Korean Job Discussion Forums

[World Traveler]

[Cartman]

Damn I remember when I was there last: 2009-2010. I never knew at the time that this might be the last 'good' year. I was getting 2.2, and work hours were 2pm - 7pm. By the end, the school was trying to get us to stay until 8pm; just to sit there in the staff room and 'plan' for the next day. And everyone complained like it was so unjust - the end of the world!

All the talk on these boards was Korea vs Taiwan, comparing everything. What the hell happened to Taiwan's market anyway? It's all about China now it seems..

[World Traveler]

Taiwan's market has been going downhill for a while now- since the late 90s/early 2000s at least.

It's sad China is the only country left not in noticeable decline (though some are saying China is now too) for teaching English overseas. Too much pollution and internet censorship there. And the money there is not that great. Certainly nothing compared to what could be made teaching ESL in countries around the world in years past.

Now we are talking about how much better things were in Korea in 2009-2010. Five years from now in 2020, folks will be talking about the good conditions that existed in 2015. (Of course, that was even more true in 2005, and even more true in 1995, etc., etc. I would kill to have been in Korea in 1990...but I was just a kid then...so...not possible...)

[aq8knyus]

[World Traveler]

So professional teachers / those who invested in the right pieces of paper aren't impacted- just newbs?

PatrickGHBusan and a few others on here (TheUrbanMyth, edwardcatflap, ttompatz, jackson7, etc.) often said the same thing, but I don't really agree.

All levels are effected- from kindy to university to privates to business English to even owning a hagwon.

And it was possible to get rich teaching English in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Middle East, and even Europe 20+ years ago, but over time that changed. (Over time it gradually become less and less the case. Less and less lucrative. Less and less of a good deal.) Sad to see. I like money and free time. I don't want to teach more hours for less remuneration. (And this is coming from someone who has been told, "You are the best teacher we've ever had" multiple times.)

What do you think of this (a recent development in China)?:

It appears that public colleges and universities in Guangdong are pulling back significantly in terms of benefits and pay methods, amounting basically to a pay cut. Many are no longer offering paid summer vacation, some not even accommodation, or asking now for the teacher to pay utilities that were free before. A number have even switched to not offering full time contracts with benefits at all, and are paying by the hour. Others are inserting clauses in their contracts which basically does away with a base salary, stipulating that if they give you less than 16 hours a week, your pay will be cut. My college is inserting some such changes in our contract this year, saying that “everyone else is doing this”. I have an excellent reputation in my college, am respected by my colleagues and am often given verbal appreciation for my serious work, so this is a huge surprise. My response is that with mounting inflation, they should be paying us more, and have decided to move to the private sector for work (where, actually, I can earn a great deal more)–am wondering if others are doing the same and if a trend might be developing with more foreign teachers doing this.

[edwardcatflap]

I'm curious WT, what are you doing regarding employment these days? Are you actually applying for jobs anywhere or are you just sitting around complaining that you can't get a Korean university job and searching for job ads that say 'females only' or ones with low salaries to post on message boards? If you are looking for a new job what kind of jobs are you looking for, where would you be prepared to work and what would be your expected salary?

[World Traveler]

"If you spent half the time applying you spend complaining you'd have a SKY university job by now." Very PatrickGHBusan/TheUrbanMythish of you to say but that doesn't jibe with reality. The time I spend complaining is 10 minutes per day. Pretty inconsequential, and not the reason I don't have a plum university job (which incidentally appear to be on the decline across the board...not in every case, but generally speaking). I'm not actively seeking out the "female only" requirements in job ads; I see them whether I want to or not- they come as ugly surprises.

[edwardcatflap]

[World Traveler]

I was looking for adult teaching positions and was shocked to see so many prefer females. Really disappointing.

[edwardcatflap]

So you have to specialise in something newbies don't have to make yourself more marketable. Find out the best countries to teach adults in outside of Korea and in which specific field. Universiteis, teacher training, exams practice, business etc... look at what those jobs require and work towards that. Your field is pretty narrow at the moment, adults in Korea and non-specialised. of course you'll be applying for newbie type jobs where looks/age/gender are more important.

[World Traveler]

Overall, English teaching opportunities for Westerners are on the decline. The market is tightening and becoming more competitive as more get into it, seek higher level qualifications, and are replaced by bilingual locals who have lived overseas and thus speak English quite well, often at a completely fluent level.

Because of that, I don't want to invest in more time consuming, costly certifications.

What I said might not necessarily be applicable to those who first got into English teaching 30 years ago (you), but for younger people the future is not looking as good. Even well qualified people are getting hit:

Is there anywhere that is as good as it used to be?
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=110909

[edwardcatflap]

Thinking about moving back to Korea quite soon actually. There's an opportunity tha's come up due to increased funding from SMOE that wasn't available a couple of years ago. Things often go around and come around.

[World Traveler]

Increased funding? SMOE just cut the 2,000,000 won renewal bonuses out of the newest contracts. Maybe that's where the extra money for whatever you do (train Korean teachers to take over as the English speakers so that Westerners can be eliminated from public schools?) came from.

[EZE]

[Chaparrastique]

Its not surprising the market is flooded when they broadcast world news headlines like...