Korean Job Discussion Forums

[decolyon]

..between 2 jobs that have been offered to me.

They are polar opposites and each have good and bad things.

The first is a "unigwon" (university hagwon.) The bad things are the split shift 3 days a week and given it's location in the city, I'm probably not going to save a lot like I want to. There's also that I've never taught university kids before. The good is I'll be the only foreigner, which means I'll have almost total freedom on how I want to teach. It's also uni kids which means we'll go out on occasions and it's good way to meet new friends (and maybe girlfriends, lol.) It's also a new school and the workload is going to be kind of easy. I guess it's also a "step up" from the public school I worked before.

The other is a middle school hagwon. I know on the surface it looks a no brainer (go for the unigwon) but there is a lot of good about this hagwon. One, I'd be head teacher. Also, it's a very chill laid back environment. The boss is a super cool guy and seems like one of those guys you've always wanted to work for. The hours are a little more, but they're in a block. Bad is it's outside the city, which could be good for saving cash, but I imagine it would be boring after a while. Typical hagwon, it has intensives. Which is not a big deal, because the overtime pay is awesome. I worked a similar style hagwon my first year in Korea, and it was my best year. Maybe because everything was just new and exciting, but I really look back at that first year rather fondly. good environment, great friends, cool students.

Maybe my desire to have the hagwon be like my first year hagwon is clouding my judgement. In a way, perhaps I want to relive that first year because it was so good, so I'm romanticizing what it could be too much. Still, if I had to call the middle school hagwon and tell them I can't accept, I would feel really sad. Seriously, who gets sad about turning down a job???

My head says unigwon. My heart says hagwon. This is really a struggle for me

[litebear]

They both sound pretty good jobs. The head teacher role, is that just a title or will it come with some extra duties? Being in a management position (of sorts) could be a step up, too. Might open a few doors in the future for similar roles.

I like living Central though, so for that reason I'd choose the Unigwon (just me though)

[Louis VI]

Skip the split shifts job and go with your heart.

[Ramen]

flip a coin.

[Zackback]

Choose the uni because of the chicks.

[Mr Lee's Monkey]

Lots of middle school students attending hagwons disappear for as much as a full month before they take the regular school tests that are administered two or three times a year - you might want to ask the director there what he does for you when the student population temporarily drops like a rock, or at least ask him whether that happens at his school..... some places don't pay teachers during these periods of lost income for the school.