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ThisDude
Joined: 19 Aug 2011
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 Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 1:40 am Post subject: Do English teaching certs influence job offers? |
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I'm currently doing a bit of research about English teaching jobs in South Korea. I plan on getting TESOL/TOEFL/or TEFL certification, but my main concern is whether being "certified" increases your chance of getting job offers. Would it be beneficial if I were looking for jobs with public schools through EPIK/GEPIK/SMOE if I had such certification(s)? What about hagwons?
Basically I'm just curious to know whether it would be worth getting English teaching certification. And would being certified also help with where you might be put in Korea? Like Seoul/Busan/Daegu.
If personal info about myself would help...
I'm 23 years old with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics. I've taught at a winter camp in Korea before with an established(I believe) organization. And I have experience tutoring here in the States. |
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Speck7
Joined: 05 Sep 2012
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 3:10 am Post subject: |
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| No, not really. |
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Chaparrastique
Joined: 01 Jan 2014
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:03 am Post subject: |
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I have a tefl cert but no employer or even recruiter has ever mentioned it at any time.
The only comments they've ever made was about how I looked in my photo. |
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Guajiro
Joined: 04 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:05 am Post subject: |
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| Speck7 wrote: |
| No, not really. |
It probably won't make a big difference for hagwons, but the certification is pretty much a requirement for public schools now. According to the EPIK website, last I looked, it must be at least 100 hours with at least 20 in class.
As far as which city, my advice is to be flexible to increase your odds of getting an interview. |
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wooden nickels
Joined: 23 May 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:11 am Post subject: Re: Do English teaching certs influence job offers? |
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| ThisDude wrote: |
I'm currently doing a bit of research about English teaching jobs in South Korea. I plan on getting TESOL/TOEFL/or TEFL certification, but my main concern is whether being "certified" increases your chance of getting job offers. Would it be beneficial if I were looking for jobs with public schools through EPIK/GEPIK/SMOE if I had such certification(s)? What about hagwons?
Basically I'm just curious to know whether it would be worth getting English teaching certification. And would being certified also help with where you might be put in Korea? Like Seoul/Busan/Daegu.
If personal info about myself would help...
I'm 23 years old with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics. I've taught at a winter camp in Korea before with an established(I believe) organization. And I have experience tutoring here in the States. |
When I worked in the public school system in Korea, my school added 400.000 won per month to my salary due to the fact that I had teacher certification. I started day one with a maxed out salary. Year 2 the principal of the school added another 100.000 to my salary, above the public school pay scale.
Certification is a plus. |
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Ocalmy
Joined: 18 Oct 2011
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:22 am Post subject: |
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@wooden nickles… your old public school may have added 400.000 to your monthly salary for having a professional teaching license with an English/Language Arts endorsement, but they certainly wouldn't have done that for someone with the typical 100 hour online TESOL certificate. Big difference there…
In my experience TESOL/TEFL certificates are only worthwhile if you have a BA/BS in a field unrelated to English or education. Since the OP has degree in economics, I say go for it. It will open the door for public school jobs at least. It's also a good idea if you want to improve your EFL skills but don't plan to teach longterm.
That said, if you have Uni ambitions, then skip it and start working on an MA in TESOL, Linguistics, or Education. |
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andrewchon
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Location: Back in Oz. Living in ISIS Aust.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:19 am Post subject: |
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I think Op meant teaching certification for English in US schools and whether that would improve offers, not the 120hr in class TESOL certs. Not that it changes the answer anyway. No, what Korea wants is a friendly foreigner to entertain the children. They say teach them English but expected teaching of English over here is not like in US, or even Belgium for that matter. (Belgium is rated no. 1 for teaching foreign languages in the world) As said above, it is about looks.  |
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ThisDude
Joined: 19 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:14 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the replies!
I actually meant getting the cert(s) through online. Onsite ones are too costly for me hahaha.
Is there any one certificate that is more widely accepted than others? It seems like top two are TESOL and TEFL. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 3:16 pm Post subject: Re: Do English teaching certs influence job offers? |
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| ThisDude wrote: |
I'm currently doing a bit of research about English teaching jobs in South Korea. I plan on getting TESOL/TOEFL/or TEFL certification, but my main concern is whether being "certified" increases your chance of getting job offers. Would it be beneficial if I were looking for jobs with public schools through EPIK/GEPIK/SMOE if I had such certification(s)? What about hagwons?
Basically I'm just curious to know whether it would be worth getting English teaching certification. And would being certified also help with where you might be put in Korea? Like Seoul/Busan/Daegu.
If personal info about myself would help...
I'm 23 years old with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics. I've taught at a winter camp in Korea before with an established(I believe) organization. And I have experience tutoring here in the States. |
If you want a job in a hagwon then they are not needed and are largely ignored if you do have one.
If you want a job in a public school then they are required unless you would be assessed as a level 2 applicant by having one or more of:
-Teacher’s license
-TEFL/TESOL or CELTA certificate (100+hours)
-Bachelor’s degree in Education, English* or Linguistics
-Master’s degree in any discipline
-1 year full time teaching experience with Bachelor’s degree in any discipline
-At least 1 year TaLK Schlolar experience**
According to the EPIK website ( http://www.epik.go.kr/board.do?boardConfigNo=77&menuNo=271&action=view&boardNo=1032 ) a 100 hour TEFL/TESOL cert with a minimum of 20 hours of in-class time is needed for a job. For the BUSAN POE you need a minimum of 60 hours of in-class study as part of your TEFL/TESOL cert.
| ThisDude wrote: |
| Is there any one certificate that is more widely accepted than others? It seems like top two are TESOL and TEFL. |
TEFL = teaching English as a Foreign Language (teaching English where English is not commonly used outside of the classroom).
