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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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littleone
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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 Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:12 am Post subject: Going to Korea to look for work |
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Hi all,
I'm sure this must of been asked and answered on here before and I have used the search function but to no avail!! So apologies.
I would like to work in Busan (university graduate, CELTA qualified, 2 years' tefl experience) but I'm uneasy of the idea of being hired abroad and going there blind. I'd rather get myself there and then hit the pavement and go to the hagwons in search of work. Is this a crazy idea? Or in fact more sensible? I am aware that I would need to enter on a tourist visa and then if/when I get a job offer go on a visa run to Japan or somewhere. I have my degree and criminal record check notarized and apostilled.
If I went late September/early October what would my chances be?
Thoughts please, guy!
Many thanks  |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:41 am Post subject: |
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Wanting to target a specific city might warrant the expense, but in general...
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| I'm uneasy of the idea of being hired abroad and going there blind. |
Might sound prudent but is the wrong approach for Korea for new people.
I'll skip why it is for public school jobs since those are pretty much closed until next semester.
For hakwons, if you had experience in Korea and understood the industry, you could try to lower the chance of landing in a bad place by going over and checking places out, but for a newbie, I don't think it is worth the ticket, hotel, and effort.
For all people, there will be more of a push to find a job, any job, once you are in the foreign country and spending your own money for a hotel with no income. From abroad, you usually have a roof over your head or at least family you can stay with while you look for work...
...there will be less pressure to take the first or second job you are offered no matter what...
Even for a veteran who knows the industry, I think it is debatable about whether to pay your own way over or not, because you can't really tell whether a hakwon is stable or not by seeing it in person than you can by telephoning current instructors from abroad.
Hakwons in new buildings with nice looking interiors can be some of the worst places to work in with the most demanding bosses who are barely surviving due to their overhead. They might also turn out to be the most professional and comfortable places to work...
...It's a crap shoot. You can lower the chance of landing in a crap place, but by how much? and does it outweigh the benefits of a free ticket and sure job?
Also, a good hakwon can turn bad quickly. The boss might hire a new manager to be a "buffer" and turn the screws on the employees. The hakwon might be bought out by a different, worse owner. The owner might get into financial trouble. They might decide they can get cheaper workers as the public school jobs begin drying up duing this next school year....
Like I said at the start, if you are already in Korea, you will have a better chance of landing a job in a specific city. You can cold call hakwons to see if they need someone or if they know of another that does...
After a couple of months trying, if you find you aren't having much luck finding a place where you want to work, maybe pay your way over.
It depends on how much the money means to you...and how quickly you want to get over there...
I've done both. They are both OK.
I think for the average person, getting the free airfare and having a place to live and work once you hit the ground is better.
These days, if you find you've landed in one of the worst case places, you have options that allow you to get out of it and find a new job. Stressful, but much better than it was years ago. |
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AsiaESLbound
Joined: 07 Jan 2010
Location: Truck Stop Missouri
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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Korea has quickly became a market of entry level jobs as they are looking for the young, energetic, and inexperienced rather than valuing maturity, experience, and skills even though pay is higher than many other countries. Unlike a few years ago where almost anyone with a BA could easily find a job, teaching in Korea is now well known and considered a really hot opportunity in university career services offices around the US and Korea is demanding youthful energetic edutainers without the seniority being 35 or older automatically bestows upon you.
While it's very difficult to secure a job in Korea online right now if you are older, experienced, and such where recruiters simply ignore you or ask you your age and then ignore you, you could most likely secure a job offer inside of a month on the ground, but fascinating China is calling me for only $200 less with the same job benefits as Korea except large apartments with utilities paid are on offer and finding a public school or university job teaching 14 to 20 classes a week before setting off is super easy right now. It's well worth a look as thousands of public schools and colleges are hiring right now. |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 12:58 pm Post subject: |
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| I'd rather get myself there and then hit the pavement and go to the hagwons in search of work. |
There are a few things to consider before you decide to go and then get a job or the other way. If you are getting job offers abroad, you are better off taking one with a flexible owner. If something is preventing you from getting offers (your age or possibly ethnic background), then perhaps you should go first.
