Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fustiancorduroy]

With all this talk about how much money people make, I figured it's time to make a poll about this. I know this has been done before, but not recently. So, without further ado:

What is your monthly income? Choose the poll option that equals your total monthly income from all sources. Please be honest, as I'm curious what people really make in Korea. I know the average starting salary for teaching jobs is around 2.2 million a month, but most of the people on this board have been in Korea for years, so I expect the average to be much higher.

[schwa]

You already know you make above ordinary pay, according to your recent disclosures here. Looking for more self-satisfaction?

[PatrickGHBusan]

This HAS been done in the past and you will hit the same wall: people will lie about their income for many reasons and your poll will be meaningless in terms of credible information!

Sorry but its the nature of the beast here. I can choose the option of my last income in Korea if you want but I would not put much stock in this poll and would not use it as any sort of basis for judging your income potential!

Up to you however.

[Beeyee]

2.8 for me.

But yeah, I can't see this being a reliable poll.

[thegadfly]

Presuming legal employment, I prefer to ask people what their tax rate is, and then work backwards from that...and if folks will break the law, they will certainly lie about their salary, so I don't consider folks working illegally

[TheUrbanMyth]

In addition to the problems above...other factors have to be considered as well. For example the type of visa one is on can affect the poll. Typically (not always though) it seems that F-2 and F-5 visa holders tend to overall make more money than the average E-2 visa holder.

If you have 10 E-2 visa holders and one F2/F5 visa holder responding (assuming they are being somewhat truthful) it shouldn't skew the poll that much. But if you have 10 E-2 visa holders and 10 F2/F5 visa holders you can expect the average number to be revised sharply upwards.

[big_fella1]

Where is the not enough button?

Really unless you are with the tax office or anti-English spectrum, why would you ask this question?

There are a lot of variables for example are they employees or contractors. Most of the people I have met making big money are contractors where what they make is revenue not income.

The have to deduct things like running a vehicle, running a home office and other expenses making their income much lower than their revenue.

[J Rock]

My first year here I made 2.1 mil at my primary job and another 1 million a month a kindy. But the entire time I ws nervous that I was gonig to get in to trouble which is a crappy feeling.

Now I live at my wife's Grandmother's house (which is no fun) but I am getting the 400,000 housing allowance from the school. I work at a kindy from 10am to 1pm for 150,000 a day 4 days a week, so that's 2.4 million.

Then in the afternoon I work at my regular job which is 2PM to 7PM for 2.1 plus my housing allowance. So all in all I make close to 5 mil a month.
It sounds great but it's kinda tiring traveling 30 minutes to the kindy and doing the whole dancing monkey thing in the morning then traveling 30 minutes back to my primary job with really no break then teaching till 7. So it's a wake up at 7:30 ish and go until 8 when I get home. Thats a long day. To some it's not worth it, to me it is (for now).

[braindrops]

- My regular job is from 2p-8p, and I make 3.5M + housing.
- I also work four separate corporate gigs in the morning: 7-8:30 MWF, 7:30-9 TR ; 10-12 MTWRF
- 4x a week, I have private lessons from 9-11.
- Saturday, four hours private writing sessions, where I make a chunk of my money (which I won't disclose). But those total sixteen hours per month of my time.

The upside is that I consistently make 8 figs a month. The downside is that I frickin work like a machine. On weekdays I'm up by 5 am, out the house by 6 am, in the office by 7 am, working two hours, jamming on a bus to my next gig, putting another two hours, eating lunch, bouncing to another gig, putting in another six, and cabbing it to my private at night. By the time I get home it's usually close to midnight.

I do much of my prep on the weekends, and I rake in a chunk of cash on Saturdays, but I don't have much going on outside of work. I also work close to 250 hours a month, not including commute time (which brings it closer to 300 hours). The only thing that prevents me from breaking down is my incredible, Captain America-like physique. (I keed I keed.) But what I do it NOT for everybody.

Hell, it might not be for anybody except myself. :p

I really envy those guys who are pulling in that 10,000 USD while working 10 hours a month. I hear there are a lot of guys in ESL doin that on Dave's. I gotta work like a dog for my monies.

[soulofseoul]

50 million trillion and 10 zillion on weekends!!!!!

[Zyzyfer]

[creeper1]

No boasting from me. I made 2.3 million won a month. 2.5 tops if I could get the erratic side work.

I think this is fairly standard.

[Zyzyfer]

I get a buck ninety-five plus free lunches

[Times30]

Most I've made is 3mil a month, maybe a little more, but I was working almost ever waking hour or traveling by train. It got tiring. I know it's possible to get up into the 4mil range, but it's almost always inclusive of privates, and/or catering to the wealthy elite. If you're able to pierce that network you make big buck. But 10 mil is ridiculous. Especially in the ESL industry. Most I've heard is 4 mil with SAT hagwons.

Also, yeah for some reason a lot of posters on Dave's enjoy lying about their income. We aren't exactly famous for being mature people, and hence why the ESL industry gets a bad rap. I've seen like 9 of these polls and people are like "Yeah you make 6mil easy man, you just need to dress like a banana show up to class and give out stickers man.... ish so easy man."

It's not really a mystery who's affecting our image.

[Zyzyfer]