Korean Job Discussion Forums

viciousdinosaur · Joined: 30 Apr 2012

You know the solution is when you can't find a job with your Phd?

Get a second one!

And then a third one for good measure.

matthews_world · Joined: 15 Feb 2003

Due to the high unemployment rates, Koreans will further their educations during their downtimes. This results in many over-qualified searching for the same jobs.

Korea's diploma-mill universities are benefiting from this downturn yet help to increase consumer debt.

Many higher-degeed students here end up going house to house tutoring little Min Su or Young Mi to make ends meet, often stay living with their parents.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Nemo · Joined: 28 May 2006

PhDs can be quite picky. They won't take any job "beneath" their education. They also have limited options as there are limited positions which require PhDs. Also, many have limited work experience.

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

Korea has the highest % of university-educated people in the world.

Its hardly surprizing that many of them end up in jobs that are way beneath them.

alwaysbeclosing100 · Joined: 07 Feb 2009

I bet the KAIST grad unemployment rate is much lower because they can actually do research and publish in English.

misher · Joined: 14 Oct 2008

Just do what my girlfriend's best friend did. Have daddy pony up about 2 billion won and bam, tenure track position at a mid-level uni in Seoul as a 'business professor.'

Joe Boxer · Joined: 25 Dec 2007 Location: Bundang, South Korea

I would figure that a doctoral degree from the world's 124th-ranked university would mean something.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/top-400.html

slothrop · Joined: 03 Feb 2003

Scorpion · Joined: 15 Apr 2012

Part of the problem is probably that Korean universitoies rank so poorly internationally. If they can't find work in Korea the chances of their Korean degree opening doors abroad is very slim.

eskeemo · Joined: 04 Jan 2009

This is a world-trend, unrelated to claims about "lack of quality" at Seoul University. Korea Times is simply late in reporting it. First time I read about American PhDs jobless upon graduation was a report in the Princeton Review about nuclear chemistry PhD recipients twelve years ago, in 2000! And, this is a STEM field. I have come across many articles since. The article OP posted shows that a quarter of SNU PhDs still take postdoctoral positions abroad. Quality of degree is as high as ever (and climbing internationally). Reality of the economy, unfortunately, is not. Important difference.