Korean Job Discussion Forums

[motown]

Many older teachers apply to Korea and are accepted because they have teaching experience somewhere else in the world.
What if you are 51 and have a B.A. but no teaching experience whatsoever. Does Korea have an age restriction similar to Japan.
(think Japan has a 40 year max for new teachers).
I would be interested in a 6 month contract starting in the fall with an option to renew for an additional six months.
Any thoughts on this?

[chachee99]

If you are breathing you can be teaching in Korea. Seriously, if you want to do the safe thing, go get a medical exam first. If you health is good then you will have no problems with most employers here.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Koreans prefer 'young'. That's the reality. I'm 59 and plenty of others are around my age, so people in our age bracket can find things, but we do have to be more patient. Your best bet is with the public schools. They are more willing to hire older teachers. Also, you will have more opportunities if you are willing to go places the younger crowd isn't. Like out in the country, in smaller schools.

Good luck.

[CentralCali]

[SandyG21]

The country of Japan does not prohibit teachers over 40 - some schools and programs do.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Looney]

I know 2 teachers, one of them in their late 40's and one about 53.....so I think whilst it's more difficult to get a job it certainly isn't impossible. Demand outweights supply over here so I think you can find something.

As for 6 month contracts....you might find those difficult to come by. I have seen some ads posted on occasion but it's quite rare to see those....and those are usually with hagwons who as you may have read can be very sketchy. I would definitely go for public school for the stability and being paid on time etc....also less discriminatory than hagwons.

.....I suppose you could sign a 1 year contract then quit after 6 months if things aren't going well for you. Also, by staying 6 months you then usually don't have to repay the airfare (read the contract carefully). Note public school's usually only offer 1 year contracts

[motown]

Thanks for all the replies.
I would only be interested in working in a large city as I don't know the language. Interesting to find out that Japan is still a possibility. I will have to look into that further before sending in an application for either country.
Public schools do seem to be the better choice from what I've read on this site. I also get the impression that it's best to apply soon for September positions otherwise the pickings will be slim.

[hopefullykorea]

Actually, with more people in their 30's 40's and 50's being laid off here in the states, you'll start seeing more of those people pursuing opportunities in Korea.