Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Faron]

I've read many posts about people teaching at public high schools and well I don't recall anybody complaining Are they really that great

[Xerxes]

I liked it that you had tonnes of time off to travel, relax and do whatever. They try to make the pay enough for you to live on, and if you work at a pretty reputable school, that gets you private tutorships up the yin yang.

I don't think that Korea now days does a lot of deporting for visa violations, although I haven't heard any rumors or stories of any mass deportations as in the past, even like 5 years ago.

[peppermint]

just beware of Gyeonggi do schools- they're cracking down on vacation times for teachers, and cracking down hard

[bellum99]

Last summer there was a ton of deportations. What do you mean you haven't heard of it? They always do it in the spring and early summer to catch the camp people and they will again this year like every other year for the past 6 years. (I have been here for six years)

[kangnam mafioso]

[Xerxes]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I absolutely, totally, completely love it, but perhaps not everyone would like my job. I just can't think of anywhere else I'd rather work in Korea, and this is by far the best job I've ever had. Maybe if there were such a thing as a full-time, well paid uni TA in Canada that would be a better job, but the one I have now is simply fantastic and I've never felt happier going to work. The hours are agreeable; the holiday time is good; the pay is good; I really like my co-workers and get on with them well; the students are wonderful and a real joy to work with.

Some people might complain about last-minute schedule changes, large class sizes, having to buy one's own teaching materials in some cases, the way the students get treated sometimes, inefficient administration, the obvious nepotism around the place, the ridiculous immaturity of Korean teenagers, etc., but I don't let it bother me and actually like challenging surprises.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I might just add one other note - it makes a big difference whether you're at an academic or industrial / technical high school. The latter often have longer holidays because they close down completely during winter and summer breaks, but the students can be more difficult at some of them. My school's a bit differnet in that it has both an academic and vocational programme. Last term I taught 4 vocational classes - they were all right and I liked the students, but most of them really weren't that interested in learning English. Some of them were surprisingly good, though.

[thursdays child]

[TJ]