Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Smudger]

I'm finishing up at my hagwon at the end of Feb. That is if I can't squeeze an extra couple months out of them solely to earn a bit more travel cash. I realize that most schools prefer new teachers to be brought in at the start of the school year and they are unlikely to give me an extra couple of months but I have yet to approach them.

If I can't extend with them is the shortest contract I can find while in Korea going to be 6 months? Am I better off jumping to China to find a 3 month contract and a new adventure? I would assume most schools don't want to invest the time to process a new teacher staying for less than 6 months.

[Troglodyte]

It depends on a few things. If you can transfer your visa, then you have a big bargaining tool to bring to the table. Visa transfer = immediate hire, very little paperwork, very cheap, no airfare required. If you are willing to work without the regular bonuses like severance and airfare, then you can negotiate very short contracts. If you transfer a visa, it doesn't have to be for a minimum amount of time. If it doesn't cost the school anything to hire you, many will go for that.

But if you plan on travelling a bit in Asia, then you could always start off your trip in China. Getting a work visa there may give you more time to travel. China has a lot to see and do. You might find a school willing to negotiate a lower salary in exchange for only working 4 days a week or having more holidays. So you could do some weekend trips. Having a place to stay (and come back to) in China may make it easier than just backpacking for a few months. Keep in mind as well that if you're thinking of doing some long term slow backpacking around Asia, then you can get some freelance work at language schools in a lot of countries. Some pay well, others don't. It depends a lot on the country. But you can use ELT as a means to further subsidize your travels. You might want to spend a while in a well paying country doing a bit of freelance work and then visit 2 cheaper countries.

[Smudger]

Thanks for the reply.You've laid out some good options.

Does transferring my E2 visa mean that it can be extended without any hassles if it's about to expire?
I'm not worried about working for a few months without the bonuses as long as I've collected those already from the school I'm finishing at.
Would finding schools to negotiate a short-term contract mean going "door-to-door" so to speak?

I was hoping to do around 4 months in SE Asia but the more the merrier. This freelance work you speak of, what countries pay well? That sounds like a good idea to subsidize travels if I can stop somewhere for a bit then move on. Does finding this freelance work simply involve walking into schools and asking for work?

cheers

[Troglodyte]

If you get a letter of release then you can start a new job the day after your last day of work at your current job (or up to 2 weeks later). The application for a transfer must be in before you finish your current job.

Transferring your visa is MUCH easier than getting a new one. If you search through the forum you can find the exact procedure, but all that you need from your current employer is the LOR. You can even print up one and get the owner to sign it for you. You're new boss will need a few documents but nothing they wouldn't have needed anyway. The whole process takes less than a week and your visa can be extended for up to a year (or any amount of time less than that). Call immigration to get the exact details. They speak English and can spell it all out for you.

To do a transfer, you can apply for jobs the exact same way you would have normally applied. The difference is that you tell the school (or recruiter) right away that you have a LOR and can transfer. So, you CAN do door-to-door, or reply to job announcements (e.g. on Dave's) or write to a bunch of recruiters. Recruiters in particular know that you are valuable if you can transfer. Just tell them that you want at least x amount of money (e.g. 2.0 million), housing, and a 4 month contract, and you don't need airfare, severance, pension or health insurance (none of which they'd offer you anyway). Shouldn't take you more than a week or two to find something nice (even if you're looking at working in Seoul).

The other countries that you can work freelance in would likely be Vietnam and Thailand. Maybe you could get some short term work in Taiwan or Japan but those places require a bit of time because the initial cost of going there and setting up are higher (e.g. rent). If you do freelance there (as in most freelance ELT work) then it's pretty much door-to-door, paid cash in hand every week (maybe monthly depending on the country and what you think of the school). What you do in advance is get a prepaid cellphone and then print up a 1 page resume (single sided) that includes an email address and phone number. You could also get a set of business cards printed up. Put on it how much experience you have, your credentials (e.g. TEFL cert, and a BA), your local phone number and email address. At first you'll probably be staying at a youth hostel or such, so ask them to see the local Yellow Pages. Give places a call, or if you see places downtown, just stop in and ask. Profits are small the first month until you can build up a list of schools that will offer you some hours.

Check out the international job forum and see what countries seem interesting. See how much you can make locally and what are local start up costs. Then plan your trip. It's pretty straight forward. It just requires a lot of running around for the first month somewhere.

[Smudger]

This is interesting. I wonder if many people do this to avoid all the document hassle with getting a new visa if they are completing a contract and then moving to a new school.
Does immigration not have an issue with transferring (extending with a new school) a visa days before it's about to expire? Seems like a nice loophole to avoid the visa process for a new job if you're in Korea. If they don't, great.

[Troglodyte]