Korean Job Discussion Forums

[leftx47]

[mmstyle]

Leftx, I agree, but other poster(s) seem to be using this as a reason to champion living in a depressed market back home and saving less now, as opposed to saving more now in Korea. With current interest rates back home, I feel like I am making a better choice by being here. But, I am in my 30s, so that may be a factor. In my 20s, when I was massively burdened with debt, I was not able to save anything, so those early savings ideas were of no good to me. So, coming to Korea was by far a better choice for me. Also, most calculators I saw even when the market was doing well were at about 8%.

If I believed that the market might rebound, then maybe. But I don't. If I were to go home now, I think I would end up working much later in life. Western economies are in a tailspin, and the governments are not instituting policies to benefit people like me (us?). That is to say, regular people. Kenny seems to be doing well here, even though he doesn't want to teach for 10 years, and I think that if he is able to save a full salary, he's doing a lot for his future, unless he plans to become part of a very small, increasingly elite group of people (which does not include teachers).

[leftx47]

I think you've got it right, mmstyle. I was talking about saving vs spending on extra beer. When it comes to saving vs paying off debt, paying down the debt almost always has to come first.

So to clarify, in case someone else is reading this, if you've got a bit of savings sitting in a bank account or bonds making %1 or %3 or whatever interest while you're making minimum payments on sizable loans with a %4 or %5 rate (realistically, the imbalance is probably even worse), your returns on your savings are being eaten away by the interest on your debt. In this case, you shouldn't be saving more than you need for a few months in the future. Instead you should be concentrating on reducing the principle on your loan, at least until it's low enough that the loan interest doesn't exceed your savings interest.

In mmstyle's case, and probably the case of many others on here, if you spent your 20's paying off school loans (or credit card debt) so you couldn't start saving until your 30's, that was a good decision. If on the other hand you plan to spend your 20's in a drunken haze chasing Asian women, and still have significant debt in your 30's, that's your choice, but you may find yourself with fewer options when you're 60.

As far as whether posters should give up on Korea or move "back home", I didn't mean to imply an opinion on which I think is the better place to work and save or even that money should be the major factor in such a decision.

Last minute disclaimer: This is all ultra-generalized, and I'm aware there are specific (although I think rare) cases where it's smarter for you to make a different decision. That's why I also posted don't make financial decisions solely based on advice from internet posters, including me. Everyone should crunch their specific numbers for themselves.

[Modernist]

As someone who is, essentially, here for the money, I would say that one factor to remember is the balance between earning money and enjoying your life/profession. It's my opinion that the vast majority of people teaching in this country are only doing it because a) they haven't figured out what they REALLY want to do yet, b) they need money seriously and quickly [this is me] or c) they have messed up their 'native country' lives big-time/there was some kind of crisis like a bad break-up or a lost job [this is also me].

The congruent fact is that these people, probably 80% of those here and notably excluding the lifers and kimchi-huggers, DON'T particularly like and may well loathe teaching, especially teaching the way Korea typically demands. There are FAR more of them than the 'oh gosh, teaching is my calling. Korea is home' people.

So when looking at your time here and the question of money earned and saved and so forth, you need to decide, firmly, just how much of your life you are willing to dedicate to this before you call a halt to it all, dump ESL/EFL forever and ever, and return to a real life, a real job and actually looking forward to going to work in the morning.

In other words, teaching mostly sucks, for most people. It's dull and repetitive and the vast majority of what you're doing is irrelevant. It demands skill, not intelligence. Most of the students may be sweet but they're dumb as rocks. This is at least doubly true in Korea. Save your money, make your goals, get the hell out of here and be grateful you don't turn into one of those 40-something guys teaching fourth-graders how to spell and slumming around in cargo shorts and fake Oakleys.

Don't become trapped in this 'profession.' Know your limits and stick to them. Remember it's your life, not just your money. Don't waste it here, doing this.

[rainism]

[shifty]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Modernist]

[edwardcatflap]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Modernist]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[quote="Modernist"]

[mmstyle]

Modernist, I think you make some good points. I don't disagree with you. A lot of what you focus on is "make your money and get out" because teaching low level students is not fulfilling. I find that for me, although teaching low level students can be tough, that is not the hardest part of my job. For me, it actually stems from the way I am treated by coworkers and administration. Although this problem will persist anywhere, the way that it exists in Korea in particular seems to get to me. I don't know if this is just the primary school system, though. I wonder how many of the 100 or so people who express lack of satisfaction are experiencing it because of the learners, or because of the environment.

I'm really of two minds about my job. I have great connection with my kids, even though I have too many to get to know them all well. I came here because I wanted to live outside of my own culture (I lived in another country in my teens, and wanted that experience again, but could not move back to that country). Let's face it, ESL is not a high paying job, but if you play your cards right, you can do just as well as you could back home, given the increasingly high cost of living in some of our countries. If my job was properly resourced, with a real curriculum (that I haven't been creating largely from scratch myself), etc., it would be pretty damn good, and I would stick with it for a lot longer. Oh, yeah, and if the top of the pay scale were not so ridiculously low for foreign teachers. The new teacher who came (and quit) this year once told me, "your expensive" and I wanted to laugh in her face. I have seen how much my office mate makes (the government gives teachers MANY extras that pad their pay checks very well over time, so the expensive foreigner argument is BS, IMO). I have no idea what she will pull in for her Chusok bonus, but 1 won will be more than me!

I'll readily admit that I am giving up having family and friends and familiarity around, but I wanted to live elsewhere. I wish I could go home a little more often. I'll never go back though..that's what happens when you marry someone from another culture. I am also putting off an idea of a complete career change to what might be a dream job (although it pays no more than ESL) because my spouse finds teaching very fulfilling. But TUM is right, that grass can always seem greener, too.

Ah, I've derailed the thread.

PS, mornings suck. I wish PS started later.

[edwardcatflap]

It's kind of understandable that if this is true

[mmstyle]