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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Baggio10
Joined: 03 Mar 2017
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 Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 4:31 am Post subject: Options in Korea |
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Hi folks,
My girlfriend and I are considering moving back to Korea (spent a year in a hagwon 3 years ago). We both possess MA TESOL's (all on campus) and 3 years experience in Asia and Europe.
Was wondering what are our best options? How difficult is it to attain uni jobs? If it was a uni gig the location wouldn't be of importance to us.
If not a uni gig, is EPIK the way to go?
Thanks! |
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J.Q.A.
Joined: 09 Feb 2017
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 5:36 am Post subject: Re: Options in Korea |
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| Baggio10 wrote: |
Hi folks,
My girlfriend and I are considering moving back to Korea (spent a year in a hagwon 3 years ago). We both possess MA TESOL's (all on campus) and 3 years experience in Asia and Europe.
Was wondering what are our best options? How difficult is it to attain uni jobs? If it was a uni gig the location wouldn't be of importance to us.
If not a uni gig, is EPIK the way to go?
Thanks! |
With both of your possessing an MA in TESOL, why in the hell would you guys want to come back to Korea?
Seriously....go to Thailand. |
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Baggio10
Joined: 03 Mar 2017
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:07 am Post subject: |
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| Surely there is better saving potential in Korea than in Thailand? |
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J.Q.A.
Joined: 09 Feb 2017
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:20 am Post subject: |
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| Baggio10 wrote: |
| Surely there is better saving potential in Korea than in Thailand? |
OK...that is a fair statement. But, you are looking to teach with EPIK, correct?
You can do just as well, if not better, in Thailand with an international school...and live better.
Then again, I could be wrong. But, it would behoove you both NOT to waste your credentials with EPIK.
Besides...there is less paranoia about taking up a second job in Thailand. |
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Baggio10
Joined: 03 Mar 2017
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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The priority order would be Uni's, EPIK and then hagwons.
I have always read that you can't save anywhere near as much in Thailand as you can in Korea. Have you any information about Intl schools in Thailand? |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 2:37 pm Post subject: Re: Options in Korea |
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| Baggio10 wrote: |
Hi folks,
My girlfriend and I are considering moving back to Korea (spent a year in a hagwon 3 years ago). We both possess MA TESOL's (all on campus) and 3 years experience in Asia and Europe.
Was wondering what are our best options? How difficult is it to attain uni jobs? If it was a uni gig the location wouldn't be of importance to us.
If not a uni gig, is EPIK the way to go?
Thanks! |
Depends on where your Asian and European experience was. Generally unis in Korea ask for 2 years uni experience, so without that it'll be difficult. You might be able to get a position outside Seoul for similar money to a hagwan/public school. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 2:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Baggio10 wrote: |
The priority order would be Uni's, EPIK and then hagwons.
I have always read that you can't save anywhere near as much in Thailand as you can in Korea. Have you any information about Intl schools in Thailand? |
I'm guessing the kind of international school that'd pay more than EPIK would require a teaching kids qualification. |
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Baggio10
Joined: 03 Mar 2017
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 3:49 pm Post subject: Re: Options in Korea |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| Baggio10 wrote: |
Hi folks,
My girlfriend and I are considering moving back to Korea (spent a year in a hagwon 3 years ago). We both possess MA TESOL's (all on campus) and 3 years experience in Asia and Europe.
Was wondering what are our best options? How difficult is it to attain uni jobs? If it was a uni gig the location wouldn't be of importance to us.
If not a uni gig, is EPIK the way to go?
Thanks! |
Depends on where your Asian and European experience was. Generally unis in Korea ask for 2 years uni experience, so without that it'll be difficult. You might be able to get a position outside Seoul for similar money to a hagwan/public school. |
A year in China and Korea, both hagwons, and a private language school in Italy. Plus secondary high school experience in Hungary.
Location wouldn't be an issue as long as it was a uni gig. |
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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Your girlfriend is MUCH more marketable currently, no matter where. IF you were married, you could possibly look for a package deal, though many places try to avoid hiring couples. If there's a problem with one, it is automatically magnified, or so the reasoning goes.
Best thing you can do is get your documents in order and start applying. As location isn't too important, you might get lucky with a rural university or college. Never know until you apply. A lot of place put off hiring until it's too late, and then they have to go with what they have on file.
Even if only one of you gets a shot, it'll be a good enough job to get you both over here. One could work legally, while the other puts boots on the ground and looks for work here on their tourist visa. Once employement is found, then a visa run can be done.
With MAs and at least some experience in Korea, universities are definitely the way to go. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Baggio10 wrote: |
The priority order would be Uni's, EPIK and then hagwons.
I have always read that you can't save anywhere near as much in Thailand as you can in Korea. Have you any information about Intl schools in Thailand? |
I think it was your post in the Asian forum on the International Board that was answered. It is similar to this thread.
The MA TESOL without relevant experience (post grad) won't get you much further than a generic BA and a TEFL cert will.
For Korean uni jobs (not unigwon) you need 2 years of (verifiable) post grad, tertiary experience. You might find a job in a university language institute but that is just a glorified hagwon and you get to teach kids during the holiday periods.
For EPIK it is the same as it was. Apply. The only difference is that with the MATESOL you won't need a 120 hour TEFL cert. The pay scales are the same as they have been since 2002.
Decent international schools here or in Thailand won't touch you. You are not a licensed teacher.
Lower tier international schools throughout SE Asia will accept you but the remuneration packages and job conditions aren't much better than your average Korean hagwon. Savings would be about the same and the job/work load is higher.
Without the teacher's license, in Thailand as an example, you would be earning US$1500-2000 with no benefits (no housing, no airfare, etc).
AFTER you have proven yourself an employer may sweeten the pot but it won't happen right off the plane.
