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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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 Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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Happened to me with my 2nd job. I even trained a week for free (will never do that again). Finished the training, went on vacation, heard nothing. That was back in the day when you'd get your visa in a different way. Turns out, they were going under (never got enough students). I didn't hear a thing about what was going on until I got ahold of a Canadian teacher there who told me, "We're a sinking ship... the boss is hoping you won't return to Korea."
Nice. |
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soundproject
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Location: taking the scenic route to Bucaramanga...
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Swampfox10mm wrote: |
Happened to me with my 2nd job. I even trained a week for free (will never do that again). Finished the training, went on vacation, heard nothing. That was back in the day when you'd get your visa in a different way. Turns out, they were going under (never got enough students). I didn't hear a thing about what was going on until I got ahold of a Canadian teacher there who told me, "We're a sinking ship... the boss is hoping you won't return to Korea."
Nice. |
With your second job then! I bet you learnt a lesson there..training for free!? The "lovely" YBM and similar companies have free training uh?  Hmmm..it seems visa rules have changed considerably over the past 2 or 3 years? More red tape apparently? If that was a while back, well with times getting hard all over the planet..there might just be an increase in the number of hagwons taking the same direction..rather than an increase in the numbers setting up shop. Did you manage to ride the wave and get another job straight after? |
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Bruce W Sims
Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Location: Illinois; USA
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 3:13 pm Post subject: |
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In all honesty, thank you both for your honesty and candor. It is sincerely appreciated.
Best Wishes,
Bruce |
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Nester Noodlemon
Joined: 16 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Bruce W Sims wrote: |
Oh, good....that clears that up.
Now, I'm gonna guess that you have a position. Suppose you share your qualifications. I'd like to see what sort of person actually gets hired in Korea. Whats your age, background and experience?
How 'bout it?
Best Wishes,
Bruce |
Actually, I do occasionally hire a teacher because I own a school.
Age: Over 40
Background: Teacher Certification in USA, BArts English and Foreign Language, MArts, MATL program for teaching foreign languages
Experience: 16+ years teaching experience, teaching middle school, high school, university, in 4 countries. |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Suppose you share your qualifications. I'd like to see what sort of person actually gets hired in Korea. Whats your age, background and experience? |
Hey, I'll play.
Age: 33 [but I look young, ~5 years younger]
Background: White guy, American [Midwesterner!], clean-cut, got all my hair, dress like the professional I used to be...
Experience: In teaching, I did about a year of adult instruction in New York City. I have one of those oh-so-valuable TEFL certificates. I have a BA in Geography from some years back. That's all I put on my application, although some other stuff would be needed to give the whole story.
I don't have even a fraction of your experience, Bruce, obviously. But I do have one thing the schools want around here, which is to say a young-ish white American face. I would have been hired 10X faster if I were a decently attractive female, I'm pretty sure.
Try the hagwons. I really don't think you're going to have much success with public schools, and I can almost assure you that you would hate working in them anyway. |
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soundproject
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Location: taking the scenic route to Bucaramanga...
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:10 am Post subject: |
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| Nester Noodlemon wrote: |
| Bruce W Sims wrote: |
Oh, good....that clears that up.
Now, I'm gonna guess that you have a position. Suppose you share your qualifications. I'd like to see what sort of person actually gets hired in Korea. Whats your age, background and experience?
How 'bout it?
Best Wishes,
Bruce |
Actually, I do occasionally hire a teacher because I own a school.
Age: Over 40
Background: Teacher Certification in USA, BArts English and Foreign Language, MArts, MATL program for teaching foreign languages
Experience: 16+ years teaching experience, teaching middle school, high school, university, in 4 countries. |
Nesternoodleman good for you!
How long have you been in Korea then? It seems there are absolutely tons of hagwons there? Apparently it's very easy to set up over there?
I am definitely not dreaming of doing so there in years to come...No, not at all! I think if I'll be just be safe enough if I keep my feet on the ground and try and follow the path that calls.
Good luck! |
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Nester Noodlemon
Joined: 16 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:57 am Post subject: |
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| soundproject wrote: |
| Nester Noodlemon wrote: |
| Bruce W Sims wrote: |
Oh, good....that clears that up.
Now, I'm gonna guess that you have a position. Suppose you share your qualifications. I'd like to see what sort of person actually gets hired in Korea. Whats your age, background and experience?
How 'bout it?
Best Wishes,
Bruce |
Actually, I do occasionally hire a teacher because I own a school.
