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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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 Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Apply for the job and take it if offered. Korea will always be here for you should you want or need to return. If you're not going to make a career of teaching English, you need to get back into the corporate kiddy pool. |
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I-am-me
Joined: 21 Feb 2006
Location: Hermit Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| my personal rule of thumb: Never go back. You worked there, you left, you are in Korea now. Dont go back! Move forward. Work on finding better opportunities for yourself. After your experiences, life will not be as it was when you worked there and you will kick yourself for going back. |
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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Totally depends on the person and their chosen vocation. I have a number of friends who did a couple of years in Korea, paid off their student loans, traveled a bit, and then headed back to pursue corporate careers.
One is VP for corporate communications at one of Canada's largest banks, one is in charge of marketing for Asia for a Fortune 100 computer company, and another is very high up in an international marketing and ad firm. Another buddy who had his BA in landscape architecture went back and got a great job with his home state.
Also have a couple of friends who wanted to continue teaching, but not necessarily ESL in Korea. One guy went back to teach in rural Canada, and another to do his Ed.D. With the goal of working as a prof in N. America. |
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Trevor
Joined: 16 Nov 2005
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| Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:11 am Post subject: |
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My advice is to be more optimistic. $16.25 is NOT a major life opportunity. It is what sounds like a decent job, but it is going to have its drawbacks. Your gonna get there and have pain-in-the-neck coworkers, a supervisor who is a bit of a dick sometimes, etc. etc.
My vote is stick it out. As for missing a major life opportunity, there'll be another bus in 20 minutes. |
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rockbilly
Joined: 19 Mar 2013
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| Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 7:45 am Post subject: British Siberia |
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| Threequalseven wrote: |
| Back home I live about 4 hours away from Canada . . . |
BRITISH SIBERIA!
God save the Queen!
Go Canucks!
Keep your igloo dry!
Secret Masonic handshake, eh? |
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misher
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:55 pm Post subject:
Apply for the job and take it if offered. Korea will always be here for you should you want or need to return. If you're not going to make a career of teaching English, you need to get back into the corporate kiddy pool.
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I pretty much agree unless you want to be a lifer conversation teacher that gets work merely because of the mother tongue you have and the color of your skin.
Not a safe career choice IMO when you're just starting out. And "upgrading" to an MA Tesol to teach conversation in korean unis isn't really much of an upgrade. You're still a glorified conversation teacher and the experience doesn't transfer home well anyway. But if you just love teaching EFL then by all means.
Even though the job is 16.50 an hour I assume that the work experience will help your resume? Hell, I'm almost 32 and I have a masters and I'm making only 22/hr. but I can be making much much more in another 5-10 years if I stick at it. I made way more than 22/hr in Korea doing corporates but did I wanna doing that into my 40s and 50s? HELL NO. OP you have to start somewhere. If teaching ESL isn't your passion then get the hell out. You're just hurting yourself. YOU CAN ALWAYS TEACH AGAIN. Hell a guy I worked with doing corporates worked in private equity for almost 20 years. Decided he wanted to get out of his element, came to Korea and got a corporate teaching gig at a chaebol just because he actually had real work experience unlike the vast majority of EFLers in asia that come out of undergrad, stay way longer than they should and get screwed because they dicked around too long teaching esl in Korea. Now they have no choice but to continue teaching when their heart isn't really in it. The women and partying keeps them sane but when they're 40 pulling the same crap then they're just the loser old white guy sitting at the bar in hongdae. Saw it a lot. |
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swashbuckler
Joined: 20 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Trevor wrote: |
| Your gonna get there and have pain-in-the-neck coworkers, a supervisor who is a bit of a dick sometimes, etc. etc. |
And people never experience these things teaching English in Korea? |
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RobertGR
Joined: 03 Jun 2009
Location: Daegu
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| Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:13 pm Post subject: Stay in Korea |
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| A part time job is not going to have health insurance. You'll be barely making ends meet. I think staying in Korea is your best choice. |
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Los Angeloser
Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 2:01 am Post subject: |
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| I-am-me wrote: |
| my personal rule of thumb: Never go back. You worked there, you left, you are in Korea now. Dont go back! Move forward. Work on finding better opportunities for yourself. After your experiences, life will not be as it was when you worked there and you will kick yourself for going back. |
That's pretty good advice but I went back and eventually got offered a 2nd chance to leave with a nice severance package. I could've fought to keep the job but took the chance to leave(again). And yes, I did kick myself(slightly) for returning. |
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misher
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:40 am Post subject: |
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Trevor wrote:
Your gonna get there and have pain-in-the-neck coworkers, a supervisor who is a bit of a dick sometimes, etc. etc.
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My job certainly doesn't. And you know what is nice? Working in a culture where I understand COMPLETELY what is going on. There are none of these cultural differences crap. I work for Canadians, the Canadian way.
This whole black and white thing is so stupid. So just because a kiddy esl job in Korea lets you get away with having little responsibity/accountability and pays you ok for what you're doing, all the jobs at home suck? There are good jobs to be had. If I can get one, anyone can.
Yes you will have to start out with no bennies and low pay. Jobs aren't just going to give you the whole package just because you're white and speak english. Sheesh.
The OP is 23!!!!!still so young. If he sticks to his guns he could have a decent career going by the time he is 27-28. If he stays in Korea teaching esl for the next 6 years he is just screwing himself IMO unless he a) saves a considerable amount of money or b) learns Korean to a proficient level. Most guys I know who sacrificed all of their their 20s and early 30s looking to return did neither. |
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tom65
Joined: 21 May 2013
Location: Zagreb
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 2:04 am Post subject: hi :) |
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I am willing to offer a nice fee, to anyone who could find me a good school in Seoul or somewhere close to Seoul.
I would do it myself, but I will be in a hospital for some time, and doctors won't allow me to be on a computer for hours or to use a phone too much.
Please, no recruitment agencies, I had very bad experiences with them, so I don't wanna even hear about ANY recruitment agency. That is why I am offering this to you, my colleagues.
All of you who might be interested, contact me on my email for details : <edit> |
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