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Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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 Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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| It's OK to tell lies on here? I think not. MANY of maitaidads' threads on here were deleted by mods, and very recently, too. He deserves to banned (at least temporarily) because besides trolling with fake stories, he frequently viciously insults posters (for seemingly no reason...for fun I guess, which is really pathetic). I don't like reading KimchiNinja's posts. You do. I guess that's where we differ. |
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metalhead
Joined: 18 May 2010
Location: Toilet
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:20 am Post subject: |
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| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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| I think that despite the improving job picture in North America, expats will still hit Korea because the country is now on the map. Because of the Internet and other factors, travel and living abroad are catching on in America. Of course, the golden days of ESL in Korea are long gone but Korea has gotten more cosmopolitan. |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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| metalhead wrote: |
| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
Honestly, I think the included apartment has a lot to do with it. The cost of having your own apartment is so high in the West, and no one wants to live with their parents. In a way, Korea is lucky that it has small little apartments for single people. If people could rent one of those for $400 in the West maybe they wouldn't come.
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One of the other factors in Korea's favor now vs. say 2003 is that the internet has made living overseas much more comfortable. |
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krnpowr
Joined: 08 Dec 2011
Location: Midwest, USA
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| metalhead wrote: |
| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
Well, considering your apartment is paid for, you don't need to worry about car expenses, you don't have to worry about taxes, and your entire wage is essentially discretionary income, an ESL job in Korea for many 20-somethings in the West sounds like heaven.
It sure beats what most of them would be faced with back home: being unemployed or working at Walmart, Home Depot, or Starbucks, making $10/hr (20% of that going to taxes) with no prospects of buying a badly needed new car, forced to pay $150/mth for mandatory healthcare per the Affordable Care Act, and absolutely no prospects of getting a one-bedroom apartment, which in most decent neighborhoods in major metro areas in America these days ranges from $1,000-2,000/mth.
So taking that into consideration, perhaps being an ESL "teacher" in Korea isn't so miserable after all. |
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jazzmaster
Joined: 30 Sep 2013
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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| krnpowr wrote: |
| metalhead wrote: |
| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
Well, considering your apartment is paid for, you don't need to worry about car expenses, you don't have to worry about taxes, and your entire wage is essentially discretionary income, an ESL job in Korea for many 20-somethings in the West sounds like heaven.
It sure beats what most of them would be faced with back home: being unemployed or working at Walmart, Home Depot, or Starbucks, making $10/hr (20% of that going to taxes) with no prospects of buying a badly needed new car, forced to pay $150/mth for mandatory healthcare per the Affordable Care Act, and absolutely no prospects of getting a one-bedroom apartment, which in most decent neighborhoods in major metro areas in America these days ranges from $1,000-2,000/mth.
So taking that into consideration, perhaps being an ESL "teacher" in Korea isn't so miserable after all. |
Ah....the old loser back home argument. Maybe where you're from things are like that, but most people I know back home are in pretty decent jobs. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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| jazzmaster wrote: |
| krnpowr wrote: |
| metalhead wrote: |
| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
Well, considering your apartment is paid for, you don't need to worry about car expenses, you don't have to worry about taxes, and your entire wage is essentially discretionary income, an ESL job in Korea for many 20-somethings in the West sounds like heaven.
It sure beats what most of them would be faced with back home: being unemployed or working at Walmart, Home Depot, or Starbucks, making $10/hr (20% of that going to taxes) with no prospects of buying a badly needed new car, forced to pay $150/mth for mandatory healthcare per the Affordable Care Act, and absolutely no prospects of getting a one-bedroom apartment, which in most decent neighborhoods in major metro areas in America these days ranges from $1,000-2,000/mth.
So taking that into consideration, perhaps being an ESL "teacher" in Korea isn't so miserable after all. |
Ah....the old loser back home argument. Maybe where you're from things are like that, but most people I know back home are in pretty decent jobs. |
And those price projections scream Southern Cali. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 1:52 am Post subject: |
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| Yaya wrote: |
Given that even hakwon jobs are hard to come by lately, China is the winner hands down. It doesn't have to be Beijing or Shanghai, a mid-size Chinese city is HUGE by international standards.
If you wanna hang with Koreans, Changchun has a lot of them. |
It is not a teacher's market anymore. It was back in 2008 until part of 2009, which was when the market was being flooded with teachers from North America and the U.K. And with the cuts to positions at public schools, the decline in enrollment at universities, things are not looking up. Korea is not what it used to be for ESL teachers, that is. And Koreans will have to start paying more for services in the years to come, some universities might shut down. There will be fewer hagwons with the decline in the amount of children. With China, you have a much larger population to work with, at least. That works in your favor. |
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krnpowr
Joined: 08 Dec 2011
Location: Midwest, USA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:52 am Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| jazzmaster wrote: |
| krnpowr wrote: |
| metalhead wrote: |
| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
Well, considering your apartment is paid for, you don't need to worry about car expenses, you don't have to worry about taxes, and your entire wage is essentially discretionary income, an ESL job in Korea for many 20-somethings in the West sounds like heaven.
