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At which Year did you Officially BURN OUT?
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oldsurly



Joined: 05 Nov 2009

PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 8:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Figuring out what you want to do is the easy part.
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PRagic



Joined: 24 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup, getting motivated, getting started, and, most importantly, following through, are what separates the wannbe from the actualized.

The strategy has been done to death, but so many seem to be so put off by going after a goal. Establish a goal, but don't get swept up in the long game. Take it step by step and break it down into doable parts.

I always tell my grad students that an MA is not really two years, it's 4 semesters. Take it semester by semester and use the breaks to decompress or to get a let up on the next semester. Same goes for a doing a Ph.D. or any other longer traininig program.

More people spend more time talking about what they'd like to do than actually going for it. One of my best friends was killed by a drunk driver when he was right out of university. He as an Airborn 1st Lt in the reserves and had a great programming job. His creed was to not bother talking about something unless you planned on doing it.

He'd get right in your space and couldn't handle people spewing on about 'I wish', or 'I might just' or 'I've always wanted to'. He'd just bluntly say, 'So are you going to do it? When? If not, don't waste my time talking about it.' And if you were going to do it, you couldn't ask for a more supportive friend. I've lived by that sentiment ever since, partially out of respect for my buddy, but mostly because it works. It has forced me to really look at what I want, what I say, and what I correspondingly do.
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beison



Joined: 28 Feb 2010

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hmmm...

I always thought that figuring out what you wanted to do was the hard part. Anyone can buckle down and put in the effort and time needed to achieve a dream that they have defined and mapped out..
My struggle was finding out what and where i wanted to go. Going to Korea was part of that journey. Couldn't be happier that it was too.
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PRagic



Joined: 24 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I look at it quite differently. Locking in and getting it done is the hard part because that's what has opportunity costs and requires sacrifice. Figuring out what you want to do isn't hard, it's just that it comes quicker to some. And some never even go after what they really want, they just drift or they settle into a safe path.
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World Traveler



Joined: 29 May 2009

PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 2:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Weigookin74 wrote:
I think unis an public schools are facing the axe? Hakwons still around. Only thing that saves the day is that the numbers of E2s have gone down.

Because supply has exceeded demand for the past seven years, the declining number of E2s issued is a reflection of a declining number of positions available.

Quote:
The job market is continuing to shrink and become more competitive. With the recent law passed by President Park's government reducing the English requirements across the board, not only are the public schools and language centers cutting foreign staff, but universities are starting to look at downsizing their foreign staff as well.

In addition, the low birth rate (1.3) is continuing to reduce incoming numbers of students, so many organizations that were struggling before are now going belly up. I have heard predictions that lower tier universities will start to see government funding cut and possibly end up closing their doors completely in the near future.

My friend who works in a foreign public school was laid off with 7 other employees due to lack of students. I was recently laid off from my 7 year professor job due to lack of students and budget cuts.

It's only getting worse, and this is just the beginning.
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Yaya



Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 4:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I really haven't seen that many Filipinos or Indians teach English in Korea; the Filipinos who teach here often accept far lower pay than native speakers and don't get visas.

And yes, I think ESL is good for a year or two then if you don't wanna keep teaching, get out of it. It's the same in Thailand: quite a few people teach English there for about half the money they'd get in Korea because, well, it's Thailand, then go home with no marketable skills and such.
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EZE



Joined: 05 May 2012

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've taught off and on in Korea since 2006, but I think I've finally reached the point of being almost completely burnt out after teaching for less than two months at the same school where I previously worked for over three years. I'm pretty certain this is my final contract in Korea, and since life is short, I don't think I really want to do the remaining ten months on my contract. I really enjoy living in Korea and the kids are so much fun to teach, but the way the adults interact with foreigners on the job is to the point where I'm thinking about just flying back home to work for the company in the USA where I've worked off and on for the past 12 years, where I know I'm valued, where the contract is always honored, and where I'm not looked down on as an Untermensch.
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ThingsComeAround



Joined: 07 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I taught in Korea from 2007 - 2012 with six months off after my first contract. Teaching in public school was just okay and I got tired of the limiting demotivational head teacher that sought to micromanage my final year. She was going to be replaced by someone worse than her (imagine playing the text audio 5x with no planning) so I decided to get an MA. That didn't work out (grades), so I tried for a CELTA. That didn't work out either (lack of interest). So then the only thing left was to apply myself at something which was interesting, mobile development. It took 2.5 yrs, but today I am a consultant working on a mobile app at a major bank. THERE IS LIFE AFTER KOREA! Smile
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creeper1



Joined: 30 Jan 2007

PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

EZE wrote:
I've taught off and on in Korea since 2006, but I think I've finally reached the point of being almost completely burnt out after teaching for less than two months at the same school where I previously worked for over three years. I'm pretty certain this is my final contract in Korea,

and since life is sho valued, where the contract is always honored, and where I'm not looked down on as an Untermensch.


Since 2006 is a long time.

You could have taught in China, Thailand, Vietnam or a bunch of other places in those years.

There is obviously some pull and some attraction to Korea on your part.

There is something you like. You know it's your best option.

