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Vision
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 5:45 am Post subject: Any tips on finding a good hagwon to work in? |
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To make my search easier for the perfect school please let me know if you have any tips on finding a good hagwon to work in?
Also, why do they always give just a months notice of available jobs, it does not make it very easy when your coming all the way from Ireland. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Most jobs pay 1.8-2 mil a month. If they're offering more, careful.
The best job is at a school a friend works at and is happy with. Barring that, ask for emails of teachers that work there. If the person you're talking to has reupped for another year or maybe a third year, that's a great tip off the school is fine.
Go with your gut. If something sounds fishy, pass.
Try to hold out for a job that offers no split shifts and your own apartment. |
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kelly
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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Getting a good hagwon can be pot luck, I came over from Ireland on two weeks notice, got a good school, been in it for two years, unfortunately just changed boss and its starting to suck so I'm getting out, its pretty easy to do, and honestly if they are looking to get someone quickly you have lee-way in getting what you want!! Good luck anyhow!
Last edited by kelly on Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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| kelly wrote: |
| Getting a good hagwon can be pot luck, I came over from Ireland on two weeks notice, got a good school, been in it for two years, unfortunately just changed boss and its starting to suck so I'm getting out, its pretty easy to do, and honestly if they are looking to get someone quickly you have my lee-way in getting what you want!! Good luck anyhow! |
An excellent point as well. You can do everything right. Your best friend can totally vouch for your school, but then suddenly, the Good director up n quits and Evil director takes his place. It's a whole new playing field. This goes as well for chain schools. Englishee-U-Learnee Hakwon in Mokdong might get raves but Englishee-U-Learnee Hakwon in Bangpo sucks. Why? The director. |
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peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 9:52 pm Post subject: Re: Any tips on finding a good hagwon to work in? |
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| AislingDePaor wrote: |
| Also, why do they always give just a months notice of available jobs, it does not make it very easy when your coming all the way from Ireland. |
Koreans aren't big on planning, and being able to think on your feet is a pretty important survival skill here. If a month's notice is challenging, it might be a rough adjustment. |
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stevie rotten
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2004 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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look somewhere other than korea.
i mean it. |
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chronicpride
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 2:23 am Post subject: |
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| stevie rotten wrote: |
look somewhere other than korea.
i mean it. |
What's this? Do as I say not as I do? You're still in Korea now, aren't you? Good advice from a good source. Spot on.  |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 4:34 am Post subject: |
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| stevie rotten wrote: |
look somewhere other than korea.
i mean it. |
I wouldn't go that far. Korea, if taken properly and with the right sense of humor, is a nice balance between the western comforts you'll find in Japan (but cheaper) and the more hairy assed "whoa this is asia!" wilds of China.
People have some bad experiences here. Some teachers are truly innocents and just hook up with a bad school. My boss, a Korean woman, told me about her last school. The director asked all the teachers to skip a month's pay, owning to a problem balancing the books. They tightened their belts and did it. Curiously the Director was gone for a couple weeks after. Turns out he took the money saved from a month of salaries and had himself a VERY nice vacation on it. When the teachers found that out they all walked out en mass.
In other cases, it's a two-way street. Koreans are bad planners but then some ESL teachers are marginal types, lack coping skills, and hit on the female students (and, believe it or not, not all of them are charmed by it and do complain to the owners). What would be a tolerable situation if an ESL teacher could laugh off the minor bumps quickly becomes a downward spiral as each side tries to out a-hole the other side.
Basically, you have to ask yourself if you can deal with bumps, bad planning, and what might seem like ignorant treatment with a sense of humor and the proper spirit of adventure. If you can't handle stress and the road bumps of life in North American, then, yes, look some where else. |
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