Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wwidgirl]

I've decided to take a year off of school to work in Korea.

Do you think it's more lucrative to take a year contract with a hagwon or to take on privates? If I did take on private students, what would that entail? I would want to do a good job for them so what books should I purchase and how exactly should I conduct classes?

I'll be living in north seoul with a relative until I can find a place to live by myself. I am a Korean-Canadian so I am getting an f4 visa which allows me to teach privates legally.

[Ya-ta Boy]

It's far, FAR more lucrative to work independently. Hakwon teachers work 120 hours a month for W2 million.

Since I don't know what age students you want to work with, I suggest you buy a few books of activities that are appropriate for the level you are interested in. (You can also buy some of them at Kyobo after you arrive, but the selection is probably better at home.)

Working independently also gives you the power to set your own schedule, number of classes and students.

The only advantage of working in a hakwon is that the owner rounds up students. Maybe your relative can get the information out in the neighborhood before you come so you will have some students to work with.

[wwidgirl]

Thanks a lot for the info. Another downside about working with privates is that I have to pay for my own airfare and look for my own housing... and I have to come up with my own curriculum. I don't know if that balances things out a bit more...

I'd like to work with adults but I also love children so I think I'm pretty flexible in terms of types of students.

Oh, and I don't speak or read Korean so that may be a problem.

[jajdude]

You can learn to read pretty fast. Speaking would require a bigger effort.

[Harvard Material]

If you have Korean/Canadian visa status why not work part-time for a hakwon and part-time as a private instructor? Might work out well for you! You will have a steady income from the get-go, and you could later change to the schedule suits you best?
Check out worknplay.com for both types of work. Lots of morning and evening business type stuff available all the time.

The hakwon would most likely be a good place to line up students as well. The apartment and airfare is your expense, but you'll make it up fast.

Good luck!

[wwidgirl]

Harvard Material,

That's a great idea. That way I could kind of take what I learned in the hagwon and apply it to my privates (I'm assuming that a hagwon would provide some kind of curriculum)

I can't help it but I think the airfare is a big deal. Airfare from Detroit to Seoul (Detroit because it's cheaper to fly out of there than to fly out of Toronto) is about $1500canadian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's big bucks for me.

I'm 24years old. Canadian korean. female. I have an honors BA in Media studies and am currently in first year grad school (law- taking year off). How difficult will it be for me to get a job?

[some waygug-in]

I doubt very much that you will find a part-time job in which they are willing to pay for your airfare. Not to mention trying to find a place to live when you are a newcomer........ of course, anything's possible.

As much as I hate to recommend hagwans as a place of employment, they do offer some advantages. The trick is to find one that won't screw you over too badly. None of them are great, it's just that some of them are less bad than others.

Talk to former teachers as well as current ones. Find out what the place is about before you decide. It's easier than coming here and having no place to live, and then trying to figure out what you are doing.

That's may opinion anyway. I'm sure many above will disagree.
Best of luck.

[Homer]

No part time job will cover airfare or housing.

If you do privates then you will earn more, hence the airfare and housing will be less important.

However, pvt lessons are not always steady income as students quit and your income level is subject to more fluctuation.

It's a tradeoff really.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Get a hogwan job and then quit once you've got a network of privates. Most Hogwans are a complete joke, with kids who just hate being there and only want to play games, but hundreds of thousands of eager adults will pay outrageous fees to learn from a native speaker. Some hogwans might not like the fact that the parents won't be able to tell your actually a native English speaker as well.

[kangnamdragon]

[wwidgirl]

I'm pretty sure about the f4 visa.

I really appreciate the input everyone has contributed to this thread.

I already have a place to live in Korea for a few months (relatives).

I'm torn about this. Both have their advantages and disadvantages....

[guangho]

You could come here on a one year contract, see what your preference is, and if you want to, quit the haggie after a month or two to strike out on your own. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to discover my f-4 eligible Korean heritage.

[eamo]

If you have no experience teaching then coming to do privates will really be jumping in the deep end. Especially if it's adults. They can smell an inexperienced teacher within 2 minutes.

You could find a Kindergarten position from roughly 9am-2pm which would leave you the rest of the day to do whatever.

[wwidgirl]

[Captain Corea]