Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nomad-ish]

i've started to think of working in Seoul next year with SMOE, and i was wondering if anyone had any insight into taking a week of unpaid vacation, in addition to regular vacation (total of 2 weeks), around christmas. i would be missing some regularly-scheduled classes.

has anyone tried this? i had a friend that did this and she got away with it (albeit, they weren't too pleased), but this was in a less popular location. with SMOE being such a popular area for ESL teachers, would a majority of schools allow it if i pushed the issue?

[Bibbitybop]

3 issues here:

You get 21 business days of vacation and may not have to take unpaid leave. Unpaid leave is rare in SMOE.

Second, you aren't supposed to take more than 7 business days of vacation before you work for 6 months. The other 14 can be taken after the 6 month mark. But this isn't enforced. If it was, it would leave a lot of schools and districts with teachers unable to fill their summer camp positions due to the high amount of vacation time that must be taken before a contract ends.

The other issue is that vacation is expected to be taken when school is not in, but it also has to be approved by the principal of the school. Most current teachers in SMOE would be able to get approval for something like you want to do, but they are also in a position to negotiate before being rehired or have proven themselves as an asset to the school. SMOE's head office tries to be as unbudging as possible and will probably tell you "No, it's not possible to take that much vacation before 6 months" even though it is and then pass the buck saying "it is up to your principal and can give you no guarantees."

[Figure8]

I had a question about SMOE's airfare policy, but it seems that I could just ask one of you on this thread, if you don't mind. I don't know about the wording on the ads for both EPIK in specific regions and SMOE in general. Does SMOE cover airfare cost before you actually leave your home country? Or it is reimbursed as with most of EPIK? Also, any idea about couples' housing? Is that hard to get with SMOE? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[Bibbitybop]

If 2 couples get into SMOE at the same time, they will be given couple's housing.

SMOE often gets the airfare organized for new teachers and makes the payments with Korean Air. Teachers who do something different than the norm or are hired late may have to get reimbursed after they arrive in Korea.

[cruisemonkey]

[Bibbitybop]

[eurasian76]

Quick question regarding placement.

Thinking about applying for a position with SMOE but was wondering if you have any choice in the location or is it fixed?

[Bibbitybop]

[freeridden]

Interesting about the random thing. My recruiter first asked me what type of position I wanted: primary school or middle school. I told her what I wanted and she said that was fine. Does this mean that SMOE knows this, or will I just be placed at random?

[nomad-ish]

^ you may be ok (depending on the recruiter). last year i requested my grade level to my recruiter and she was able to accommodate me, this year i've requested my grade level and area of the city and she said ok (still waiting on the outcome of this though!). it seems like certain recruiters have some sway with where you go, however i don't think one could call it a guarantee

[KYC]

[Toon Army]

I understand SMOE recruit primarily for September starting dates (I think) but how about any later dates like October/November? Just wondering for future reference