TESL = Teaching English as a Second Language (teaching English where English is usually spoken outside the classroom).
TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
CELTA = Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults - A specific brand of TESOL cert. offered by Cambridge ESOL. (widely accepted as the "gold standard" by which other TEFL/TESOL certs are compared.
. |
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Rockhard
Joined: 11 Dec 2013
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Your gender, race, and physical appearance will count for 10 times whatever certificate you have. This ain't Kansas. |
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happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Rockhard wrote: |
| Your gender, race, and physical appearance will count for 10 times whatever certificate you have. This ain't Kansas. |
Just make sure you have a great picture.
Ill agree with this. Any cert. couldnt hurt, but I wouldnt say its a big thing.
Guys here will cut ther jaws to look sharper to get a job. That says something. |
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Zalithian
Joined: 26 Mar 2013
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:45 pm Post subject: Re: Do English teaching certs influence job offers? |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| ThisDude wrote: |
I'm currently doing a bit of research about English teaching jobs in South Korea. I plan on getting TESOL/TOEFL/or TEFL certification, but my main concern is whether being "certified" increases your chance of getting job offers. Would it be beneficial if I were looking for jobs with public schools through EPIK/GEPIK/SMOE if I had such certification(s)? What about hagwons?
Basically I'm just curious to know whether it would be worth getting English teaching certification. And would being certified also help with where you might be put in Korea? Like Seoul/Busan/Daegu.
If personal info about myself would help...
I'm 23 years old with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics. I've taught at a winter camp in Korea before with an established(I believe) organization. And I have experience tutoring here in the States. |
If you want a job in a hagwon then they are not needed and are largely ignored if you do have one.
If you want a job in a public school then they are required unless you would be assessed as a level 2 applicant by having one or more of:
-Teacher’s license
-TEFL/TESOL or CELTA certificate (100+hours)
-Bachelor’s degree in Education, English* or Linguistics
-Master’s degree in any discipline
-1 year full time teaching experience with Bachelor’s degree in any discipline
-At least 1 year TaLK Schlolar experience**
According to the EPIK website ( http://www.epik.go.kr/board.do?boardConfigNo=77&menuNo=271&action=view&boardNo=1032 ) a 100 hour TEFL/TESOL cert with a minimum of 20 hours of in-class time is needed for a job. For the BUSAN POE you need a minimum of 60 hours of in-class study as part of your TEFL/TESOL cert.
| ThisDude wrote: |
| Is there any one certificate that is more widely accepted than others? It seems like top two are TESOL and TEFL. |
TEFL = teaching English as a Foreign Language (teaching English where English is not commonly used outside of the classroom).
TESL = Teaching English as a Second Language (teaching English where English is usually spoken outside the classroom).
TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
CELTA = Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults - A specific brand of TESOL cert. offered by Cambridge ESOL. (widely accepted as the "gold standard" by which other TEFL/TESOL certs are compared.
. |
I just want to chime in here. You will likely need a cert for EPIK regardless of your major. The only exception would be if you have a teaching certificate. It appears that education, English, and linguistics majors are no longer considered level 2 without a cert.
This is not for certain, but likely the case. I was e-mailed by my coordinator in the middle of November stating "..those applicants who automatically qualify for a Level 2...should complete a TEFL/TESOL or CELTA qualification of at least 100 hours."
"...Qualifications must be completed one month prior to arrival in Korea."
Something to keep note of if you were level 2 and didn't plan on getting one. |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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| If you're Bachelor's is Education, then you should easily be able to get licensed. I'm surprised that the Koreans wouldn't notice that. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:17 am Post subject: Re: Do English teaching certs influence job offers? |
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| wooden nickels wrote: |
| ThisDude wrote: |
I'm currently doing a bit of research about English teaching jobs in South Korea. I plan on getting TESOL/TOEFL/or TEFL certification, but my main concern is whether being "certified" increases your chance of getting job offers. Would it be beneficial if I were looking for jobs with public schools through EPIK/GEPIK/SMOE if I had such certification(s)? What about hagwons?
Basically I'm just curious to know whether it would be worth getting English teaching certification. And would being certified also help with where you might be put in Korea? Like Seoul/Busan/Daegu.
If personal info about myself would help...
I'm 23 years old with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics. I've taught at a winter camp in Korea before with an established(I believe) organization. And I have experience tutoring here in the States. |
When I worked in the public school system in Korea, my school added 400.000 won per month to my salary due to the fact that I had teacher certification. I started day one with a maxed out salary. Year 2 the principal of the school added another 100.000 to my salary, above the public school pay scale.
Certification is a plus. |
You were the rare exception to the rule, friend. |
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SeoulNate
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
Location: Hyehwa
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| Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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| young_clinton wrote: |
| If you're Bachelor's is Education, then you should easily be able to get licensed. I'm surprised that the Koreans wouldn't notice that. |
| Quote: |
| I'm 23 years old with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics. |
facepalm |
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