The same is true for most of the rest of SE Asia. There are international schools in Laos offering jobs at US$1200 plus housing and medical. Yes, the cost of living is low but not that low.
The same is true of Cambodia.
You can get better deals in Vietnam. With a MATESOL and minimal experience you should still be able to find something in a university language center that pays around US$2000.
Again, the low cost of living will help stretch that so it will feel like you are making about double that in terms of purchasing parity.
Taiwan is not really a great deal. Since you do not have a PhD and are not licensed your only real option would be the buxibans. In most cases you would have to cobble enough hours together to make a living (just like the next dude in line who has only a generic BA and no experience).
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Baggio10
Joined: 03 Mar 2017
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| Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 5:17 am Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| Baggio10 wrote: |
The priority order would be Uni's, EPIK and then hagwons.
I have always read that you can't save anywhere near as much in Thailand as you can in Korea. Have you any information about Intl schools in Thailand? |
I think it was your post in the Asian forum on the International Board that was answered. It is similar to this thread.
The MA TESOL without relevant experience (post grad) won't get you much further than a generic BA and a TEFL cert will.
For Korean uni jobs (not unigwon) you need 2 years of (verifiable) post grad, tertiary experience. You might find a job in a university language institute but that is just a glorified hagwon and you get to teach kids during the holiday periods.
For EPIK it is the same as it was. Apply. The only difference is that with the MATESOL you won't need a 120 hour TEFL cert. The pay scales are the same as they have been since 2002.
Decent international schools here or in Thailand won't touch you. You are not a licensed teacher.
Lower tier international schools throughout SE Asia will accept you but the remuneration packages and job conditions aren't much better than your average Korean hagwon. Savings would be about the same and the job/work load is higher.
Without the teacher's license, in Thailand as an example, you would be earning US$1500-2000 with no benefits (no housing, no airfare, etc).
AFTER you have proven yourself an employer may sweeten the pot but it won't happen right off the plane.
The same is true for most of the rest of SE Asia. There are international schools in Laos offering jobs at US$1200 plus housing and medical. Yes, the cost of living is low but not that low.
The same is true of Cambodia.
You can get better deals in Vietnam. With a MATESOL and minimal experience you should still be able to find something in a university language center that pays around US$2000.
Again, the low cost of living will help stretch that so it will feel like you are making about double that in terms of purchasing parity.
Taiwan is not really a great deal. Since you do not have a PhD and are not licensed your only real option would be the buxibans. In most cases you would have to cobble enough hours together to make a living (just like the next dude in line who has only a generic BA and no experience).
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Thanks for the lengthy reply. So essentially EPIK is our best option? |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the lengthy reply. So essentially EPIK is our best option? |
If you have a CELTA or your MA had a practicum, the BRitish Council would be a better bet. |
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Baggio10
Joined: 03 Mar 2017
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| Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2017 4:26 am Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| Quote: |
Thanks for the lengthy reply. So essentially EPIK is our best option? |
If you have a CELTA or your MA had a practicum, the BRitish Council would be a better bet. |
The MA had a practice element, six weeks of observed teaching practice in a Hungarian secondary school. |
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kona
Joined: 24 Jan 2012
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:29 am Post subject: Re: Options in Korea |
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| Baggio10 wrote: |
Hi folks,
My girlfriend and I are considering moving back to Korea (spent a year in a hagwon 3 years ago). We both possess MA TESOL's (all on campus) and 3 years experience in Asia and Europe.
Was wondering what are our best options? How difficult is it to attain uni jobs? If it was a uni gig the location wouldn't be of importance to us.
If not a uni gig, is EPIK the way to go?
Thanks! |
I was in a similar situation as you back in 2012. I had just finished my MA TESOL, but had less experience (only six months in Mexico + practicum). I had already read here on dave's and waygook that most unis are looking for an MA + 2 years uni experience, but heard there was still some that didn't have those requirements, so I went over doing BMCOE (basically, Busan EPIK), and was going to try my luck at getting a job in a local university. It ended up working out, and I got a two year contract in 2013. I had another friend manage to get a position at the marine university in yeongdo, Busan, in 2015 with only a BA + 4 years EPIK experience, so these exceptions to the MA + 2 yr exp rule have happened that recently.
All that being said, I hope you and your partner both know that the market is on the wrong end of a negative demographic trend, and it will only get tighter and more selective as time goes on. Especially this year, things are tightening quite a bit. One of my friends still in Busan told me that his university have scrapped their foreign English teachers entirely (he had worked at this university for ten years, too), and I think that's going to be more common for at least the next few years.
http://busanhaps.com/28-korean-universities-and-colleges-face-closure/
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/07/15/2016071500595.html
"They are expected to admit about 510,000 students for the academic year 2017 out of some 520,000 applicants who want to go to college, the Education Ministry estimates. Only four years ago the quota was 560,000, and dwindling numbers will fall short of the student quota from academic year 2019, and by 2023 there will be about 110,000 fewer freshmen than there are places."
So you can try and have a go at it by doing EPIK first, but you'll have to accept the possibility that things, in the end, still might not work out. The economy is hurting now too, so that doesn't help.
The uni i worked at hired a couple in 2015 that got their necessary two years of experience in China. That's a possibility, however, I heard remitting money from China is a pain (if that's something necessary for you; I'm guessing yes), and I've always been wary of the fact that the law can change very fast or be unpredictably enforced. That was a turn off for me, but ymmv.
One caveat; there's a possibility that MOE might just double down on teachers needing Masters degree, and tell unis to shit can the teachers who have a BA but 10 years exp. And who knows; maybe they'll double down even harder and say that teachers need a relevant MA (like a MA TESOL). That's how it seems to work in Japan, so your MA could be the feather in your cap that gets you a position.
Of course, the future is far from certain. |
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