Korean Job Discussion Forums

nzbradly78 · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Location: Czech Republic

To the OP:

I left Korea this summer but didn't go home. I was fortunate to be able to find a job in Europe that, while similar to the one I had in Korea, has a lot of better perks (and some minuses of course) such as:

Living in a village rather than a huge city. My school is in the city, but I had a choice to where I wanted to live which wasn't necessarily available in Daegu, even though I had my own apartment.

The pay is about the same, but food and other necessities are much cheaper here both in real dollars and PPP.

Its easy to travel around and I have 10 weeks of holiday (not quite as good as in NZ, but not bad)

There are opportunities for professional development and management roles.

The staff, both managerial and teaching are both transparent and professional.

The students don't care if they're wrong when they speak or write, but they give it a go. That was the most frustrating part of teaching in Korea was having students so afraid of making a mistake they took the easy way out or just kept quiet.

The minuses are of course taxes are higher and higher transport costs and more work than I had to do in Korea, but with kids I think where I am now is the best place we can be.

The point of the post is to get a job before you go. Its too risky I think anywhere to drop your bags and hit the pavement. If you are interested in looking for international schools and don't mind ponying up some money to join the sites, the databases do a lot of the work for you. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the site on this board, but PM me and I'll send you the link. Or Google, that's how I found it.

Either way, best of luck to you!

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

brento1138 · Joined: 17 Nov 2004

Questions for the OP:

1) What career would you like to go into when you get back home?

2) What degree did you get from university?

3) Are you qualified to work in the job of your dreams?

If 1-3 do not match up perfectly, then I suggest getting more education to go into the career or profession you like most. Even if it means being poor for a while. Most people back home worked hard to get to where they are, if they have found success. And working hard usually means having very little cash, investing it all (plus getting student loans) in education... and getting very little return in the short-term. But long-term is what counts.

I agree with you: it's tough to leave Korea. It's cushy. It's nice. I've got a bunch of great friends here too. I prefer the big city to the smallish city. Seoul (for me) is much more fun than Vancouver, honestly. I even like ESL teaching... but not enough to do it for life.

That's why I'm going back home, doing a very expensive year of school, and I'll graduate with a very specific diploma in the field I want to be in (with a university degree in a related field to back me up). I'll have to fight and scrape to get anywhere, or even get hired. I've even set up a side business which may or may not do well. The job field I am entering is extremely competitive and I will be lucky if I get a job in some horribly cold northern Canadian city where I know nobody. But I've decided this is what I have to do.

Sometimes taking the harder, more difficult route is best because it leads to greater gains in the future. Although living in Korea as an ESL teacher forever is tempting (seriously... I could stay here for good) there are just some things in life that I want to do which Korea cannot do for me. Besides, as much as I like Korea, home is home... and what we can do back there sometimes can be more than we can do here.

v88 · Joined: 28 Feb 2010 Location: here

Brento,

1,2,3) I'm trained to be an urban planner / designer. I have all the paper work and I enjoy it, but have always hated the idea of slaving for a job (hence my retreat to Asia and Canadian ski resorts).

For me spending my early 20's studying without a life and working tirelessly toward a career kind of soured my ideas about life.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=111528158907801

Now I question that to some degree, especially as my job and life here are turning into the same thing sort of.

brento1138 · Joined: 17 Nov 2004

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:42 am Post subject:

bcjinseoul · Joined: 13 Jan 2010 Location: Seoul, Korea

Life is what happens while you make plans

BananaBan · Joined: 16 Nov 2011

v88 · Joined: 28 Feb 2010 Location: here

pegasus64128 · Joined: 20 Aug 2011

leotreo · Joined: 19 Dec 2011

Going to throw my 2 cents in...

The reason most people want to teach English abroad (in Korea) is not so much for the pay but for the lifestyle. Sure, you have to work but it's not (seemingly) the hustle of the 9-5 cubicle slave. I believe most people who go abroad to teach don't want to settle for that type of lifestyle and instead want new and exciting experiences and live fairly securely and comfortably at the same time.

What I hear from most of you is perhaps the 'wine ran out' of your 'Korean' party and now you are looking for another way to find satisfaction. In the states you can work hard and make a good wage. But what then? Most of my friends who have goods jobs aren't really that happy. They complain about work a lot and find little time to do the things they enjoy. They too search for ways and toys and things to satisfy them.

I majored in accounting and worked a decent paying job right out of college. But now I am considering teaching English in Korea. Because sure I can continue to build my career and maybe in a few years I will make 100k a year. But what then? Will I really be happy? "Oh yay, I'm upper middle class in the U.S.--I can take nice vacations and buy a house with a modern kitchen." I don't think I will be satisfied when that is all said and done.

I guess I believe that it is more about the journey than the destination.

allovertheplace · Joined: 02 Aug 2009

World Traveler · Joined: 29 May 2009

nautilus · Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

diver · Joined: 16 Jun 2003

To the OP: As a guy in his mid-forties, I can tell you that time passes faster than you think. If you are worried about a few years of hardship when you get home, go for it anyway. If, a few years down the road, you are still in Korea and thinking about going home - those hardship years would've been over.

If it's what you truly want to do, and you know you are going to have to suck it up for a coupe of years, suck it up now, get it done.

I dithered for four or five years over whether I should get an MA or not. I thought about doing it two times longer than it actually took to do. I wish I had just gone ahead and done it right away. I would have that much more post-MA experience.

Good luck whatever you do.