Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jzrossef]

For better or for worse, however, I now find myself planning on heading back to Korea or either really long term if not forever due to many personal reasons that, whether I like it or not, is not something that can be questioned or negotiable. I missed out a year, and I�ll be enrolling in a university.

So this is a million dollar question for the dongpo or foreign veterans in South Korea� what are the ideal post-secondary degrees that are most prospective in South Korea? I was originally planning on becoming a pharmacist working near the DMZ border for the Americans military, but I�d like to keep my options open in case something happens. (Ex. Failure of admission, shorter time limit of stay in Canada, etc.) I�m thinking of science faulty, and maybe either expand it on pharm, life science (tad easier discipline) or simply get a bachelor degree and start teaching until I can climb myself up from there.

To start off with my background, I�m native Korean with some Japanese background. We immigrated to Canada in around 2002-ish, and I pretty much considered here as my home. I still have some Korean mindsets and I still have some working fluency in speaking and reading as Canadian Korean, I was living in the assumption that I�d be finding my own place in Canada. I have more or less working fluency in reading/speaking fluency with horribly limited writing and have some fluency in mandarin if that�s an asset. I�d like to believe that I have a good command in English, but that�s a matter of opinion.

I surfed around the Google to see what dongpo� life is like in Korea, with very mixed reviews. Most Koreans have some relatives or connections already to make their life easier, whereas I have very little luxury in that area. To make the matter even worse, I lived in high-middle class family for too long, and my goal is, at least financially anyway, to be as close to that level as possible. Since the average salary in South Korea seems to be hovering in 2 million-ish, I am hoping to make at least 4-5 million gross monthly income. This may sound unrealistic and wishful thinking, but I figure maybe that�s not such unreasonable offer if I plan my career where I have solid experience, reputation, Korean/English fluency� and well, there are a lot of elderly Koreans on their way to retirement by the time I graduate� maybe? In stable positions like international schools, as an example, might be a good start. I can�t seem to find much information about international schools in Korea specifically, though even schools like that have mixed reviews.

Education field may not be where I will end up in, but I�d like to start planning out with spams of questions and clarifications that some of you, dongpo and foreigners alike, may want to share.

I welcome your valuable insights, advice, and whatever you feel comfortable sharing with. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

[youtuber]

Sounds like you are interested in making lots of money and you don't care how you do it. If that is your plan, chances are you will be miserable. Do something you enjoy and can make a decent living at.

Why pharmacist? Cause they make lots of money? Go and observe your local pharmacist for a while. Does it seem like an enjoyable job? If you are interested, by all means study pharmacy.

And as for international schools, I wouldn't call that a stable job. Lots of turnover. And generally the pay averages around $35k US around the world. Not as great as everyone thinks.

[jzrossef]

Honestly, I was hoping that the mentioned salary cap would be what I'd consider as decent income for living... I didn't really take it to the account that Korean living cost can be lower than the West. (Though I do hear that the gap is closing in slowly) While I understand I will not start with that by the long shot, and I'd probably have to wait years with some luck and reputation to hope for my current standards... I was hoping that it would be a realistic goal by my 30s at least. Perhaps I've been too optimistic? I know the market for overseas teaching is more saturated than ever, but I thought it's still a growing and relatively healthy industry. What is it like nowadays? I'm probably coming in 3-4 years from now on, at the earliest.

I admit that finance is a big factor into my career planning, and I know that money isn't everything. But it does make your life a lot easier, and I thought doubling average Korean salary wouldn't be, per se, overly greedy and shortsighted materialism. I love teaching, and I have tutored many occasions that I found enjoyable... and there was a time when I thought teaching history classes would the pinnacle of my happily ever-after dream. I guess I just like to balance the financial and finding a job I'd be happy with. There are people simply following their passion, and some of them do end up more financially successful despite their original intension... alas, I don't have the nerve to bet that high for better or for worse.

