Korean Job Discussion Forums

[OChapman]

Hi,

I'm student in the UK at the moment and I spent time as an exchange student at Korea Uni. I'm just about to finish my undergrad and I considering the possibility of going in to english language. I was wondering though if it's possible to make a career out of this kind of stuff, even if say after a year or two of being in Hagwons I return to the UK to do a proper TESOL MA (not online) and went back out looking for work.

I'm open to any advice or thoughts that you might have.

Thanks!

[Guajiro]

[mr. positive]

[jazzmaster]

If you don't have a CELTA or tesol certificate then you'll probably be starting in a hogwon. I think hogwons are a good introduction to teaching English as you are thrown in at the deep end. You either sink or swim.
As for the long term aspect of English teaching, it can be done but you need to stay up to date qualification wise and be prepared to move country.
In all honesty, if I were you I would check out the options in China. It's the expanding esl market and getting in on the ground floor might help you, especially in the long term.

[creeper1]

Consider trying another career.

To be honest TEFL is a dead end job for those devoid of ambition and only a native language and passport going for them.

If you do decide to pursue TEFL as a career then Korea is a great place to be. You can progress from hagwon to public school and finally to the gold plated doors of a university.

Then it's game over.

Again consider another career.

[edwardcatflap]

Creeper1 is at one end of the TEFL ladder, multi millionaires John and Liz Soars, creators of the Headway series are at the other. There are a lot of jobs and specialisations in between. A good thing about the TEFL industry is you're not likely to be unemployed in the near future, a less good thing is there are a lot of jobs near the bottom of the ladder which don't offer much chance of development. However, as Creeper points out a lot of people are in TEFL due to lack of ambition/drive and a lot are in it temporarily. So for people who want to get on it's less competetive than other fields.

[ttompatz]

Is there a decent career path = yes and it does go beyond "guest lecturer" at a Korean uni.
Can your additional credentials and qualifications pay for themselves = yes.

Are lots of people stuck at the bottom in dead end jobs = certainly (and many of them have no ambition or inclination (for whatever reason) to progress further or add additional qualifications to get beyond "entry level" EFL jobs.

Are you likely to "get rich" in EFL = NO. It is firmly planted in the middle class.

.

[World Traveler]

[creeper1]

[World Traveler]

Another way to get rich: grow your hair long and play guitar. There are people touring the world making millions who do that.

[edwardcatflap]