Korean Job Discussion Forums

ImInKoreaAintI · Joined: 12 Feb 2008

Is anyone out there going to Grad School and teaching English at the same time? I plan on doing this next year, as soon as my current contract is up. I want to ask those people.

How is it handling the coursework and the teaching?
Do schedules conflict smuch? Did you have to make special arrangements. What's a typical day like for you.
Do you live in the apartment furnished by your contract or did you make your own arrangments (ie campus apartment)?
Do you work at a hagwon, public school or somewhere else?

Any other suggestions that you may want to add.

Thanks. Your help is greatly appreciated. [/list][/list]

ImInKoreaAintI · Joined: 12 Feb 2008

I guess not too many people go to school and work at the same time on this board. It may be a good idea, if you dont have an MA or higher.

PRagic · Joined: 24 Feb 2006

I have known several people who have taught and done their MA at the same time. All the people I have known who have done this have worked at lower-tiered universities and knocked out their degrees on-line.

I highly doubt it would be possible given a hakwon work load.

If you have an F series visa, you could work part time and concentrate on your coursework. Still, getting university teaching experience and an MA is a good combo to shoot for.

Good luck to you. Always good to hear of someone going for it.

nomad-ish · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:00 pm Post subject:

Spongebob Squarepants · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:20 pm Post subject:

I teach full-time (a day job) and I'm working on my MA AL-ELT part-time (aiming to finish by Jan. 2010).

My uni recommends 15-20 hrs of study a week, but with all the unpaid lesson planning I have to do at work, I end up getting home at 7 or 8 p.m. and by then I have just enough energy to put in 2 hours of quality study time. Then of course there are the weekends, I study around 6-7 hours over the weekend, so I get roughly 15-16 hours of study in a week.

The nasty thing is that since I'm so overworked (8 a.m. - 8 p.m. some days), by the time I get home I can't really concentrate and I don't feel like hitting the books for two hours. That's the biggest challenge, resisting the urge to sit down in front of the TV and veg out when I get home.

Still, it's a choice you make for yourself. Personally I'm willing to put in the time, and devote my limited free time to studying in order to move on up in the food chain. But it's a sacrifice. If you plan on doing it, you will have fewer nights out (a no brainer), less time with family and friends (my wife complains we don't spend enough time together anymore), and a whole hell of a lot less sleep.

Is it hard? Hell yeah! Is it worth it? Hell yeah!

Life isn't about the easiest (read 'laziest') way to do things, and there are no handouts. If you want something done you gotta go out and do it for yourself.

nomad-ish · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:35 pm Post subject:

to the OP, maybe you should think about working at a public school. classes are cancelled here and there, you have lots of time in the office (or possibly off) during the students' vacation period, and you can be out of school by 4:30-5pm everyday. plus since at public schools you only work about 22hrs/wk, you won't feel completely exhausted at the end of the day when you have to go home and study.

i'm extremely happy that i decided to study for my MSc (i would've liked to do f/t on campus, but i didn't want to rack up more student loans... even if i were a TA as well). korea can be a very transitionary place for FTs, and it's nice to know you've got something you're working towards

ImInKoreaAintI · Joined: 12 Feb 2008

thanks for some of your wisdom guys, appreciate it.

but does anyone go to a graduate program in Korea, not online, and still have an english teaching job?

how do you juggle the two? do you work at a public school/hagwon/unviversity or other?

how does living/housing situation work out?

Atavistic · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:16 pm Post subject:

I did NOT go to grad school in Korea while teaching, but I did go to grad school full time while I was a first year teacher.

It was hell, but it worked.

If you're determined, it'll work.

togoastray · Joined: 27 Dec 2006

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Do you plan to be a student with permission to work, or a teacher with permission to study?

seouldivah · Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Location: Nowon gu-Seoul

I attend grad. school in Korea, and work full time at a Uni. I am taking this semester off due to some major surgery that I underwent during winter. My job is very good in that they allow me to teach according to my grad. school schedule. I am on an E2/D2 visa, and my job is very supportive with my attending grad. school. The course work reading content is very intense, with assignments, summaries and group projects scheduled weekly by all professors. When I studied and worked full time last semester, I had no time to socialize or pursue hobbies like reading novels and watching movies. It was really difficult to keep up at times because my peers are full time students and have more time to study and read up on course work than I. But I managed to hold my own, asked my professors for help whenever I missed classes and such. As for housing, I moved closer to the subway so that I would be close to both my job and grad. school. Driving to grad. school proved more stressful due to traffic jams and the general mayhem that transpires during peak hours. Although I am taking this semester off from grad. school, I am concentrating on Korean studies to keep myself in sync with studies for when I return to grad school this Fall.

ImInKoreaAintI · Joined: 12 Feb 2008

ImInKoreaAintI · Joined: 12 Feb 2008