Korean Job Discussion Forums

[thomas pars]

I just had this skype interview for the SMOE. Fist off the broad interviewing me was pretty cold and curt. I realize she probably has to do this all day but come on. As the interview goes on they fill me in on some of the details.

That Seoul is really competitive.
You might have to commute for 60 minutes.
Work at more than one school.
And you won't really know where they hell youre placed until AFTER
you send out your documents.

The other really lousy thing about the SMOE interview is that they do placement for Rural places as well. So you could just as easily be placed in some small town in the middle of nowhere.

And when and if you get this precious job. You have to go to a TEN day training seminar. TEN DAYS!!!! Anyone have a GEPIK training seminar in Osan? It is hell after 3 days. I imagine it is full of 1st year teachers and seminars about spicy food. Oh man alive!

And the pay is considerably less.

So why is everyone dying for a Seoul public job?

Seoul isn't even that great of a city.

[imGosu]

You applied for SMOE.. What was your reason?

The things you listed was already mentioned in the application before you got your interview, they are just making sure your ok with the conditons.

Also the things you mentioned are the worst case scenario conditions.

If Seoul isn't that great of a city, Why did you apply for SMOE instead of just EPIK?

Your reasons are contradicting since you also applied for SMOE. Did you get rejected?

[minos]

If your school is generous, you can get your pay boosted greatly via after school and district work.

I used to make roughly 3.3 mil a month and finished at 4 o'clock with 8+ weeks of vacation.

Your miles may very, but I've only met one guy who's hagwon was as generous and awesome to work for.

Not to mention the vibe is much more chill with in public schools if they like you. No worries about student enrollment or parent complaints.

[sallymonster]

OP, the reasons you listed are exactly why I won't apply for SMOE. Sure, you could end up in a great situation, but you could also end up in a not-so-great school, and you won't know until the end of orientation. Oh, and if you get a not-so-great school, you have to stay there for 3 years before you get to transfer to another SMOE school!

Not to mention that the contract allows your school to make you work unlimited hours of overtime as long as they pay you. This clause is great if you really like money, but if you prefer time to money, you just might find yourself in a very miserable situation.

But hey, if you like gambling. . .

[winterfall]

I think your grossly mistaken. Placement is last minute, true. But everything else.

EPIK handles all the hiring and recruiting for SMOE. Being placed in a rural district means there's no guarantee you can get into SMOE.

SMOE does operate camps in Gyeonggi-do but placement isn't forced.

Working at more than one school is an EPIK thing. As far as I know, no one in SMOE does that unless they CHOSE it. I've only met 1 out of the hundreds or so SMOE FT's over the last couple years.

Pay in SMOE is on par with the rest of the programs. GEPIK & EPIK. Your threshold limit for SMOE is actually higher. They cap out at 3 with the principal's recommendation (Not including housing which is an extra 500 a month). GEPIK caps out at 2.7, EPIK caps out at 2.6 I think. GEPIK & EPIK housing allowance is also lower, 300-400.

And SMOE pays your severance in one lump sum at the end at your outgoing rate. GEPIK pays yearly and I think the same goes for EPIK. What does that mean for you? If you stay at least 3 years, start at the lowest but leave at 2.3. You get 2.3 x 3.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Housing in EPIK is 400k, but apartments are much cheaper outside of Seoul. The cap is 2.7 million. I'm going to have to jump on the "hagwans can be much better if you do your research" bandwagon, though. I did 2 years of EPIK and am much happier now. The hours are better, and I don't have to deal with coteacher silliness. It's good when you get a good boss.

[marsavalanche]

[iRock]

^ Didn't you pull a runner recently? How did things turn out?

[rainism]

[Murakano]

somebody sounds bitter....

[thomas pars]

Am I right in this: That EPIK handles the application for SMOE i.e Seoul positions. So i mean you can apply for a job in the big city and end up, after orientation, placed in an EPIK rural school. Is this true?

If it is, it is almost fraudulent.

[Mr. BlackCat]

I just want to make clear a couple of things in this PS vs hogwan debate. Alot of people say that going with a PS is 'rolling the dice' or gambling as described above. But when things are bad in PS that means you don't get along with your co-workers, there is redundant paperwork or maybe you're stuck in an undesirable location. When things go wrong in a hogwan, those negatives with PS are still true (except for the location bit) but you also might not get paid, get kicked out of your housing suddenly, be fired randomly, lose your return flight and/or severance, not have your health insurance covered along with insane parents, directors and students. I'm not saying all hogwans are terrible and PS life is utopia, but I just wanted to correct the description of SMOE as a gamble vs a hogwan. Hogwan life can change suddenly, I've known many people who worked for one on the recommendation of a friend only to have the situation change and everything to go to hell suddenly. I also find it funny that a major complaint of people about PS (usually those that never actually worked in PS) is the desk warming. How terrible it is that your school is forcing you to get paid to do nothing. Well, not 'nothing'. Watching movies on your computer and reading a book. Yeah it gets boring, but it's ridiculous to list this as a negative.

Personally, as a teacher I found PS more rewarding as I felt part of an educational environment whereas in a hogwan I was merely a cog in the wheel of a for profit business. On a social level, I liked the later hours in hogwans but I much prefer the vacation times in PS. There is no way you get as much vacation in a hogwan (4weeks+2 more for renewal+tons of random days off and unoffical stuff). I'm sure there are good hogwans out there, but I would describe it as the opposite to others here: the hogwans are the gamble. The only way you're gambling with a PS is location. To each their own, it's all about your priorities.

[jyk13]

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Oh, hagwans are definitely a gamble. I was against getting a job at one for 2 years, but finally took the plunge. I did my research first, and found one that my friends highly recommended, and it's been a great decision.

I loved PS at first, but after a time it became very unrewarding. Hey the same can happen at my new school, but I really like the vibe of my new place�far more than I did my PS. The kids were awesome, but I HATE HATE HATE coteaching. I did work elementary, though, so there's more focus on a horribly incorrect curriculum.

As for the worst case scenario at PS: you can share an office with an old spinster. If you're female, this is not cool. I know, that's a personality thing, but an unmarried Korean woman in her 50s is not a fun office mate. Every time I told a Korean friend about her and told them this bit of info, they sucked their teeth and told them that they pitied me. At least with hagwans you can interview THEM (if you are in country, of course).

[Chalmers]

vacation, vacation, vacation. 5 weeks in winter 3 in summer, not counting national holidays. not everyone is so lucky of course.