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Korean Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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beentheredonethat777
Joined: 27 Jul 2013 Location: AsiaHaven
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Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 6:42 pm Post subject: Re: Private vs public teaching jobs |
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| World Traveler wrote: |
| beentheredonethat777 wrote: |
For saving money: Hagwon
For A LOT of free time: Public school. |
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| Not anymore, man. Not in every case. A lot of public schools have figured out how to more efficiently use the foreigner. So many waegs now work at multiple schools instead of one (to max out their hours). Next, there is more paperwork than before and a lot more grading of students' papers (for some of us at least). Tons of writing assignments (that another English teacher assigned) get dumped on my desk to be corrected by the native speaker. I work really hard for many hours each day. I have no down time and no free time and the higher ups see to it that it stays that way. I even struggle to get everything done and stay late every day beyond my contracted hours. |
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^^. Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that you're having it that rough at a public school. I've been in Korea for several years now. I've worked at several private and public schools.
ALL of my public school jobs were like a YEAR long vacation. I felt really guilty about getting paid on pay day. My friends did tell me that I just happened to get lucky EVERY time. After reading your comments, I now understand what they meant. I did recall meeting a couple of teachers at a training session who said they were working 37.5 hours each week and not getting paid overtime. To be honest, I didn't believe them.
I just left another school that you would have enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing year. The principal and co-teacher begged me to stay another year, I refused. I was given seven weeks of paid vacation.
I could hardly wait for my contract to be over, it was boredom city. (I even had time to complete three more ESL certification courses and complete my book draft)
I taught about 3-4 classes a week max! I even begged for volunteer work,
there was none. I was given a huge office, microwave, large screen TV, small frig, complete with a place to "take a rest" as they called it. So, after teaching my up to ONE class each day, I was allowed to do whatever I wanted. (Go to the bank, post office, doctor, emart, just so long as I came back before 4:30 p.m.)to walk out with the teachers!
This school had a big budget(3 sources of funding) for" English Immersion"so I was required to sing three songs every morning in" English" . My co teacher has been a teacher for 17 years and liked doing it her way. She liked teaching the entire lesson.
I'm at a hagown now, teaching hard! I love it!
On a side note, there were three Korean English teachers at the school.
The principal made the newest and youngest teacher work non-stop and do all the Before and after school programs, teach the bulk of the classes. She didn't even have time for a bathroom break!The rest of us had a very,very light schedule. I think it had to do with seniority, now that I think about it.
Also, I think it is a good idea to find a school on your own. I always respond to direct hires from public/private school, not recruiters. |
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beentheredonethat777
Joined: 27 Jul 2013 Location: AsiaHaven
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Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: Private vs public teaching jobs |
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| It always amuses me when ESL teachers complain about paperwork; back home, in real teaching jobs (i.e. those that require teaching degrees), you just drown in paperwork and grading. |
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^^. I agree.  |
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byrddogs

Joined: 19 Jun 2009 Location: Shanghai
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Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
| Pretty much. Some unis give more, but this is a decent base salary, especially as there's no having to show receipts for housing or flights. You do whatever you want with the pay. Add the low hours and 20 weeks of paid vacation and it's a really good deal, especially for those who are studying for their MA or PhD. |
I see, it seems to be a pretty good package. One more thing, how are you calculating 20 weeks of paid vacation? How many days per year are you actually working? |
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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Location: Seoul, South Korea
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Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 8:40 pm Post subject: |
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| byrddogs wrote: |
| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
| Pretty much. Some unis give more, but this is a decent base salary, especially as there's no having to show receipts for housing or flights. You do whatever you want with the pay. Add the low hours and 20 weeks of paid vacation and it's a really good deal, especially for those who are studying for their MA or PhD. |
I see, it seems to be a pretty good package. One more thing, how are you calculating 20 weeks of paid vacation? How many days per year are you actually working? |
University semesters are 16 weeks each. Therefore, 32 weeks of classes per year.
52-32 = 20.
Boom, maths. |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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| IPayInCash wrote: |
Youve been registered here for six years and you still dont know the answer to that question?
Anyways neither. I work less hours than university professors, get paid more, and do half the work as anyone else in Korea. A quarter ofthe work as anyone working at Poly or SLP.
"IPC" |
First, it's *fewer* hours genius. And now you'll expect us to believe someone who doesn't understand the "less/fewer" usage rules is such an amazing teacher that these dimwitted Korean HR administrators are willing to pay him top dollar? No. What's more likely is you have a low self-esteem and need to lie on message boards to make yourself feel better.
