Korean Job Discussion Forums

PRagic · Joined: 24 Feb 2006

Yawn. Fine ESL is 'busted'. But that doesn't mean that u positions are to be so blasted, especially in the macro sense. Get over it. A lot of great people made coin before, a lot of great people are making great coin now, and a lot of people will be making great coin going into the future.

Not really sure what that little formula means, but a bunch of u teachers are banking well on their way to a comfortable retirement (some an early one), and most are having what would be considered once-in-a-lifetime trips annually.

some people may indeed teach writing. But I thought we were comparing apples to apples; that u writing teacher would then have to be compared to a hagwon writing teacher...who doesn't get Fridays off and doesn't get two months off twice a year.

And, yes, nobody cares about the plane ticket.

Done here. Getting too circular. Thanks, ChrisPK. Rock on.

GENO123 · Joined: 28 Jan 2010

edwardcatflap · Joined: 22 Mar 2009

Pragic's network of cool friends may be exaggerating a little, as people are prone to do with regards to salary. I don 't go round asking people what they take home but from overhearing conversations i' d guesstimate those making 5 mil or more a month at korean unis teaching tefl have other jobs on the side. Eg someone told me the other day that a guy they know at honik u is on 3.4 with no housing after years and years. That is a good deal if you have extra jobs but not a route to early retirement if you don' t

tob55 · Joined: 29 Apr 2007

GENO123 · Joined: 28 Jan 2010

Shimokitazawa · Joined: 14 Dec 2007 Location: Seoul

You guys, you're still calling it ESL.

It's NOT ESL!!!!!

We teach EFL.

EFL, EFL, EFL, EFL, EFL

WE TEACH EFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

misher · Joined: 14 Oct 2008

Meh,

There are some foreign profs who are tenor track that do quite well. They however:

Have a doctorate in hand
Have done post doctorate work
Have multiple publications
Lecture CONTENT
DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT teach EFL.

If you have an MA Tesol in hand you can still do ok as Korea has yet to become Japan. If you don't know what I mean see what is required on J-RECIN to teach TOEIC/ communication skills 101/ writing or whatever crap on a capped 1 time renewal 3 year contract. People in Korea complain when EWHA asks for a lesson plan and multiple interviews. That's nothing.

I know a few uni efl teachers in Korea that do well after 10 plus years in the game. They do say however that permanency is near impossible and they take on any extra class plus hoof it to corporates. Yeah they take in 5-6 million a month but their contracted 12 hours + another 8 for overtime plus 6-10 in corporates plus prep, grading travel etc puts them at over a 40 hour work week. They get 4 months off but during that time they only get their maxed 3.5 or whatever. They usually do camps for a month or two to add another 10 mill to their annual gross salary. All in all they hit around 70-80 million a year gross. That's not bad but like one of my former coworkers said:

A) wages won't increase with cost of living. You're maxed. If you want more. Work more. That means burnout.

B) your job is very unstable. New admins could be added and decide to clean house.

C) you'll be on an endless paper chase to maintain what you have. Ma tesol? Sorry we need a phD now. No publications, chapters? Post doc? Move along. Again see Japan.

I don't think PRagic is being full of it here. There probably are guys with permanent jobs, only an MA Tesol in hand and teaching 12 hours a week making 5-6 mill a month. This is however a MASSIVE exception to the norm and as korean unis fight for students as the birth rate remains low, they will look to shave costs. You will be out before any Korean is. It is something to think about.

GENO123 · Joined: 28 Jan 2010

I don't understand why Universities are being given credit for a teacher's extra income. if a school (especially one of the big ones ) catches someone doing extra work they fire them. If someone makes money because of extra work it is not because of the school but in spite of the school. As I said: get caught lose your job -even if one has visa which allows them to do extra work . They are sanctimonious as anything and truly full of themselves at those places.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=2627056&highlight=#2627056

Also someone may only teach 12 or 16 but if someone is at a big school they work exponentially more than that. The concept of contact hours means nothing. 12 -16 hours of teaching is illusory.

swashbuckler · Joined: 20 Nov 2010

ChrisPK · Joined: 07 Aug 2014

GENO123 · Joined: 28 Jan 2010

Salaries can look better or worse depending on how they are calculated and what deductions are included. Getting to 5M would be hard even under pretty good conditions . Personally I think it is neither helpful nor informative when posters use best of all possible world numbers to reach the numbers they do.

3.5 Million Minus housing 300, minus severance 200 minus an air ticket =2.8 before taxes. One would have to teach 13 hours of extra work every week ALL THE TIME YEAR ROUND at 40k (or 11 hours a week at 50K ) and hour to get to 5M. And if they were doing that many hours they would be hard pressed to do their first job.

Also as I said extra work is not entirely safe either when one is working at University (especially a big famous one ) and a residence visa doesn't change that.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=2627056&highlight=#2627056

A word of advice if someone is a happy at a smaller university don't be so quick to make switch to a big school. You will likely find the not so substantial difference in salary isn't worth the trouble and extra work.

liveinkorea316 · Joined: 20 Aug 2010 Location: South Korea

GENO do you personally know someone who has been fired for teaching a private outside their uni job? Maybe you don't understand Korea. Let me give you a lesson: the university dowa not give two dams unless you are running some kind of hagwon. Even then you would get a warning first.

If you don't have an F2 your main problem would be with immigration finding out not your employer. Most people on F2s at my uni have their class shcedules specifically arranged so they can legally make money outside the uni while the uni turns a blind eye. Our contract forbids it but don't ask don't tell. That's how Korea works man.

There is a prostitution ally in my city with a police banner at the top which reads "Children Keep Out" with a police logo and a police station across the street. But...isn't prostitution illegal?

liveinkorea316 · Joined: 20 Aug 2010 Location: South Korea

GENO most people doing alot of extra work have F2s and so are married and sorry to burst your bubble but a nice morning class schedule and a bumper holiday season in their home-based study room and total income would be closer to 10m on average man. Are you crying in your beer yet? If his wife or gf has an ordinary job somewhere they'll be pulling in 5m easy with him hardly needing to do any extra work. She can double her income by assisting his home-based hagwon. It's all the rage man. Gotta get on that train. Get 5 classes of 10 students coming through 200,000 per month. Wha-la 10million right there. before you bring in your work salary. If you think that's not being done...ita being done all over Korea. I was told by a number that they keep the uni gig for the health insurance, pension and sanity.