Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yongbae22]

As the topic states, I am planning to work in Korea for an extended amount of time and possibly indefinitely. I need some advice from experienced people that wouldn't mind sharing some of their knowledge with me.

A lot of crap happened in my life the past few years and as a result, I am strongly considering living in Korea and teaching English as the easiest way for me to start out there. I've spent the past two months doing research about what is needed from me to do ESL teaching.
I believe I am eligible for a F-4 visa which I gather is like a golden ticket. I was born in Korea and adopted to American parents when I was young. I always had ambitions of visiting the motherland, but now I'm thinking about settling there.

I was hoping to continue my profession as a plumber when I go over to Korea, but I've been hearing that it is not the same prestigious job as it is here in the states. I heard that the pay was not good, the hours extremely long, that it is a job looked down upon, and I might not even be able to do it there since it may fall into the hard-manual labor category, which I'm not allowed to do even with the F-4 visa.

As such I've been seeking other types of employment and it seems that ESL teaching is the only job easily available to me. I don't speak a lick of Korean, know anyone overseas there, nor am eligible for any USA civilian/military positions in Korea. So ESL teaching it is.

Being a plumber did not require any college degrees so I never bothered to earn one. I was hoping I would not need a bachelor's degree since I can get a F-4 visa to bypass that requirement for the E-2 visa, but I found that it is a law that I would need a degree to teach in an institution.

I've been looking at universities to see how I can earn my degree fast and cheap. When I Googled that I found pages of universities that offered degrees for "life experience" and I was like, sweet Jesus! This is surely for me since I've been working since I graduated high school and I'm 28 yrs old so I must qualify for some of that. After doing some homework I found that these places were called diploma mills, enough said.

So after doing more research, I found that it was very hard to obtain solid information from genuine universities. They all seem to want me to pay an admission fee of $50+ before I can speak to someone about accelerated programs, how many credits I can do in a course of a year, etc, and I wasn't about to shell out that kind of money to multiple schools just so I can see if they were a school in which I would want to enroll in. All of my friends and family have gone to brick and mortar schools for 4+ years for their degree that cost them tens of thousands to attend, so they couldn't really give me any advice.

My specific search criteria was a school that I could easily afford after financial aid, and any grants/scholarships that I would qualify for. My preference was to take all courses online since I am living rent free and eating for free at my father's house for now. I want to complete my degree in 3 years or less by doing summer courses and such, and I have 9 credits that could be transferred. I need the school to be regionally accredited (higher standard than nationally accredited from what I read) by the US government so that I would not have any issues if a Korean agency checks the legitimacy of my diploma. The closest thing I could come up with was cramming 18 credits a semester +summer courses +my 9 previous credits into one year for an A.A. through my community college. I would then go through the TALK program which allows me to teach in rural areas while in my first or second year of college and finish my BA online. I wrote to them about trying to do that which they won't be able to get back to me until around March 20th. And since I can't speak to a school without first paying admission fees, I don't know how reasonable a scenario this would be, and if I would even be able to take the courses from overseas.

I managed to find a university that was regionally accredited, that was affordable to me even without financial aid and grants, that I could do online, and that I could do in under 3 years. In fact, I think I can accomplish it within 1 year (might be wishful thinking). It's not a diploma mill, and I've checked it's accreditation and reviews vigorously and it seems legit to me. It doesn't base it's degree from a credit system, it bases it on a competency system. You need to demonstrate your knowledge in college level education by taking tests and writing essays and such. I haven't read too many stories of people finishing their degree in a year from this school, but there are some who have. I've read one that completed it within 6 months. This sounds similar to life experience scam schools, but it's really not. I'm not dumb, but did poorly in high school from lack of motivation. I mainly worked in service plumbing which didn't require a lot of mathematical calculations or really any college level of thinking, so I highly doubt that I would be able to pass an exam without rigorous studying beforehand. The reason why I think I may be able to do it in 1 year is the fact that I have no other obligations. I will be able to focus on college full-time and with over time. I'm thinking minimum 40 hrs/week to maybe 70 hrs/week, but probably average around 45-50 hrs/week in reality. I realize I will be highly prone to being burned out quickly, but I'm highly dedicated to something that interests me, and investing into my future and education is one of those things.

I sincerely apologize for this wall of text that I just wrote, but I thought that sharing some of my backround would allow for better quality answers. OK, so here are my questions/concerns:

1. I'm not sure if I should share the name of the university, but has anyone heard of any negative things about a program like this? It seems that they have a lot of recognition and have been reviewed in the press and had an article in a popular magazine. They said they have alumni that have been hired by fortune 500 companies, but so have people with diploma mill degrees. I'm not sure of what the transcript would say, since it's only pass/fail but in order to pass you need a grade of a B or higher.

