Korean Job Discussion Forums

[binderman278]

I am just curious. I haven't seen any stats to show what percentage of teachers quit in some form or another and go back home. Does anyone have any information on this? Thanks.

[frankly speaking]

It would be next to impossible to gather this kind of data. Even if you talk specifically for Korea, how would anyone get such information. There is no way that Immigration could compile a list of how many visas it gave and compare it with how many left before their visa expired. We also wouldn't know if they left early because of a pre arranged agreement, ie. 6 month contract. We wouldn't know if they had left permanently or just changed jobs.

There is no real way to assess this.

My assumption is that the attrition rate for EFL teachers is higher than the stats that they have for US public school teachers which is about 5 years.

[stevieg4ever]

There are no stats as such but to be honest with all the <mod edit> that goes down it is invariably very high.

Im not sure if it was the Wagner report or what but i am sure i read around the 50% mark that leave within their first year.

In my EPIK orientation there were approximately 200 natives that attended the one week programme. In Christmas we had a reunion and I could of sworn that the lecture hall had barely 100-odd teachers. When I made my decision to leave I can't tell you how many conversations I had to have with various people to convince me to stay, exasperated by the fact that I speak Korean no doubt. In my town there was one guy that had been there a long time but all the other ps positions were basicaly a revolving door.

[binderman278]

Wow thats nuts! 50%? Thats a little scary. Thanks.

[AsiaESLbound]

Hard to say, but I would guess there are a lot of quitters, especially 1st timers. I would guess most do end up quitting as most are not staying in Korea for the long term.

[ttompatz]

It has been my personal experience that about 15% leave in less than 1 year, about 50% leave after 1 year and 90% are gone within 5 years.

GEPIK has seen retention rates along the same lines with small variations EXCEPT in the last 2 years where recruitment and retention rates are MUCH higher than usual.

I would imagine that the rates for early departures would escalate as you move farther south or east and isolation and culture shock become more extreme.

Hakwons on the other hand have historically had bad recruitment and retention rates especially among some of the more notorious chain schools.

By and large their reputations are well deserved.

.

[gregoriomills]

Well, I've been here two years now, worked in both public and private, and I would guess that around 25% - 35% leave BEFORE one year. Of those that complete one full year, probably 40% - 50% stay on for a second contract, but don't necessarily finish the second contract. With the recession back home, those numbers probably rise a little, but not much.

There's also quite a few (more recently) that finish a contract, go home to try things out, and end up coming back.

[binderman278]

Interesting information guys. So I my chances increase if I go to a public school?

[lifeinkorea]

[Seoulio]

[Captain Corea]

[Troglodyte]

I agree. It's the exception to the rule for NETs to plant roots in a foreign country where they went to teach. Most just do it for a year or two after college with no intention to make a career of it. Even those who DO make a career of it, eventually go back home because it's more profitable. If you make a career of ELT then eventually you want to move into a better position. The best career promotion positions are usually teacher trainer or DOS. Teacher trainers are usually employed in big cities in an English speaker countries. Not always but often. As a foreigner, you could be a DOS in Europe or South America but Asian schools don't seem open to it, and most are not financially stable enough to make it a career move for you. If you go the DOS route, then usually you think of moving to Western Europe or USA (depending on where you're from) because you eventually find a better job there. The ELT jobs in Western Europe and North America are generally better than elsewhere - if you have the qualifications to get them.

I think that generally the only people who DON'T eventually go back home stick around because they are married to a local. And even a lot of them go back home at some point. Some people will stick around in their adopted country and open their own school, but usually these people are married to a local. You also get some socially/psychologically unstable people who end up in an ELT career in Asia. They might not go home either because they wouldn't get any work back home where people would first of all realise that they are mentally disturbed and second of all wouldn't tolerate them.

So, I have no stats for you, but based on my experience, AT LEAST 90% of English teachers eventually go home.

[Sody]

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Whistleblower]

Just an interesting article on my blog about the life cycle of teaching:

http://eltexperiences.blogspot.com/2010/04/janets-abruzzo-edublog-live-plenary.html