Korean Job Discussion Forums

mike in brasil · Joined: 09 Jun 2003

Is it just getting harder and harder in certain areas of the country to find work?

Are there just more and more gringos running around?

what�s the deal?

Or is there just a lack of work at the salary level you want?

Or is it the "recruiter phenomenon"?

Or is it gremlins. . . . .

Squaffy · Joined: 25 Feb 2003 Location: All over the place

I reckon it's recruiters and the 2M wage phenomenon - I earnt just over 4M for my short stay - but it was a management salary.

We all know the recruiters take a significant cut - best not use them unless you are skint and need a fresh start.

JackSarang · Joined: 28 Jan 2003

Its the recruiters. Schools don't bother with the hassle of finding teachers by themselves, they rather swallow the 1.0-1.5 million won fee than do all the grunt work.

The odd school will still advertise, as will the large chain schools. (YBM, POLY, DDD, Wonderland, Kid's Herald etc)

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

The schools are closing left and right. The economy is poor. Recruiters are part of lower wages also. I wouldn't normally use one, but there isn't much choice these days. Besides, one is currently working hard to get my E-2 reinstated through immigrations. Given my special situation, I am happy to work with the guy. Hope it works.

Also, in the past year, there have been some mass-meetings of hagwon owners. A favorite topic at these conventions is controlling wages earned by foriegners. My old boss told me this.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Its definitely getting harder to find work..I'm having a tough time of it at the moment...a LOT less jobs around. A lot of schools I know having problems and have downsized.
I guess if I'm going to find anything i'll have to be prepared to work for 1.7 in the middle of nowhere...

JackSarang · Joined: 28 Jan 2003

Thats simply not the case Rapier. As I said, I don't think the jobs are significantly fewer. Demand still exceeds supply by a huge amount.

Where is it exactly you want to work and what are your preferences? In my job search I wasn't inundated with offers, but if I wasn't so picky, I had the chance to choose from a host of seemingly excellent positions in and around Seoul.

The problem is you have to use a recruiter, so if you're avoiding that, you'll just need to take one on the chin.

tmcurro · Joined: 08 Aug 2003 Location: S.Korea

I don't know how the situation is elsewhere, but here in Ulsan, there seems to be an endless stream of employment opportunities. One can easily double or even triple one's salary with the extras that are constantly being offered.