Korean Job Discussion Forums

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

I think the degree does matter. I got all my jobs in Korea due to my BA in English Lit degree. I worked with a guy who had a BS in some science: he wasn't a really good EFL teacher due to his lack of knowledge of the language.

I thought this post was going to be about snobby when it comes to where you got your degree, not what your degree is in.

wintermute · Joined: 01 Oct 2007

Globutron · Joined: 13 Feb 2010 Location: England/Anyang

jugbandjames · Joined: 15 Feb 2010

It's just about what's valuable in the economy. In the US, we tend to value certain degrees over others because they are currently important economically, but that changes over time. In the 80s, having a degree in textiles could make you money because we actually had textiles factories and they needed engineers and educated management. Everyone I know graduating with a textiles degree (and I know quite a few) are unemployed or working as a manager of a clothing store. Computer Science is seen as a good degree now, but in 15-20 years we'll have outsourced all those jobs to India or China and they'll all be selling computers at Best Buy.

So if you're talking about economic value, there'll always be flavor of the decade degrees, but that doesn't make them better in my opinion. College isn't meant to be a trade school. It's about studying what you think is important. Who's to say a degree in basket weaving is worse than a degree in rocket science? Maybe we'd have less wars if we had more basket weavers and less rocket scientists...

Underwaterbob · Joined: 08 Jan 2005 Location: In Cognito

chellovek · Joined: 29 Feb 2008

NYC_Gal · Joined: 08 Dec 2009

jugbandjames · Joined: 15 Feb 2010

Zulethe · Joined: 04 Jul 2008

I thank God everyday for majoring in Psychology. Everyday of my life I apply the principals I learned into action.

Many people don't do this so they never benefit from their education.

Furthermore, how much of education is perishable if not used?

That is to say, how many of you out there can remember chemistry 101 ten years later? I'd venture to say not many unless you continue to study it or work in the field.

I'm not perfect and I do have an anger problem. But by continuing to apply the principles I learned, not only do I not forget what I learned, but I also improve my life.

99% of the people on the planet are in prison in their own mind. I'm not quite free but I'm working on it.

Maslow's self-actualization is where I'm going.

Psych hint of the day......Stress is the worst thing for your body. THE WORST. If I had to choose to either smoke a pack of smokes a day or be extremely stressed each day, I'd take the smokes in a heart beat.

Overcoming stress takes an extreme amount of mind work which involves existentialism, humanism, gestalt, psychoanalysis, and behaviorism.

Start with one book: Man's search for meaning by Victor Frankl. Read that book and remember it every day of your life and you will never have another stressful day again. But if you do, it's your own damn fault!

I highly encourage everyone to major in Psychology and APPLY THE PRINCIPLES!!

danxtptrnrth · Joined: 15 Apr 2010 Location: Boeun, South Korea

I wasted four years of my life and a huge sum of money to get a Bachelor's degree in a field where there is very little you can do without a Master's or PHd. Sports Sciences. Not that that was what I started out as, but it's most definitely what I finished in. After that I followed my true calling and went to culinary school, as I have worked in restaurants since I was in high school. Now that I have paid for university and culinary school, I am in a mountain of education debt that I will probably never be able to pay off. Especially because I work in the restaurant industry(although right now I'm in Korea teaching English). I make a little more a year doing this than restaurant work, but I love being in the kitchen.
So, I'll just have to see what the future brings.

DorkothyParker · Joined: 11 Apr 2009 Location: Jeju

Slightly off topic, but I've found that the way one gets a bachelors in the UK (or Ireland or New Zealand for the matter) is strikingly different than most (if not all) US schools. Many of my European coworkers didn't have to take any math or science or do anything outside of their major to get their degrees. Their studies seemed highly focused. Also, the impression I got, was that their grade was highly dependent upon major final exams (1 in each class) and a major paper.

So two people may both have a BA in English but one of them may have written 16 thesis papers to achieve this whereas another may have done 50 shorter essays, some powerpoint presentations, and various coursework in Biology, Humanities, and Gender Studies (among others). In fact, the "core classes" generally take 2 years to complete. That means only half your studying is done in your field (if you follow a 4 year plan and blah blah blah).

I mean, in all fairness, it's almost an entirely different experience even if both school are equally (un)prestigious. I don't have an opinion on it. It's more of an observation. Which method of studying do you think is better for the learner? Are the two degrees still equal?

RobertGR · Joined: 03 Jun 2009 Location: Daegu

DorkothyParker · Joined: 11 Apr 2009 Location: Jeju

I'm not talking about differences across majors. I mean something as basic and universal sounding as a degree in English (no fancy specification, no Ivy League vs public just all things being equal other than physical location.)

And yes, I agree that a person can and most do take courses in their field in the first two years. I merely mean that at my school, I needed a total of 36 core credits regardless of when (1st year, final semester, whatever) I chose to take them. Some of that could overlap with my major (if I planned as such) but my "area IIIs" (science and math) were completely irrelevant to my studies. I make no speculation as to the value of taking college level Geology and Finite Mathematics, only to state that I did it and people in Europe who have the same degree as me, didn't. Am I to believe that public high schools in Europe teach college level science courses as a matter of course? Or is the central focus on one area a more efficient way to learn? After all, that means I spent overall less time studying in my field, doesn't it?

jugbandjames · Joined: 15 Feb 2010

I think it's difficult to compare American and British college degrees. I mean, there are so many different schools with different requirements. Some schools in the US require thesis projects. Most of the English classes I took at my American university were graded based off of a major paper due at the end of the course. So, I think there's a lot of variety. One of my friends in grad school went to Grinnell for undergrad, and she didn't even HAVE a major. She just took whatever classes she wanted, and whatever department she ended up with the most courses in was her major.

Unposter · Joined: 04 Jun 2006

I agree with the poster who says it is generally the person not the degree that matters. Connections also make a huge difference.

I am from Cleveland. The former GM and future President of the Cleveland Indians has a BA in History and he never played baseball. Of course, he got his degree from Princeton but it is still a BA in History and he is a high powered executive in a multi-Billion dollar industry.

One of my good friends got a BA in English from a private college in Ohio and then got an MA in English from a state university in Ohio. He is now a major executive at an insurance company making a large 6-figure income and working 4 day weeks. Why? Because some of his friends started the company. He is also very good at what he does.

A Liberal Arts education is a good education but success often depends on what else you can do and who you know. It is a good education for upper class people with good connections. It is not necessarilly very good for middle class people or people who are the first people in their families to go to college. If you need a middle class job, it is not always the way to go. If you have what it takes to work at a high level job anyway than it can be an excellent education.

Personally, I don't think there is much difference in terms of the quality of the education amongst accredited universities in the U.S. but there are huge differences in the quality of the students depending on the university. Just being around people who can do certain things, know people who are doing certain things and have ambitions to do certain things will change your life. Doors will open much more easilly. People will trust you and be willing to take a chance on you. Those from just ordinary colleges get much fewer opportunities and will have more to prove once they start work.