Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Derrek]

I've got this high school student who is an intelligent girl. She looks up to me and the other foreigners like family, in a sort of way. Her mom bakes stuff sometimes, etc.. Anyway, she's a sweet girl, and does well in her other subjects. Back home, she's be in the range of B+ to A in most everything.

Her English isn't that great, because she's not overly talkative, but she is one of the better ones in class.

Am I wrong to try to steer her away from studying English as her major in University?

Keep in mind, I am not degrading to her or telling her she "can't do it." I'm just trying to be honest with her about my feelings that there will be a lot more high-level English-speaking people in the job pool in about 6 years when she graduates from University. And in the years after her, there will be many more. I told her that she is smart enough to do something else that will make more money. Her response was that there "aren't many other jobs women can do in Korea."

I understood her, but took issue with that.

I'm trying to look ahead for her -- using knowledge of what I see based on teaching students younger than her.

Is it wrong for me to suggest studying something else?

[the_beaver]

Studying English in university in Korea can get you a job in almost any business as well as a business degree can.

[Derrek]

There is truth to this.

But do you see that still happening in 6 years? In 10 years?

I see lots of young kids learning English from Kindy age now. Many of those kids are nearing middle school. And many of them are virtually without accent.

I think of friends who rushed to get certain computer degrees in web design, only to find out that when they graduated, the job situation had dried up.

She's six years from graduating from University. I told her she should get a business degree, and could learn a lot from her family, who own a store. She can still learn English as she goes along.

[the_beaver]

[gi66y]

Because you aren't going to be the best at it, isn't a reason to not do something.

I may not be the greatest English teacher in Korea, but luckily there is more than one job out there.

Also, six years....that's a long time... if she's a good student, just because her everyday conversation doesn't sound as polished as a native speaker, doensn't mean she can't have an excellent command of the language.

On a side note, I find that an English hagwon teacher is one of the few jobs that pays a decent wage for a Korean woman where they don't have to parade around in skimpy outfit...

[the_beaver]

gi66y! You're back! Where have you been?

I agree with gi66y.

[gi66y]

[sadsac]

Encourage her. At least she has an idea of what it is she wants to do. She may surprise you and in six years she might be a very different young woman.

[Derrek]

I'm not doubting that she could speak English very well in 6 years. I just feel she could do that in addition to studying something else she might like and could make more money at.

By the way, I know several hagwon teachers who didn't study English in school, but speak it well, and have jobs teaching it.

I might add that her goal is to live and work overseas some day. I'd say she wouldn't have as much opportunity finding a teaching job in the USA having a Korean degree.

[Derrek]

[the_beaver]

[JongnoGuru]

There certainly are and will always be those jobs that require English language skills, but it seems a lopsided and short-sighted approach to set that as the overriding target for the entire generation of Koreans now in school.

Koreans avoid thinking a few years ahead about this problem at their extreme peril. What happens when, inevitably, you have an oversupply of qualified applicants for jobs that require English skills? The supply of those jobs isn't going to magically expand to accommodate the fast-growing number of qualified applicants, now is it? So there they sit with their diplomas, their shattered little hopes, their lost years, and no other particularly stunning qualification that might well be in demand.

Doubtless someone will respond, "Oh, but my girlfriend isn't only a whiz at English, no siree, Bob! She's also got this, that or some other damn degree in a different field. So there! Nya-nya!" Oh, that's just great. First, Korea's employment problem is serious, growing, and far larger than one person's girlfriend (unless one's concerns extend no further than their own doorstep).

Second, now you've gone and created yet another hoop for the little circus dogs to leap through. Look, you can add all the extra pressure, demands, requirements and stress you want onto the heads of Korean children -- it's not going to affect their chances of landing a job one iota if everyone's fighting for the same limited number of jobs. Belabouring them all with the false promise that English will give them a golden pass through life isn't just foolhardy -- for English teachers, it's low-down, self-serving treachery.

Unless, despite what you all seem to be saying, English is really just a ticket out of Korea. In which case, fine, let's call a spade a spade and stop pretending this has anything to do with the needs of Korea, it's economy, its job market or its children.

The Guru

[matthewwoodford]

Judging from the English degree graduates I've met, you don't need to be a fluent English speaker to get the degree. If it's true that its valuable in the job market then there's no reason for her not to study it.

Unless...are you really saying her English is terrible?

[mindmetoo]

I always try to paint what a great life there is to be had working for a funky software company on the west coast of the USA/Canada.

[ladyandthetramp]

You're doing the right thing. If she wants to study it only for personal interest, that's one thing, but if she expects to get a good job with an English degree, she is mistaken. There are lots of Koreans who speak English, and in the future even more. Companies will hire someone who speaks English and has a degree in another useful field.

Or maybe you could suggest she do a double major.