Korean Job Discussion Forums

[leewchris]

If you are to take this job seriously and willing to focus on English teaching for years, is it worth going to graduate school?

Or if you are going to go towards English teaching as your career, is it better to just get a B.A., get a certificate, and just go straight to academy/public school?

Or is it better to teach a little bit first and then go to grad school in education?

[ttompatz]

[JohnML]

[Krokodil]

I got an online MA in TESOL. Most schools would rather hire a 22-year-old fresh out of a Bachelor's program, since they won't have to pay as much for them. But if you're gunning for a college job, you'll be glad you have the MA--if you get hired.

Fun fact: Most middle-eastern countries don't recognize online degrees.

[ttompatz]

[JohnML]

[wonkavite62]

I think you should consider PGCE. Master's degrees and PHd.s are mainly relevant to the university sector. Contact the colleges which offer PGCE. Contact them NOW. Find out about fees and costs. You might find that doing a little teaching this year, e.g. a summer school, is okay but that if you spend years teaching abroad, you might be slapped with penalty fees once you do decide to do the PGCE. I'll explain later.
I have lots of ESL teaching experience. In 2003, I wrote to the Korean Embassy in London to ask about the E-2 visa. I got a very nice reply. They even sent me the EPIK application form. Applying was super-easy, but I'd have had to wait 5 months, and someone else wanted me to work for them immediately. It's a pity I didn't choose EPIK then. Why? Well, I could have had a steady job with a good salary, and I would have enjoyed it. Applying was by no means the headache it is now, and I get the impression public schools were slightly more forgiving, then.
Fast forward to December 2007. Former Chaebol boss Lee Myung-Bak became president of Korea. The E-2 visa proces got a lot stricter. Degrees and criminal record checks were validated by apostilles and a lawyer's stamp. They cost money. Surprisingly, the number of E-2 visa holders went up. President Lee pumped up the number of western teachers in public schools.
Fast forward to 2012. President Lee had been controversial. In 2012 they elected Park Geun-hye (also a Conservative), and she SLASHED the number of teachers in public schools. There are half as many placements as there were.If you want to teach in Korean public schools now, the application process is becoming quite ridiculous. And British applicants need an apostilled and notarized criminal record check, whereas Americans don't. It's time-consuming and complicated, and you can be penalised for small mistakes. If you are under 35, getting a hagwon job should be easier.
In 2014, I was teaching in Korea. One of my friends had been teaching in an elementary school for three years and LOVED IT. He was good at it too. When he went home to England, he asked about PGCE, and was told he would have to pay FOREIGNER'S FEES! Because he had not been a resident of his home county for the last 3 years, the government classes him as a foreigner! British governments are obssessed with residency. Even if you are American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander or Irish, you should pay attention here. I urge you to ask the relevant colleges in your country if the course costs will go up if you work abroad. My English friend found that they will, so now has to wait 3 years before he can affordably do a PGCE. This is unjust.
In 2014, I used to go to Seoul at the weekends. I met a Canadian guy who was working at an infamous private hagwon-Chungdahhm or something. He had more trouble in his second year with them. But because he did a PGCE in Canada before coming to Korea, he was okay. He is now in China and teaching at an international school. In some ways he is pampered. His salary is TWICE what it would be at a normal public school in China. He has a large free apartment and long holidays. It's better than what he had in Korea. Bear in mind that if you teach at ordinary public schools in China you may have to pay full rent-between 4 and 6 months up front.
PGCE is a difficult degree. Don't underestimate that. Being a teacher in say the UK will require A LOT of extra paperwork and marking. But if you can do it now, you should be able to look forward to some really sweet jobs over the next five years, for example. It means that if you come to Korea after PGCE you won't be competing at the same level as everyone else. You might need to do EPIK or JET for a year after PGCE before you get into an international school. PGCE is also linked to your first degree. If you studied science, it's a plus.

[wonkavite62]

I made a mistake, sorry. I meant to write that British and Australian applicants now need to have a NOTARIZED AND APOSTILLED BIRTH CERTIFICATE for public school jobs. Other nationalities don't need this. Sorry for the mistake.

[OBwannabe]

[ttompatz]

[wonkavite62]

Would it be possible to do an MA or Phd in TESOL if in your first degree you majored in a subject other than English?

[robbie_davies]

[ttompatz]