Korea is an awesome place to TEFL. One of the best on the globe.
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newchamp



Joined: 09 Mar 2013

PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

creeper1 wrote:
EZE wrote:
I've taught off and on in Korea since 2006, but I think I've finally reached the point of being almost completely burnt out after teaching for less than two months at the same school where I previously worked for over three years. I'm pretty certain this is my final contract in Korea,

and since life is sho valued, where the contract is always honored, and where I'm not looked down on as an Untermensch.


Since 2006 is a long time.

You could have taught in China, Thailand, Vietnam or a bunch of other places in those years.

There is obviously some pull and some attraction to Korea on your part.

There is something you like. You know it's your best option.

Korea is an awesome place to TEFL. One of the best on the globe.

Creeper1 is a troll who thinks he's protecting the job market in China (where he lives) by steering people towards Korea. He's been doing this for at least 3 years. I can't believe he's still at it.

This time he even made a weird cut in his quote of EZE to twist the meaning. Here's a more accurate quote:
EZE wrote:
I'm thinking about just flying back home to work for the company in the USA where I've worked off and on for the past 12 years, where I know I'm valued, where the contract is always honored, and where I'm not looked down on as an Untermensch.

I have to agree with EZE ("Untermensch") that so many jobs in Korea are ruined by employers and co-workers who have to assert their "superiority," either towards the foreign co-workers, or towards all subordinates. It's pretty pervasive and it has somewhat reduced my respect for the culture.
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PRagic



Joined: 24 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hierarchy is hard wired into the Korean culture. Heck, just look at the language!

The younger Korean millennials are having a tough time dealing with it, too, though not, I surmise, as tough a time as many westerners. Their collective problem is that many, if not most, have grown up only children. Not only have considerable family resources, both emotional and physical, been focused on them and them alone, but they've always been active on social media where they've largely been able to 'friendly filter' everything to their non-confrontational ears. They want their arses kissed for showing up.

It still amazes me just how little people look into aspects of the K culture before deciding to work and live here, especially with all the information readily available on line. I chuckle when I read about people ticked off about rude, stick up K management.

No, if you're a 22-25 year old college grad with an unrelated degree, odds are nobody is going to solicit your opinion, or give a crap about your professional development or satisfaction. No, if you work at a university in a country with probably the highest population density of PhDs in the world, your MA probably won't have program directors clambering for your expert insights. Dressing the part helps, as does a significant amount of experience, but it doesn't level the playing field totally. Ask any long-termed and they'll tell you that even the most seemingly secure a ESL job here can turn on a dime with new management. It doesn't always, but it can.

The people I've known over the years who have done well here in ESL, and in life for that matter, have been able to accept it for what it is - a different culture with different values, arttitudes, beliefs, and associated concepts concerning status. They make their money, they invest, they take their vacations, and to heck with how the locals perceive them.
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newchamp



Joined: 09 Mar 2013

PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

PRagic wrote:
It still amazes me just how little people look into aspects of the K culture before deciding to work and live here, especially with all the information readily available on line. I chuckle when I read about people ticked off about rude, stick up K management.

Actually I don't think there is a whole lot of information online that frankly addresses the issue EZE and I raised, and I've added some information.

There's a difference between stuck up management and managers/co-workers who subtly insult you to make themselves seem superior. If that kind of thing doesn't bother you, good for you, but maybe you've been lucky not to be in that kind of work environment much.

I saw that you have a PhD and got tenure at a university recently. Congratulations. A lot of people were patting you on the back. I hope your research has more insight and utility than your often banal advice on these forums.
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PRagic



Joined: 24 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not too big of a difference between those two 'different types' of managers in Korea for the most part. One can easily morph into the other. And 'the issue' you and the other poster raised is precisely what? That you don't like stuck up managers who 'assert their authority' and who belittle their (foreign) employees. That is precisely the issue I was addressing.

And I'm not on here to start a flame war, so I'll try to work around your final condescending remarks. In the thread you mentioned regarding my job and promotion, you'll have noticed that I said that I started at the bottom. So, sure, I've experienced all types of K managers over the course of my 20+ years here working in education in one form or another.

I've been frustrated, ticked off, and even hurt, mostly at the beginning of my time here, but I've studied and learned a lot (Victory through time in country? Why not?), which is why I try to lend some balance and perspective to these discussions. I even had a background in the language and culture prior to moving here, but it took a lot more than that to get the lay of the land.

There is indeed a huge, huge amount of information available online and in print on the Korean culture and K business culture, not to mention material on recognizing and dealing with cultural differences and culture shock. There was just, for example, a full page spread in the International NY Times/Herald dealing, at least in part, with 'the issues' you've raised.
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creeper1



Joined: 30 Jan 2007

PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If someone uses a word such as "Untermensch" to describe how they are treated and yet is still in that country you gotta wonder why they stayed there so long.

Oh yeah. I am cornering the China market for myself. 1.3 billion people and I am teaching them all English. Please!

I am just stating that the picture painted here is complete bs.

"by their actions you shall know them. By their actions"

If his actions are that he stays in Korea for a decade you better believe he has something good going on.
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PRagic



Joined: 24 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 5:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
-JL
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