Korean Job Discussion Forums

[GlowStickGirl]

I graduated from an Ivy League school, but really didn't shop around that carefully before landing my current job (I pretty much took the first offer that was over 2.2mil and near my home). My current school is pretty nice and all, but am just wondering if I should have exploited the fact that I graduated from an Ivy League school. Perhaps I could have gotten a higher paying job?

What do you all think? I'm hearing a lot about Korean parents going nuts over "Ibee Leeguh" stuff. Just wondering if it applies to the teachers teaching their kids. I was just under the assumption that these places are just looking for people who speak English well.

Thanks for your input.

[katydid]

Hmmm....well, that is odd that no one seemed to take it upon themselves to exploit it for you.
I graduated from a "good school," too -- hey Boston University is nothing to sneeze at! -- and found out just this year that when I had signed on to work for this hagwan last year, the director went around to every one he worked with telling them that not only did I graduate from this top-notch school in the States (well, **I** would not have put it like that!) but he inflated my GPA to an almost 4.0. (Definitely not true, though I will say, again, my GPA was nothing to sneeze at. You know what it sure is hard to type when you're patting yourself on the back, so I will digress....) I think it was just a matter of personal pride, and trying to make me look really good and the school really good before I came on. Then I showed up and put all the rumors to rest.
My guess, and you know Ivy League, Americans all know what the Ivies are and the Seven Sisters are and what MIT and CalTech are, is that maybe just maybe if you went to a "lesser-known Ivy (you know, "Not Harvard") the director didn't KNOW you went to a school considered an Ivy? Hell, The University of Chicago is supposed to be a damn good school, too, but it's not an "Ivy."
Next interview you have, feel free to tell them about your school, and don't be afraid to toot your own horn. But don't sweat it too much. I mean, if someone from Korea was applying for a job in New York and talked to Joe Interviewer, my guess is that "I went to Yonsei" wouldn't register well, but "I got a 4.0" would, because unlike what we know, Joe Interviewer would think maybe he worked hard for his grades.

EDIT: You're getting over 2.2 million for a hagwan job and you think you could have swung a better deal? Wow. No, Kangnam Dragon is right. That's a hell of a good job...unless of course some of that money is for key money....

[kangnamdragon]

If you got 2.2 million for your first job, that is a good deal. Most schools tend to rather have a teacher who is fun than a teacher who is well educated. They may even consider you "overqualified" if it is a hogwon job.

[Ryst Helmut]

You know that reality show with Jessica Simpson and her husband? If so, you know the joke (on her) when she asks if the "Chicken of the Sea" is either Tuna or Chicken....well, I am sure this is Ryst's version...

But, I do know that Ivy means top-tier universities (on their average), however, what about schools (for example Ohio State <Rudy, shush!>) that have one department ranked #1 nationally?

I know the term came from the 'old' schools that have had time to let ivy grow abundantly on the buildings, but....

Shoosh,

Ryst

[bucheon bum]

[Zed]

Is this a serious question or are you just interested in puffing yourself up so the rest of us peons can bow to your mighty stature?

[Bulsajo]

You went an Ivy League school and didn't learn how to negotiate a good contract?!? (Sorry, couldn't resist that jab!)

Well, is your employer meeting all the terms of the contract, and are you?
You could try to bring up the subject with your boss, but you don't have much of a bargaining position...

Think of it this way- you're an employer in the States who hires a worker from abroad- you both sign the contract and she comes over from Russia to teach 'ballet' at your 'ballet' school for aspiring Ivy League ballerinas. 2 months later she comes up and says to you "I didn't realize Russian ballet instructors were in such high demand, and other Russian ballet teachers are making more than I do. I want a raise."

Do you tell her-

A. "Of course, dear! I really never expected us to abide by the contract. I'll give you a raise or you can work 10 hours less per week- your choice!"

or

B. "We both signed a binding contract that is legal in that it abides by the labor laws of the USA with regard to work (including salary and hours). When the contract expires you can negotiate with me for a nice raise, or you can seek employment elsewhere that pays you what you think you deserve."

Sorry, I know this post is dripping with sarcasm, but I couldn't help myself.

You signed a contract. Honor it. Welcome to the working world.

[helly]

What are the Seven Sisters?

[GlowStickGirl]

[helly]

GlowStickGirl, it might just be me but while you didn't push the whole "snobby ivy league" thing in your contract, you are certainly pushing something "snobby" in your posts recently.

Not to be name-calling and all but......

[GlowStickGirl]

i guess i should have expected these attacks... always seems as though once people find out you come from an ivy, they want to take shots at you and cut you down. i was simply asking for advice and input... absolutely no pretentious undertones were implied. but i assume people still took offense to my original post...whatever their problem may be.

[dogbert]

I think it's a legitimate question. I don't know about schools, but it seems that just about every flyer I see advertising tutoring prominently displays what university the tutor is a graduate of. If you can exploit your university's name recognition, why not do so?

[katydid]

Jeez...what are the Seven Sisters....hmmm. I'm dorky enough to tell you, helly. First off, they were a group of schools that were female-only, kind of like the female Ivies, though Vassar has since gone co-ed, and Barnard and Radcliffe have kind of melded into their "brother" unis:

1)Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY for those of you keeping track at home)
2) Smith College (Northampton, MA, located in the Western part)
3) Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA -- just "down the street" from Smith)
4) Wellesley College (In Wellesley, MA, nearby Boston)
5) Barnard College (now a part of Columbia University in New York City)
6) Radcliffe College (now a part of Hahvuhd Univuhsity, Cambridge, MA)
7) Bryn Mawr College (in Bryn Mawr, PA)

Thanks to Google for giving me number 7.

[kiwioutofthenest]

Well IF you did graduate from an Ivy League school...why come to korea? surely the wages are better back home?
I met a girl here who said she went to Havard...turned out to be BS wonder if your the same? I rekon if you have had such an expesive education you may have been taught things like perhaps negotiating your contract before asking strangers about it?

[katydid]

Now now...just because you go to an expensive school, that doesn't mean you are automatically granted a job, nor does it mean you know how to immediately negotiate for a better contract. I know with my school, I wish they had taught us better networking skills. Man I felt dumped into a shark pool after graduation, but c'est la vie. I'm all right with being here.
Most Ivies are liberal arts schools, meaning you don't necessarily learn a "skill" like engineering or journalism or nursing. You get a degree in Psychology or English or French. Then you go on to grad school, or you can take your English degree and become a teacher, a publishing assistant, a freelance writer...whatever.
So GSG went to an Ivy. Good for her. She's fresh out, too, so she can use this experience as a learning one if she feels she could have negotiated a better contract. I still stand by my view that 2.2 is damn good, and asking for anything more is like asking the director to move the sun for her...unless again, there is a key money payment involved.
I think she had a valid question, and there's no need for the backlash being thrown at her "If you're so smart to go to an Ivy, how come you were stupid with your contract negotiations," is pretty harsh.