Age: Over 40
Background: Teacher Certification in USA, BArts English and Foreign Language, MArts, MATL program for teaching foreign languages
Experience: 16+ years teaching experience, teaching middle school, high school, university, in 4 countries. |
Nesternoodleman good for you!
How long have you been in Korea then? It seems there are absolutely tons of hagwons there? Apparently it's very easy to set up over there?
I am definitely not dreaming of doing so there in years to come...No, not at all! I think if I'll be just be safe enough if I keep my feet on the ground and try and follow the path that calls.
Good luck! |
I've been here about 10 years. Yep, tons of hagwons, some make a profit and some don't... It seems like a get rich quick industry, however, many hagwons fail. |
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Hotpants
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:24 am Post subject: |
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And back to the ORIGINAL topic ...
One thing I've learned - not all Korean email accounts - hanmail, ac.kr, kornet accounts transmit to accounts such as Hotmail, and communication can suddenly go 'dead' as a result of that. I lost out on an early job that way, thinking the employer had just backed out of hiring me and hadn't the decency to tell me. Later I found out about the transmission issues. Try a follow up email from another account, or even a phone call if you think the job is worth pursuing. |
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:28 am Post subject: |
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| soundproject wrote: |
| Swampfox10mm wrote: |
Happened to me with my 2nd job. I even trained a week for free (will never do that again). Finished the training, went on vacation, heard nothing. That was back in the day when you'd get your visa in a different way. Turns out, they were going under (never got enough students). I didn't hear a thing about what was going on until I got ahold of a Canadian teacher there who told me, "We're a sinking ship... the boss is hoping you won't return to Korea."
Nice. |
With your second job then! I bet you learnt a lesson there..training for free!? The "lovely" YBM and similar companies have free training uh? Hmmm..it seems visa rules have changed considerably over the past 2 or 3 years? More red tape apparently? If that was a while back, well with times getting hard all over the planet..there might just be an increase in the number of hagwons taking the same direction..rather than an increase in the numbers setting up shop. Did you manage to ride the wave and get another job straight after? |
Could write a book about what happened after that (and probably should). In the end, a recruiter lined me up with a Kindy gig quickly. |
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ssuprnova
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Location: Saigon
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 5:54 am Post subject: |
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Yeah seems that the times are tough... especially since the recent spectacular suicide of the GEPIK program coincides with the annual intake (i.e., fresh graduates) the job market is really looking way oversaturated at the moment.
That being said I posted my resume up for laughs and giggles before re-signing with my current hagwon and I had recruiters e-mailing me and calling to set up interviews. Most offers were of the typical crapwon type (9-6/120hrs/10holidays/2.1) but there were some interesting offers in the bunch (like one position in Seoul 2-10.30pm/120hrs/14holidays/2.8-2.9). |
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soundproject
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Location: taking the scenic route to Bucaramanga...
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 6:12 am Post subject: |
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| Nester Noodlemon wrote: |
| soundproject wrote: |
| Nester Noodlemon wrote: |
| Bruce W Sims wrote: |
Oh, good....that clears that up.
Now, I'm gonna guess that you have a position. Suppose you share your qualifications. I'd like to see what sort of person actually gets hired in Korea. Whats your age, background and experience?
How 'bout it?
Best Wishes,
Bruce |
Actually, I do occasionally hire a teacher because I own a school.
Age: Over 40
Background: Teacher Certification in USA, BArts English and Foreign Language, MArts, MATL program for teaching foreign languages
Experience: 16+ years teaching experience, teaching middle school, high school, university, in 4 countries. |
Nesternoodleman good for you!
How long have you been in Korea then? It seems there are absolutely tons of hagwons there? Apparently it's very easy to set up over there?
I am definitely not dreaming of doing so there in years to come...No, not at all! I think if I'll be just be safe enough if I keep my feet on the ground and try and follow the path that calls.
Good luck! |
I've been here about 10 years. Yep, tons of hagwons, some make a profit and some don't... It seems like a get rich quick industry, however, many hagwons fail. |
That's a while. Yeah it does seem like a get rich quick area, but when there are so many after the same deal it's inevitable that not all will survive. Aside financial issues I'm sure there are lots of other factors that can dictate the potential for hagwons to keep running or not. It also seems that the main draw from getting involved is that it will be very lucrative. Anyway different things rock for each person. |
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soundproject
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Location: taking the scenic route to Bucaramanga...
