Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Labayu]

I first came across Dave�s Caf� and heard about Tefl in Korea back in 2007. I�d just come back to the UK from Australia. Looking back going then would have been the perfect time!

I�m about to hit 30 in a couple of weeks, single and from the UK. Right now Korea is looking an attractive possibility again.

I�m lucky in lots of ways that while my job doesn�t fill me with excitement most of the time there are bits I really enjoy, also the workplace is really informal and the people are great. I actually believe in the purpose and bigger picture of both my employers as a whole and my role in particular�

BUT, it�s one of those places where no-one really stays forever, the average is prob 2 or 3 years and some people manage 5-7ish. I�ve been there a year and a half and I�m starting to explore possibilities.

Part of it is the wage. I get �21,500 ($35k-ish), most I could ever hope to increase it with them is to �26k ($42k). Now it�s in greater London so I pay rent of �400 ($650) a month for one very small bedroom in a shared flat. I don�t have a car right now but insurance on one alone would cost at least �100 month, plus buying the thing in the first place, plus road tax, plus petrol.

There is no way I can ever see getting a house when the average starter house price in the UK is �150,000 and you need 10% in cash. Even if I could find �15k then I�d have to be earning around �38k ($62k) in order to get a mortgage. On the average starter house. When the average wage in the UK is �24,000!

I have been looking at other things, but I can�t imagine being cooped up in an office leaving at 6:30am and not getting home until 7pm like so many others in the UK do. I hate the idea! Plus to be honest I�m not sure what I�d even do� the current role is e-commerce and online marketing but I�d hate to do that in any other work environment unless I was freelancing.

I�ve actually looked at teaching in the UK as I could do a one year conversion course to be an English teacher or could be trained by a school. The later would mean that I�d only be qualified to teach in England & Wales so is a no-no, the former would mean I�d have to really improve my literature & grammar subject knowledge� plus I hate what this country has done to teaching- the kids are awful, the parents are worse and the teachers are overworked and underpaid.

Is it an awful idea to jack it all in and go to Korea? I know a lot of the downsides, but it seems better than England right now. Whether I�d work a year and then go for a Celta, work a year elsewhere, back to Korea and Masters I don�t know? I know it makes more sense for �career progression� to try and get on a 1 year course to be a �proper� teacher but I�m not sure I want to go through that experience. If I do that then I�d really need to stay for a few years after if I wanted the qualification to be seen as valid by future employers.

The average wage in Korea is what? Around 2.2m? Tax at 5%? So around �1,100 after tax and your housing is sorted? If I wanted a place of my own in the UK no matter how shabby I�d need to pay a min of �700 a month.

Seriously, would I be better off financially in Korea? It just seems pointless in the UK.

Esp interested to hear from Brits and again esp those who have been abroad previously, gone home and decided to go to Korea.

[ABC KID]

At the end of the day, only you can decide. Clearly you will be able to save reasonable or good money in Korea unless you live extravagently or do something stupid. However, some people are of the conclusion that you can win in the short-term in Korea but not in the long-term. This will vary from case-to-case.

This is not an attack on you but you highlight your London life. Have you ever considered living at least one hundred miles north of London where things are cheaper (especially housing)? Maybe you could make a go of things that way.

You are right that Britain has screwed up the teaching profession big time. However, teachers will still get a real buzz from it on a good day. Again, whether this is enough will vary from case-to-case.

[hugekebab]

I was in a very very similar position to you. Worked behind a desk, hated it and wanted some adventure.

I definitely don't regret coming to Korea, in fact in many ways it's opened up avenues, perhaps not career wise, but certainly in the way it's made my mind more flexible, more willing to go with the flow and willing to work anywhere in the world, without hesitation.

It was a big step and I bricked my pants when I left the UK (Have I made a big mistake, etc. etc.)

Whatever your experience here it won't have been a mistake.

Regarding your career; Korea probably won''t help that aspect very much, however, on a CV it certainly looks better than teaching in Thailand. If you have a masters degree, aim to find your way into a university for your first job, but you will have to send your CV to virtually every recruiter in Korea. Having a uni job will again look much better on your CV when you return to the UK, but English teaching is English teaching and doesn't really logically lead onto anything else.

