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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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 Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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Well said, Zulu, and quite true. Also, people seem to have a bloated impression as to starting salaries for academia in Europe and N. America. Fact of the matter is, new Ph.D.s make nearly as much here as they do 'there', and living costs are a far sight cheaper. The only trick is finding the universities here that pay the differential in salary for the proper degrees.
English is a always a tough department to work in, which is why I'm getting out. I'll go to another department and work a decent sched (2 or 3 classes per semester) and not worry so much about the politics involved. Korean English profs. have to be some of the most petty that I've ever met, and most are just trying to jocky their departments to ensure no foriegner shows them up. This usually translates into English departments hiring predominantly 1) Koreans with Ph.D.s that will go with the flow or 2) Foreign lecturers with MAs that will never have any appropriate job seniority or security. The end result is, of course, is mediocre programs. And these universities want to go 'world class'? Ha! Great places to work if you can get the right position, but not the ultimate resume' pumper for sure. They are what they are. |
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Zulu
Joined: 28 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 7:58 am Post subject: |
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| PRagic wrote: |
| I'll go to another department and work a decent sched (2 or 3 classes per semester) and not worry so much about the politics involved. Korean English profs. have to be some of the most petty that I've ever met, and most are just trying to jocky their departments to ensure no foriegner shows them up. This usually translates into English departments hiring predominantly 1) Koreans with Ph.D.s that will go with the flow or 2) Foreign lecturers with MAs that will never have any appropriate job seniority or security. The end result is, of course, is mediocre programs. And these universities want to go 'world class'? Ha! Great places to work if you can get the right position, but not the ultimate resume' pumper for sure. They are what they are. |
Yup. You nailed it. Before coming here I actually believed all the media hype about the amazing education system and how it fostered geniuses. After being here a while I see, yes, of course there are some some very good, dedicated students and faculty. Some of them are world class. But there's a whole lot more more bending of standard academic rules (esp. re. admissions and plagiarism) and universities which mostly seem to care about national/international image over everything.
Hence, the incredible graduation rates here. Ever notice virtually no student fails high school or university here? I used to believe it was because they spent so much time 'studying' but now I know better. I mean no offense to any Korean person reading this thread, but from what I've seen the typical 'loser burger flippin' EFLer here has earned his/her foreign BA/BSc much moreso than a local PhD has. Things are slow to change here. The final realization was the recent Laughlin affair at KAIST when they fired the foreign reformer for trying to do his job - i.e. shake things up to make it a world-class institution. |
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