Korean Job Discussion Forums

[peachy310]

Hello.....

I have a contract for Avalon English in Yeonsan, Busan. Can anybody give me any advice on this chain and how reputable they are? Also, does anyone know if this is a nice area to live in Busan?

The only posts I can find are from several years ago!

Thanks

[Nexus11]

Avalon was average at best when I worked there in 2009. From what I've haerd, things have gotten worse.

Be prepared to teach 6+ hours without a free period, then do your admin, marking, and phone calls to students on top of that. You'll be at work for 8+ hours without any downtime and even that might not be enough time to get everything done.

It is also quite common for them to dump extra work on teachers or change the curriculum without notice. Every few months, there will be a new expectation of you. It usually violates your contract, but you will still be expected to do it.

While there are worse jobs out there, there are also many better ones.

[DaHu]

It's a good job for a noob, learn some stuff, get paid on time.

Don't know anyone with experience ever working there (that might be the teacher's doing OR Avalon's)

[SeoulNate]

every Avalon is different. contact the teachers working there. If they will not or can not give you their information do not take the job.

[mandrews1985]

Avalon, like most big hagwans are franchises, so every experience you could read about on the net will be different.

My experience is that I enjoy it. It's longer hours than most though we are contracted for 2.30 - 10.30pm normally (with an hour lunch) we are in 1pm - 11pm, but we get rewarded for this too. Lot's of bonuses.

I have been here 6 months and I have recieved 650,000 in bonuses and also got IAAF closing ceremony tickets and next month the owners are renting out a pension for all the teachers at a beach for the weekend.

Each manager/owner will be very different. If you are lucky you'll get a good one, like I have.

The least you'll get is paid on time every month and a sense that you're doing more work than your friends from different hagwans.

I hope you enjoy your time in Korea, and I'm sure as long as you come here with an open mind, you'll be fine!

[bobbybigfoot]

I worked there in 2007 and was a good first year job. I got the experience I needed in order to find a better job.

I recently talked with four Avalon teachers from the campus I worked at. All four hate it. Like a previous poster stated, Avalon has progressively gotten worse over time.

If Avalon is the best gig you can find, then take it, but unless you are lucky, your year will be ho-hum at best.

[Eddy24]

I work at an Avalon in Seoul and they have just told us that from December they want us to start working on Saturdays. They've given us the option to leave without complications if we don't want to do this - which I don't! Time to start job hunting again...

My experience at Avalon has not been so great. It is good that there are so many other foreign teachers and that helped me settle in. Got paid on time and all that. However, our campus wasn't the friendliest and my schedule this semester has left very little in terms of breaktime. Nonetheless some of my co-workers have worked at other Avalons and they said it was generally much better at the other campuses.

I would warn everyone thinking about Avalon that they want teachers to work Saturdays starting from December. This is to take advantage of of the fact that school kids are no longer required to go to school on saturdays. I wonder how many other hagwons will go down this route.... It's not so bad here because if you're happy to work Saturdays, then you might get a Sunday and Monday free but I don't really trust Avalon in all honesty. I think they have been getting worse, although every campus is different.

[comm]

[Nexus11]

Very few Avalons are franchises. Most are run by the head office. While your experience can vary according to branch based on the director and co-workers, the rules come down from head office. When I worked at Avalon, I had a great director. He constantly went to bat for the teachers, but usually got shot down by head office. I heard that he quit shortly after I left out of frustration and was replaced by a harda** from head office.

As many have said, times are tough right now for teachers. Unless you have outstanding qualifications or experience, you don't have the luxury of being picky. Avalon will definitely come with frustrations and headaches, but it will give you reliable pay and a little bit of experience.

[SeoulNate]

[Warhammer820]

[munybse]

[World Traveler]

[lebenketten]

[runthegauntlet]