Korean Job Discussion Forums

[penfold]

Hi Everyone,

As some of you may recall we submitted a contract last week that was ripped apart by people on this forum and myself - thanks again. They wouldn't fix it so i began looking again.

We have just received an offer for public schools in the Jeollanam Province, specifically in:

Gangjin: Schools: Gangjin Girls Middle School/Joongang Elementary

Goheung: Nokdong Middle School/Goheung Middle School

Gokseong: Joongang Elementary/Okwa Middle School

We are looking for a small town, so all three meet that requirnment but there seems very little info on them on this site or wikipedia etc. After a quick look we have decided on Gangjin. But does any one have any info, good or bad on either the towns or the schools?

Regarding the contracts

they are offering both of us 1.8 as we have no experience, but i will be undertaking a TEFL course so that will be bumped up to 2mill. My GF will stay on 1.8. While i understand that this is lower than most private schools,(we have been offered 2.2), this contract stipulates our hours will be 20hrs week with 5 weeks off, with any work over this deemed overtime. Does these figures seem normal for our experience and for public schools in general?

I think these details are great, is there a catch to working at public schools or am i just getting sick of private schools and there crappy unjust contracts?



Just a couple of questions

1) The contract says we work for 9-5 though we only work 6-5 50 mins classes. Notwithstanding those hours and a lunch break what do we do for the remaining time?

2) I really haven't questioned the contract. While there are a couple of vauge issues am i right to assume that working for the govt will mean we won't be screwed around i.e. will be payed on time, made to work extra hours when we don 't want to or get screwed around by our boss/headmaster.

3) While money is obviously important to us, it seems working for the govt will offer a different more, easy lifestyle than working for a private school - is this right or just me assuming working for governments are the same everywhere?

4) In general, for our first year should we take this job our continue looking for a better private school (are they out there)?

5) are these jobs like working for a normal school as in australia i.e. lunch, little etc and are what we going simply teaching a special class on the kids schedule i.e. just a class called 'english' with the other classes being taught in korean?

6) is there the same amount of prep time for public schools as in private

any other comments, suggestions or warning would be great

Thanks for answering these many questions

Penfold

[TheUrbanMyth]

Well I work at a public school, so I guess I can offer a little insight.

Your pay seems rather low. The starting rate for someone with no experience is/was 2.1 million (at least that was what my recruiter told me)

As for your questions:

1. Look busy. You will likely be requested to submit lesson plans on those classes(unless they are prepared for you). That accounts for some of the time. If your school does not require any other adminstrative-style work, then you'll just have to find something to fill those hours (like studying Korean)

2. Generally speaking yes, but make sure you ARE working for the government. Some schools hire independently.

3. Again generally speaking yes, but it helps to stay on the right side of your co-workers and boss (much like anywhere else)

4. I'd stay with this one were I you. Working for a public school might look a little better on the resume than Mr. Kim's Ding Dang Dong school (yes there is a franchise with that name out there).


5. Depends on the school. Some are like regular schools, others are more like day-care centers. Probably a regular school as you are taking a middle school job, correct?

6. If this is your first teaching job, plan on spending about 1-2 hours a day on prep. If nothing else it will help fill up the time.

[penfold]

thanks for that

I agree with you on the pay issue but if you only have 20 contact hours (instead of 30) a week it would seem the pay per hour is better. Also the holdays are the thing that got me so interested and the deal breaker

Suprisingly, i just noticed an ad for about ten ads for public school and the pay is the same i.e. 1.8-2.3m but only 14 days holiday so i am not getting the worst deal out there.

[Golden Lama]

Penfold,

Public schools are a good deal and your estimation in regard to working hours is a good comparison. Also, if you're more of a day person, working in the public system will keep your body clock in tune. I think a good number of Hogwon employed people are much more of a night crowd, so they enjoy working at private schools more.

Make sure you see the exact contract. Look at what it says specifically about holidays, i.e. make sure the contract reads 5 weeks paid holiday. I went through a recruiter and at first thought I was getting 7 weeks paid holiday. However, I found out that it was the 14 days you mentioned you saw in other contracts. I found out before I came and decided to accept in any event.

1.8 per month is about the starting rate for inexperienced teachers in the public school system. Some contracts start at 1.9, but a hundred bucks won't break the bank.

I think you should give it a ride; it sounds fair.

[Hyeon Een]

As you said you're working in Jeollanamdo in a public school I imagine you are going through Canadian Connections. They seem to have the province's public schools locked down.

I know a lot of people working in public schools in the province (more than 20), and on the whole they are a lot happier than those working in hagwans. Almost everyone gets MORE than 5 weeks vacation. They normally get a solid month in winter (some 6-8 weeks even) and a good chunk of vacation in the summer too. Plus there are lots of other random days off etc. Their contract states a lot less - the 5 weeks you mention - but everyone seems to get a lot more.

The public school jobs in the province are pretty good on the whole, but of course they can vary depending on your immediate superviser and co-teacher. These can change even during the course of a one year contract so its always a crapshoot.

If you think you'll be comfortable, or at least able, to stand in front of 30+ kids when you start out teaching then I think this would be a good job for you. Actually you'll find the number of students doesn't really matter once you get the hang of it after a week or two.

Also, although you may be able to make a higher base salary working in a hagwan there are a lot of opportunities in the public schools to do do camps, extra-hours, teacher workshops etc. to boost your income. You can make just as much as the hagwan guy earning 2.2 if you wanta do a bit of overytime every now and then.

I'd say go for this job.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[antoniothegreat]

[Dan The Chainsawman]

My suggestion for your up coming free hours as a public school teacher.

[penfold]

Thanks for the answers,

We have accepted a position in Ganglin and yes i now it is small. Any one been there?

The last issue I have is that, as discussed above, the pay will increase by 200000 won/month if I have a 100 hour tesol course. We have looked at this and at the end of the contract we will be ahead approx $2500 Aust each after we factor in paying the course.

My question is has anyone done a global Tesol 120 hour course. The main reason we are looking at this is that it is 60hrs online and the remaining is onsite (which we believe will be the most benefit in learning how to teach).

Also, we have decided that if we like teaching we want to give it a few more years and use it to see the world. We are looking at eastern europe, russia and south america at the moment. Will having the above course and at least a year experince in Korea allow us to get a job in these markets?

again thanks for all the help

[dzeisons]

If you guys want to teach in most places (Korea/ Japan/ China excepted) you need a TESOL certificate, so your partner should probably get one too if you're both intending to head to europe etc. later on. If you have a TESOL and a year's experience under your belt I'm sure you'd be able to easily get a job in E.Europe for example (although wages are pretty low).

I'm not sure about how reputable the TESOL cert you're talking about is- CELTA/ Trinity or ones attached to reputable unis are most widely recognised. If the tesol cert. you are intending on doing doesn't have you doing observed teaching than it may not be recognised by some language schools. Anyway doing any training will help you when you get to the chalkface.

Good luck!

[jinju]

[Smee]

*bump*

Looks like I'm coming Gangjin in mid/late August.

How are you finding things, penfold?