It sure beats what most of them would be faced with back home: being unemployed or working at Walmart, Home Depot, or Starbucks, making $10/hr (20% of that going to taxes) with no prospects of buying a badly needed new car, forced to pay $150/mth for mandatory healthcare per the Affordable Care Act, and absolutely no prospects of getting a one-bedroom apartment, which in most decent neighborhoods in major metro areas in America these days ranges from $1,000-2,000/mth.
So taking that into consideration, perhaps being an ESL "teacher" in Korea isn't so miserable after all. |
Ah....the old loser back home argument. Maybe where you're from things are like that, but most people I know back home are in pretty decent jobs. |
And those price projections scream Southern Cali. |
And NorCal, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, NYC. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:21 am Post subject: |
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| krnpowr wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| jazzmaster wrote: |
| krnpowr wrote: |
| metalhead wrote: |
| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
Well, considering your apartment is paid for, you don't need to worry about car expenses, you don't have to worry about taxes, and your entire wage is essentially discretionary income, an ESL job in Korea for many 20-somethings in the West sounds like heaven.
It sure beats what most of them would be faced with back home: being unemployed or working at Walmart, Home Depot, or Starbucks, making $10/hr (20% of that going to taxes) with no prospects of buying a badly needed new car, forced to pay $150/mth for mandatory healthcare per the Affordable Care Act, and absolutely no prospects of getting a one-bedroom apartment, which in most decent neighborhoods in major metro areas in America these days ranges from $1,000-2,000/mth.
So taking that into consideration, perhaps being an ESL "teacher" in Korea isn't so miserable after all. |
Ah....the old loser back home argument. Maybe where you're from things are like that, but most people I know back home are in pretty decent jobs. |
And those price projections scream Southern Cali. |
And NorCal, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, NYC. |
Well, don't live in those places. Aren't ther other places in the middle or southern part that have a low living cost and a low unemployment rate?
Sadly, where the unemployment rate is lower in Canada is also the areas that have higher living costs and the areas that have a cheaper living cost have no jobs (IE the Maritimes). But, even those places are kind of expensive too for some things. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| krnpowr wrote: |
| And NorCal, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, NYC. |
Chicago's still cheap outside of a few select areas, and New York and Seattle both have affordability, it just might not be exactly where you want to be. Regardless, there are plenty of "decent neighborhoods in major metro areas" where you can find real value. |
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bmaw01
Joined: 13 May 2013
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| Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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| metalhead wrote: |
| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
I think it depends on the person. By your comment I can tell that you're a pretty miserable person with a pessimistic outlook on life. Korea is miserable? When I lived in Korea for two years I had an amazing time and I met amazing people.
2.1m a month isn't a lot, but let's not forget that you're not paying for rent. Public transportation is cheap, so no car payment and insurance. Also, Korea has very low taxes. For example, I live in NJ. My rent is $1k a month. Add in my car payment which is another $300 a month and insurance which is another $100. I make $50k a year, but after taxes my gross is about $33k. I pay a lot of taxes.
Not a lot of money. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Weigookin74 wrote: |
| krnpowr wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| jazzmaster wrote: |
| krnpowr wrote: |
| metalhead wrote: |
| The title if this thread is very amusing as it implies that wages in Korea for first-time teachers are actually good. Perhaps if you're in your early/mid-twenties and have a liberal arts degree, then maybe, but I can't honestly believe that 2.1 mil a month is considered good enough to travel across the world to a pretty miserable country compared to what one can earn in a Western country. |
Well, considering your apartment is paid for, you don't need to worry about car expenses, you don't have to worry about taxes, and your entire wage is essentially discretionary income, an ESL job in Korea for many 20-somethings in the West sounds like heaven.
It sure beats what most of them would be faced with back home: being unemployed or working at Walmart, Home Depot, or Starbucks, making $10/hr (20% of that going to taxes) with no prospects of buying a badly needed new car, forced to pay $150/mth for mandatory healthcare per the Affordable Care Act, and absolutely no prospects of getting a one-bedroom apartment, which in most decent neighborhoods in major metro areas in America these days ranges from $1,000-2,000/mth.
So taking that into consideration, perhaps being an ESL "teacher" in Korea isn't so miserable after all. |
Ah....the old loser back home argument. Maybe where you're from things are like that, but most people I know back home are in pretty decent jobs. |
And those price projections scream Southern Cali. |
And NorCal, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, NYC. |
Well, don't live in those places. Aren't ther other places in the middle or southern part that have a low living cost and a low unemployment rate?
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Just a couple. Minneapolis and Salt Lake City. Maybe one or two other I'm forgetting. That's one of the problems here right now in the US. Places that have a labor shortage and low unemployment have high costs of living. And those with a low cost of living have shitty job markets. |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 10:56 pm Post subject: |
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| krnpowr wrote: |
| an ESL job in Korea for many 20-somethings in the West sounds like heaven |
Heaven?
The air is too polluted (to the point of being unhealthy). This is not the case in the West.
http://aqicn.org/city/seoul/ |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Weigookin74 wrote: |
| I still don't think demand is different from a few years ago. |
It's a bit less. Some public schools no longer have a NET (or are sharing a NET). In addition, the birth rate has been falling which means less young people/less students (which means less demand). So many English hagwons that used to have several Western teachers on payroll now have one. Some have even gone under completely, closing their doors. (See stats- there are less English hagwons than before. The number peaked in 2009 and has been on the decline since.) |
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