Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Weigookin74]

Is 30 the new 60? I'd be curious to know how many older teachers in their 30's and 40's are having a hard time or easy time finding a job. Also is it in the public school or private schools? Are you looking for work in the cities or rural areas? There are probably other factors such as experience teaching in Korea, race, North American vs other places, good looking or average looking, male or female, etc. Not sure what to expect or what any of us should expect. Specifically, I'd like to know if there have been problems applying or getting a job over the past year or not. What seems to be the feeling or pulse nowadays?

[tideout]

[Weigookin74]

Ive noticed people in my area who are older were hired before the "surge". But it seems new hires are young and in their 20's. I'm in my 30's doing public school and have been renewed. I've decided to stay put and wait till the recession is over because I've heard the stories. Don't know how much truth there are to them. But eventually would like to move to Seoul. Just worried about the competition I'll face.

[creeper1]

LOL at the title of this thread. Yes 30 is the new 60 for job seekers seeking entry level PS jobs. Most people, historically, envisioned new graduates would do a year abroad after university before settling on their new career at home. The whole system is set up that way. That's why recruiters put posters up on campus etc.

Now their is a mountain of applicants for PS positions from all demographics. And for those optimists, the recession HAS ended. The job market will TAKE YEARS AND YEARS to recover though so I can guarantee this is not a temporary phenomenon.

HOWEVER 30 is the new 30 for those with higher degrees and in the university scene. Anyone in their 30s ought to be teaching in a University or have their own school set up.

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

Agreed. If your plan is to wait out the recession in South Korea, then you will be old and gray before that happens. People seem to think that things will magically recover in the next few years. But who says it even has to recover? Many of those jobs simply aren't coming back. Either way, many teachers(including myself) are going to bite the bullet and go back home to that terrible job market. It sucks, but that's life. Also, if you do end up staying for years in Korea, it will just make it harder to get a job back home anyhow. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[crazy_arcade]

30 is a bad age to be at without a job and with a lack of credentials.....

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

True. Just think of all the people that are 30 plus years old that have lost their jobs back home in the last few years or even just today for that matter. Plenty. It is a bad situation all the way around, no doubt. My guess is that armed robbery will be on the rise for the next few years.

[PRagic]

At a universitiy, you're just hitting your stride in your 40s!

[southernman]

I think if you have decent credentials age doesn't really matter for PS jobs and I think apart from the top 5% of hagwon jobs then PS is the way to go. I've just returned from a co-teachrs training for EPIK, age wasn't a problem there, or race for that matter. Everyone was either level 1 or 1+

Some of us older teachers here actually have jobs that we could walk right back into at mid level, so finding a job back home would only take one e-mail, for a decent postion.

Many of us are here because even though we had decent jobs back home. We were saving hardly anything, with taxes, rent/mortages and other cost of living expenses factored in.

I'm saving heaps more here, made 4 overseas trips and have more in the bank. If you're old and unqualified then no doubt it would be harder now. Even harder if you wanted to apply for a Hagwon job.

So in short if you are qualified age doesn't really matter in PS, at least.

[southernman]

[oldtrafford]

I'm in my 50's and will retire on my pension at 60. Those of you in your 20's will be working well into your 70's, good luck!!

[chellovek]

[creeper1]

Any "old" people made redundant at home shouldn't become discouraged looking at this thread. PS schools are still better and easier than any unskilled work at home. "Old" people can also get jobs more easily if they are willing to put up with a rural location in a PS.

[MacLean]

I'm in my 40's, and I can say that last year I had great difficulty finding a new job. I finished my contract, went home for a month, then reapplied from scratch. I returned to Korea and applied from here, but it took six months to get a new PS job. I already had four years experience in public school plus an MA. It took six months. I've spoken to others in their forties and their stories were the same.

Or maybe they don't want experienced foreign teachers here. It seems at times, that Koreans think the only good foreigner is a new foreigner. Can't have people about who are aware of the shady game played by Korean employers. Bring on the naive, inexperience college grad. Our gender is also working against us. Western females are less likely to sleep with Korean women.

[MacLean]

There was actually a thread on this at Brian in Jeollanamdo a few months ago.

http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2010/04/no-room-for-older-experienced-teachers.html