Korean Job Discussion Forums

[philinkorea]

About to finish my second year in Korea, well at the end of march anyway.
I taught kids for a year , elementary, then taught adults. Ive enjoyed my adult teaching a lot but the split shift was a bitch and dont want to go back to that.

Since uni jobs are usually pretty hard to get I was thinking High school could be the way perhaps. I heard theres some pretty good deals out there and ive heard some good reports. Just wondered if anyone could give me the low down on their condition and their opinion of it.

[judge-ing-na]

my high school gig is the bomb. good pay, good vacations, and no (none ever) problems with students. As a part time gig it rocks. The kids have developed personality are are way more engaging than middle schoolers.

My advice. Get a part time job ( there are loads ) and do a couple of privates....

[Daechidong Waygookin]

High school jobs sound interesting. Im an elementary school and its loads of fun, and the work is easy too. Id be interested in going to a highschool in the future.

[crazylemongirl]

I'm in a boys middle school and I really enjoy my students. Only my 3rd years have developed that teenage surlyness. A lot of them still have enthusaism and curiosty of kids but are better behaved. You can make a lot of jokes and they don't have the attuide of older teens.

[U.S.A.]

People are probably getting tired of reading my report, but I worked in an institute, an elementary school, a middle school, a high school, and a university.

I liked my public school job best. Lots of vacation time, good pay, and finished at 4 or earlier everyday. If you teach privates, the public school job is the best for several reasons:

1. You have the same schedule as the kids, so they can go see you instead of an institute.
2. Several teachers at my public school jobs would hook me up with privates.
3. Public schools will also offer you supplemental classes. They don't pay much, but if you are already there, an extra 20,000 or so won an hour for a couple of hours can be a nice addition.

I work in a public school in America now, and miss a lot of those perks about privates (I still like my current job but there are many things I enjoyed about Korea).

More discpline problems in a public school job than a University, but since punishments can be rather extreme in public schools, you do have more recourse than an institute.

[Derrek]

I think the University jobs are overrated.

If you have a Ph. D, then a University job is something worth bragging about. Otherwise, it's just like a hagwon job with a few less hours and more vacation. And I didn't even have to grade the homework at my hagwon job.

I chuckle at the guys who like to brag about how they work at a University here... big deal. You're essentially a TA, and a probably merely a former hagwon teacher who knew somebody at the University on the inside.

[Cherry Ripe]

I've also worked in different scenarios here. First year obligatory hogwan job (kind of initiation, isn't it?), then public middle school, two elementary schools, university and high school.
I'd have to say, working in a high or middle school is the best situation to be in. The hours are great for those reasons already mentioned: you are free to do privates at a time when the kids are free and also have the option of extra classes at the school (which are legal).
I must say that I didn't like the atmosphere of the university I worked at. People were friendly but I just didn't make the social connections I have at the schools. There's plenty of opportunity to do social things with the Korean teachers and I feel I learn alot about Korean culture etc.
In terms of the students, I find that everywhere I work there are great classes and not so great ones. There are classes I 'click' with and ones that are OK and I've had a couple of total disasters. Even at university level you can find difficult classes.
For me it's not just the money and hours, or even the students, it's also the atmosphere of the place. If I feel a connection with my co-workers then I'm happy.

[Derrek]

I am in the process of working out a renewal for next year. So much for the "experts" on this board who scoffed (like Mr. Pink, who now uses a different alias) when I got the job, and told me I'd fall flat on my face within a month.

Looks like I'll get a 5% pay increase (100,000 won/month) this time around. I was told that the chairman's feelings are "very favorable" when I asked what he thought of my submitted requirements for next year.

Actually, I think they are really happy because I am trying to form a new club for my students and I offered to head it up on my own time. I'd like to pass along my video and news writing knowledge to kids who might be interested in that. I've also requested additional evening hours, however it sounds like they want me to teach TOEIC, which isn't going to happen. Explaining serious grammar to a room full of students who often can't converse isn't my specialty at all. I'll leave that one to the Koreans who are grammar fanatics.

Quite a few high school jobs are opening these days. I know that www.worknplay.co.kr is affiliated with the Kyonggi Province Board of Education for these jobs, so that's the place to apply.