Korean Job Discussion Forums

different · Joined: 22 May 2003

I feel very fortunate to have two university job offers to choose from.

If other factors are equal, is a job at a highly-ranked university more enjoyable than one at an average university or at a 2/3-year college? Are the students more pleasant to teach?

I'm sure the English level tends to be higher at a high-ranking university, and the students probably care more about their grades, but are they otherwise more cooperative? Are they nicer? Are they more snobby, arrogant, and judgemental?

I'm also wondering if it helps your future job prospects more to have worked at a high-ranking university.

What do you think?

AMERICAN HERO · Joined: 03 Feb 2003 Location: Najaf

different · Joined: 22 May 2003

I agree. I'm just curious if anyone has had experience at both kinds of universities and could comment.

Zark · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 4:52 pm Post subject:

All factors being equal - they aren't going to be equal. Management of the school and how they deal with you and what they require from you can make your life vary - from pleasant and mellow to hellish.

Treat them as any other job offers and find out if existing or previous people there are happy and why.

I use the 'ol meeting gauge-o-meter. Usually the fewer meetings there are, the happier I am. Poor or no communication often makes for a heppier work place. (Management assumes you know what you are doing and leaves you alone to do it). What often passes for good communication is really just babble and smoke and used to keep you in "your place." (Management assumes you are a useless foreigner who needs to be lead around by the nose and kept track of).

Worked at a great school in Saudi for five years. We had only two meetings in all that time - one of them called by the teachers. They hired good people. trusted them, and left them alone to do their work.

Just my opinion.

lawyertood · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2004 2:31 am Post subject:

One thing to note about lesser universities and colleges....with a slow economy in Korea the competition for jobs has become extreme. Because of this you will probably be pressured more at lesser universities and colleges to pass students or excuse students with poor or no performance because the students need to get jobs and that is the most important thing in the mind of the people who run these "educational" institutions. I ran into this at a two year college. Other than that you will probably find the mix of students that work real hard and the ones that slack off to be about the same.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

lawyertoad: regarding this extreme competition for jobs, I wonder how many people will be hanging on to their old school job after their contract instead of finding a new one?.. I mean, if the economy's in real trouble, or gets worse, it makes sense to hold onto what you've got...