Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dnnysn]

Hey Guys.
My recruiter got me an interview at a hagwon in Daechi, I'm in the middle of my TESOL and the interviewer at SMOE wants me to go back with a new lesson plan once I finish my course.

Anyway. The Hagwon has no information online... It's called ILE School. The rap video is on the front page is... interesting. It's Mon-Sat, Accom is provided and the salary is W50 Mil. a Year (over 4 Mil a month). Money is not what i'm concerned about, it's not what I came to Korea for. Does anyone know anything about this school or could give me any information? I didn't want to go to a hagwon because they're so hit and miss.

http://www.ileschool.com/

The recruiter didn't even have the information regarding health, pension, holidays, working hours. It's a new school for them.

I guess I can always ask in the interview after the lesson plan etc.

Thanks

[fustiancorduroy]

ILE is one of the premier academies in Daechi-dong. It is quite a large school, taking up three floors of one of the buildings on the corner of 은마아파트입구 사거리, and has been there as long as I can remember, over four years.

The work hours are quite long -- Monday through Saturday with around 30 to 36 hours a week of teaching. But as you've already noted, the starting pay is quite high, at four million a month with housing. However, it's not quite that straightforward. Teachers there get salary bonuses based on the number of students enrolled in their classes. The starting salary is four million, and, assuming that you are an effective and popular teacher, you can make much more than that once you get more students in your classes. The more successful teachers there generally make between six and eight million won a month for the same number of hours.

So I have to ask: how many years have you been teaching in Korea? If the answer is two years or less, you may be better off working elsewhere. As you should already know, Daechi is very competitive. Being the silly teacher who plays games all day is a good way to get yourself fired in no time. Even if you work hard and are well meaning, you might still have a hard time maintaining and attracting students until you really understand the Korean education system and know what the parents and students expect out of the class. But I assume you have these skills already, otherwise ILE will not consider you, let alone hire you.

If you do have the experience, though, and are willing to work hard, why not try for the job? You say you didn't come to Korea for the money, but really, can you justify passing up a job that pays at least twice as much as you could make in a public school? Money is one of the most important things in life, and if you have an opportunity to make much more money per year, you really should go for it.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

[mr. positive]

I had a buddy with a young family who worked there previously because he was dazzled by the pay they offered, but was brunt out and quit just two or three months later.

Only work there if you don't mind working like crazy and doing nothing else. That's the trade off for the money, period.

[dnnysn]

Thanks guys, Might complete this course and get that position at SMOE. Will still go to the interview to see what the conditions are like :/