I'm getting little off-topic here. So would you say most (say, 85-90%) of the jobs in the market have huge turnovers? I always thought that there's a high turnovers cause many overseas teachers and related areas plan on staying few years before returning to their homeland, or that was the bubble I live in. I know that, after living in Korea for over a decade, that Korean economy is often viewed too optimistic. I lived through IMF crisis, I've seen how many teachers (I've never had foreign teacher in my Korean school) complaining about their current job and how many are just killing the time until they can get the pension. (Government employed workers tend to have lower wage, but they get much better-off pension... or so the trend went anyway... it's been a while since I lived there) I'm planning on getting a relatevely stable job with at least 4 milllion won salary. Knowing Korea' typical work ethics, (disciplined and long, albeit not always productive) I'd probably have to work harder than my average days, but I'm not going to chase after money by working 7days/week and filling all the spare times with part time jobs.

Anyway, that's just what's in my head right now. If I gave you the impression of materialistic wannabe (and in a sense, I guess I was a bit) it's not what I wanted.

PS: Regarding the pharm question...

Teaching, writing and history are my true passion. I've been advised to go to science simply because science gives you more options in future career, and I'm simply good at it for now. I'm not particularly passionate in bio-chem areas (few chuckles and excitement here and there... but they don't last long ) but I get pretty decent mark considering that fact that I don't study like my crazy IB keeners. Pharmcy doesn't sound unrealistic like other med-related jobs, and it doesn't ask to sell your soul for decades like doctors and such.

What can I say? Job is simply a job, and somtimes paying job and the fun don't always mix. That's where hobbies come into play. (shrug)

[lifeinkorea]

[jvalmer]

How old are you? How good is your Korean? How good is your English?

You can possibly teach in a hagwon, but teaching in public schools is probably out of the question for you. You will not be making 4 million teaching in a hagwon.

I think your salary expectations for a new-grad in Korea are unrealistic too. Not sure what kind of money Korean pharmacists make, but most Korean 4-year university grads in their 20's, who are lucky enough to find a professional job, are realistically making in the 1.5 to 3 million/month range at the moment, with no housing provided. Unless you work for one of the big-boys, like Samsung, that is the type of money you should be realistically expecting. If you have a non-Korean bachelors, and no connections, Korean multinationals most likely won't even look at you unless you have at least a Masters.

Anyways for most english teachers here, 2 million is survivable, because they don't have to pay rent.

[Ukon]

No shortage of teaching jobs for an f-4....get a SAT teaching gig and/or some privates....you'll blow away the average korean salary and work 1/3rd the average korean work day.

If you really want to make bank, I suppose you could get a MBA and teach buisness english private lessons to groups of execs all day....

Sky is the limit on money there.....Medical and science english has a good sized demand....

If you want to make money teaching, it's not hard....

4 million a month can be had if your willing to commute to multiple part time jobs or teach privates....

I've met teachers here making 100 million to 400 million a year here...

[jzrossef]

[jvalmer]

[lifeinkorea]

[mimi belle]

You need to look into your visa status and whether you will qualify for an F4 or if you'll be considered a citizen. They tightened the regulations this year. If you're male, there's a possibility you will be considered a Korean citizen (even if you're a Canadian citizen) and have to serve in the army. Anyway, something to look into.

FYI, the more commonly used word is gyopo. It's also sometimes spelled with a "k". Dongpo may be correct, but not as many people have heard of it.

As far as career path, that will be up to you but I think both career options sound promising (medical/pharmaceutical or teaching). If you're interested in teaching and languages, you can get a job as an instructor, work for a company, or work private jobs.

There are a few areas in your English that you could improve. You have a tendency to confuse your plural vs singular. (For ex, " Korean mindsets" and "insights" would be better as singular. "To make the matter worse" would be better as plural. It should be "to make matters worse".) Also, your vocab choices are a bit off sometimes, which makes it seem like you might not fully understand the word. For example, "spams of questions" doesn't make sense and neither does "some fluency of mandarin". You're either fluent or you're not. If you can speak a little, you should say "some ability" or "I speak a little Mandarin." Don't take this as an insult...not everyone is bilingual so that's an accomplishment but if you focused on improving that singular vs plural issue, it will help a lot. The word choice will get better if you practice writing.

[Saudiman]

Can you speak any Japanese? That really would help you here if you could teach or tutor it.

[jzrossef]