Korean Job Discussion Forums

[martinpil]

Im offered a job out of seoul and max is 2.3m. isnt it supposed to be up to 3m for a PS job? 2.3m is about $1800 so not a lot.

[alphakennyone]

Hate to say I told ya so. By "out of Seoul" do you mean EPIK or GEPIK? The max is higher than 2.3 million won (2.7 million or more I believe, depending on rural/provincial allowances), but that may be the best you can get on your first contract and with zero experience working in SK.

You're just not gonna be getting 3 mil at a public school on your first year or even first few years for that matter. If you want a big(ger) paycheck, you might want to consider hagwons like CDI or others involved in test prep.

BUT WHO KNOWS! Public schools are the luck of the draw. Some people get a lot of overtime work and see their monthly pay end up a lot higher than those teaching just 4 hours a day.

[martinpil]

I mean JEPIK. its in paju city. Im askin for more money, I want mon 2.5m

[alphakennyone]

They won't negotiate, but good luck.

[martinpil]

maybe seoul PS pay up to 3m

[alphakennyone]

I believe SMOE pays up to 2.7 million won - but not for you.

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/index.cgi?read=37654

I think you need to get your priorities straight. Do you want a public school job, with its longer vacations, lower working hours, etc? Then be prepared to be underpaid considering your qualifications. That's all there is to it.

Do you want higher pay? Seek out the hagwons that offer it and be prepared for a few days of unpaid vacation every year (CDI). Considering your qualifications, I bet you could get an offer of 35,000 won/hour or more at CDI or at a test prep hagwon.

Do you want to teach adults? Get ready for split shifts.

There's no magic answer that anyone can give you to get around these things. You can go around and around saying "this can't be!," but it is how it is.

[martinpil]

depends wot an accredited institution is I suppose.

[curlyhoward]

Come on over and get your 1.8-2.0

[wesharris]

[valkerie]

Martin I hear ya but GEPIK (and likely others out of Seoul) just don't reward experience outside of their system well.)

2.3 is the top of the GEPIK scale, regardless (then there may be add ons for multiple schools, rural allowance). I started at the top of the scale with 14 years teaching exp (8 in Asian EFL), QTS for high school and a TEFL. I can only get a pay rise if I do another full year with GEPIK (on same pay as now) then in the third year it would be 2.5. Madness.

BUT I chose this job to experience rural life and have decent vacs etc.

They offer the same increment for an online TEFL as they do for a MA.

Just the way it is.

[Big Mac]

Considering your ability to write, I would offer you the lowest salary I possibly could. Better yet, I probably wouldn't even hire you. But we've been through this before.

Public schools don't negotiate. They give you the amount for wherever you fall on the salary scale based on your experience and education. Since you have no experience, you would probably fall at the bottom of the scale. The scales have changed for this year and I'm not sure exactly what they are now, but last year they started at 1.8 million.

When you get to your school, convince them to let you teach after school classes. That's what I do at my public school and I make over 3 million most months.

But seriously, you've been looking for a job for how long now? What's the problem? Most people can find a job here in a couple of weeks, maybe less.

[alphakennyone]

If you've read the salary scales yourself, you know that he'll get more than the minimum, but probably not as much as he thinks he'll get. Besides, I really want to see this fellow come to Korea. I imagine many an adventure.

[Big Mac]

Yeah, you're right. I just read his other post where he says he has a CELTA and 10 years of teaching experience outside of Korea, some of it teaching ESL.

I guess I just assumed he had no experience, because he seems to have trouble stringing together proper sentences in English. He also seems a little daft to say the least. Not exactly teacher material, if you ask me.

[hang10]

[martinpil]