Korean Job Discussion Forums

[NAVFC]

2 parter. first
those of you who are ESL teachers and what not, what got you into what you are doing and what made you choose Korea

2nd:are there any other jobs in the ROK done by foreigners besides ESL?

[jlb]

1. I wanted to travel after uni but had student loans to pay off. This seemed like the best way to do both. Korea? The money was good, the airfare was free and I got offered jobs after a 3 minute phone interview. Japan had all these multi-day interview things going on and Taiwan was just a bit harder to get info. about.

2. Other jobs: Yes! But not for the chump just out of uni with no experience in anything.

[mindmetoo]

If you're an engineer or computer programmer or banker, there's other jobs. But for a BA holder you're looking at writing and editing. To get those jobs, you pretty much need to be here in Korea already (ie teaching) and you have to accept for any good job advertised in writing/editing, you're going to be competing against 17,000 other applicants, many with extensive backgrounds in journalism and PR (hey some of us like to take a break from our careers).

It is not, however, hard to scare up side work editing while you're teaching. For that I always advise making friends with Korean translators. They always need someone to help polish their English.

Also remember too there's a whack of Korean American and Korean Canadians fluent in both languages with real experience that can likewise slip into those jobs.

[bluelake]

1. I first came here twenty-four years ago. At the time, I was young, single and adventurous. Now, I am that many years older, married, but still with a touch of adventure left.

2. I teach Korean history in a university.

[dalpengi]

1. skip for now

2. for those of you thinking about a law degree and also considering coming back to Korea when done:

How to Get a Job at a Korean Law Firm:
http://www.korealawblog.com/entry/how_to_get_a_job_at_a_korean_law_firm/

[peppermint]

not in korea anymore so I'll skip #1

Tons of factory work done by low paid migrant workers from places like Bangladesh, though I'm sure that's not what you were asking about.

With the right accent, voice over work can pay well, editing is easy to come by, but more challenging than it sounds. There's a market for foreign extras and models too, but these all depend on having the right visa

[mindmetoo]

In general, the best way to do work besides teaching is learn Korean.

[NAVFC]

So what do those of you who teach get degrees in? Is there like a special TESL/TEFL program you do at your inivrsities or some such?