Korean Job Discussion Forums

Mr_Bacon · Joined: 25 Jun 2009

Hey all,

My degree will be in neither Education nor English once I graduate in 3 years, so going abroad to teach English will not benefit my future career at all.

I pretty much have to get a Master's degree as well to find employment in my field. The admissions departments of the good programs note that work experience is a plus.

So, my question for anyone who has had to fit a graduate degree in with teaching abroad:

Would it be better for me to take a year or 2 away from education/career to teach, or should I keep moving forward with my work experience and Masters and try to teach after that?

Right now my primary motivations for teaching in Asia are to gain new experiences/sate my wanderlust, and to bank a bit of money. It is not my intention to stay in Asia for many years...I'm thinking 1 or 2, assuming I enjoy it. I'm just not sure whether I should try to advance my education as fast as possible, or whether I should satisfy this want of mine (thereby delaying my career) first.

AgentM · Joined: 07 Jun 2009 Location: British Columbia, Canada

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

I think either way is about the same. Maybe a little more toward the go now side.

By the time you finish a couple of years of grad school work, you might feel more of a pressing need to get into your field. Especially if you have to pay a good part of it using loans. Grad school can also be a big grind and living on a grad student's budget a grind too. Going to Asia for a couple of years in a non-related field might not seem so good by then.

The grind of grad school is also another reason I'd recommend going to Asia after you finish the BA/BS. Take a couple years break from college to do some living then go back.

In my case, I tried to find a job in Asia for after the BA but didn't find good info about it. (This was in the early 1990s). So I went to grad school but found a job in Korea midway through. I got permission to leave the program to teach overseas for one year and come back with my same scholarship and TA position, but I decided to stay in Korea longer. 3 years later when I did come back, I went to grad school in a different field but with the same plan to teach at the college level ---- but the grad school grind eventually wore me out....

PRagic · Joined: 24 Feb 2006

Friend 1: BEd. 2 years in Korea. Paid off debt and saved 10K. Went back to his home country and became a teacher. Knocked out his MEd.

Friend 2: BA, Journalism. 2 years in Korea. Paid off debt and saved 10K. Went back to home country and got a job in public relations. Knocked out his MA. Currently in PR with large bank in major city.

Friend 3: BA Biology. 3 years in Korea. Banked (no debt from undergrad). Went back to home country straight into grad school (Industrial Labour Relations). Been with a Fortune 500 in marketing ever since.

Friend 4: BA Business. 2.5 years in Korea. Paid off debt and saved 10K. Went back to home country and got a job in marketing. Never bothered doing his MBA. Still thinking about it, but now has a wife and baby in the picture.

Friend 5: BEd/MA TESOL. 10 years (at least) in Korea. Paid off all debt and banked a load of coin. Always wanted to work in ESL education. Got CELTA/DELTA and other buzz and whistle certs while working here, too. Only worked university jobs in Korea. Moved back to home country with wife and newborn. Working as the program coordinator for ESL program at major US university. Contemplating doing the Ph.D.

10K doesn't sound like a lot now, but 15 years ago, that represented a pretty good savings effort after paying off student loans and taking at least one major trip.

OP, there is more than one way to skin a cat. We'd have to know what your major was and why you feel you 'need' the Master's to work in your field. Some people do distance degrees while they're here. Many people, such as the ones in the examples above, stay here for varying lengths of time with a goal in mind, and then transition back to their home countries to work and/or study more.

It's a tough call. If you go to grad school, odds are you'll be more mellowed out and possibly in a committed relationship by the time you graduate. You might not want to work overseas, and, as another poster mentioned, you might feel more pressure to get to work in your chosen career path. Then again, you might find that you hold a Master's in something that you could give a flying f about, and want to run away to Asia. Who knows?

Let us know what you decide. There are bound to be many people in your shoes given the state of the economy.

conbon78 · Joined: 05 Jun 2008

Well if you have a Master's you can make more money here, so that is always an added bonus. Aside from that - don't think of moving here and teaching English as a stop to your career path. I initially felt that way also and I moved here with a master's degree. However, after one year of teaching here, and absolutely loving life, I found a job that is better than anything I can get in the US and gives me the experience that I need in the industry that I want. So actually, moving to Korea has put me on the correct career path, so there are other opportunities here than just teaching English. Think about what you really want to do, you could probably find a job here doing it.

Mr_Bacon · Joined: 25 Jun 2009

summer33ny · Joined: 10 Aug 2006

In addition to what the other posters said..have you considered the possibility of taking distance masters courses?

In Korea, you will have plenty of free time to further your education. I work in an unrelated field as well and have been able to do seminars and classes online to fulfull my continuing ed certification requirements in my field. I also have time to write papers for publication if I so desired.

My boyfriend is a certified teacher and will be taking all his Masters in education courses online.

Working in Korea is great for us because we are saving lots of money here and traveling and we have so much free time that we can still pursue those "career" related things that we wouldn't be able to do otherwise working full-time jobs at home.

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

Since you said so much free time --- what type of school do you teach for.

Because I am sure it is vastly different between college, public school, and hakwons...

Mr_Bacon · Joined: 25 Jun 2009

DrugstoreCowgirl · Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:22 pm Post subject:

I'm only planning to be here for a year then I want to go back to grad school. I'll have a lot of money saved by then so it won't be as hard to survive during school. A year isn't that long, I think you should do it. I'd rather do something and regret it than not do something and regret it even more.