Pro-tip, people who are really confident and do feel good about themselves are not prone to insulting strangers for asking questions. (Like you did in your response to this topic. I point this out because I'm being condescending and not counting on you being quick enough on the uptake to figure out that you're being insulted. Good day.) |
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IPayInCash
Joined: 27 Jul 2013 Location: Away from all my board stalkers :)
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Adam Carolla wrote: |
| IPayInCash wrote: |
Youve been registered here for six years and you still dont know the answer to that question?
Anyways neither. I work less hours than university professors, get paid more, and do half the work as anyone else in Korea. A quarter ofthe work as anyone working at Poly or SLP.
"IPC" |
First, it's *fewer* hours genius. And now you'll expect us to believe someone who doesn't understand the "less/fewer" usage rules is such an amazing teacher that these dimwitted Korean HR administrators are willing to pay him top dollar? No. What's more likely is you have a low self-esteem and need to lie on message boards to make yourself feel better.
Pro-tip, people who are really confident and do feel good about themselves are not prone to insulting strangers for asking questions. (Like you did in your response to this topic. I point this out because I'm being condescending and not counting on you being quick enough on the uptake to figure out that you're being insulted. Good day.) |
Hey look , another one of my board stalkers. You gonna send me another harrassing PM? You know youre inside someones head once they start sending angry PMs your way. I enjoy seeing how worked up you get over my posts, pet.  |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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| IPayInCash wrote: |
| Adam Carolla wrote: |
| IPayInCash wrote: |
Youve been registered here for six years and you still dont know the answer to that question?
Anyways neither. I work less hours than university professors, get paid more, and do half the work as anyone else in Korea. A quarter ofthe work as anyone working at Poly or SLP.
"IPC" |
First, it's *fewer* hours genius. And now you'll expect us to believe someone who doesn't understand the "less/fewer" usage rules is such an amazing teacher that these dimwitted Korean HR administrators are willing to pay him top dollar? No. What's more likely is you have a low self-esteem and need to lie on message boards to make yourself feel better.
Pro-tip, people who are really confident and do feel good about themselves are not prone to insulting strangers for asking questions. (Like you did in your response to this topic. I point this out because I'm being condescending and not counting on you being quick enough on the uptake to figure out that you're being insulted. Good day.) |
Hey look , another one of my board stalkers. You gonna send me another harrassing PM? You know youre inside someones head once they start sending angry PMs your way. I enjoy seeing how worked up you get over my posts, pet.  |
"Youre", is that a word now? "Harrassing", is that a word now? (You'd think a guy who made so much money at so few hours would be able to spell and use proper grammar, wouldn't you?) *In other news, your usage of "someones" should be "someone's". Really, in a post rife with grammatical errors, I find it amusing that you claim in other posts to have such a great job with low hours and high pay. Oh, wait, you're lying. Now it makes sense.
What I find amusing is how desperately you need the attention from a message board that is predominately white men. And yes, I'm so worked up, I respond to your posts at a rate that is roughly equal to less than once per month. I've clearly got issues, don't I? (That was sarcasm, dummy, no, I don't have issues. But you, my friend, are an insane herd of cats. And it shows.) |
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IPayInCash
Joined: 27 Jul 2013 Location: Away from all my board stalkers :)
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Hook line and sinker. Too easy. |
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thisisausername
Joined: 28 May 2011
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:22 am Post subject: |
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Let me just say this, if you go to a public school and your principal and vice principal like you it can be like a dream job. They have the final say about everything and they can even overrule the provincial office. And basically if you just do your job work hard and try and make your classes enjoyable they will love you.
Likewise I suppose it could probably be hell if the principal or vice principal doesn't like you but I've luckily yet to experience that. |
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byrddogs

Joined: 19 Jun 2009 Location: Shanghai
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 5:20 am Post subject: |
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| transmogrifier wrote: |
| byrddogs wrote: |
| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
| Pretty much. Some unis give more, but this is a decent base salary, especially as there's no having to show receipts for housing or flights. You do whatever you want with the pay. Add the low hours and 20 weeks of paid vacation and it's a really good deal, especially for those who are studying for their MA or PhD. |
I see, it seems to be a pretty good package. One more thing, how are you calculating 20 weeks of paid vacation? How many days per year are you actually working? |
University semesters are 16 weeks each. Therefore, 32 weeks of classes per year.
52-32 = 20.
