Korean Job Discussion Forums

antgonz · Joined: 30 Nov 2007

http://www.bcm.co.kr/

This is the organization that accepted me. I am wondering if any of you have heard good things from them. I think I will take the job despite only getting 2 million won a month.

Dome Vans · Guest

Rather than just looking at the website, which will always generally look quite flashy, you need to do a fair bit of research.

1: Post the contract the contract posting thread.
2: Check about the school with other former teachers on here.
3: Mail current native teachers at the school. (very important, different schools in the same chain/franchise can be run very differently)
4: Check that the area is right for you.
5: Compare with other schools that you have checked over. (2 million won does seem to be very low)
6: Decide!

All these really need to be done to make sure you avoid a crap stay in Korea. This is my POV. Don't just jump at the first contract shown to you, it can take months to research for the right one and is so so worth it.

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

Which school...location?

hugo_danner · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Location: korea

If you like working a split shift! Get up at 6am, teach until 8 or so. Then drag yourself back in at about 4 until 8 or 9. If you like 12-14 hour days......jump on it!

yeremy

BCM is a miserly franchise. I had a friend who worked there for his first job in Korea for 2 mil, and he had two master's degrees. He was also supposedly a friend of the owner, too, but that didn't help him a bit as soon as he refused to resign and made plans to leave.
If you can get a block schedule, which I doubt, it would be better. Another thing about BCM is that they count each minute you teach towards your monthly teaching hours, which are probably 120. Other hagwons and/or schools will count the class as an hour, which is what they do in the public schools.
The BCM I worked at had a strict dress code (biz casual), a ruthless time clock (the Korean teachers used to run up the stairs in the am because they didn't want to be late), but every once in a while we had pretty good dinners with a lot of food, drink and conversation.
I didn't like the split shift. I used to come home and take long naps between shifts, which I think now was a mistake. A fellow I worked with didn't nap in the daytime, even if he had only slept a few hours a night. I think his method was better. You may have to adjust to going to sleep earlier at night and getting up when the chickens crow in the morning if you work at a BCM.
If you do take this job, look at it as getting your foot in the door. You will learn a lot about teaching adults, which will help you to get other jobs later.