Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Koreadays]

[bcjinseoul]

Thanks guys for the feedback, guys!

I know I didn't finish college and abandon an international teaching career to make $11.25 an hour at a call center the rest of my life, like I've been doing for 5 months now...gotta be patient in this difficult market.

Half of you mentioned something to the extent of me "not trying hard enough." Needless to say, I live a major metro area with unemployment above 10%. I have spent 12 months applying to dozens to hundreds of jobs per month on the biggest job boards out there. Applying to jobs online has always been a numbers game, so the more you apply to, the better. I've applied to everything from bank teller, retail management, auto insurance adjuster jobs, to teaching related things, great looking things in the legal world and HR, editing and writing gigs, and better looking sales jobs, like IT and Healthcare Recruiting, Pharm/Med sales and software sales, and lots of jobs that pay only $10-12 an hour (which is like NOTHING, now); mostly admin stuff I guess. I have looked into other misc total random things, too, like being an Air Traffic Controller, joining something like the ATF or DEA, become a dental lab tech (making dentures in a lab; not a traditional healthcare job, per se). I applied to a dual major in computer science in electrical engineering as well, but didn't make the cut. I haven't given up hope yet, but if in another 12 months I don't like where I'm at nor where I'm headed, I reserve the right to go back to Korea for 5-10 more years. Being 30, I sure wish I knew 15 years ago in high school what I know now, I would have put the guitar down, focused on math and science, and have become a scientist or engineer.

[World Traveler]

[Died By Bear]

[qcat79]

world traveler, i'm torn with agreeing with you on this. don't just look at the most recent numbers, but look at all the previous rankings.

2008~2009: the U.S. was 1st
2009~2010: the U.S. was 2nd
2010~2011: the U.S. was 4th
2011~2012: the U.S. is 5th

when it is still acceptable that the U.S. falls a few more notches down and still call it a good/competitive economy? sure, it's still a very nice place to live now for some people, but as bcj has stated, the cost of living has been going up for years while the lower end of the spectrum of wages has stayed stagnant.

and by the way, since this is a korea forum look at the korean numbers. they have fared much worse the U.S.

2008~2009: Korea was 13th
2009~2010: Korea was 19th
2010~2011: Korea was 22nd
2011~2012: Korea is 24th

is this a country that we all still want to be in in the next few years too?

looks like we all should move to switzerland or singapore, which in itself would be awesome.

[PatrickGHBusan]

Key to moving back home successfully: plan, have goals, set up your return. Otherwise you run the risk of having a very hard time.

[silkhighway]

[qcat79]

[World Traveler]

[PatrickGHBusan]

[shifty]

[bcjinseoul]

I think I might know who World Traveler is, if he knows qcat79 as well as I do

Lastly, to respond to the above poster, I believe people evolve over time, much like life on Earth. I enjoy reading the likes of Richard Dawkins, Jared Diamond, Michio Kaku, Carl Sagan, etc in my spare time, and most of the movies and video games I enjoy have a high tech, sci-fi theme to them as well. I know someone who's an aerospace engineer and works for Boeing in Seattle, and I know a guy from college with a PhD in Biophysics, so yeah, I'm a firm believer in a meaningful job = meaningful life. I'd love to walk in either of their shoes.

I haven't really been into playing any instrument or listening to much music within the last several years, it can be a great hobby, but I think the problem with America is it's an entertainment mecca. All we have is entertainment and the military industrial complex, the rest of the world makes and produces everything else. I think too many kids grow up with unrealistic dreams of being in the NFL, NBA, being a rock star or a rapper or an actor, can't shake it, and either go to college for the wrong thing or don't go to college at all. It's sad really. We're bombarded with tons of music, video games, sports, comic books, TV shows, movies, electronics, smart phones, and the end result is a young population who can't study or learn, with no concentration or focus. My 13 year old nephew is struggling through school because of all the entertainment and distractions. At this point, I honestly can't see him or his sister earning a BA one day.

It's like in the information age we have all this knowledge at our finger tips, and yet no real wisdom. And yet, walk into any major metro hospital, and you'll find plenty of Chinese and Indian doctors. Says something right there. I worked for CVS once, and none of the Pharmacists were born in this country. And again, where I work, there are people with BA's in all the usual liberal arts/social science fields, as well; at a call center.

It's just scary when you think about: $50,000 a year is only decent at best in the States, and most people make less than that. Much less. We've become a nation of wage slaves, and it's sad to see young college grads work in call centers, restaurants, retail, etc alongside high school drop outs, with tons of debt, no pension, ho health insurance, struggling week after week, etc. But hey, that's why there are so many people in Korea, along with the high unemployment, and the advent of facebook...

[bucheon bum]

[bucheon bum]

[sirius black]

America is obviously a huge country with variuos cost of living. I'd take 40k a year to work in Philadelphia, Ms over 50k a year to work in Philadelphia, PA. any day of the week (social life considerations notwithstanding).

As for how easy jobs are to get, the millions of americans who are out of work including many of whom that have a college degree must not be trying hard enough.