Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jlb]

Could be an interesting discussion. What do you plan to do when you're done teaching English abroad?

If you're interested, check out this interview with a former teacher in Korea who worked in public schools in the USA (and hated it) and is now doing freelance work.

http://teachinginkoreanuniversity.com/life-after-esl/

[ttompatz]

[Fallacy]

[JohnML]

[PRagic]

Frankly, I had a plan for post ESL teaching even before I started teaching ESL. I planned to come over, work a year or two while studying Korean, do my MBA, and then see where things went. No serious longer term plans, but an exit strategy none-the-less. Ha! Little did I know then where the road would take us.

Ended up doing my Master's here, and ESL (teaching and other stuff) made it possible to pay cash as I went along and to bank. Figured my wife and I were going to work in Seoul anyway, so why not just knock out the degree here.

Ha! Financial crisis hit right when I was finishing up, so my job in trade went out the window. The better half had a great job here, however, so I got a university gig and taught there a few semesters. Again, ESL (teaching and other related gigs) made it possible to bank quite a bit and to invest, which was great as we'd only been married a year or two.

Decided I liked teaching at university, something I only found out because I could, at the time, teach ESL here even with an MBA, so I got into a good Ph.D. program back in the States. I knew that I didn't want to teach ESL, but I did know that I wanted to be a professor by then. Still, the goal, even then, was to work in Seoul, so I knocked out the degree, got a tenure track gig here in Seoul, and the rest is history. Luck favours the prepared or something like that. Still plugging away in academe.

Along the way, my wife started her own company in Seoul, but wrapped that up during the last financial melt down. She worked hard, but could retire at 45. We now enjoy the university schedule and the time it affords us together.

That's just how fast stuff happens. I moved here in 1993, and that seems like yesterday. 20+ years. Boom. You can either spin your wheels or slap them on a chasis and get going somewhere.

If you're going to do ESL and make it a career, invest in yourself and your credentials because you have no way of knowing, general trends and comparisons to other markets aside, just which way the wind will blow in the future. You may not need the MA or the certs now, but later on you might if you want to move up or move out into a tertiary position (e.g. program management or curricula design). Then again, you might just need those degrees and certs just to keep you job!

If you're not going to stay in ESL, use it as a vehicle as you prepare for the next step. Best advice, and, no, nobody asked, but don't spin your wheels for too long. Most of the people I've known over the years who have wanted to work back in their home countries in non-ESL professions, and who made the transition successfully, made the break after 2-2.5 years here.

Nobody I know in ESL here who has their MA regrets it. The only regret? Not knocking it out sooner. Same for the CELTA/DELTA holders (and certified instructors) I know.

Apologies for the novella. Intersting thread. Made me think and look back. Thanks for that.

[PRagic]

Frankly, I had a plan for post ESL teaching even before I started teaching ESL. I planned to come over, work a year or two while studying Korean, do my MBA, and then see where things went. No serious longer term plans, but an exit strategy none-the-less. Ha! Little did I know then where the road would take us.

Ended up doing my Master's here, and ESL (teaching and other stuff) made it possible to pay cash as I went along and to bank. Figured my wife and I were going to work in Seoul anyway, so why not just knock out the degree here.

Ha! Financial crisis hit right when I was finishing up, so my job in trade went out the window. The better half had a great job here, however, so I got a university gig and taught there a few semesters. Again, ESL (teaching and other related gigs) made it possible to bank quite a bit and to invest, which was great as we'd only been married a year or two.

Decided I liked teaching at university, something I only found out because I could, at the time, teach ESL here even with an MBA, so I got into a good Ph.D. program back in the States. I knew that I didn't want to teach ESL, but I did know that I wanted to be a professor by then. Still, the goal, even then, was to work in Seoul, so I knocked out the degree, got a tenure track gig here in Seoul, and the rest is history. Luck favours the prepared or something like that. Still plugging away in academe.

Along the way, my wife started her own company in Seoul, but wrapped that up during the last financial melt down. She worked hard, but could retire at 45. We now enjoy the university schedule and the time it affords us together.

That's just how fast stuff happens. I moved here in 1993, and that seems like yesterday. 20+ years. Boom. You can either spin your wheels or slap them on a chasis and get going somewhere.

If you're going to do ESL and make it a career, invest in yourself and your credentials because you have no way of knowing, general trends and comparisons to other markets aside, just which way the wind will blow in the future. You may not need the MA or the certs now, but later on you might if you want to move up or move out into a tertiary position (e.g. program management or curricula design). Then again, you might just need those degrees and certs just to keep you job!

If you're not going to stay in ESL, use it as a vehicle as you prepare for the next step. Best advice, and, no, nobody asked, but don't spin your wheels for too long. Most of the people I've known over the years who have wanted to work back in their home countries in non-ESL professions, and who made the transition successfully, made the break after 2-2.5 years here.

Nobody I know in ESL here who has their MA regrets it. The only regret? Not knocking it out sooner. Same for the CELTA/DELTA holders (and certified instructors) I know.

Apologies for the novella. Intersting thread. Made me think and look back. Thanks for that.

[creeper1]

Real food for thought in that article posted by the op. Thank you for putting it out there. I would encourage posters to take a look.

Shocking situation. She tries to go home leaving behind a highly paid and zero stress job in Korea only to be met with high stress, low salary, abusive parents, no respect and debt at home.

By the way this freelance thing doesn't seem like a viable way of making money.

[PRagic]

Also didn't hear too much about the husband in that article other than he couldn't contribute much income in Korea. What was he doing in the US to help out? Financially at least, it sounds like she was and is shouldering most of the load.

She admits that she got extremely lucky in finding a position so quickly. Maybe she got 'lucky' because it wasn't such a great job, the word was out, and there was little competition for it. I know quite a few teachers in the US who, like the writer, often lived paycheck to ptcheck in the beginning of their careers. Once they got settled, tenured, and gathered some seniority, things got better. Often enough, they parlayed one so-so job into a position in a better district (sometimes different state!). Of primary importance, NONE of them was or is a long term sole bread winner; they got hitched and did the DINK route before having kids.

She gives some very good, down to earth advice to would be teachers, especially concerning employment expectations and debt. Good stuff. Too much debt is bad, especially if you know you aren't going to be making buckets of cash out of school.

But most importantly? NEVER just pick up stops and move unless you have something...anything...lined up, even if it's only temporary. If you don't, be ready to watch your savings go down the tubes. It'll help if you can crash with family, of course, but that can get really old really fast.

Overall, though, that interview should be a wake up call to the US education system. Scary.

[jlb]

If you're interested in tech stuff, you could check out this interview I did with an English teacher turned computer programmer. He taught himself the skills while still in Korea.

http://teachinginkoreanuniversity.com/stephen-mayeux-english-teacher-turned-javascript-developer/

[PRagic]

Know a guy doing that right now.

Everyone's experience will be a bit different, but by and large planning, saving, and investing in yourself rule the day.

[SeoulNate]

rofl.. you have got to be kidding me with this OP

95,000$ in debt from getting a teaching cert? From where?

Jesus, half the states in the US will PAY for your schooling while you work without a proper degree. Sure, the jobs may not be the greatest, but tough it out for a few years, get your shit paid for and move on.

Anyone who puts themselves 95k in the hole for any degree is a moron by and large.

[rocket man]

ignore the op, she continues to post here despite calling it a cess pool.

All she is doing is shilling for another one of her crap books

go away jackie and make it soon

[isitts]

I plan to retire when I finish teaching.

[schwa]

Pushing up daisies.

[SeoulNate]