Korean Job Discussion Forums

[queenbee]

Pretty great hagwon, comparatively.
Boss is happy to keep me.
Has been a tough year but has evened out over the past few months. Things are good now.
Boss will send me home for 2 weeks and fly me back.
BUT I have a niggling idea to put my stuff into storage, travel for 3-4 months from December and find a completely different job here next year.
I would be giving up a good hagwon gig, but there's also stuff I wouldn't miss about this place.
And I feel like I really want a decent break, none of this 'two sets of three days a year and you can leave early at the end' (suits me for this year but don't know if I can do another year like that!)
What would you do??

[RachaelRoo]

You've left out the msot important part.....



how much money is the director offering?

[queenbee]

He said we can talk about it when he writes a new contract in Nov. I trust him to follow through but I don't imagine it'll be anything flash. My pay is near the lowest end of the scale right now, which I don't actually mind too much because he does look after me with bills and stuff...but I don't imagine it would go much above the 2.0-2.1 mark.
I should also add that I have told him that I'll stay...and am now thinking of going back on my word...I feel bad about this but I figure it's better to do it now than 2 months into a new contract.
Thanks for any advice.

[soviet_man]

Why not do both?

Say that you will happily come back and be the replacement for ANOTHER teacher when THEY finish THEIR contract.

That way you could still take your break for a couple of months AND come back refreshed and take over from one of your co-workers (presumably someone else will be due to finish their contract within a couple of months).

It is the best of both worlds. You can have a decent break and still have the stability of a secure job waiting for you when you come back.

[kigolo1881]

Howdy,
cant imagine it being a good hagwon gig that only pays in the lower 2's.
from what it sounds like, your feet are itching to travel. i'm just like you, if i feel like travelling and taking 3-4 mos off to see the world again, then i wont be really motivated to do a great teaching job.
but that's just me.
if you had a tough time but were able to stick around and work it out, then you dont have to worry about getting a new job somewhere else.

however, if you feel like coming back and sign a new contract, it would be wise for you and him to sit down and negotiate now. this way you can always tell him at the end of the day if that contract suits you or not. instead of coming back and having a contract waved at you that you dont seem fit.

[queenbee]

[VanIslander]

There are more good hagwons out there than you might think from reading Dave's. Most foreigners I actually meet in person here say they enjoy their hagwons. I get the impression that fear of the bogeyman might be what's inhibiting you from following the niggling feeling.

You want a decent vacation break from work and you've earned it. December to March is a perfect time to travel southeast Asia, or Australia/New Zealand in terms of warm, dry weather. It can be a bleary time to teach for many in Korea. If you took a well-deserved break and came back (on your own coin) in March, that's springtime. A great time for new beginnings and you can go to some hagwons and check out the classroom, staff, accommodations, get a good sense of the place and its people before committing. There are sooooo many hagwons hiring all the time (especially in March/April with all the public school hirings syphoning off teachers from the labour supply) that you simply pick the city and there will be plenty to interview for, and the majority will want to hire right away, so you'll be over to Fukuoka, Japan in no time, an easy and enjoyable trip if you've never been there. I went in the spring once and it was nice.

Don't settle. Don't let fear dictate your decision. Be responsible to yourself, what you really feel. Seriously. Follow the niggle. You won't regret it.

[kiwiliz]

You know what you want to do.
As long as your not breaking a contract or doing anything that doesn't sit right with your conscience, follow what you really want.
Gosh, if you have no ties, see as much of the world as you can. Korea and good jobs will still be here tomorrow.

[riley]

If you like/respect your boss, make your decision quickly, that way it will help him out. I have to agree that if you have a niggling feeling, run with it, just don't spend all of your money

[sheba]

Yea, try and sort it out as quickly as possible..... if you already have doubts, another year is a looooong time! And event hough you are the only foreign teacher, 2 weeks is not a long stretch, I took a month off between contracts and Im the only foreign teacher.