Korean Job Discussion Forums

[HeatherG]

I applied with Teach Away after following a link to the EPIK program. The recruiter suggested I was a good candidate for Avalon, and I will be applying when I get my documents in order for the next interview session (I should have my documents in order mid-March for an interview in May). In the meantime, I signed up for a TEFL course and starting doing some research. I'm starting to have second thoughts because it seems like all I'm finding is horror stories about Avalon, hagwons, and teaching in Korea in general -- terrible bosses, breach of contract, discrimination, late or withheld pay, and schools that will fire you for practically no reason. It's a little bit discouraging.

My question is, am I just seeing an over-representation of negative reviews just because negative reviews are more common than positive ones? I also wonder whether being warned of potential problems beforehand will better prepare me to deal with them should I encounter them. I do plan on applying to other schools besides Avalon if possible.

Since I'm a new forum member, a little bit about me - I'm a US citizen, 26 years old, and female. I graduated in 2009 with a BA in English and a minor in East Asian Languages and Literature. I have roughly a year of substitute teaching experience and will hopefully have a TEFL certification within a few the next few months. While I didn't originally want to a teacher, I found that I really enjoyed it when I started subbing. I would like to teach overseas for a few years, then return to the US and get a Master's in education. I'd like to continue to teach English, preferably to older students.

[ttompatz]

Have a look at the article on the US embassy website (sorry, I don't have the link handy) about teaching in Korea.

.

[Guajiro]

[Times30]

Cannot emphasize enough

Public school public school public school.

Do whatever you can to get into EPIK

if you exhaust all possibilities with EPIK GEPIK or SMOE

THEN think about Avalon... but even then I wouldn't even consider Avalon or any hagwon. Public schools are SO much better than private schools. If you really want a good comparison of the difference check out this youtube video. It really outlines (in a humorous way) what are the major benefits you'd be missing out on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8XAch40z8E

[HeatherG]

Avalon was the first offer that came along, like within a day of applying. I sent an email last night asking whether my application was good for other schools. What happened is I followed a link thinking it was for the EPIK website, but instead I ended up applying to a recruiting agency.

Is the EPIK recruiting done for the year? I was hoping to go to Korea in the fall.

[Julius]

[HeatherG]

I'm not blonde, no, but I'd consider myself attractive enough.

Do you know what the official EPIK web address is? Doing a search gives me wikipedia articles and the Teach Away recruiters.

Ttompatz, if the article you're thinking of is the one that comes up when you Google "US embassy teaching in Korea," it looks like it's one I've already read.

A question about resume and transcripts - would potential employers hold it against me if they found out my minor was specifically in Japanese? Another concern is that the volunteer experience listed on my resume involves working at conventions (as in anime/gaming/sci-fi conventions). I'm concerned that looks unprofessional even though I feel I've learned event managing and communication skills from the experience.

[watergirl]

Not recommended that u take the Avalon job. Apparently, the big chain hagwons are some of the worst places to work, longer hours, more supervision or micromanaging, and often their own books (terrible! usually).

And, always take what the recruiter says with a LARGE GRAIN of salt. Always, always. They r paid by the company/institute once they sign you up. They want to get u to sign somewhere as fast as possible because u can so easily take a job with a different recruiter.

Definitely, for public schools, u should just google with daveeslcafe and read-up a ibt on what recruiters to go with, or to apply directly to them.
As a NA girl with an English major, u do have more opportunities than some.

[isitts]

[Times30]

EPIK hasn't started interviewing for fall positions so you have plenty of time to get in for Fall. They won't even begin the process until the last week of march. Get in on this gravy train before people like me push everybody else off it.

I've worked at both public and private. I absolutely wanted to shoot myself in the face for trying private school. One of the worst experiences of myself and I came out a much worse person for doing so.

If I can be completely honest, you're gonna kick yourself so hard if you don't at the very least try EPIK first. In public schools you have a VASTLY superior time. Let me just outline some of the benefits

1) More free time for yourself. Public schools start around 8ish end around 5ish. That gives 5 hours in the night to do whatever you want. Hagwons sometimes will force you (including Avalon) to take up intensive classes which go from 9am to 10 pm. You'll be working for 12 hours straight. Not to mention you may only teach maybe 1 or 2 classes a day at public school, the rest of the time is preparation time which means (you can facebook for a long time). Hagwons almost suck out your private time. I spent my weekends preparing for classes. I know Avalon is a exam prep school for IBT TOEFL and they have a massive amount of preparation time. You will literally have "no life".

2) Money is stable, on time, with no deductions besides utility at public schools. It's pretty straightforward and your pay will always be about 2 mil won. Not to mention at end of year your pension kicks in and you get a bonus 2 mil. Hagwons can go under, with no pay, and you are left with thumb up your.... Even if you are paid $30 an hour (like I was) the hagwons find ways to twiddle with your money. My gross pay was like 3mil. but my net ended up being 1.9 mil. LESS THAN public schools.

3) Benefits. Public has, a lot of hagwons don't. Avalon might, but even then it could only be like 50% health coverage. I'm not sure about Lasik though. I think it might be covered by health insurance and if it is, that's a huge bonus. Benefits.... DO NOT OVERLOOK THEM. They equate to months salary if you investigate them properly.

4) Vacation time. Believe me, at some point you want to do sight seeing, visit friends, cuddle with a boyfriend, whatever. You want to go to Japan and visit for a week? You got it, book a flight you can go Summer AND winter at public schools. You have SO MUCH vacation time. You sound like a weeabo like me so you most likely want to go to Japan at some point. There are easy ways to get to Japan from Korea. You take a ferry out there, a cheap one, you go for a 7 day trip, come back and happy happy faces. Hagwon will never... ever... give you vacation time. I knew guys who worked at their hagwon for 3 years and didn't get a day of vacation time.

5) Lastly respect. You are treated like a rock star at public schools. Granted they probably won't listen to your authority in classes but they will most certainly adore you as long as you aren't completely incompetent and put your foot in your mouth. You will most likely be invited out to dinners, gatherings, and people will want to help you all the time at your public school. Hagwons, you are literally slaves to them. Your boss takes you in, yells at you, and gives you crap for things you shouldn't be getting crap for. A buddy of mine was yelled at for throwing away papers. Granted he shouldn't have done it, but he did NOT get proper training or proper warning. Now this is not true with every hagwon, but a lot of them I know to be the case. Specifically mine. Many hagwons do not treat you like a person. Do not underestimate his factor. You will spend a year miserable if you are not treated with respect, this is huge.


Alright I'm done trying to sell public schools. Let me know if you have questions. Best of luck.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[Times30]

[Ranman]

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[HeatherG]

Thanks for all the help! The one thing I'm concerned about with EPIK is the new TEFL certification requirement. The course is online-only, and I don't know of any local courses that offer classroom time. Money is also an issue; I had to use a Groupon deal. Do you know what the GPA requirement is, and does it matter that I won't have the TEFL certification by the end of the month when the process starts?