Korean Job Discussion Forums

[EJnyc]

Hi, my name is E.J. from New York, USA. I am still in college, but will be graduating next year (June 2013). I want to teach in Korea but I have a few questions that maybe can someone definitely answer.. or if at the least, can give probable ones.. or some kind of feedback.

I am a gyopo (born in the US to Korean citizen parents who later got their US citizenships). I speak both English and Korean fluently, and speak a little Spanish. I will graduate with a BA in Philosophy next year. I plan on getting my CELTA cert as soon as I can. I tutored college students in philosophy for three years.. for a lot of these students English was not their first language, so if you squint really hard at it, you might be able to say that I tutored their English as well. I also want to eventually teach college in the US as a career. But I actually need a job ($) more than anything when I graduate.. hence Korea and not immediate grad school.

I was in Korea for 2 months in 2009, studying Korean at Yonsei University's KLI. I found life in Korea to be very comfortable, in that I already know about the customs, practices, expectations, etc. and the language. It kind of felt like walking around Koreatown or Flushing in NYC. I also have family and friends in Korea.

I would like to teach at a university.. or at least teach university aged students (or older). What are my chances of getting a job at a university? I have good references about my ability to tutor/teach college students.

Also, I will probably get an F4 visa but is getting another type of visa better? If it is, is it possible for me to get that visa and not the F4?

I have been reading a lot of posts on ESLcafe before finally registering and posting this, and I get the vibe that Korean Americans aren't really hired as much.. or get paid a lot less. Is this really true- would they really not hire asian faces because we don't know English as well as the white ones? Or am I looking at things too negatively?

Please let me know. I would really appreciate the feedback.

[Modernist]

Ah, Flushing. I still remember the pretty library [with the Korean section that was always empty] , and more importantly, Joe's Shanghai...just don't expect to find any Chinese that good in this country.

Best to hear from some of the many gyopos on this forum for firsthand details, but I have for sure seen there is a preference for 'white' -- Koreans think of English speakers as a block, it seems, and blue eyes and blond hair are sort of the top of the pyramid. Ethnic Koreans absolutely face discrimination in hiring, less so at PS. In this country and culture there is so much attention paid to looks. Parents want to see their kids taught by a 'real' foreigner, meaning a white one. A lot of this stuff is subtle, even subconscious, but it's quite real.

As for your goal of teaching Uni, with your quals: I would say just about zero chance. They don't care if you have experience 'tutoring' college students [hint: teaching 20 or 30 students in a class is a huge jump from tutoring 1 or 2, so...]

If you read these boards you will see that the minimal cutoff for Uni positions is at least an MA in something, preferably English or Linguistics [the CELTA is rather meaningless for that market], plus a decent amount of experience and/or publications. The better ones want PhDs. And given the current teaching market, they can afford to be rather picky. I'm sure there are still a few odd examples of people with BAs getting something but that is a tiny and shrinking box.

If you're that caught up in older students, try China. But if, as you say, you want money, better suck it up and decide between elementary and middle or high schools. Stay away from kinder if you value your sanity.

[wishfullthinkng]

1. f4 is the best visa you can get bar-none besides an ambassador's visa (as far as i know)
2. if you speak fluent korean why in the world would you want to teach? find a better higher paying job. the fact you are a gyopo and bilingual and able to get an f4 puts you in the absolute upper stratosphere of possibilities here.
if you know how the system works here and you are good with people you could take those things and run with them.

[comm]

[EJnyc]

[nathanrutledge]

You won't get a uni job for a few reasons:

1) Age - you can't be younger than your students, and as Korean men do 2+ years of military service, at a minimum, the youngest seniors you'll have will generally be 24 western age. Yeah, a few put off the service until later, but I'd say about 95% of my students are either leaving after a year, or just coming back. Generally, you won't find anyone under 25 teaching uni students at a university. There are exceptions (one guy at mine is 24, but he's also super ambitious and is ABD on his PhD) but for the most part, you've got to be in your late 20's to break into the uni market.

2) Location - you're not in Korea. Universities don't use recruiters - they handle everything in house. It's very rare to find a university that will hire a basic ESL job candidate from overseas. There are a few, but they are the exception rather than the rule. You have to be here, in person, able to interview to have a shot.

Being kyopo doesn't matter (we have three full koreans and 1 half korean), and having a MA isn't critical (half the staff here only has a BA), but it's all relative. You can get a uni job with a BA IF you have experience and can do a solid demo. Alternatively, you can get a job with a MA/PhD and limited experience. It's all on a sliding scale, sliding more for some schools and less for others.

Long story short, to get a uni job, you need to be older, have either the degree OR the experience (in class, teaching ESL, NOT tutoring, even if you're good), and be in country.

[edwardcatflap]

[EJnyc]

Gotcha.. Ah well, can't blame a girl for trying (for a uni job, anyway). No worries, I'll be happy teaching elementary/middle/high school. Although, I'm not arguing here, but I'd be 27 (Korean age) when I get finally to Korea.

Maybe I'm looking at it too simply (that's not to say I think it's easy). I thought that I'd stay in Korea for a couple of years, teach, make a little bit of money (more money than I'd make as a philosophy BA in the US) and during the couple of years I'm there, I'd complete an online MS in Business Management (not strictly for marketability, but because I'd just like to study business) with CUNY (City University of New York - NYC's public university system). And then who knows, maybe somebody in Korea will like that I have a Master's and let me teach uni. If not, I can always continue teaching the young'uns, if I like it, of course. Or go back home and adjunct at my college (where I'd definitely get a position).

But still, it's really cool. I loved Korea when I was there.. I was a little upset I couldn't do a lot of the things I wanted to do when I was there. Although don't get me wrong, some things in Korea aren't so great: the blatant racism and discrimination, judging people based on outward appearances, irrational arguments for immorality, etc.. I'm rather open minded for someone raised by Korean immigrants lol.

Just out of curiosity, I'm sure the responses to this question will be very varied but, is the pay higher in non-metropolitan areas?

[EJnyc]

[mmallen]

You can definitely get a job teaching here after you graduate. I know some Korean Americans who teach here right now. They are teaching middle school students. I think Caucasian might be preferred for teaching younger kids but Korean Americans are preferred for teaching older kids and adults.

[overdrive2023x]

Come here with a locked-in Public School job to justify coming. Then if you really are a good teacher, network your way into a Uni job. Great networking skills trumps everything in this world.

[Carbon]

[chrisblank]

[wallythewhale]

Low-end (out of Seoul) Unis might take you. I've seen some advertise, but they're paying like 2mil/month and 300,000 for housing. It's horrendous.

On the other hand, I'm sure you can find a lot of tutoring gigs here since you're a gyopo. Tutoring gigs with college students aren't hard to find here and I know a lot of people who make a living out of it and make decent cash given it's only part-time.

With your experience, you could get into any hagwon/public school job really. I've seen worse resumes coming through.