Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Starla]

Okay, so it's coming down to the wire and I need to make some decisions!! It looks like I'm close to getting a job with a Seoul public school and I've been offered a position with CDI. I have an interview with a recruiter this Monday for Avalon which I have my eye on and now I'm adding GDA Junior to my list. After reading the reviews of these schools on this site and making a spreadsheet as someone else suggested on here of all the schools, it's a tough call.

I may well sign with CDI. The info I have on the job states you get 7 paid days of vacation with a monthly contract which is what I'm going for. Seven I can do but 5 days like others have mentioned on her plus the odd 2 National Holidays just doesn't fly with me. I'm not going to Korea to work harder than I do in the U.S. so please tell me that I've been misinformed or there are other perks to the job. I'm aware I may have to work weekends too though in total, the days worked usually are 4 or 5. Is this normally the case? I have to write an essay and send off my transcript now so I'd like to know what the deal is before I take another step. I plan to call my recruiter anyway before I do that to get his take on things.

As for public school, the only thing that's holding me back is the lack of foreign teachers in the schools and larger classes, the first of which concerns me a lot. Although I'm pretty independent, I'm quite social and while I don't have a problem socializing with Koreans here in the U.S., I like to be around every other different kind as well. Are Korean public school teachers accepting of you as part of their group or will I feel like the odd one out most of the time? I'm not sure though why my recruiter is telling me I can get a position with a public school since I hear it's past the deadline so what do you all think? Why would she say I can still work there when another recruiter informed me it's too late.

So the last place I'm eyeing is Avalon. Avalon I hear is good for beginning teachers, pays for your airfare upfront, gives you all the National Holidays and 10 days of paid vacation. The working hours are about the same as for CDI. This is the kind of deal I'm looking for. I'm not sure about openings with GDA Junior. I'm thinking of stalling on CDI and Seoul public school because the Avalon package sounds more attractive to me as a first year teacher. Please give me your advice. Thanks!

[Voyeur]

CDI will be 2 of the 15 national holidays (and if they are on non-working days you basically don't get them). It will also be 5 working days (1 calendar week) of vacation.

That being said, you won't be at school 40 hours a week - maybe ~33. Check with your other options and ask how many hours a week you have to be at school. Not just teaching hours. Many places want 40 hours a week. SO with CDI, less holidays, but you may be getting 7 more hours at home a week which add up.

[KoreanAmbition]

Starla,

How long do you plan to stay in Korea? If you plan to stay a few years, or go to other Asian countries to teach, I think there is a chance that a public school job would really look nice on your resume.

Also, the public school system probably has a high chance to lose teachers that won't make it through the immigration process (because of the new rigid laws). There is a chance you have a recruiter that might work for a lot of schools and he might know there will be openings coming up.

I've seen job ads for teachers at public schools surfacing which is probably due to what I said above about expected teachers encountering problems or just backing out of the agreement. I would think that is the case with any job that expects a huge influx of employees all at the same time.


How social are you? If you are social I think you'll be able to find friends and start to build a foreign network. I don't think it should be that hard as long as you are out-going. Now, if you are someone that hasn't gone off on your own before, or might not be the most skilled at building new friendships, then that might play a role in things. I wouldn't pick a job just because you "might" have more friends there. No one says those friends are going to be worth having anyways.

You can always use Dave's as a way to meet other new teachers as well.



Are you in a rush to come to Korea? If you're not, wait a bit longer and continue to do your research. There are thousands of teachers expected to start working in September. How many of them will quit and go home or try to find another job? How many of them will pull a runner? How many of them won't even make it to Korea in the first place because they couldn't get through their immigration process?

Combine that with all the schools/companies that couldn't fill their jobs in the first place, and you should have a lot of jobs available and some bosses really desparate for a worker. I think that would be a good time to do some negotiating about salary and vacation time.

If you're not in a rush, then don't start rushing it now. Good things come to those that wait.

Good luck.

[Big Mac]

I just spent two years at GDA Junior and had a pretty good time. They will definitely honour everything in your contract. There will also be a lot of other teachers to hang out with if you work at Bundang or Seocho (I think the new campus is a little smaller). If you work at Seocho, the location is amazing because it is close to Gangnam Station, where the nightlife is pretty good.

I think CDI works you pretty hard. I've looked at them a couple of times and decided against working there.

You mentioned that you don't want to go to Korea to work harder than you would in the States. Seriously, teaching English is not a walk in the park. No matter what school you go to, expect to work for your money!

If you have any other questions about GDA, please PM me.

[Voyeur]

I'm curious, how many hours a week did you have to be on site at GDA?

[Big Mac]

Good question. When I taught kindergarten I was on site from 9 a.m. to either 6:10 or 6:50. I had a couple of breaks in between that were unpaid and during which I was allowed to leave the building and do whatever I wanted.

When I taught afternoon classes I had to be on site from 12:10 or 1:50 until 7:10. I liked that schedule much better, but I think GDA is moving away from that type of schedule at the moment.

Some kindergarten teachers are finished at 2:00 and can go home after that. It all depends on what schedule you get. It's really luck of the draw.

[Starla]

[KoreanAmbition]

Starla,

Just so you know, the immigration process for any teaching job in Korea is the same. In order to get here, every job requires the same amount of tedious effort that the others do including all those lame notarized/apostilled documents etc etc.

[Poemer]

Just so you don't go in blind, at Avalon the ten vacation days are not as straightforward as it might seem. Two of those vacation days are not yours to freely use, you will be forced to use them at the company's convenience to fill in scheduling holes, so that leaves you with eight days. Those eight days will only be usable during a few weeks a year, during intensives. At Avalon there is no summer/winter break, actually your schedule becomes more hectic and longer. The students are off from public school, so they can spend longer hours at the hakwon, and so can you, yay! Since the teachers are only allowed to take vacation during intensives, and there are no provisions for subs, you have to get in line for your vacation time. The school also only allows you to take five successive days off. You will probably only get a vacation during ONE of the two intensives, and you will only be allowed to schedule five days, so that leaves you with three days you never got a chance to use. The school will pay you out at a cut-rate (by way of funny math) at the end of your contract for your three unused days.

[Voyeur]

What were the teaching hours at Avalon? What about the on-site hours?

At GDA, what were the teaching hours? For kindy, that is 9 hours a day on-site. Likely it was more of a split shift, right, so you could leave the school for an hour or two in the middle?

[Starla]

[gordo]

What Avalon campus are you thinking of applying to? I can't speak on behalf of the franchises, as this company has expanded to Seoul and all the way down south. However, the one I work for has been great and I am on my second contract. Vacation can be a hassle. Out of the 10 days, the campus does select 3-5 for you. I think this year I will get to choose 6, which of course only 5 can be in a row. The job is really chill, I am only at the school for 7 hours a day. Of those 7 hours, you are guaranteed 1:30 of prep time to start your day, and 1:15 for breaks at least 3 times a week, but more commonly everyday. During these breaks you are free to do what you want as long as you have your work done, which to put it simply is extremely easy. Campuses range in size, some have as few as 4-5 teachers while mine has 12 including myself.

Anyways, thats what Avalon has to offer you. Not a ton of vacation, I suppose standard with the hakwon system, but easy hours with plenty of people to socialize with.

[Starla]

[Starla]