Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jkelly80]

I'm not sure if this is apropos to this forum but here goes.

I'm looking into a Masters in Public Admin online program while I'm over here b/c I'm in public school and I'll have extra time. I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about this field and how competitive things are after graduation. I'd like to parlay my int'l work here into something non ESL afterwards. Wondering if anyone knows if an MPA is appropriate for this goal.

Thanks.

[Mi Yum mi]

The only way a Korean company is allowed to hire you is if you have a skill that a Korean doesn't have. Speaking English is not enough.

[jkelly80]

So, would a Master's in Public Administration count as said skill?

[Juregen]

[stvwrd]

I have a Master's in Public Administration with a specialization in Organizational Change.

Ummm.... how do I summarize all my thoughts that come to mind in response to this question?

There are opportunities out there, but they're not exactly in the field and nothing that an MBA, or several other MA's couldn't do. I'm working at a company on an E7 visa myself, but I'm only using my degree in the sense that, from an organizational standpoint, a Korean company is FASCINATING and I have no idea how it stays viable.

My advice to you, if you're serious about an MPA and want to use it in Korea, is to study Korean like mad. Pay attention to various academic conferences going on around Seoul so you can make connections.

I don't really know anything about online programs, but why not take some classes at one of the Korean GSIS programs, even if you don't get a degree? The last semester of my four-semester master's degree was here in Korea. At least it would show on your applications that you're staying interested in things academically and aren't applying on a whim.

You could always do something like I did, or plan to spend three years getting your MPA, and try to get a Fulbright in Korea for a year, or just go straight for a PhD (better to choose a subfield like Public Policy, Organizational Theory, etc). Keep in mind that though it takes a full 4-5 years to complete a PhD, you're not taking classes that whole time and you can be pretty much anywhere you want (working and making money, could probably land a Korean University teaching gig without too much trouble) while writing the dissertation. So you're look at probably about three years of living on campus for the PhD.

As far as getting a job after finishing the degree, if your Korean is up to snuff, you might be able to get a job teaching in a University (I'm friends with an important Urban Studies professor that has pretty much told me he'll get me a job when my Korean's better). Personally, I see a lot of academic exchanges going on in the PA field these days and I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before Korea is willing to learn from other countries' and starts inviting professionals to work. In fact, Lee Myung-Bak, the new Korean President has said he plans to hire the first foreign civil servants. Technically, I believe Lesleigh Banfield of the 'pretty girl show' already has that distinction, but I think he means more like holding key managerial and directorial positions where they will actually have some measure of responsibility in guiding policy.

I'm not sure where home is for you, but if you're from the US like me, in the next five years there's going to be a serious vacuum in the civil service as people start retiring, and the goverments (federal, state, and local) are not prepared at all for this, because of absurd hiring policies (I am flatly inelligible for any customs/immigration jobs because I've spent more than two week abroad in the past three years... so with my MPA I can't even check passports at the airport).

I think that having international experience, language ability, an academic background, will be huge factors in helping MPAs find jobs in the US over the next ten years, as long as you're not in DC. I have friends in DC now that say it's ridiculously competitive, and just as shallow (one of them is an educated native Arabic speaker that got denied a job working for a non-profit dealing with women's issues in the Arab world because they chose some woman from Anytown USA with no int'l experience, but she had fancy internships and an MBA).

But you'd be surprised where you'll be appreciated outside of DC. Heck, Army Special Forces were trying to recruit me (until they found out I have asthma), and I interviewed with CIA (interesting experience that did not go very well...). I ended up working for a state government as a performance auditor. It was a great job and would have parlayed nicely into a job with the FBI, or any other gov't job really, but the low pay (one of the most under-funded state governments in the nation), and sheer lack of work to do (I worked four ten hour days per week and actually had about 2-3 hours worth of work to do on a daily basis) had me bored out of my mind, and I ended up coming back to Korea.

I'm not sure if I'll get back into the field or not. My Korean's at about an intermediate level, and I have some other prospects for the near future that are pretty attractive. I think a lot about going back for my PhD in another year or two, but I'd like to pay down some of my student loan debt and get to a point where I have residual income coming in so that I don't have to be a broke student again, especially if I (hopefully) have a family.