Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jammo]

Been reading up on this. I heard you can't leave the compound? does this still apply for people already living in Seoul? Sounds a bit like prison especially for people with lives here already...

Cheers

[pkang0202]

[mmstyle]

Yeah, the orientation sucks and you are treated like a child. Thankfully, my hubby had cool roomies, so I was in his room all the time. If I had been about 14, it would have felt like a kick-buttocks winter type camp. Alas, I haven't seen 14 in many many (many) moons. It sucked. Apparently they have given up on the no drinking requirement, but I can't be certain, that's just hearsay. Oh, and the coffee is UTTER sh!t. I required coffee daily at the time (since quit) but they would just put a new pot of water through the same old grounds repeatedly, i.e., not enough flavour or caffeine. If you need caffeine, consider yourself warned. I'm surprised they are hiring anyone, considering all of the internal shuffles with high and middle school teachers relocating into elementary.

[jammo]

They are still hiring high school teachers for SMOE

[jammo]

thanks for the info by the way. sounds great! arghhh...

[iggyb]

I have heard high school teachers are being moved out. We were allowed to pick where we wanted to transfer out of the last place I worked for SMOE, but when one of us asked for high school, they said middle school was possible but not high school.

We have previous orientation people to thank for the restrictions. If too many of them had not treated orientation like Mardi Gras, they might treat us more like adults...

[jammo]

Iggyb I heard that too on Daves but I have just been offered a job at a high school in Seoul so my first hand experience is different. maybe its a one-off?
Still working out the pros and cons...

[iggyb]

Who offered the job?

It sounds like it isn't a regular SMOE position. I thought jobs in SMOE were divided up during orientation.

I'm sure some high schools, primarily private ones, will want to keep a FT as a selling point among parents, making room within the budget as they can, but from what I heard, SMOE's overall policy is to move them out of high schools.

If you're being offered a job directly from a school, it doesn't sound like a regular SMOE position.

[jammo]

Aha - maybe it isn't through SMOE.

Honestly I am not sure but will find out next week.
I was under the impression that SMOE deals with all of the public school jobs in Seoul except for Gangnam (where they only deal with a portion)

Is this not the case then?


Thanks

[english puppet]

I'd be surprised to hear you were hired for a HS position. That would be quite unusual as you generally find out a day or so before where you'll go to work (level and location).

Generally, orientation's a drag. It goes on too long and it may resemble something closer to a high school drunk tank than anything else. They'll pretend there's a curfew policy and you'll pretend you're following it.

[iggyb]

I imagine many schools have discretion in how they hire FTs and it gets confusing. For example, the budget office in Gyeonggi Province cut out all funding for FTs. The school district then went scrambling to pay for whatever amount of FTs they had and wanted to keep. The schools will be deciding if they want a FT. Then they will be figuring out how to pay for it. If they aren't getting money from the province, they'll probably have more discretion in how they find one. Most schools go through the process of getting a teacher out of the big pool SMOE hires probably because it is simplier and the central office budgets the money for it.

Some schools are public and some private. Much will depend on where the school gets its funding.

Seoul is huge and has different types of high schools. It isn't surprising a small percentage of the total hire FTs outside of SMOE, but the number will be small.

[pkang0202]

[jammo]

Does anyone know whether EPIK can bypass SMOE for public school positions?

Id appreciate a quick answer on this as im about to choose whether to sign up for SMOE or wait for this High School position through EPIK

I have heard conflicting reports.

Cheers

[english puppet]

[jammo]

english puppet - by 'bypass' I was wondering whether EPIK get direct jobs from schools or whether they always get the Seoul positions via SMOE.

I decided against SMOE in the end for a number of reasons.
Thanks for the info all!