Korean Job Discussion Forums

[AndyRoofman]

Hi everyone

I have recently noticed ads for Korean based online teaching companies, including PTSO.Net and GLEWeb (I am sure there are others). When my contract is finished here in Korea I am considering working for one of these companies at a remote location (eg in South America or Thailand), enjoying the low cost of living in one of those places while earning comparitely good money I couldn't earn in a langauge school there.

The questions I want to ask are:
1.) Are they reliable and pay on time and honor contractual terms (eg regarding deductions etc).
2.) Has anyone worked for one of these companies- what can you say regarding their feedback systems, staff training (if any)- does management complain about trivial matters (eg you spend too much time in the first three minutes of the lesson on smalltalk etc).
3.) Are the hours offered- eg morning, late afternoon Korean time tedious after a few months teaching, given the need to jump out of bed early/late at night depending on where you are- does it disrupt your lifestyle to any degree?
4.) Any comments on teaching methodology, attitudes of students etc..?
5.) How many hours are week do they normally offer (and can one realistically work without burning out)?
6.) Any other insights to share?

Look forward to all replies.

Andrew

[ucfvgirl]

Funny you should ask all these questions because I was just about to post a negative comment about these online teaching companies. I can only speak for one of them as that is the extent of my experience. I decided to give it a try in January as I thought it would be a great way to make some extra cash: get to sit at home in my pajamas, drink coffee and even watch some tv during the phone calls. However, it wasn't all I thought it would be.

I am currently working full time at a public middle school. So, after working 8 hours a day there, I would race home, make something to eat and park my butt infront of my computer for up to two hours. The company I used did not use webcams, but rather used the telephone, with an internet gateway line.

I am not even sure where to start. I guess I should start with the hours. Because the students thought I was in Canada, I worked between 7-9 at night. I told the company that I only wanted to work part time because of working so many hours during the day. I thought maybe 2-3 days a week would be sufficient. The company scheduled me for every night, despite my request for only a few days a week. I decided to wait it out because at the time, it was winter break. However, I was still working at my school 8 hours a day. I became very worn out and very stressed at having to be on the phone every night for 2 hours straight.

It was very difficult to teach some of the children because you can't see their faces. Some of the children could not speak a word of English and this resulted in 10 min of dead air. I would try to ask them simple questions, but they still didn't understand. Why a parent would waste so much money on this type of tutoring is beyond me. It was not helping the students at all. The students that could understand were either not interested or didn't want to discuss that week's material. They would much rather do free talking.

As for the company themselves, there are several things that I found out as time went on. First, the manager of this particular company was very pushy. When I couldn't decide whether or not to joint their team, he constantly harassed me to hurry and contact him. I guess that should have been my first warning sign. Second, certain things were not discussed with me when I signed on. For example, half way through February I was feeling completely burnt out, so I called in sick two days in a row. I didn't realize this was going to be such a problem, but it turned out to be a complete disaster. The next week, students who were not on my schedule started showing up. So if I started at 7, there would be a couple of students added before 7 and after 9pm. Instead of contacting to see if it was ok to make up these missed calls by adding students to my schedule, they just went ahead and did it. I was not made aware of what happens when you are sick. Apparently you have to make up those calls. So, there is no such thing as calling in sick and just not being for that time. After this, everything become so chaotic and I hated working for them.

It is literally impossible to schedule your night life, unless you are willing to go later. I found that my social life, such as it is, was suffering. For example, if a friend or co-worker wanted to go for dinner, I couldn't go because I had to be home to tutor. And going out after you finish your calls is tiring, especially when you work all day.

As for the company complaining about trivial matters, of course they did. For example, I guess a parent complained that I made a noise similiar to the Hmmmm sound while talking to their child. I probably did as I was frustrated at not being able to speak with this student.

I guess finally, the thing that has bothered me the most since I have quit with them is the final pay issue. I found out that the company I was working for was not the parent company. They were working with another educational company here in Korea. This bothered me because I was not informed of this when I started there. I thought the people I met were the only ones I was working with. Now that I have quit, they are withholding my final pay. "There are issues" I have been told. Apparently, the other educational company has received complaints about me not talking for the full 10 minutes/call and I made them lose clients because I didn't call when I said I would. My company said it is very difficult to reschedule students and I made it even more difficult by not accepting their new schedule (the extras students on weeknights) And apparently, this is the first time this has ever been an issue, something I am having a very hard time believing. I get the feeling they have a hard time holding on to teachers because of particular issues within the company.

I am sure that not all companies are as badly managed as this one was. I am also sure there are companies out there who value their employees enough to discuss how things are run and if changes need to occur. I know that if I was in Canada, as the students assumed I was, I would be on the telephone at 2am to 4 or 5am. I can guarentee you that this wouldn't be happening if I was in Canada. So, I guess the question to you is: Are you willing to be up in the middle of the night, talking to students who don't really want to be tutored this way?

[AndyRoofman]

Can anyone else shed any light on this topic- it seems this topic has reached a dead end? I'm wondering particularly if you are able to pick and choose your students (I would prefer no absolute beginners). In terms of the reply, I'm not looking at doing this to complement me in Korea, so no conflict of interest problems or juggling of schedules here.