2. Would Korean schools/corporate businesses care that I went to a college that I was able to get a degree within 1 year? Some recruiter's sites say that I need a 4 year degree, and others say a university degree. It's not really clear besides that the degree needs to be from certain countries such as the US. The MOE didn't specify that a bachelor degree needed to be acquired in 4 years, as I read UK degrees are 3 years.

3. I'm still not sure about the major I should go for. When I spoke with my counselor at my local community college, he didn't really answer any of my questions and just suggested an English major would be best for ESL teaching. It makes sense to me but the university doesn't offer that. It does offer a variety of education majors, but none that involve English. They offer interdisciplinary studies (K-8.), early childhood education (from birth to age 3), mathematics (5-12), and several science teaching degrees. I'm not sure which one I should take, and if the counselor there was like the one at my community college, they won't have much of an opinion about ESL. Since I'm planning on staying in Korea and eventually learning to speak and write in Korean, is branching out into another subject to teach a good idea? I'm sure interdisciplinary studies is a solid choice since it deals with teaching in general, but the curriculum doesn't seemed to be focused on any subject.

4. How expensive is prescription medication in Korea? I have gout and don't have money here to afford medication that would lower my uric acid levels. When I go to Korea I'd like to get gout medication.

5. How's the kimchi? Has it cured your cancer yet?

[MoonDuck]

I've been in Korea 4 years on and off again, and I'm pretty sure that you need a four-year degree from a brick-and-mortar school to land work here, especially if you want to teach in a uni. Furthermore, many unis require an advanced degree, and even with one of those the competition is fierce.

Did you also know that Korea prohibits immigration? Koreans only tolerate waegukin because they're necessary to teach English. If you don't know any Korean language, your chances of settling here are even smaller.

If the accelerated program you're looking at doesn't offer an English major, it can't be much of an institution. You can teach here with a degree in anything as long as you're a native speaker, but an English BA definitely helps--again, especially if you want to be in a uni.

Is the place you're checking out Phoenix, by any chance? Or is it some sort of for-profit vocational training outfit? If so, I warn you that those places are notorious.

That's all I can write, and I hope it helps.

[andersondm4]

You may want to contact a rep from the TALK program and see whether you are eligible when enrolled in the particular school you are considering. I had looked into TALK a few years ago and it was my impression you had to be enrolled in a 4 year Bachelors to be considered.

Also if you ever hope to leave TALK and get a regular job both public and private schools require a Uni degree. TALK is essentially a scholorship program rather than a job.

Without the name of the school its hard to tell, but generally places offering BA's in that short amount of time are not legitimate. Even though a lot of them advertise various accreditations, I'd be wary of a program not based on credit. I'm not saying it's impossible, just do your homework.

As far as some of your other questions...
- English, Linguistics, Education, etc are all excellent options for a major but I believe TALK accepts all majors.
- Maybe consider earning your associates in the states and then applying to TALK. I know they have this provision.
- TALK NET's receive "Travelers Health Insurace," not the same as the National Health Plan and only covers medical expenses resulting from travling.

[shostahoosier]

What is the name of the university?

If you are are embarrassed (not sure if you are) to tell total strangers on the internet, imagine how you'll feel when you have to use your degree to apply for a job.

I've seen some universities that offer distance BAs...and you can get a job in the TALK program if you have an associates (or at least 2 years of study I think). You may be able to do talk just by being enrolled. They have a Facebook page with more info if you cant find the website.

I have heard of universities that offer credit for life experience, but cramming a 4-year degree into one year sounds like a major feat. Distance education takes A LOT of discipline.

Did you mean to say $50 application fee? A $50 admission fee sounds like a red flag to me if they dont even ask you to apply (unless this is a community college).

[minos]

Plenty of non-college degree Kyopos teaching here.

Won't exactly make a Career of it though without a degree.


You can always go to college here instead.....the scholarships are pretty good for Americans.

Nearly every manual labor job here other than factory work pays crap unless your some sort of specialist. Too many old koreans will work for next to nothing.

I'll put it this way. When I buy an Oil change at a shop, the labor is free! I just buy the can of oil.

[Yongbae22]

Thank you for all of the responses so far.

I have already sent an inquiry to TALK about either enrolling into a BA program overseas and also about finishing my AA in the states and BA overseas. I haven't gotten a response back yet since the person for that is away until March 20th.

