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liveinkorea316
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
Location: South Korea
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 Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:13 am Post subject: |
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| For context, my undergrad degree is from a top liberal arts that would be virtually unknown in Korea, but my second master's is from a good, well-known school. |
If you didn't already know Koreans were academic snobs after writing all those graduate and college entrance letters for them there is no hope for you my friend. One can pick this stuff up after a few weeks around Koreans, you don't even need to be in Korea. You still think anything other than your big name snob-valueMasters degree was what got you the job? Hey, that's why you studied there in the first place wasn't it? Opens doors. Stop kidding us you stumbled and fumbled your way in. Rather bought your way in. If you got scholarships to complete a Masters good on ya but that's a minority of cases too. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:34 am Post subject: Re: Anyone know about teaching at Seoul National? |
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| atwood wrote: |
I'm mostly interested in how foreign professors are treated and if they're accepted by staff and other faculty. I've heard negative things in the past and wonder if they still hold true.
Thanks! |
You mean professors or English Instructors? |
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nate1983
Joined: 30 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 11:57 am Post subject: |
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| liveinkorea316 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| For context, my undergrad degree is from a top liberal arts that would be virtually unknown in Korea, but my second master's is from a good, well-known school. |
If you didn't already know Koreans were academic snobs after writing all those graduate and college entrance letters for them there is no hope for you my friend. One can pick this stuff up after a few weeks around Koreans, you don't even need to be in Korea. You still think anything other than your big name snob-valueMasters degree was what got you the job? Hey, that's why you studied there in the first place wasn't it? Opens doors. Stop kidding us you stumbled and fumbled your way in. Rather bought your way in. If you got scholarships to complete a Masters good on ya but that's a minority of cases too. |
First of all, your tone is unnecessary. Where did I say I wasn't aware of Koreans' proclivities? And I didn't "buy" any master's, I had all my tuition paid for and received a monthly stipend as a TA - that is actually standard practice for US grad schools in certain fields. I wasn't just volunteering that information, but responding to WorldTraveler's question. Thanks for all your contributions to the thread. |
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liveinkorea316
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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| haha other way round man. You implied there "may have been luck involved" when anyone on this forum knows your MA from a Top Tier got you the job. The tone of your original answer to his question was condescending that's all. It's like George W Bush going on about how he had so many qualifications to be president and ... oh it was just luck really. Um. |
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nate1983
Joined: 30 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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| liveinkorea316 wrote: |
| haha other way round man. You implied there "may have been luck involved" when anyone on this forum knows your MA from a Top Tier got you the job. The tone of your original answer to his question was condescending that's all. It's like George W Bush going on about how he had so many qualifications to be president and ... oh it was just luck really. Um. |
Condescending? Not my intention - I generally write pretty dryly and try to stick to facts. I'm not denying that the degree helped me. It closely fit what they were looking for in the ad (that in itself was a bit lucky). But no matter your qualifications, there is essentially always an element of luck involved when applying for a competitive position. Especially for university gigs in Seoul, there are dozens of highly qualified applicants, so even if you have a PhD and 20 publications it's still a bit of a crapshoot. Considering I didn't even get a single interview at the other 6-8 places I applied, it's obvious that I got a good roll of the die at SNU. Generally there are way more people qualified for those positions than there are spots available, so while I think I was well qualified, I realize that there were probably others who were more qualified (everything considered, including educational background, work experience, publications). You can take the "most qualified" English instructor in Seoul, have him apply to the 10 most competitive positions, and I guarantee you he won't get all 10 offers. I didn't say I "fluked" into my position, which does happen from time to time, but it wasn't a position for which I'd have gotten an interview more than two or three times out of ten if I had to do it over and over again. That's all I mean by luck.
Seriously, why do so many people try to subvert threads with irrelevant personal attacks? How are you possibly contributing to the discussion or enlightening anyone? |
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I'm With You
Joined: 01 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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| nate1983 wrote: |
| there is essentially always an element of luck involved when applying for a competitive position. Especially for university gigs in Seoul, there are dozens of highly qualified applicants, so even if you have a PhD and 20 publications it's still a bit of a crapshoot. |
Unless you're being hired because you know someone, a lot of it comes down to being lucky. I mean, everyone these days has a distance master's degree from Burmingham, Leeds or whatever the other online / distance degree mill is over there. Many are Canadian or American and of the same age. So with so many people with the same qualifications and profile, it's a lottery and can come down to factors outside of an applicants control.
Maybe they are big on hiring women. Maybe they need a teacher with green eyes or blue eyes and blond hair. Maybe they want more Canadians.
But I did hear about one local prof who went to Harvard and only wanted to interview and hire those applicants who came from the Ivy Leagues. This was quite a few years ago. Maybe Koreans aren't as bad as they once were but they are still pretty brand-name conscious compared to Canadians or Australians who don't really seem to give a shit what school someone went to. |
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liveinkorea316
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| I wash too harsh in my previous posts Nate. Sorry man. I would say however that you have to take into account that a Top Tier trumps everything else including PhDs and those with more experience. As I said before Koreans are Academic snobs. I say that in the most matter of fact way. It is so plainly obvious to everyone. It is the sole reason most of us are even here so you cannot deny it. |
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