Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kona]

Hi everyone,

I have been working in Korea for only two and a half months but I am already considering legally breaking my contract to search for a university position. I have a Masters in TESOL, but not much experience, but I have been told that it is possible for me to break into the university scene with this degree.

I'm currently working in a high school setting right now, but I find the job to be very unsatisfying at the moment (very low level students in a low income area with little motivation). I'd like to be able to get into a university job as that was main reason I came to Korea; to build university experience (and, of course, to experience Korean culture). I know motivation issues are still a problem even in university students, but honestly, I'd like to try and start working with them anyways and see how it goes.

So I thought of possibly legally breaking my contract with the EPIK and searching for a uni position in the main hiring season that is going on right now. If I gave them fair warning (contract says two months, enough time I think for them to get a new teacher), would it look bad on my resume that I legally broke a contract with EPIK? Would that hinder my prospects for getting a university job? Should I apply to get a university job now and see what happens before I tell my school anything? I definitely won't tell anyone anything until I feel 100% certain this is what I want to do, but like I said, I want to assess all my options.

I know doing this will cause me some financial loss: I will lose my flight reimbursement and my severance pay. So I'm not taking this decision lightly, but I wanted to assess my options and see if there's a reasonable way I could start getting university experience earlier than later.

All (constructive) thoughts and opinions are warmly received.

[mandalynn2104]

You've only been there for 2.5 months!!!! I don't mean to undermine your misery or disappointment, but you are RIGHT at the stage in culture shock where you start to resent the culture you're in. Korean culture is tough -- I went through a phase where I thought about quitting.

I understand how frustrating it may be to have such low level and low-motivated students... but as someone who seems to really want to teach, use it as a challenge and chance to explore different teaching techniques.

In Korea, breaking contracts is not looked favorably upon... especially breaking a government contract. In Korea, it's a lot about who you know and networking -- employers will TALK to each other-- breaking a contract makes you look unpredictable as an employee.

Also, the competition for the university jobs is very high right now. There are a lot of waygookins with master's, but they also have YEARS of experience, mostly teaching in Korea.

My advice? Stick it out. Things will usually get better.... or at least wait until the 6-month mark. If you're still miserable after 6 months, then let's re-visit.

[YTMND]

Have you talked with any colleges yet?

[Malislamusrex]

If you are only staying 1 year you could get a new visa.

If you stay for longer I think it's a bad idea to move like this. If the uni want you they will wait. If they wont you are probably just a waygook statistic to fill. You will have written off working for the BOE and maybe some national uni's.

[PRagic]

1) You've been told that you may qualify for a university position, yet you haven't actually talked to any specific university.

2) The fact is that, yes, degree-wise you're qualified; you don't have enough experience to make you all that competitive, however.

3) Do you have the resources to pay your own housing and get by while you shop for a university position? Even after you pay back any damages or penalties to your school (e.g. plane fair)?

4) You just added a black hole to your CV. You could list your current job, and then reflect the shift to a university job (if you can get one). Then any future employer would ask, 'Why the sudden move?' To which you'd have to answer that you broke a contract. Or you could omit the job on your CV, probably wiser as you'll never get a positive reference from them.

My suggestion would be to stick out your contract and, as another poster intuned, put a positive spin on it. Practice teaching, get used to Korean culture, study the language, or travel if and when you can. When your contract ends, get a fist full of recommendations and go university job hunting. Besides, the one upside is that even if your current job isn't a bed of roses, it'll more than likely make your first university position just that much better!

[kona]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I appreciate what you all are saying and I think you're right; it may be best for me to just finish the contract and hunt for universities starting in the fall semester; i'll have more money saved, won't lose end of contract bonuses, and I'll have more time to adjust to Korean culture (which has been more of a challenge than I thought it would be). The job itself is not the worst in the world, but it can be a bit depressing sometimes (high school kids are so burned out, I don't blame them for not caring much about my class. It's not like they're tested on their speaking or writing skills anyways)... I think it is sound advice to take it as a challenge that can only make me better as a teacher.

The reason I asked is I have a good friend working at a university in Daejeon and I thought I had a bit of an "in" with him at the place. However, he's only been working there for less than two months himself, so I don't think he has massive leverage either. Have I talked with the university directly? No, so I definitely do not have anything definite. That's risky in and of itself. I'm going to try and make the best of things here then.

Anyways, thanks again everyone.

[PRagic]

Good on you. That's what the forum is for. And thanks for taking the input in stride. You'd be surprised how many newbies come on here with massive dips on the ole shoulders.

[PRagic]

Chips, not dips...man I hate iPads spell checker sometimes!

[kona]

Haha, I kinda figured it was some weird auto correct thing anyways.

I prefer people to just be straight up honest with me, which really is in my best interests anyways. I don't need anyone to sugar coat anything for me (of course, I don't appreciate out right negativity, which, unfortunately tends to occur sometimes on these forums), and it sounds like I'm just getting solid advice on which direction to go with everything.

I hope I can make a good impression on my school. One co-teacher is really not that fond of me, and he is pretty high ranking in the English department. I hope I can impress him and others while I cultivate a positive, professional image of myself in the school. In another thread, I saw that one poster said that one can truly not underestimate the importance of appearance and hierarchy in the Korean work environment, especially in the public schools. Hence, I need to take a cue from all this and step up my game. Bought myself a nice sports jacket today, and will buy more as time goes on. Working on my lesson plans for tomorrow and hoping I can get something fun for the kids.

Anyways, thanks again everyone. I'll take this challenge and make it into something positive.

[s.tickbeat]

[kona]

[kona]

Thanks everyone for your advice. One year later and now I am employed at a university! Life isn't a complete bed of roses, but things ended up working out in the end! Thanks again!

[Jodami]

Solid advice in seeing out your contract.

HOWEVER, now is the time unis are advertising vacancies for next semester. If I was you, I'd send out some applications and see what comes back.

Absolutely nothing to lose.

[thegadfly]

[Hokie21]