Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hamilto8]

Hi all,

I have been applying for university gigs in South Korea for several months and haven't gotten a single reply back. At this point, I'm wondering if I should just give up.

Some background: I am an American with a BA in International Studies and have a CELTA. I taught in China for 5 years, from 2011 until 2016, entirely at the university level. This includes 1 year at a private university, and 4 years at public universities.

My first uni gig in China was pretty bottom rung, but I climbed up and eventually found my way into a pretty decent gig. Now I've been trying to find Uni work in South Korea, which, I understand, is harder to come by than in China.

Honestly, I have been looking over the qualifications for several uni job postings on this website and many of them say that will accept applicants who have a BA and 4 years teaching experience at the university level. Now, with my 5 years experience in China, I have that, obviously. But no matter how many uni job postings I apply to, I never get a reply. This is the most frustrating aspect of all; just not hearing anything in reply. Not even a generic form rejection letter.

So, am I doing anything wrong? Is finding uni work in Korea going to be impossible for someone with my background?

[ttompatz]

You are doing 2 things wrong.
A) you are outside of the country
B) you are competing in a field where any MA trumps you and there are lots of MA holders competing for those same jobs.

Get in the country.
Get some time "in country" under your belt.
Make some connections when you are here and get your preferred job. It really is more about who you know and who knows you - especially if you do not have an MA and 2 years post grad on your resume.

.

[PRagic]

TTompatz is spot on. Your best bet is to keep firing off resumes for any and all positions that will even consider BA holders with uni experience.

A lot of places hire last minute. If you're still in the pile, and if there are no more MA holders in that pile, you might just get a call.

K universities do like to hire in-country, though, as they by and large don't pay for transportation, relocation, or visa-runs. They don't need to beause there are a TON of people here who already have their MA, many of whom had lower tier uni jobs and then did an on-line MA along the way.

You might be able to get a job at a university institute. Those aren't much better than regular institute jobs, but you'll probably get a bit more free time and longer holidays.

If you're serious about teaching ESL at university anywhere over the long term, best to just knock out the MA. Eventually, Chinese universities will be looking for MA holders as well.

Just as in Korea, you'll probably be able to find jobs with just the BA, but they won't be too great. The good, long term postions almost exclusively require the MA.

Best of luck with the search. If you do manage to get a job, knock out that MA and work your way up the food chain.

[The Doctor]

any updates?

[kona]

[Lucas]

I just accepted a uni job. Teaching 15 contact hrs a week 1.4 million plus housing.

Three weeks holiday a year. Much worse contract that last time I was here

[PRagic]

1.4? Was that a typo? A joke? And only 3 weeks off a YEAR, not twice a year (at least)?

[Lucas]

[frankhenry]

[PRagic]

Hope you have a way to pad your income, OP.

I can see the logic of taking a low paying job, albeit not THAT low, if you already have your MA and just need 2 years of experience so you can apply for better slots.

Been in Korea going on 25 years, and I can't recall ever hearing of a university job that paid so little with so little time off.

Do a year, but start chucking in applications for decent jobs ASAP.

[Lucas]

[thrylos]