The CELTA will not be much help for getting a job here, but will help your confidence, however the classroom situation here is so far removed from the CELTA experience that you will wonder why you did it sometimes! Overall though I'm glad I did the CELTA, but it's one of the most stressful things I've ever done. If you can do it over two months rather than the one month, put everything else in your life on hold (everything) and make sure you live or stay near the CELTA centre to reduce commuting.

My advice overall is go for it. Any questions let me know.

[hugekebab]

I would add that you shouldn't have any expectations regarding the students or school system here. The students here are much, much less motivated that in the UK. The UK looks like a model of educational achievement when put next to Korea. Most of the time you will be met with total apathy, a lack of enthusiasm and often sleeping by your students. Your class sizes will be huge. This is not a place for the teaching idealist. Remove all expectations you have in this regard, and you won't be shocked when you first teach.

Saying that I really love (some of) my students; they are great characters and we have a good laugh; it's definitely better than an office job.

Also, make sure you read the boards about peoples experiences, good and bad, and realise that they are not mad, some of that stuff actually happens here. Your boss will most likely be incompetent to wretchedly incompetent. In fact, I would say that every person I have met in authority here so far has been incompetent to grossly incompetent. It's just how it is here; people don't question those in authority, which facilitates managerial incompetence to quite ludicrous scales on occasion. Basically, your boss will be a bit crap and probably stress you out a lot. I'm not saying this to put you off, it's still worth coming, just don't expect anything approaching reasonable behavior from whomever is in charge of you.

[Old Gil]

You can make 14000 RMB a month in Shanghai, learn a globally useful and prestigious language, and transition into other jobs that don't involve teaching English. Look at China too before you decide to hit up the hermit kingdom.

[hugekebab]

Financially, you will be able to save more than in the UK on 20k, especially if you don't have any dependents.

[Privateer]

If you want to teach long-term, you should do the one-year conversion course to become a teacher and get some experience in the UK. That way even if you do decide to move to Korea - not a small decision, if you think about your long-term future, pension, family, kids, mortgage, and so on, all of which will be better for you in the UK - but, anyway, even if you do decide to come to Korea, that qualification will get you a job in an international school or university. Not that even 'international' schools or universities are that great but it'll put you ahead of the average EFL teacher here.

[stevieg4ever]

It depends on the individual.

My situation in regards to the UK is probably similar to yours (though I think with my work history I would be lucky to even get �21,000) though my experience with Korea is different. Actually my position in regards to the UK is probably a lot worse: all i have underneath me is a succession of average office jobs paying a wage that kept me at home for longer then I'd have liked. If I go back now ill be temping, just as I was before I left for Korea. I am basically stuck here but will put a plan together at some point. I also have the added benefit of already knowing a bit of Korean which is a huge help.

A friend of mine said it best and its the first thing I say to anyone in regards to Korea - when you come to this part of the world forget everything you have ever learnt and start from square 1. Take nothing for granted and don't assume anything.

In terms of Korea there are some fundamentals you must understand before anything. Korea is a place where foreign workers are regularly exploited and lied to; people regularly fail to get paid and can easily find themselves in the financial red; workers rights are practically non-existent and the likely hood of a total newbie getting help in the event of hardship is still pretty unlikely.

Id also say apply through EPIK or another scheme. Its the best way to garantee your salary and avoid most of the above.

I may of not worked for PWC or Bank of England whilst in the UK, but all my jobs had a basic level of planning, thought and organisation to them: people knew what was expected of them and knew who to go to in the event of a problem. This doesn't exist in Korea. The expectations of workers can be radically different to what is expected of workers in the west.

That said you can earn a lot of money in Korea in a relatively short space of time. Other factors such as cheap living costs, good overall climate, relatively low crime/anti-scoial behaviour, nice food (personally speaking) can all make Korea a worthwhile experience. Its also a great location for more exotic travelling.

[Scouse Mouse]

As a single bloke in Korea on 2.2m my disposable income stretched much further than it did in the UK on 40K+ a year. No mortgage... cheap public transport... cheap nights out... every little helps

[Mr. Pink]

[cj1976]

For me it's not the potential financial difficulty that deters me from going back. It's almost everything else about the country that makes my heart sink when I think about returning.
I've been here almost 4 years and I can honestly say that I have never once been homesick.

[Toju]

Leave the UK.