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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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 Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 4:27 am Post subject: Re: Starting to get fed up |
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| thebektionary wrote: |
| Is it even worth all of this? |
If you have some special reason to be in Korea ( relationship? starring in a TV show? Writing a book about the country? ) then... YES.
If its only because you want to earn marginally more than you can in other countries, then...NO.
The amount of time you spend waiting for documents means you lose much more money than your'e saving by choosing Korea over say China...( or the better jobs in vietnam etc).
6 months of waiting around is brutally expensive. Even if you're sitting in mommies basement you still have to contribute rent I presume? You'll have to find a temp job while you're waiting, then later quit it.
This is the problem now. Korea is no longer worth the hassle, even for desperate unemployed people.
And after you've jumped all the hoops and arrive here its entirely posible that you will get an abusive intolerable workplace that you will be forced to do a runner from. In fact that scenario is more likely now than ever before, given the low calibre of the jobs currently on offer.
We're talking the bottom of the barrel now. 11am- 10pm split shift pay-your-own-airfare 2.0 live-in-a-shoebox mom'npop kindy-gwons in rural chingchongping-do. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 1:46 pm Post subject: Re: Starting to get fed up |
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| Julius wrote: |
| thebektionary wrote: |
| Is it even worth all of this? |
If you have some special reason to be in Korea ( relationship? starring in a TV show? Writing a book about the country? ) then... YES. |
Those are the same cliche reasons people gave for living in Japan. But I guess now we know why you're in Korea. Personally, I wouldn't be caught dead starring on Asian television, even as a guest. But let us know when your pilot airs. Or when your book is published.
| Julius wrote: |
| The amount of time you spend waiting for documents means you lose much more money than your'e saving by choosing Korea over say China...( or the better jobs in vietnam etc). |
The way people talk up China, Vietnam, or Thailand (while they themselves continue to live in Korea�in some cases, after leaving these countries) makes me seriously doubt that they pay much attention to the forums for those countries.
China does not pay well. And now they are in the process of imposing a social security like tax that, when added to the already existing taxes, will take out 40% of your already crappy salary. And you will not get that money back.
As for time spent waiting around for documents, at worst, it's about two and a half months.
| Julius wrote: |
| 6 months of waiting around is brutally expensive. |
Unless�you
| Julius wrote: |
| find a temp job while you're waiting, then later quit it. |
�and then everything is fine because temp jobs by their nature are short term.
| Julius wrote: |
| And after you've jumped all the hoops and arrive here its entirely posible that you will get an abusive intolerable workplace that you will be forced to do a runner from. In fact that scenario is more likely now than ever before, given the low calibre of the jobs currently on offer. |
Which is why you order more than one CBC. They last 6 months, which is plenty of time to determine if you work for a crap hagwon, presuming you decide to work for one and not hold out for a public school, which the OP did�which brings us back to square one. Is it worth it? And the answer is yes. Even for the crappy shoebox apartment working a job that pays 2.0 mil won because that's a lot better than 0.000000 mil won. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:22 pm Post subject: |
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| will take out 40% of your already crappy salary. |
This has yet to be determined. Technically, it's something the employer must pay.
"In addition to this, employers are required to contribute even more to the social insurance system � double or triple the amount (up to three times the average salary in the city):
Beijing = about 32 percent of the foreigner�s monthly salary
Shanghai = 37 percent of the foreigner�s monthly salary
Guangzhou = about 24 percent of the foreigner�s monthly salary" - http://china.eslteachercafe.com/topic1921-a-foreigners-guide-2011-social-security-tax-china.aspx
Also, in China, you don't work as much. So, you can get extra work as well. The money issue is marginal, don't rule out either country. Both are viable options. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
| Quote: |
| will take out 40% of your already crappy salary. |
This has yet to be determined. Technically, it's something the employer must pay.
"In addition to this, employers are required to contribute even more to the social insurance system � double or triple the amount (up to three times the average salary in the city):
Beijing = about 32 percent of the foreigner�s monthly salary
Shanghai = 37 percent of the foreigner�s monthly salary
Guangzhou = about 24 percent of the foreigner�s monthly salary" - http://china.eslteachercafe.com/topic1921-a-foreigners-guide-2011-social-security-tax-china.aspx
Also, in China, you don't work as much. So, you can get extra work as well. The money issue is marginal, don't rule out either country. Both are viable options. |
Fair enough. Thanks, koreatimes. |
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recessiontime
Joined: 21 Jun 2010
Location: Got avatar privileges nyahahaha
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| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:06 pm Post subject: Re: Starting to get fed up |
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| thebektionary wrote: |
I want to go into East Asian International Relations and learning Mandarin would really help me in my career.
Thoughts? |
Sounds like a disaster in the making. I hope immersing yourself into East Asian international studies and Mandarin guarantees you a good job because it sounds like you'll be accumulating nothing but more debt and moving back to parents'. |
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thebektionary
Joined: 11 May 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 1:09 pm Post subject: Re: Starting to get fed up |
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| recessiontime wrote: |
| thebektionary wrote: |
I want to go into East Asian International Relations and learning Mandarin would really help me in my career.
