Korean Job Discussion Forums

[vchampea]

Some of the jobs I'm looking at vary widely in the working hours. For example, one school I'm looking at right now says 11AM-8PM. That's 9 hours per day! But I don't know if that's Monday-Friday. The job ad doesn't say. Another job ad I'm looking at says 3:20-9:10. That's only 6 hours per day. Why would anyone take a job working 9 hours per day when there are lots of other jobs that are only 6 hours per day? Am I missing something?

[northway]

Age group and finish time. I prefer working with younger kids and I'm a morning person. I'm much happier starting early and finishing at 5:30 or 6:30 than I would be starting at 4 and finishing at 10, even though I'm at work a bit longer than I would be otherwise. Generally the teaching hours are the same regardless of the hours listed (30 per week), at least for newb positions.

I think another thing is that some jobs give hours that include you showing up early for prep time while others list the times you would be teaching then demand that you get there at least an hour early to get ready for your classes, so it balances out a bit. The six hour positions generally want you there an hour before your classes start but don't list it as working hours, whereas the vast majority of nine hour positions are accounting for prep time within that nine hours.

[vchampea]

The one position I mentioned that was a 6 hour workday mentioned that you should arrive an hour before your first lesson. So that would make it a 7 hour workday, which is still quite different from a 9 hour workday. I've read that if you're not teaching, you don't need to be at the school. So why would they list hours that you don't need to be at the school? Do they really keep track of when you come to work and when you leave? I would think that their main concern would be that you come to your classes on time and you are prepared for them.

[koreatimes]

[northway]

[furtakk]

i've done both and while getting off at 9 or 10 sucks, it's way nicer than putting in 9 hour days. i liked teaching younger kids, but the hours are brutal. it's also nice to sleep in everyday and have the option of doing things at night if you so please.

[northway]

[The Floating World]

I too have noticed employers in their over confidence are taking the mickey with hours. I have seen more job ads than ever this year offering 9pm - 7pm (seriously, lol 10 hr days!?) or 12pm - 10pm etc...

I pity the poor newbs that are taking these jobs.

I've done every type of shift out there in Korea and the best are the ps 8.30am - 4.30pm, the afternoon hakwan 2.30pm - around 9pm or the after school deal of 1pm - 6pm, which is obviously the best (sadly for e2's these are mostly asking for f visas only now.)

The ps type of hours give you evenings free but you have to get up early which I hate and then you get home with like 7 hrs before you want to go to bed to do what exactly alone in a single apt most nights.

I prefer the current sort of shift I have now at my hakwan of 2.30pm - 8.30pm. Seriously, 6 hrs a day with 4 hrs of teaching. Get up at 1.30pm if I really want to and still have a few hrs before bed to watch movies, eat or even socialise - as most nets are hakwan workers so don't fin till late anyway, so the foriegner bars I like are empty b4 10pm anyway.

Like I said, that's what suits my lifetyle, ymmv.

[Skipperoo]

Might have been mentioned already, but 'work hours' is very different from 'teaching hours' - the latter is the one you should concern yourself with.

E.g. my 'work hours' are technically about 8 per day, give or take. However I only actually teach for 3-5 of those due to breaks and so forth.

[Mr Lee's Monkey]

My contract says 30 hours, but I've found myself teaching 49 classes/wk. There's a lot of creative accounting going on with my employer in the context of time - no pay for prep and breaks. Best to get clarification of not only teaching hours, but number of and duration of classes in a given day or week. In hagwons, there are extreme variations in the expectations of the employers.

[philipswoodjnr]

I have had a job where I taught 4 hours a day and one where I taught 7 hours a day and they both paid the same. So be caful which position you choose. You can end up screwing yourself if your not careful

[vchampea]