Korean Job Discussion Forums

[boggs123]

I've heard that Ivy League graduates can expect a higher salary in South Korea than teachers that graduated from other schools. How much can one expect to make at a hagwon, and is it reasonable to ask for a higher salary based on your alma mater?

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

Don't work...believe me I've tried.

[FMPJ]

Ivy League (and similar) graduates are eligible for some of the higher paying jobs--from private AP/SAT prep places (Apgu, Daechi) to the good Foreign Language High Schools.

[Xuanzang]

You might be able to squeeze some more won out of your boss is he`s a *beep* for big name schools like Havard, Yale, Columbia, etc. Either that or go work the big rich neighbourhood schools who boast staffs of all Ivy Leaguers.

[chickenpie]

If you graduated from an Ivy league university and came to work in Korea you must have graduated with a pretty crappy degree.

[Jammer113]

You're only going to make more money if you help the company bring in more money. If they get to charge higher tuition rates because they have an ivy leaguer on their team or if they can stomp on their competition because of that, then they'll pay for it.

This isn't going to be feasable in a mom and pop hogwan, and if they did do it, it would likely be out of desperation because they're getting hammered by some new competition. Not a situation you'd want to be in.

There's a number of high-end private institutes that will pay top dollar for ivy-league graduates. I don't know a whole lot about the places, but my girlfriend points them out as we walk through Seoul. Pretty much your job will be to help rich Korean students get into ivy league schools. This will likely include things like 'helping' write application essays and such. On the plus side, you'd get to work with a lot of bright, motivated students. On the down side, you'd get to work with a lot of truly spoiled students and perhaps do some less than honest things. This is only hearsay, mind you.

There are a lot of different oppurtunities that will come your way if you are from a good ivy-league college that everyone's heard about, but you're going to have trouble finding them out of country. Eyebrows will definitely raise when people read your resume. A lot of different doors can open if you play your cards right.

Another prospect is to set up an agreement with your company where you can design and teach an extra class on the weekends specifically tailored to ivy league writing/culture/whatever. Give yourself a month or two timetable to get acclimated and design the class. Then you can take a percentage of the procedes from that. It's possible, depending on who your boss and company are. I don't know any legal ramifications on the matter.

[PRagic]

Cut the OP some slack. The Ivy degree doesn't pave the way to career success, especially in this economy. It's a great start, and can get you into the better grad schools assuming a decent GRE score, but unless you have the 'right' major, it's not going to open all that many doors to income generating opportunities.

Harvard and Yale English, Philosophy, and History majors have loans to pay back like everyone else. Come on over, try to get what you can for your degree, and then get on with your life. The OP is smart to ask now, because a few years from now, nobody will care too much where he/she did their undergrad.

Post what you find out, OP. With the unemployment rate peaking anew daily, there may be more people interested in hearing what you find out.

[sojusucks]

Koreans care about money more.

A name-brand school might get you a little more Won but not much more. If you have an ivy-league education, then you won't be here for long.

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

17 & 18 CENT EURO INTELLECTUAL HISTORY

[Big Mac]

The worst teacher I've ever worked with in Korea graduated from Yale. She thought she was better than all the other teachers and even attempted to correct our English when we were speaking casually to her. She lacked even basic social skills and seemed to think that the Yale name was going to carry her through life.

The school never checked up on her classes because she graduated from Yale. Even when kids were dropping from her classes they never checked up on her. When she left we discovered that her students were way behind other students at the school. She had thrown away the school curriculum and was teaching them Shakespeare instead, which was pretty dumb considering they could barely speak English.

So I guess what I'm saying is that Ivy Leaguers don't necessarily make the best teachers or employees. They think they're a cut above the rest, but they're probably not. I think they should have to prove themselves as good employees first instead of just standing behind the name of their university.

[sarbonn]

[Ukon]

Couldn't you work with a korean company? I'm sure LG would love to hire an IVY leauge graduate unless your degree is in Divinity.

[The evil penguin]

As a non-american, I don't actually understand this ivy-league BS. Is there more to it than just a pseudo-intellectional brandname/franchise thing?

Most universities offer some form of post-graduation networking scheme if you choose to be part of it... Most people I know prefer just to get their degree and get out into the real world with it.... university enrollment being nothing more than just the compulsory step in gaining the desired skills/knowledge base. I didn't go to one of the best ranked universities... i could have if i chose to, but instead preferred to choose on the basis of courses offered. Nonetheless, my uni was still a very well respected institute. Once i had my degree (and masters) in my hand however, I owed the university nothing, and certainly didn't expect the university to hold my hand in the future either. Study, graduate, and move on.

Same goes for fraternities.... what the hell is that BS about?

[Ukon]

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

At my Uni 75% of students live in frats. they are not rented per say, they have been owned by the individual frat for a hundred years or so and are large mansions that can house 200 Ss or more each. Each has it's own cooks and cleaning personal gleaned from the "local" population and all are like bars in the basement or 1st floor. My Frat Sig Phi had 10 taps+ and a stage for bands as well as pool tables and, of course, ping pong tables which were used for "blow pong" exclusively. We had living rooms as large as ballrooms and were used for many a Toga@ party.