Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bardolf]

Hello all, I did a year's contract in Hwajeong (part of greater Seoul) a few years back -- it went fairly well for a hogwon. I am now considering another teaching gig somewhere in the world.

B.Ed, Secondary, English major, French minor, 44 years old now, blond & blue-eyed (more or less)

How's the scene in Korea nowadays? What are salaries like? In Hwajeong I got about 2.2. Is Korea still the top payer of the world ESL teaching scene, plus perhaps Japan?

I have no interest whatsoever in Japan, but China sounds interesting. No doubt the money is less than in Korea, but can a person still manage to save while working in China? (Indeed I'm trying to get registered on the china board as well now.)

[Scott in Incheon]

With your B'Ed and some exp in high schools you should look at the NET program in Hong Kong. Probably the best paying job in ESL outside of the middle east.

http://www.emb.gov.hk/index.aspx?langno=1&nodeid=1301

I did it for 6 years...and recommend it...pay raises every year and great holidays....and HK is a nice place to live if you can stand the heat

[laogaiguk]

[Scott in Incheon]

At my school collar shirts..anything with a collar and then, pants (no jeans)...it was fairly relaxed.

I didn't know any NET's that had to wear ties or suits to school but I didn't know every NET.

[xtchr]

Don't want to hijack the thread, but I have a few queries about the NET programme (primary schools) in Hong Kong.

Scott in Incheon; given the higher rates of tax in HK, and the fact that you have to pay for your own accommodation, is it possible to save as much in HK as in Korea?

How many Saturdays did you end up working?

I've been reading about it on another branch of Dave's but there are some not very flattering stories about the NET system, i.e regarding long working hours, and a really slow paperwork process before you can get a job. Can you comment on this?

Thanks for any info.

[bardolf]

[edited]

[Scott in Incheon]

You get a living allowance and any single person should be able to find something decent with the allowance. I had a family and we got a nice two storey three bedroom house in the New Territories. If you work in the city you might have to commute but if you get a school in the territories or on the Kowloon side, then you can easily find housing with the allowance.

With the allowance, a B'Ed you start at about 30-32K HK a month. That would be the minimum. You go up the pay scale for every year you work. The top of the scale is about 60K a month. Yes you do need to sign a two year contract and there is a 15% bonus for completing the contract. This is also about what you pay in tax. There is a flat rate for taxes with 15% being about the top of the scale.

I think everyone saved about 2-3K Can a month as a min...with some saving a lot more. It became more expensive for us as we had kids. Without the little ones we would have left with a lot more. We also really really enjoyed ourselves their with lots of trips here and there and living well.

I never worked Sats unless my drama students had a rehearsal and it was of my own choosing. The job varies from school to school, but overall it is worth it. I was making over 100K Can a year when I left.

The headaches are that you have that mountain of paperwork to overcome to get hired and then it is a crapshoot as to how good your school is going to be.

I never worked on the primary program but the biggest complaint I hear was from the teachers who worked for two different schools...one morning and one afternoon and they had problems making both principals happy.

I left because my wife wanted to come back and help out her parents and we wanted our girls to go to primary school. If I had stayed single, I would have stayed in HK. oh...and the heat...the heat did get to me after awhile...

There are lots of complaints about NET, but also lots of people who want to join because the money can be really good, good vacations and they fly you home after each two year contract....that saved us tons before we came to Korea....