Korean Job Discussion Forums

[teachteach]

By 'they' I mean your Korean employers. When I worked in Korea, I was making the usual 2.5 takehome plus apartment, for my average working day of 4-5 classes, but at school for 8 hours.
Very very few jobs in North America can allow you to have 2.5 takehome after rent and taxes, unless it is a professional job. I guess a 60K a year job or so would do, which would be a skilled job.
The average salary in Canada is 28 k or so a year. I am considered a 'skilled professional' working as a pilot, making in the low 30's a year. I am lucky. Some of my pilot friends are working part time in the airport starbucks.
Less than an ESL teacher.
One day Korean people might eventually hold our economic plight against us and lower the package for esl teachers. Basically, they could say 'you don't like 1.8 per month? What would you do in your home country to get that much takehome?' If you considered coming to Korea in the first place, then you might be someone with no answer to that question.

[man_of_words]

I'm not making that much but what I would say is this... They need good instructors and while you might not hear it directly from those who are leaving, beyond the fact that maybe they were no longer enjoying Korea maybe they weren't all that great at teaching English. Not anything to be ashamed of, there are challenges with this job that I wasn't expecting to be honest. What a good teacher brings to the country is valuable and I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this. I can understand feeling paranoid over a tanking economy; its a very real threat but it's a bridge to cross when you get there.

[marlow]

They can have all the unemployed NA factory workers they want. Korea is suffering from hubris. It's their usual inferiority complex way of dealing with sucky situations--a bad economy and a hard time getting teachers. They'll get their dues.

I'm tired of being yanked around halfway around the world form my home. Korea's money doesn't pay for its annoyance anymore.

[Beej]

Dont worry. Koreans will never pay us a nickel more than they have to.

[espoir]

Back in Canada I could be making double the money I make here easy. And with all the added perks of a first world country (korea is definately not first world no matter what they say)

If they truely want quality teachers here than what they really need to do is raise their minimum rate of pay because right now its nothing compared to what teachers make back home in Canada. Yes you require more education and training back home, but you make one hell of a lot more and have some of the best fringe benefits avaliable.

[marlow]

[soul rebels]

im on 2million a month less than 1.8 (when you take out deductions)pension which i'llnever get back as nz an korea have no pension agreement...

anyway i was making exactly the same money in nz working a labouring job the only thing that swings it in favour of teaching here is the housing an no tax otherwise finacially its not worth it

[bangbayed]

Just FYI, Korean wages for foreigners were pushed up to its current level after the IMF crisis. Prior to that, most of us earned a regular salary of 1.2 million won. Why were they increased? Because foreigners stopped coming. So don't worry, they need us more than (most of us) need them, and they know it.

[Real Reality]

Do nearly all foreign English teachers receive basically the same contract in public schools? Consider the following:
1. What is the starting salary at a Korean public school for a foreign English teacher with an M.A. (or M.Ed.) and 3 years teaching experience?
2. What is the starting salary at a Korean public school for a foreign English teacher with an M.A. (or M.Ed.) and 10 years teaching experience?
3. What is the starting salary at a Korean public school for a foreign English teacher with an M.A. (or M.Ed.) and 15 years teaching experience?
4. What is the starting salary at a Korean public school for a foreign teacher with an M.A. (or M.Ed.), 20 years teaching experience, and some knowledge of Korean?
5. What is the starting salary at a Korean public school for a foreign teacher with an M.A. (or M.Ed.), 20 years teaching experience, and fluent in Korean?

Will they all have about the same starting salary? Will they all teach the same number of hours? Will they all have the same benefits and perks?

Korea: Education at a Glance 2008: OECD Indicators--Indicator D3: How much are teachers paid?
(Note: in equivalent USD converted using PPPs)
--Primary education--
Starting Salary: 30,528
Salary after 15 years experience: 52,666
Salary at the top of the scale: 84,262
Ratio of salary after 15 years of experience to GDP per capita: 2.29

--Secodary education--
Starting Salary: 30,405
Salary after 15 years experience: 52,543
Salary at the top of the scale: 84,139
Ratio of salary after 15 years of experience to GDP per capita: 2.28
Table D3.1. Teachers' salaries (2006)--Annual statutory teachers' salaries in public institutions at starting salary, after 15 years of experience and at the top of the scale by level of education, in equivalent USD converted using PPPs
Last updated: 04-Sep-2008
Excel File for download: http://ocde.p4.siteinternet.com/publications/doifiles/962008041P1G025.xls
Main Website address: http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_41266761_1_1_1_1,00.html

Teachers' salaries -- From The Economist (Sep 27th 2007)
http://www.economist.com/markets/indicators/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9867632

[dean_burrito]

[moosehead]

good teachers are not recognized in K

for that matter, they are rarely recognized anywhere I think

it seems the better a teacher is, the easier they make it look.

unfortunately, this translates into "they do it so easily it must come naturally to them therefore they are obligated to do that in their life and why should I pay an extraordinary amount of money to someone just because they have a gift?"

rarely do people recognize those who actually know what they are doing make it look easy simply because they are good at what they are doing - it's still work and it's still hard and people should be adquately compensated.

[mises]

[teachteach]

Moosehead said above

good teachers are not recognized in K

for that matter, they are rarely recognized anywhere I think

it seems the better a teacher is, the easier they make it look.

unfortunately, this translates into "they do it so easily it must come naturally to them therefore they are obligated to do that in their life and why should I pay an extraordinary amount of money to someone just because they have a gift?"

rarely do people recognize those who actually know what they are doing make it look easy simply because they are good at what they are doing - it's still work and it's still hard and people should be adquately compensated.




To Moosehead, that is about the most dead on nail on the head statement I have heard in a while.
I have a friend in Vancouver, absolutely genius teacher, many years teaching in Korea and Japan at all ages. He was teaching ESL at a school in Vancouver. Amazing lessons and high student satisfaction. But, his co-workers were lackluster and lazy, minimal experience, straight out of TESL kind of teachers. When the school scaled back their staff, my friend was first to go. Their reasoning was that he wasn't really 'working'. It looked like he was 'playing.' Of course, my friend was so good at his job you wouldn't beleive it was work, but actually he just made it look easy. I know he worked hard and planned well. The lackluster teachers took over his students. As a former teacher who was also good at teaching and enjoyed, I knew exactly what he was going through because I had been there myself.

[Stones1962]

Come to Vietnam...working less, 4 months paid holidays (2.5 at Xmas, 1 month summer plus the remaining at other times) and pulling in 2000$/month, can work privates until the cows come home...

when I left Korea I was making 2.3million (1700$ today's xrate) and working my arse off for 4 days at Chu'seok and the usual 4 day 'holiday' during the summer....

[slideaway77]

Reading this post and nodding my head. The bit about good teachers rings a bell. I recently done a course got qualified with a celta to become a better teacher but they seem to want em young and dumb over here. Qualifications etc dont mean sh*t.

If they try lowering wages they can take a flying f*ck to themselves.