Korean Job Discussion Forums

baedaebok · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Why do big-name univ advertise positions here? If the univ job market is so tough, then why not advertise through word-of-mouth?

Is the job market just as tough as it has always been?

Also, what does the SNU curriculum document requirement mean? I have a curriculum from my previous courses I taught. But what should be included in the document they want?

BDB

World Traveler · Joined: 29 May 2009

baedaebok · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: Seoul, South Korea

What are the drivers for an increasingly flooded market?
What has changed over the past 10-15 years?

BDB

World Traveler · Joined: 29 May 2009

Increased awareness of Korea. Every day/week/month/year, more people find out about it (and ESL). The same thing happened (and is currently happening) in Japan. Expect wages (wages relative to inflation) and conditions to further deteriorate and decrease as time goes on. Supply and demand is everything. More than 300 million people live in the U.S. Roughly 10,000 are on E-2 visas here. As a percentage of the population, that is extremely minimal- 1 in 30,000. It is hard to even fathom how small that fraction is. Most Americans still have never even heard of ESL in Korea...but that is rapidly changing.

ren546 · Joined: 17 Dec 2010

Contrary to what a lot of people on this board seem to suggest, the better universities aren't really that interested in hiring "friends" of current employees (unless those "friends" happen to be highly qualified). Because of the PhD/academic crisis back home, a lot of qualified academics are coming here to teach...well...anything, sometimes, just to get their foot in the door somewhere. Universities here know this, which is why they will no longer settle.

Also, admin staff is sometimes just told to "post" the ad as a matter of course.

Stan Rogers · Joined: 20 Aug 2010

Brand name doesn't always mean better.

I know of several amazingly qualified and experienced people who never work for some of them. All brand name schools want to believe they are famous, but the truth is many of them are infamous.

baedaebok · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: Seoul, South Korea

What academic crisis is unfolding back in the US? Are there big hurdles in finding good academic employment in the US for a PhD-holder?

ren546 · Joined: 17 Dec 2010

swashbuckler · Joined: 20 Nov 2010

withnail · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Location: Seoul, South Korea.

Yonsei and Kodae only advertise their unigwon jobs on Dave's.

They don't advertise here for the College English program (the better job).

The exception is SNU which does advertise its CE program job here - this may be reflected in the fact that the salary offered is a lot less for the same position as the other two.

The much lower salary at SNU is perhaps due to the fact that they offer housing on campus.

(In fact if you scroll down the Job Board you can see that they recently advertised it)

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 4:57 am Post subject:

Otherside · Joined: 06 Sep 2007

PRagic · Joined: 24 Feb 2006

If you're interested in what is going on in higher ed in the U.S., follow the Chronicle of Higher Education. There are some great articles, blogs and debates dealing with the job market and problems with the current academic system.

Yes, there is general agreement that there are simply way too many Ph.D.s getting freshly minted every year in the social sciences. But I doubt that even a very, very small percentage of a percent of these will look to teach ESL at Korean universities. Your jobs are safe.

PRagic · Joined: 24 Feb 2006

Following through with this, the increase in supply comes largely from within the borders here. Many people come here with a BA, teach at a crapwon or public school, and then learn of the opportunity to teach at university.

They hear that they can work 3 or 4 day weeks, a few hours a day on those days, and get anywhere from 2 to 5 months of paid vacation a year. A bit more responsibility, what with grading and all, but well worth the effort. All you need to cement your chances of getting one of these jobs is your MA, preferably in a related dicipline. Some people actually get the jobs with just a BA, but those are usually not the jobs people really want, and most learn fairly quickly that longevity is best backed by the MA.

So people go on-line to earn their MAs, either to get a university gig, or to ensure they can keep one if they were lucky enough to get in with just the BA. Shazam! Poof! Instant supply glut of MA applicants for university teaching positions.

PRagic · Joined: 24 Feb 2006

...and then you have the people here who are actually TESOL professionals, the ones with the related MAs, PLUS all certifications (CELTA, DELTA, specialization certs) that make them the cream of the teaching crop. These are the people that get pretty much any university job to which they apply. They have the right degrees, progressive professional experience and positions of responsibiltiy, and in many cases, 10+ years of university level teaching experience, often in more than one country.

There is always a pecking order in academe, much as there is in any other profession. So, sure, someone with a newly minted Ph.D. in English Lit from from some hack 4th tier university back in N. America may well usurp a position in ESL. But for the most part, the best positions are held by the teachers with the best qualifications for the job and the most experience in Korea. And the best in field know know where the best jobs are. One poster was correct in that the big name schools don't always provide the best employment terms. That's why the best people never apply for those jobs!