Thoughts? |
Sounds like a disaster in the making. I hope immersing yourself into East Asian international studies and Mandarin guarantees you a good job because it sounds like you'll be accumulating nothing but more debt and moving back to parents'. |
It was an idle thought. I thought we already established that?
And I got my FBI check in the mail today so this thread is entirely irrelevant to me now. |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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It was an idle thought. I thought we already established that?
And I got my FBI check in the mail today so this thread is entirely irrelevant to me now. |
Hey, chill out. Perhaps recessiontime had a bad experience with accumulating debt for graduate school that didn't work out as planned and was trying to warn you not to make the same mistake?
There are LOTS of people who went to graduate programs, loading up on debt all the way, without really looking seriously at the job prospects coming out. I'm one of them. 'East Asian Studies IR' is a HIGHLY dubious degree--speaking as someone who once spent a fair amount of time at a prominent IR school. If you have a natural skill at languages and can pick up Mandarin, you don't need some fancy paper or some supposed 'network' to find a decent job. If you DON'T have those skills, the fancy paper is worthless.
As for your 'life in New York', I also used to live there. Used to walk my dog right across the river from the UN. Hope you're not expecting your savings from here to last long there. NYC will suck you dry so fast your head will spin. I saw it every week.
Decide WHAT you want, and are able, to do first, not WHERE you want to be. You can be happy in a lot of places, but only if you are doing something you value. |
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bobloblaw
Joined: 30 May 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Modernist wrote: |
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It was an idle thought. I thought we already established that?
And I got my FBI check in the mail today so this thread is entirely irrelevant to me now. |
Hey, chill out. Perhaps recessiontime had a bad experience with accumulating debt for graduate school that didn't work out as planned and was trying to warn you not to make the same mistake?
There are LOTS of people who went to graduate programs, loading up on debt all the way, without really looking seriously at the job prospects coming out. I'm one of them. 'East Asian Studies IR' is a HIGHLY dubious degree--speaking as someone who once spent a fair amount of time at a prominent IR school. If you have a natural skill at languages and can pick up Mandarin, you don't need some fancy paper or some supposed 'network' to find a decent job. If you DON'T have those skills, the fancy paper is worthless.
As for your 'life in New York', I also used to live there. Used to walk my dog right across the river from the UN. Hope you're not expecting your savings from here to last long there. NYC will suck you dry so fast your head will spin. I saw it every week.
Decide WHAT you want, and are able, to do first, not WHERE you want to be. You can be happy in a lot of places, but only if you are doing something you value. |
Well said. |
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thebektionary
Joined: 11 May 2011
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Modernist wrote: |
| Quote: |
It was an idle thought. I thought we already established that?
And I got my FBI check in the mail today so this thread is entirely irrelevant to me now. |
Hey, chill out. Perhaps recessiontime had a bad experience with accumulating debt for graduate school that didn't work out as planned and was trying to warn you not to make the same mistake?
There are LOTS of people who went to graduate programs, loading up on debt all the way, without really looking seriously at the job prospects coming out. I'm one of them. 'East Asian Studies IR' is a HIGHLY dubious degree--speaking as someone who once spent a fair amount of time at a prominent IR school. If you have a natural skill at languages and can pick up Mandarin, you don't need some fancy paper or some supposed 'network' to find a decent job. If you DON'T have those skills, the fancy paper is worthless.
As for your 'life in New York', I also used to live there. Used to walk my dog right across the river from the UN. Hope you're not expecting your savings from here to last long there. NYC will suck you dry so fast your head will spin. I saw it every week.
Decide WHAT you want, and are able, to do first, not WHERE you want to be. You can be happy in a lot of places, but only if you are doing something you value. |
I understand. I think a lot of stuff comes out not how it's supposed to sound because it's being read and not said. All I was saying is that I don't have plans on going to grad school for East Asian Studies... it was more of an idle thought of "maayybee I can start looking into this". As for grad school debt, I know. I give my boyfriend the same lecture you just gave me. I also get it from my dad all the time. I don't even know what I want to get a Masters degree in yet so I can't even apply to a school without knowing.
As for New York, I also know. My family is from the city and my brother spent the past 5 years living there. He recently moved back home to Miami. I have a passion for the city and want to live there at least once in my life. I understand that money goes fast there (and in general... I'm down to almost nothing of my Korea savings right now) but it is something I really want to do so I'm going to do it, even if it means that I have to live in Korea for two more years instead of just one.
Anyway, sorry if I came off rude. I didn't mean it. Thanks for your advice. |
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Zyzyfer
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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| thebektionary wrote: |
| As for grad school debt, I know. I give my boyfriend the same lecture you just gave me. I also get it from my dad all the time. I don't even know what I want to get a Masters degree in yet so I can't even apply to a school without knowing. |
In the same boat. People can play off a pointless undergrad degree but the Master's requires a lot more consideration. I've been pondering what to study for several years and still haven't figured out something that would be good for my particular situation. |
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