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:47 am Post subject: |
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| Swampfox10mm wrote: |
| soundproject wrote: |
| Swampfox10mm wrote: |
Happened to me with my 2nd job. I even trained a week for free (will never do that again). Finished the training, went on vacation, heard nothing. That was back in the day when you'd get your visa in a different way. Turns out, they were going under (never got enough students). I didn't hear a thing about what was going on until I got ahold of a Canadian teacher there who told me, "We're a sinking ship... the boss is hoping you won't return to Korea."
Nice. |
With your second job then! I bet you learnt a lesson there..training for free!? The "lovely" YBM and similar companies have free training uh? Hmmm..it seems visa rules have changed considerably over the past 2 or 3 years? More red tape apparently? If that was a while back, well with times getting hard all over the planet..there might just be an increase in the number of hagwons taking the same direction..rather than an increase in the numbers setting up shop. Did you manage to ride the wave and get another job straight after? |
Could write a book about what happened after that (and probably should). In the end, a recruiter lined me up with a Kindy gig quickly. |
Why not! Others might start following suit Good though you managed to sort something soon after. I guess you've moved on from Kindy by now? |
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soundproject
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Location: taking the scenic route to Bucaramanga...
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:54 am Post subject: |
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| ssuprnova wrote: |
Yeah seems that the times are tough... especially since the recent spectacular suicide of the GEPIK program coincides with the annual intake (i.e., fresh graduates) the job market is really looking way oversaturated at the moment.
That being said I posted my resume up for laughs and giggles before re-signing with my current hagwon and I had recruiters e-mailing me and calling to set up interviews. Most offers were of the typical crapwon type (9-6/120hrs/10holidays/2.1) but there were some interesting offers in the bunch (like one position in Seoul 2-10.30pm/120hrs/14holidays/2.8-2.9). |
Yeah it does indeed seem that way. I've heard about the fall of the GEPIK program. Hmmm..and how nice that it's timing is as you said matching the intake of fresh recruits. Yeah those are the kind of offers I turned down and the kind that are indeed still heading my way. Hmm...not bad if you wanna be in Seoul. I haven't actually posted my around..anyway I would probably get crappy gigs also, but who knows.. |
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soundproject
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Location: taking the scenic route to Bucaramanga...
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:02 am Post subject: |
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| Hotpants wrote: |
And back to the ORIGINAL topic ...
One thing I've learned - not all Korean email accounts - hanmail, ac.kr, kornet accounts transmit to accounts such as Hotmail, and communication can suddenly go 'dead' as a result of that. I lost out on an early job that way, thinking the employer had just backed out of hiring me and hadn't the decency to tell me. Later I found out about the transmission issues. Try a follow up email from another account, or even a phone call if you think the job is worth pursuing. |
Hotpants..it isn't a hanmail account. Cheers, but I think this one has come and gone. It's a bit weird because he was just very persistent before I said I'd accept and just asked to have a couple of points ammended on contract as had been agreed and then all communication ceased. I might give it one more try..it was definitely the best of the bunch I'd looked at. Although I have my doubts on it.. |
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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| soundproject wrote: |
| Swampfox10mm wrote: |
| soundproject wrote: |
| Swampfox10mm wrote: |
Happened to me with my 2nd job. I even trained a week for free (will never do that again). Finished the training, went on vacation, heard nothing. That was back in the day when you'd get your visa in a different way. Turns out, they were going under (never got enough students). I didn't hear a thing about what was going on until I got ahold of a Canadian teacher there who told me, "We're a sinking ship... the boss is hoping you won't return to Korea."
Nice. |
With your second job then! I bet you learnt a lesson there..training for free!? The "lovely" YBM and similar companies have free training uh? Hmmm..it seems visa rules have changed considerably over the past 2 or 3 years? More red tape apparently? If that was a while back, well with times getting hard all over the planet..there might just be an increase in the number of hagwons taking the same direction..rather than an increase in the numbers setting up shop. Did you manage to ride the wave and get another job straight after? |
Could write a book about what happened after that (and probably should). In the end, a recruiter lined me up with a Kindy gig quickly. |
Why not! Others might start following suit Good though you managed to sort something soon after. I guess you've moved on from Kindy by now? |
Yup. I teach university students now. Not a lot different, but I don't get to sing and dance. Also, there aren't any cute and desperate mid/late 20's kindergarten teachers to flirt with. Just 40-something ajumma with Ph.D's who complain about our books. They're very kind, anyway. |
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