Korean Job Discussion Forums

[turtlepi1]

Started the process today. I told the head teacher (Korean). He has been my "handler" since day 1. He has since become my friend.

I told him I wouldn't be coming back after my vacation in February...after the long version of the story he said the would do the same "if he were in my shoes." (He has been studying idioms and nuances in English..can you tell?)

I think I feel worse than they do...

[eamo]

It's very straightforward as far as I'm concerned.

If you're not happy you gotta go!

Many teachers here are not career teachers. Maybe 1 or 2 years of ESL is the extent of their teaching career. And the hagwons are hiring people knowing that. They know they are hiring people who might decide they hate teaching after 4 months.

Also, you can check out a job and still find the conditions change when you get there. Many of us are here on contracts signed over the internet. It's really hard for a guy in Manitoba to know for sure what the recruiter in Pohang is putting him into.

Basically, there are legit reasons to quit before a contract ends.

It's all nice and dandy if both parties are putting in their end, i.e. You're doing your work and the boss treats you well.

I find many Korean hagwon bosses think all they have to do is hand out a schedule and pay the wages each month. There's a lot more to management than that. That's where we foreigners get pissed off.

For example. We soon realize that our six hours teaching each day doesn't include a dinner-break. This makes us realize that the boss hasn't taken into account that his teachers are working hungry the last couple of classes. I think that's a basic one. When can my staff eat something?

I certainly don't go for this death and honor thing where you have to stay somewhere because you signed a contract. It's your life! Not theirs.