Yes, one of the things I am worried about is having a degree that took less than 4 years to earn. As I said, the ads for some places state a 4 year degree, others just state a university degree so I'm not sure exactly what the schools are looking for. I don't need a degree for immigrations for the E-2 visa since I can get the F-4 visa.

The name of the university is Western Governors University (WGU). It has a physical address in Salt Lake City, Utah. It's regionally accredited and is recognized by CHEA. It seems legitimate from what I've researched, and if I can get my BA through them within 1 or 2 years, then I'd rather do that then go through TALK and completing a BA overseas.

I was thinking about going to WGU and earning my BA, then start working in Korea for teaching experience, then working on my MA in a span of 3-4 years, then try to apply for better jobs such as universities. I'm not 100% sure about this, I may decide to work at a corporation teaching English, doing Korean to English translations, private tutoring, stuff like that. I may work in Korea for 10-20 years then decide to move back to the states.

[clyde]

My advice is stay away from the TALK program. It was created a few years ago when there was a serious teacher shortage here. By the time you get here is will probably be phased out anyway. Besides they will just put you out in the sticks somewhere and pay you 1500 a month. Its more for the experience than a job.I would also suggest just biting the bullet, getting a student loan and going to University full time, you won't be sorry. As a person with a great trade like plumbing you could support yourself working also. Do evening or weekend housecalls while you study or something like that.

[brento1138]

Seriously, you gotta come to Korea ASAP and do your schooling here.

If you want a career here and have American citizenship + Korean family background you are quite set... but you lack one major thing: education. So you should probably go to Yonsei university, Korea university, or something like that. You can blitz through some of those programs without paying a penny, or actually getting paid to go to school! Plus, you can teach "not so legally" (umm, I'm not suggesting it, just saying it is possible!) to make a few extra bucks. Plus, you have an F visa so you can pretty much do any kind of work.

I say take the opportunity if you can! Free school = so crazy / can't believe it exists!

Then, once you have your education, finding work will be no problem and you'll far surpass many of the E-2 holders here in no time. You lucky F visa ****s!

[millyfrend]

Is this a question or biography?

[mimi belle]

I came across Western Governor's and wondered about them as well.
To answer your questions:

1. The reviews seem ok but I don't know much about them. One thing that makes me look more favorably on it, is that it's non-profit. The reason is that recently, there was some negative press recently about online schools scamming students by adding unauthorized charges to their bills. The schools involved were U of Phoenix and Kaplan, which are both for-profit schools. Unfortunately, I don't think it helped anyone's impression of online degrees.

2. Not sure whether an online degree would be accepted. I think someone mentioned that online BA degrees were not accepted for teaching in korea, but I don't know.

3. The best majors for ESL are English or Education, but Education is probably better. If you can get state certified, that is a bonus.
Early Childhood means pre-k
Childhood or Elementary Ed is usually K-6
Single science majors usually end up teaching high school
The difference between elementary vs high school teachers is that elementary teachers usually teach multiple subjects while high school teachers specialize in one.

[Yongbae22]

Ok I have some time to write another wall of text.

MoonDuck: Thanks for you reply. I'm not sure what you mean by Korea prohibits immigration. I am eligible for F-4 visa, which I hear I can do pretty much anything with it as opposed to someone with an E-2.
I agree that WGU is no that much of an institution, but it looks legitimate and appears that I will be able to get a decent education from it, even though it is basically self-studying.

andersondm4: Thanks, I did not know about the health insurance that TALK provided.

shostahoosier: I didn't originally list the university because of advertisement? Sounds silly but some forums don't want people posting stuff like that. Yes, I meant a $50 application fee not administration fee.

minos & brento1138: I didn't take into consideration about going to Korea and getting a BA there. From what you both are saying, it sounds like a Korean university is a good deal tuition-wise. I threw that notion out though because I read on some recruiter's page about the degree needing to be from an English speaking country, and I would prefer to have a job, or know that I can get a steady income before I moved to Korea. I did read about people teaching illegally either without a degree or with illegitimate ones. The thought crossed my mind for maybe 10 minutes, but I wouldn't be comfortable with it because of: 1. Living there while constantly knowing I could get caught and fined (10k? and not sure if F-4 would be deported or not) 2. I'm not confident with my English grammar since it's been 10 years since I've had to deal with it in a classroom setting 3. I wouldn't mind tutoring privately since it's legal for me as long as I register for it. I just don't know how I would get the clientele since I don't work at a school, I don't know anyone in Korea to network, and I don't speak nor read any Korean yet.

clyde: Sounds good on paper, but here in Jersey it's hard to find a plumbing job that would work around a full-time school schedule. I did it when I was 18 so it's doable, but times are different and unemployed plumbers are a dime a dozen now. In my field of doing service work, you need to work when there's work. If someone calls and says their toilet is overflowing, they want you there 10 minutes ago, and if I can't make it out, then they'd find someone who can. I also can't leave a job half way through so that I can make it on time to class. Some seemingly simple jobs take unexpected hours longer than originally planned which is the case with plumbing, and jobs can range from 10 minutes away from my house or 2 hours away. Luckily for me my father said I can stay at his place rent free as long as I go to school full time and get decent grades.

