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NVNO1
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Boston
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 Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:16 am Post subject: Is Timing Really Everything? |
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Hi ... quick question:
If I get TEFL certified in September, are there jobs available for first-time teachers in October/November? I seem to be reading that most jobs become available March-ish.
I'm still in the U.S. but would like to leave sooner rather than later. I have the option to get certified in September and leave right away, or I can go part-time and finish in December.
Any information is, of course, warmly appreciated ... |
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Badmojo
Joined: 07 Mar 2004
Location: I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:21 am Post subject: Re: Is Timing Really Everything? |
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| NVNO1 wrote: |
Hi ... quick question:
If I get TEFL certified in September, are there jobs available for first-time teachers in October/November? I seem to be reading that most jobs become available March-ish.
I'm still in the U.S. but would like to leave sooner rather than later. I have the option to get certified in September and leave right away, or I can go part-time and finish in December.
Any information is, of course, warmly appreciated ... |
Hagwon jobs are available in Korea 24/7.
September, however, is probably too late for public schools and universities. To let you know, a BA and a TESOL is probably not good enough for universities. They prefer people with MA's in history or sociology. |
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NVNO1
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:36 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the quick response. I have no illusions about walzing into Korea and landing a University ... I just want to make sure I can find any job in the Fall.
So how would that work with the contract then? I know most are for a year, but could I get something until the Spring when other jobs become available?
Sorry if this seems like really basic stuff. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 10:43 am Post subject: |
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If you want to get into a public school position later then starting in October would make it hard. They start in March and September and begin hiring a few months before. If your 1-year contracts is going to end in October then you have a big space to fill before March. If you're just looking to go to another hagwon (and some of them can be okay) then don't worry about it though.
The only legal way to break a contract is by giving two months notice (as far as I know). Otherwise you might have trouble getting a letter of release. Maybe. I'm not too sure about that as I've never been a teacher here. There are no contracts available for under one year though.
If you don't know www.efl-law.com, you might want to check there. They have quite a bit of info on your rights as a teacher regarding quitting and whatnot. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 10:48 am Post subject: |
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By the way, here's how you know if you're going to get a job quickly in Korea:
-Are you under 30?
-Are you female?
-Are you white?
-Do you sell yourself well?
-Do you have a North American passport or accent?
-Do you not care which city you work in?
-Do you not care which ages you teach?
If you fit all those, you'll have a job right away. If you don't fit three or more of those, it'll take a bit longer. If you're 40, don't want to teach kindergarten, only want to live in Seoul and are from Australia for example it'll take a bit more work.
Note that none of those qualifications have anything to do with how good a teacher you're going to be, but most don't care about that. If you do find an employer that cares about the teaching itself as opposed to the appearance of the candidate, work for them. |
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NVNO1
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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-Are you under 30?
-Are you female?
-Are you white?
-Do you sell yourself well?
-Do you have a North American passport or accent?
-Do you not care which city you work in?
-Do you not care which ages you teach? |
Right ... I get it. I fit 99.9% of the criteria, and pretty much expect to pay the Hagwon dues until I get my feet under me. It sounds like I can get those positions on a spur of the moment kind of basis. Maybe in a year or so I'll be more picky, but for now I just want to build experience.
I realize this may sound ridiculous, but that's how it's done, right? I come from a corporate background, and am very familiar with the "start modest, work your way up" ethic. But I could be way off base, too.
Many thanks ... |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Kind of. You can still find a nice position though, so don't sell yourself out too quickly. If you have the funds it might be wise to come over in person and look around yourself for a month. Some people have done that and it's what I always do. It lets you see the school ahead of time to decide whether it's a well-run place or not. Every once in a while a school will go out of business one day. I think EFL Law doesn't recommend any school with less than five teachers as a place to work for. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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| NVNO1 wrote: |
Thanks for the quick response. I have no illusions about walzing into Korea and landing a University ... I just want to make sure I can find any job in the Fall.
So how would that work with the contract then? I know most are for a year, but could I get something until the Spring when other jobs become available?
Sorry if this seems like really basic stuff. |
The mass majority of jobs available are English Institutes. They don't have a starting and ending date (like a university/middle school) at an English Institute. They are in operation all day nearly everyday throughout the entire year.
They operate on the schedule of the 1st of each and every month as a starting period. Each month the schedule of what classes you teach, who in your Institute teaches them, and what hours you teach is made.
So almost always you have teachers who've completed their contracts at the end of each month all year round.. and you need new teachers to replace them for the beginning of the month (the 1st) all year round as well.
So basically the time of year doesn't matter, its the time of the month.. and whenever you are ready to be in Korea.. there will be a massive amount of jobs ready on the 1st of every month.
The September/March thing is just for the 2-3% non-Institute jobs such as middle schools, universities, and those that operate outside of the Institute world. Some people (but not all people) have a preference or a desire to teach at those places, which is probably why you might have got the impression that ALL jobs work around that schedule (which would be untrue). |
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Derrek
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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| mithridates wrote: |
| Kind of. You can still find a nice position though, so don't sell yourself out too quickly. If you have the funds it might be wise to come over in person and look around yourself for a month. Some people have done that and it's what I always do. It lets you see the school ahead of time to decide whether it's a well-run place or not. Every once in a while a school will go out of business one day. I think EFL Law doesn't recommend any school with less than five teachers as a place to work for. |
Actually, someone posted on here that EFL-Law recently warned anyone against working anywhere with less than 20 employees! 
I guess there's some post from the lawyer-guy who runs that site. He tried to help teachers find schools that were honest, but had so many, many problems with schools doing illegal things or cheating teachers, he just gave up.
If you haven't read it, this US Embassy link is an excellent read for the beginner who wants to understand the Korean system a bit. It also includes a stern warning:
http://usembassy.state.gov/seoul/wwwh3550.html
. |
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NVNO1
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:03 am Post subject: |
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Actually, someone posted on here that EFL-Law recently warned anyone against working anywhere with less than 20 employees!
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Does number refer to total employees, or total Western teachers?
This is great info. Very encouraging. I'd definitely go the just-show-up-and-look-for-a-job route, but the thought of wandering around a country where I don't speak the language sounds like a logistical horror show. So I'll probably post my resume in October and see what bites.
Can't thank you all enough ... I'm really glad I found this site. |
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