Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Times30]

Hi, I've been teaching in Korea for 2 years now. I'm about 27, not married... and sinking in debt. I'm back in the states getting my TESOL degree.

But as of now, there are like no Jobs in America. Or at least none with long term potential.

I'm starting to wonder if it's viable to make teaching ESL a lifelong career and how stable and profitable can it be? When will they stop hiring me? Can I work till I'm 60? Will I still be making $30,000 a year? Can I make more?

And if anyone has advice on how to go about and do it. I'd be very grateful.

One more thing... I have my bachelors in Finance and I'd like to do ESP (English for Special Purposes) with financial or computer related fields. Anyone know whats my next step?

Any/all advice I can use. Thanks in advance.

[SteveSteve]

Hey Times30. I'm in the same boat as you. The truth is that the market demand for ESL teachers in America (and foreign language teachers as a whole) has been dwindling slowly over the last two or so years. Many universities require that you have a PhD or ABD (All But Dissertation) and community colleges usually accept an applicant with only Masters in TESOL/Applied Linguistics, but they also want instructor with at least 5 years of teaching experience. Despite the current odds, there are a couple of things that you can do to make your chances of finding full time ESL work in America happen.

Unless you have a Masters in TESOL, I wouldn't count on being employed by any institute of higher education. With just a BA, you could only find work in private language schools, which in the end is largely demoralizing (it is a business after all) and doesn't provide enough wages/benefits for anybody to make ends meet. Despite this terrible way of living, working at a for-profit language school is one way to make ESL a full time job -- but you're paid on a per hour/per class basis, so depending on your hourly/class rate, you will have to work A LOT! But a lot of schools refuse to schedule teachers full time in order to avoid providing benefits. Like health insurance. But you could teach at a language school for a year or two then eventually be promoted to some management position.

Second, you could always get your teachers license (certified in ESL) and teach in a public primary/secondary school in the state where you live. Those jobs are very secure, fairly plentiful, pay pretty decent wages (depending on the region) and have good benefits, too. Plus you get a lot of time off for winter and summer breaks. If you don't mind working with young learners, this may be a temporary gig for you while you pay off some of your debt, get established in an area, and build up your resume with professional teaching experience.

Then there's teaching abroad. Not just in Korea, but universities in other countries will hire recent grads with just a MA, too.

I'm hoping our country's current economic climate will blow over in the next year or two with jobs aplenty sprouting and popping up afterward.

[Troglodyte]

You can work in the ELT profession until you die of old age. Korea probably won't have many jobs for you once you hit 50 but even here it's not impossible. In many other countries, age is a bonus.

You're not likely to make 30K a year at first. Most jobs don't pay that much. But after a while, when you have more experience (especially with your degree in TESOL) you can find those jobs. The Middle East has a lot of them. You can also settle down somewhere and open your own school.

Check out the adverts on Dave's. There are also other boards for job adverts. The jobs are out there. They will be out there long after you decide to retire or change profession. In ELT, you are guaranteed a job. The only downside is that in most countries it doesn't pay well if you intend to take the money out of the country. So, you'll have to save up money for your twilight years, which you might end up living in a cheaper country.

[rayne]

I have the same question about working in Korea permanently.

My reason is, long story short, I'm most probably gonna marry my current boyfriend (who is Korean, born and raised).

I've been going through this forum and there's a lot of "I can't wait to leave!" and not a lot of "I'm here permanently!" As much as I loved Korea when I went before, I'm going to miss Canada and I'm worried about if I can work until retirement....

[Kimchifart]

In my view it's not realistic to plan to live your whole life here. If you happen to have been here for 10 years, then you'll be in a better position to make a judgment. However, the simple fact for me is that the problems in this country, largely based around lack of legal enforcement, environmental issues and social exclusion start to be a real drag.

[Saudiman]

I'm 47 and my husband is 50. We aren't worried - we believe there will always be a place for us, even 10 years or more down the road!

[jzrossef]

[SteveSteve]

[thegadfly]

OP,

You could conceivably make ESL teaching your career, but you need to find a good place to work and lay down roots, much like anywhere else. If you hop from job to job, you will be perpetually locked into the "entry-level" salaries. Some places (many?) do not even WANT long-timers, as they become more expensive to employ -- so you need to avoid those types of places. Find a place that values education, student learning, and the professionalism of the teachers. These places exist, though they are in the minority.

If you are following a career-path in ESL, you will probably become a "head teacher," or whatever other designations exist (I have heard head teacher, teacher-trainer, teacher coordinator, foreign director, faculty liason, and a few others). You'll probably get that title in your third year at a place, possibly a little later if the current head teacher stays longer. That position is a lot more headache for not a whole lot more pay, but it IS a bit of a pay bump. I would say that if ESL is your career, it is pretty tough to AVOID the position.

It is possible to become a true "foreign director," which would be an administrative position with mininal or no class-contact time. That would probably also be a pay bump, and an entirely different creature -- I have no experience at that level, as I want to stay in the classroom, so I can't speak to the duties, beyond hiring/firing and implementing the policies of the owner of the school. Some people like it. I don't think I would.

Of course, if you care to invest your own money, you could become a partner or even a school owner yourself (is the business visa still $60,000 USD?). If you are truly a long-termer, this might be the best idea, once you are established in an area (and have a reputation as a fantastic educator).

If you are employed by a school, your salary will probably top out as a teacher or a head teacher at a lower level than in the US, but your disposable income in Korea will be higher -- your savings here would be much higher (that is, to save the same here, you would need to earn significantly more in the US).

Financially, it is certainly possible. I think the thing that drives long-termers away are the lack of social opportunities and distance from the rest of one's family -- drinking at the bar with short-termers loses its luster after...2 years? 4 years? Fairly early, career-wise.

Anyway, good luck....

[zappadelta]

[thegadfly]