Korean Job Discussion Forums

[crazylemongirl]

EPIK is looking for 190 teachers
GEPIK will be looking for about 100 or so teachers
Seoul is starting it's own scheme and plans to have 600 positions in the next three or four years

Most of the jobs don't have particulalry good pay and the conditions arne't that much better than a hogwon in terms of hours and vacation time.

Given the numbers of teachers they require, do you think that conditions will go up or down if recuriting tragets aren't met.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

These jobs are better than they look. You get a free place, maybe a bit larger than hagwon teachers get. You work fewer hours than they say and get a lot more vacation than advertised. A lot of your time will be spent wasting time in the office at the school, you are un-monitored a lot too. Hint hint. At least, I knew a few EPIK teachers in small towns that had situations like that. Not as good as JET but better than you would think. You also have a little more stature in your area because you work at a public school rather than a slimy little hagwon. This can translate into lots of privates, teacher training and government work believe it or not.

[Plume D'ella Plumeria]

One would imagine or hope that they would offer better conditions if they fall short of their hiring goals. I'm not sure that will happen though. Hakwons have a pretty bad reputation, mainly deserved. I'm getting the impression that more than a few teachers want to jump from the hakwons to different things, including public school jobs. Also, people considering coming to Korea may choose public school jobs over hakwons, if they've heard enough hellwon-from-hell stories.

I don't think that GEPIK is a good deal for newbies. For someone with a generic degree and no experience, they would be at the lowest pay level, which is under 2.0 million. Yet that same person could sign-on with a hakwon and could very possibly smooth-talk (if they have that sort of talent) their way into 2.0 million. And that's just the money angle. Never mind the large classes and all of the rest of it.

I've said this on several occasions and I'll say it again. GEPIK is NOT the program from hell. It is a new program and it has its wrinkles and glitches which, hopefully will get tweaked and fixed in the future. I'm not writing them off quite yet. If they can clean up their vacation and camp deals, along with a few other odds and ends, they could end up being a very decent program.

I'll probably end up getting flamed for this by the anti-GEPIK contingent; be that as it may. I do however, stand by my words.

[Grotto]

From what I have heard GEPIK is considering more holiday time for teachers who renew their contracts. Going from 2 weeks a year to 4 weeks. (that is not including the 2 weeks you get from re-signing your contract) With 28 days off a year I would seriously consider renewing. Take February off and then take another 8 or 9 days off in August.

It would keep teachers in the program and give an incentive to attract new ones.

I also know of one GEPIK teacher who has an automatic 10% pay raise in his contract for renewal.

10% raise and an additional 14 days vacation! Sounds good to me!

[Derrek]

[Canucksaram]

Working at a public school will probably carry some weight on you resume, whereas working at a hagwon doesn't. A "hidden benefit" of sorts.

Maybe.

[peppermint]

[Derrek]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I think the hogwans are really going to be getting more and more desperate with this and visas being more difficult to process. They sure deserve it.

[Medic]

Not to discount the many people who read these posts too. That's including the Korean administrators handling GEPIC, and their native speaking assistants.

[Derrek]

Guys, let's be realistic.

They won't be desperate at all.

What will happen is that they will all wait for the last minute, not know the rules, then find they can't get us a Visa at the last minute. Upon realizing this, they will expect us to work illegally for a time until all of the paperwork comes in.

That is what will happen.

[Glorf]

Just out of curiosity, would it really be nicer than a hagwon. I'm looking around and the way hagwons want you to be over there a week less after you first contact them makes me think that everything I've heard about them is true. I'm looking at it as a way of taking a year off from school and experiencing a culture I've wanted to see BADLY for a couple of years. Would it be worth my while to look into this, or is this entire post too off-topic?
Since I've already proven I'm clueless, what new laws are making it harder to get visas? I heard something about soon requiring a B. Ed., which would disqualify me (B.A. in History).

[Grotto]

The problem with hogwans is that they are a crapshoot. You dont know what kind of deal you will get until you get there.

A public school gig pays pretty much the same...you work much less but put in more hours. On paper anyway.

Public schools require you to be there for 40 hours a week, Mon-Fri 9-5. You teach 22 forty or fifty minute classes a week

Hogwans tell you that you will only work 30 hours a week but that is pure classroom time. 30 X 60= 1800 minutes/50 minute classes = 38 classes a week. Add in the 10 minutes between classes, prep and other bullcrap things and you usually end up putting in more than 40 hours a week.

Figure it out:
Public schools you work 22 classes a week(if you teach more you do get paid overtime without any hassles. You get a lunch hour and once your work is done you can sign yourself out if you want.(paying bills etc)

In hogwans you work as many as 38 classes a week without a break. Thats usually between 7-8 hours a day without any type of break. Even in hogwans that do honor the 6 hours a day that is six hours a day without much of a break. Exhausting in the long run.

Hogwans often try to screw you over the year end bonus/airfare/pension and health care.

Public schools are pretty dependable when it comes to pay and benefits

B Ed degrees are preferred but not required.

[peppermint]

I strongly wouldn't recommend apublic school for someone new to Korea. Especially if yo;'ve got no classroom experience. Teaching 40 kids at a time is a little intimidating even if you've got experience.

Hagwons are used to dealing with foreigners, and they're usually prepared to ease the new teachers transition into a new country- at least a little ( stuff like address cards to help with taxi rides early on, setting up cable/ internet/ a phone etc) At a public school, that's not as likely, because they aren't used to having foreign teachers.

As well, isolation can be a big problem. Many public schools are off in remote locations, and there's no gauarantee that anyone on the staff will speak English.

[adventureman]

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