Boom, maths. |
While I can appreciate your "boom, maths", I wasn't asking you. NYC_Gal 2.0, how does that 20 weeks off work out? |
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NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011 Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| Hagweon is the best choice if you don't prioritize for money. Public schools are graveyards for NETs these days. |
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NYC_Gal 2.0

Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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| byrddogs wrote: |
| transmogrifier wrote: |
| byrddogs wrote: |
| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
| Pretty much. Some unis give more, but this is a decent base salary, especially as there's no having to show receipts for housing or flights. You do whatever you want with the pay. Add the low hours and 20 weeks of paid vacation and it's a really good deal, especially for those who are studying for their MA or PhD. |
I see, it seems to be a pretty good package. One more thing, how are you calculating 20 weeks of paid vacation? How many days per year are you actually working? |
University semesters are 16 weeks each. Therefore, 32 weeks of classes per year.
52-32 = 20.
Boom, maths. |
While I can appreciate your "boom, maths", I wasn't asking you. NYC_Gal 2.0, how does that 20 weeks off work out? |
52-32=20 |
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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Location: Seoul, South Korea
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
| byrddogs wrote: |
| transmogrifier wrote: |
| byrddogs wrote: |
| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
| Pretty much. Some unis give more, but this is a decent base salary, especially as there's no having to show receipts for housing or flights. You do whatever you want with the pay. Add the low hours and 20 weeks of paid vacation and it's a really good deal, especially for those who are studying for their MA or PhD. |
I see, it seems to be a pretty good package. One more thing, how are you calculating 20 weeks of paid vacation? How many days per year are you actually working? |
University semesters are 16 weeks each. Therefore, 32 weeks of classes per year.
52-32 = 20.
Boom, maths. |
While I can appreciate your "boom, maths", I wasn't asking you. NYC_Gal 2.0, how does that 20 weeks off work out? |
52-32=20 |
Phew, I was worried I had made an error in my calculations and would have to redo my work. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| IPayInCash wrote: |
Job description
1. Position: Full-time Foreign Professor (teaching English Conversation)
2. Contract Period: 1 year starting from the first day of fall semester, 2013 (renewable)
3. Teaching 15 hours per week
4. Teaching Summer and Winter sessions may be required
Qualifications
1. Master's degree + two years of full time college level teaching experience
2. Bachelor's degree + four years of full time college level teaching experience
(part-time teaching and lifelong education class will not be considered)
Salary and Benefits
1. 2,100,000 KRW / month (before tax)
2. Paid vacation : 8 weeks / year
3. Housing : Studio type on campus housing or 300,000 krw for housing allowance
4. Office : Shared office equipped with a computer
5. Teacher's pension : 50%
6. Medical insurance : 60%
7. Airfare for visa: 500,000 krw
Despite the "every uni teacher I know is making 3.0 with five months vacation!" crowd, let me actually post a REAL job ad to support my claim.
Lowballing checklist:
- 2.1 crappy peanuts wage. Check.
- 2 months vacation which is half of what the norm used to be. Check.
- Lower housing allowance than the standard. Check.
- Only covering airfare for the visa run (all other costs: food, hotel, et al. at YOUR expense). Check.
- Notice the bold. So instead of 8 weeks its actually "We're going to go ahead and ask you to work during your vacation because you made a bad deal."
I GUARANTEE some shmuck with a master's will take this job then go on his facebook saying he "hit the big time."
ROFL.
Like I said, give these unis credit. They've mastered the art of lowballing. |
Folks in Korea who call themselves: "Professor". Ha ha ha ha.... |
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sirius black
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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| IPayInCash wrote: |
| University jobs are very overrated. The glory days of uni gigs are long over. Smh@ people with masters and phd's that work in Korea on a lower salary than someone starting out at a hagwon with no experience. |
Translation: I couldn't get a uni job so now its sour grapes time. And the quip about the great job now. So what? Some people have this my unit is bigger than your unit mentality. Most psychologists will tell you they are projecting and its actually a deep rooted sense of inadequacy. Probably needs Viagra. Seriously dude, so what? Some people want uni jobs. Just because you don't or can't don't sh*t on the gig. Sad thing about Daves is people stating their preference as if it should be for everyone else.
Anyway, back to the OP. All things being equal. Yes, a public school job is GENERALLY better than a private one BUT it comes down to what YOU want. I know many people who could have worked for EPIK, GEPIK or SMOE but stayed in the hogwon circuit because they found great places to work.
You can find great jobs at any level. Bottom line is vet the job. I'd take a great hogwon over a public school job with an evil co teacher and vice principal every day of the week.
Again, know what you are looking for and choose the job that comes closest to that and always vet the job by at least speaking to a current/former teacher and finding out on forums if anyone has any reviews of the place. |
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