Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rush]

and its getting very depressing, Im 32 and have been teaching
in Japan and Korea for the last 5 years, have come back home
thinking that I have to get back to the "real world" whatever that
is and have found it impossible to find anything other than telesales
or collecting money for charities etc.
Im still very presentable, confident etc but realise that I have no
relevant skills... my stint teaching has not even been looked at
my employers... I feel Japan or Korea calling again but then I
feel that there will be no way of turning back.. anyone had
similiar experiences

[matko]

Are you Tesl certified?

Why don't you continue teaching?

That's what I did.

[Zed]

How's the money in that? Vancouver, was it?

[matko]

Wasn't great, but wasn't bad.

To be honest, I can't remember exactly

It was either 2,600 or 2,700 a month at one school and 26 dollars an hour at another school.

I was able to live off that quite comfortably and save a few hundred bucks a month.

[Tiger Beer]

One time I went back and moved to NYC.. (after 2 years abroad). I found a job immediately, but not a good job. During the initial six months back, I started studying every aspect of presentations graphics - meaning excel charts and maps, powerpoint slides and graphs, and all the rest. Then I was able to get a great job doing that stuff for corporations.

Second time I went back I chose San Francisco. I had the other skills from before.. but had a hard time finding anything in post-internet era San Francisco. Too many talented people in that field who had connections already to get the few jobs available in that city post 9-11 and post dot.com era.

If I'd stuck around a bit more, I was going to do a 'paralegal' program that was an intensive.

Getting back into the job market is much better if you have some kind of plan of action. Try to look into some intensive courses offered through extension programs or do one hell of a lot of self-study in something - preferably computer-related. That'll open up a lot more prospects if you are planning to stay there awhile. A third option is to enroll back into university for a graduate program of some type.

[SuperHero]

Today I heard on AP news that the average lenght of unemployement (in the US) right now is around 5 months. so 2 months is not that long especially considering you don't have any recent employment history in your country.

[rush]

thanks for the replies guys... I was looking at doing an intensive
IT course that goes for 4 months and "guarantees" employment.

I might give it a shot

[U.S.A.]

Unfortunately, you should be prepared for an even longer time of unemployment (or actually under-employment). I've been back for just under a year and finally got a good job; however, prior to returning, I said to friends and family that I was prepared to possibly be under-employed for a long time.

You have to be in it for the long haul.

[shawner88]

It's hard to go from getting jobs handed to you back to begging for them, in essence. I don't look forward to that.

[osangrl]

me either, thats why im going to marry a rich guy, be a lazy housewife, and spend my time spending his money decorating our home, or out suntanning by the pool
Perfect Plan,...... i decide to sign one more year here, so i could map out a future life plan....and it only took a month! Now im ready for the future!!!!!!

[kangnam mafioso]

i've been back in the states 3 months and i'm going through the same thing. i'm getting certified to teach high school english ... too many years in education to switch gears and do something else.

the economy still sucks in the states. a few years ago, you could always find a "crappy" job, but now even a lot of the bad jobs are being filled. i went to a temp agency just looking for anything -- they couldn't find even unskilled labor for me.

don't expect teaching in asia to do much for the resume. even if you plan to stay in teaching, it doesn't account for much. employers want local experience. regardless, i don't regret teaching in korea ... i had a blast.