if you share accomodations, one of you ought to be getting a housing allowance in lieu of housing (in the contract), which commonly seems to be around 400,000 won a month...so one of you would be getting paid 400k more. The school SHOULD do it that way, and so one of you would have a higher salary, and would hopefully split the 400k with the other...but I don't think the school would split it for you....

[marsavalanche]

Those hours are brutal.... God no

[antgonz]

If you have a Masters demand at least 3 million won a month.

Teach at a university. I would go to South east Asia personally.

Have you taught kinder before? Do you know how crazy those little punks are?

Get a higher salary somewhere else. TRUST ME. You are entitled to it.

[rollthadice4]

thegadfly, thanks for the info, that is exactly what I was looking for.

antgonz, we were hoping to teach in Busan. Should we still go through a regular recruiter for University positions? Do you know any good ones?

thanks again everyone, your input is invaluable.

[Porksta]

Seriously, with a Bachelor's Degree I feel overqualified for my job. i can't imagine teaching elementary school with a Master's.

[rollthadice4]

I guess I am just having trouble figuring out where to look to apply for university positions. Should I just keep piling on the recruiters? Should I contact Universities directly?

[Malislamusrex]

Be careful not to burn your bridges with your school, I was offered a job at a good university, nice pay nice vacation nice staff. The department wanted to hire me.... but technically you need 1 years teaching experience at a university or 2 years at a school with an MA before you get into most of the nice paying university jobs. Long story short, the admin department saw 1.5 years experience teaching in a school and not what was on their hiring document and pulled the plug last minute.

I have a great relationship with my school and they welcomed me back with open arms, gave me a pay rise and extra vacation, but I have been there a year and a half. So be careful.

[Ramen]

just get paid as much as you think you are worth.

[robinsoncrusoe]

OP, I think (this is my opinion, no one else's) that you are getting buttf***ed by this deal, but at the end of the day, if the long hours and lower-than-average pay doesn't bother you, it's your call.

to put things in perspective:

i'm getting 2.3 mil for 30 hr/week, from 4-10PM every day. My housing (small apartment, but in a great area) is fully paid for. I have the entire morning and early afternoon for privates or for whatever else i want. I do NOT have a MA degree. I have a useless BA in a humanities that is pretty damn unemployable. It is NOT my life goal to be a teacher.

So you're on the other end of the spectrum, where you are so much more qualified than I am AND you have the desire to commit to teaching, as you've demonstrated by completing your MA. You get what you're worth, as Ramen says, but with a masters, I think you're worth AT LEAST 2.8 mil with full benefits (housing, etc.). Not only that, but you should be working less than 30 hours a week. Other posters have mentioned university gigs: those usually start you off at 3 mil for anywhere between 10-25 hours of teaching per week, although it usually falls around 15. Plus, you get 2-3 months paid vacation every year, so you can make money as you sip Mai Tai's in Phuket.

You DESERVE better. But it's up to you whether you believe you're WORTH more than the 2.5 they're dangling in front of you.

[ssuprnova]

I would never teach kindie, period. With an MA I wouldn't even consider working more than 6 hours a day for less than 2.5 and free housing. You're getting gipped, good sir, time to tell the recruiter "next".