Korean Job Discussion Forums

[quercus]

hello, i have an offer at a brand new sschool. the hours and pay are better than any of the other offers i have received. i will be there for the grand opening ceremony of hte school. it is very new, i will be one of two of hte schools first teachers.

any opinions on whether i am insane or this might be a good option? what would be the worst case scenario? i suppose it would be they close and i never get paid, but it could be that they want to start out well and are willing ot pay for a good teacher.

..."quercus"...

ps- i love the dot dot dot quotes thing, thanks mody ba

[Mody Ba]

Actually,quercus,I did not mean anything insulting or sinister or anything by the quotation marks or dots.An unusual handle.latin for "oak",right?

You mentioned the worst case scenario The new hakwon could go bust.In that event,in all probability,you will lose at least some wages,and be left high and dry until you can set up another job.
Things to look for are;
1.How many students does this school have lined up?Do you have any idea?Competition among hakwons is ferocious,especially in places like Seoul.Some DO go bust.

2.How many other foreign teachers have they hired?I may have missed that in your post.

3.The worst case scenario happened to me at my very first job in Korea.I will no longer work at hakwons.We knew something was wrong when the companies came in and started repossessing the school's furniture,video equipment,etc.Shortly thereafter,the owner, in an attempt to drown his sorrows, began leaving soju bottles everywhere.

Starting up a new business of any kind anywhere often has intrinsic risks...this is doubly true for a hakwon.Probably overspent and undercapitalized already.At any rate, be careful. Ba

[waterbaby]

I've seen posts here before about new hagwons... one of the benefits being that the student numbers might be initally low and you may have low hours to start ... and you also get to make your mark, rather than following in someone else's footsteps... then again, that might be con if you'd rather follow

[The Cube]

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