If you go to Korea with a one month plan to visit schools, you have 4 weeks to find 1 school in need of a teacher. You are putting all your days into one month. If you were to find a second school over a 6 month period instead, you would now have 24 weeks to find a new school while working at your first school you signed up for before coming to Korea. This is the typical procedure for teachers. Either they stay at the same school or they find a new one. I would much rather have 1 month's salary I would have lost if I had only gone as a tourist and forfeit airfare or something smaller in exchange for getting a second school at a time I was wiser and more experienced in the area I wanted to work in.
You might go to Busan and spend 3 months, enjoy those 3 months, but want to visit more of Korea. There are plenty of other cities to work in, so you can use weekends or days off to visit them and decide where your next place/job will be. Investing 2,000 dollars and flight money to do a quick job hunt is not worth it in my opinion when you could have a hagwon pay for the flight, pay you for the first month, and subsequent months until you find another school. |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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Another thing. Being in Korea is not always an advantage.
You are choosing a school blindly, but they are also picking you blindly. If you are not someone who impresses in person this is advantage to you. I can't tell you the number of times schools have regretted hiring some person once they show up and they can see who they are with their own eyes.
Secondly, things are not like they used to be. It's getting hard to find a job here. Particularly right now. Public schools and hagwons are eliminating positions and a lot of those let go are scrambling to find a job. That, combined with a growing number of F-visa people, is diminishing the need for E2ers. Right now numbers of E2s coming and going from the country is down 10% from last year and I expect it will drop even further before the year is up.
Finally, the ease with which one could find a job, and the free airfare, have always been the two factors that have most strongly pulled before away from other ESL countries, but since you won't benefit from either of those I wonder if Korea is really worth it for you. |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 3:33 pm Post subject: |
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Q for the OP: Why Busan specifically?
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| but they are also picking you blindly |
That's a good point.
If you are in your 20s - are considered attractive in your home country - especially if you are white and have blonde hair and blue eyes and smile a lot - then doors will open for you in person in Korea.
If you are over weight, non-white, over 29, and/or plain looking, it would be harder to get a job.
And like someone else said, given what the OP said, China or maybe even Japan might be a better place to look.
What is the situation in Japan right now? It used to be an OK place to look for a job if you paid your own way over and looked. The market was kind of full. Jobs were not as plentiful as in Korea, but the industry was more stable with more protections in the law and more flexibility within the industry.
But, because the market was tight, it helped much if you had a little experience and specific qualifications even if you paid your own ticket over. Korea was always the better market for inexperienced people.
Korea is heading in that direction. The D-10 visa, LOR situation, ability to transfer visas in country if you've held an E2 before for a year, better dealings with the Labor Board, and the F-spousal visas have made things significantly better for ESLers who come and stay some years in Korea.
But the ESL market has been tightening significantly.
Probably still not as tight as Japan's has been. With the big tell-tale sign likely being that you can still get your airfare paid for in Korea but not Japan.
China - It sounds like what Korea used to be - which gives me as much pause as encouragment. Korea in the mid to late 1990s had a rough ESL market that required patience and endurance. The employers had the upper hand then, not because the market was flooded, but because the laws were in their favor and the Labor Board wasn't used to dealing with the non-3-D industries, college educated, Western expats.
I've read a lot of people saying China is the place to be now, but my time in Korea back then makes me want to hear much more about it.
Maybe it is better than Korea for the newbie - fresh college grad with no experience or training.
What someone said about about being able to teach on a college teaching load sounds good. Do the Chinese stick to their contracts better than Korea did in the 1990s?
Will any of these university jobs turn out to be hakwons located on campus - as some are here in Korea - where you will teach college students + people in the local community including kids in extra hours?
I want to try some place besides Korea this time around. China is a choice, but low on the list for me right now. I've experienced East Asia for long enough. I'm going to try the Middle East as a first option now...
But, I'd be interesting to hear what others have to say about Japan, China, and elsewhere compared to Korea these days... |
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littleone
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:16 am Post subject: |
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Thanks, everyone!! This has been a big help. Cheers for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated  |
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