Korean Job Discussion Forums

[itiswhatitis]

My buddy did 4 years in Seoul and had been in Shanghai for 6 months.

Maybe he's still in the honeymoon phase, but he says that Shanghai is a million times better than Seoul.

He gives many specific examples, but these are the top three for him:

1) Higher quality expats.

2) More chances to make extra money (conversation classes at Starbucks etc).

3) More chances to learn the local language (Mandarin). He says that Mandarin classes are EVERYWHERE and that their quality is very good and that classes are available at alll times of day/weekends.

Is this true????

Please let me know. Remember: I think that this may be specific to Shanghai and not all of China.

Thanks!!!

[Malislamusrex]

Everyone I know who works a regular ESL job in Shanghai say that it is much better than Korea. Downside, there isn't a route to higher education there. If anyone wants to teach ESL for a few years it IS the place to go.

[I'm With You]

[Malislamusrex]

This is second and information.

The guys in Shanghai say that it's very difficult to get into the good universities that pay well.

They say that there are a lot of smaller ones that don't pay much and it's better to do a 'regular' ESL job by comparison.

What they suggest if you want to take the MA > PhD > Publishing papers > Professor, it's much easier in Korea.

But.

90% of ESL teachers in Shanghai simply don't care about that option.

[Shimokitazawa]

[rollo]

The good money in China is not at the Universities. The University jobs are low hours, typically 12- 16 , so you can work at other esl gigs easily. But university pay for esl is about 5000 RMB.

people making real money in Shanghai are free lancing, working part time at several schools giving private lessons.

Also International schools pay very very well. Wall Street and Disney schools also pay around 12-14 thousand a month. Some top teachers at Wall Street are at 16 thousand or more.

There is a lot of money in Shanghai, also a lot of competition. To really make the money you have to hustle , always be prepared and able to bring your A game. That means dressing well, investing in nice business cards, nettworking like crazy, develop your teaching skills. Playing hangman and playing the guitar in class will not cut it. Too many foreigners chasing the money.

[Moondoggy]

[byrddogs]

[ifa79]

I lived in Seoul for six years and love it. I've been in ruralish China for the past two years and planning to move into the Shanghai area in the Fall. I'm really looking forward to Shanghai because it is a nice city with great energy and some cool neighbourhoods. I'm in international schools now so no longer teaching ESL.

Here is my perspective:
If you are moving to China, ONLY live in the Shanghai or Guangdong area. The countryside is too foreign and the working people are mostly uncivilized.

That said, the Chinese students are more respectful than Korean hagwon or PS kids even though they don't bow and take off their shoes. Chinese don't get all bent out of shape when you criticize their country. They know they are developing and undemocratic and have a long way to go. They don't stare at your or ask you what you think of their country as much as Koreans.

Just a few thoughts. I do like Korea more but some time in China has been helpful for my career.

[Paddycakes]

[byrddogs]

[lemak]

In my experience foreign university teachers in Shanghai tend to not address themselves as "Professors" even though they have equivalent qualifications to their Seoul counterparts, lol.

[seansmith]

I did 5 years in Seoul, and am in my 6th year in Shanghai. To clarify the "higher quality expat" question, there are expats here from all over the world working in a wide range of fields. For example there are 15,000 Germans, 10,000 French, 20,000 Americans, 8000 Canadians, and on and on. They tend to be well educated and many have families here. It's also much easier for foreigners to open a business in China than in Korea. All of this results in Shanghai being 10 times more international and cosmopolitan than Korea, where the expat community overwhelmingly consists of Anglo-Saxon English teachers and US soldiers.

A few universities - literally just a few - pay comparable to what Seoul universities pay. Most are in the 6000 - 10,000 rmb range ($1000 - $1600 USD). I worked at one university 5 years ago and was paid 10,000 rmb for a 3 day work week (Mon. to Wed.), then taught business English 2 nights a week, and worked as an IELTS Examiner. Another major area of employment is international school teaching. Because there are so many foreigners here (see above) there are thousands of expat kids. I would not be surprised if there are more foreigners here teaching in international schools than teaching in ESL schools or ESL at unis. A big thing about Shanghai is being here on the ground. There are way more and better opportunities than the 5000 rmb per month uni jobs you see on Dave's.

When I first came to Shanghai I had to scramble a bit and at times wondered if I'd made a mistake by leaving Seoul. It took me about 7 months to get the lay of the land and get myself set up properly. Once that happened I never looked back and am very happy I made the move to Shanghai. It's not that Seoul's a bad place - I had some great times there. But Shanghai is a city on another level.

[rollo]

Not to put Seoul down but do lke the posters pont that Shanghai is a cty on a dfferent level.. t has been an international busnes center for a long time. It has had europeans and amercans and others lvng there for a long tme.

It is bigger , and seems to not be as conservative as Seoul. More oomph.

Shanghaiers tend to have a cosmopoltan air, not provncial as the Seoul dwellers sometimes are. they have seen it all, The wealth of Asia has poured threough that cty for some time. A special place.

As for calling the rural chnese uncivilzed. Well many live on less than 120 dollars a year. they got other things on there mind than tryng to please some Western dolt.

A decent university job may seem low payng but it can lead to good things. It gives you a base, it takes months to really understand whats going on. It gives one a chance to get some survival mandarin. it's a good place for newbies to get started.

[lemak]