Millyfrend: Are you a troll or do you just lack reading comprehension?

I sincerely apologize for this wall of text that I just wrote, but I thought that sharing some of my backround would allow for better quality answers. OK, so here are my questions/concerns:

That explains why I wrote so much, and also states where the questions are in my original post. I'm surprised you can navigate your way through a forum.

mimi belle: Thanks for your reply. I think I will get state certified just in case if I ever want to move back to the states, I'd have something to fall back on besides plumbing.

Ok I received an email back from TALK about enrolling with them being a F-4 visa holder and this is what they said:

Jonathan,
We thank you for your interest in the TaLK program.
I have attached some information for you that may help you with your concerns.

1. In your case, to meet the minimum eligibility, you must currently be a student in college/university. Having completed 1 semester 10 years ago is not applicable. If you are currently a student now in your first semester of college, then we look forward to receiving your online application for consideration.

2. It's not a matter of you deciding to join our program. Our program has become competitive with every term.
Korea is well known for it's affordable and high internet speed even in rural areas.
Our program gives KRW1.5million a month for 15 hours a week of teaching time.

3. Should you be a successful applicant, all incoming scholars are required to participate in a 4-week orientation to prepare them for ESL teaching in Korea and introduction to Korean culture/customs.

Regards,
Angela Hur
Program Coordinator
The TaLK Team

I wouldn't mind enrolling in this program while attending school since 15 hours a week + whatever time prepping lesson plans + grading leaves me a lot of time for my studies. Being in a rural part of Korea will leave me without many distractions (read: fun diversions) so I would be able to focus on getting my degree and interacting with the community.
My default plan though is to get my BA before I go to Korea. I'm doing other research right now like finding out if I am eligible for the Korean military which I think I am exempt from.

Thanks for all of your responses so far. With your responses I am getting a clearer picture, and hopefully soon I will be able to figure out exactly what I need to do.

[shostahoosier]

Yongbae: I see what you meant and understand now.

Yes I agree, you never know what silly rules a forum might have. I once got a warning for using a word that turned out to be a swear word and I had no ideal (because it is one in British English apparently).

Western Governors looks legit and it helps that it is non-profit and inexpensive. You need to make sure your degree can be used here, though it sounds like you're doing an awful lot of good research.

Good luck!

[mimi belle]

You should look up your state teacher requirements for reference then:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/educators/license/

Like a lot of other state, it looks like it's a two step process. There's an initial certification and then after two years of teaching, a professional certification. You can typically get an initial certification with a BA (with the right major). There are also usually a few standardized tests as well.

I would recommend looking into the state/local college route. Also, find out whether any of them will accept transfer credits from WGU. Having a degree from a more recognizable school could be useful, if not in korea, then in the US. It sounds like you're in a rush, which is understandable, but going back to school on-campus can give you a lot of opportunities. You might be able to get a part-time job, assist professors, meet other students who can give you job leads, etc.

[wishfullthinkng]

If you're only looking to teach on an F-4 I don't believe you need to go to a native-speaking college outside of korea for your degree. I believe, although I could be wrong, that you can have a degree from a Korean university. I know many Korean nationals who have taught and/or are teaching at public schools and hagwons who got their degrees at Korean universities. I've even encountered a few who were teaching and weren't even finished with university yet.

If you have a korean degree and try to get a job at a hagwon I don't think you'd have much of an issue, although YMMV of course.

However if you are planning on moving up to the big leagues and working outside of the education system I'm fairly sure both Korean and Non-Korean degrees are fine, although for non-Korean degrees they probably need to be 4+ years from an accredited school.

[krymson]

As i understand it, if you have an F class Visa you can pretty much do private tutoring here legally. I would take a good TEFL course to learn some basics and do that. Skip the WGU or whatever online university you were thinking of.

If you're planning to stay in Korea long term and not be a plumber than going to college might be a good idea. Education is a big deal here, manual labor is not looked well upon.

Also, as a kyopo, you're eligible for numerous scholarships. Going to college here should be basically a free ride for you. But short term to answer your question: Private tutoring.