Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ella]

Ideally: 2.2+ mil with TEFL cert and teaching experience (non-ESL), adult students, block shifts, near a shore. Fantasy or reality? If it's fantasy, what compromises would make it more realistic?

[flotsam]

[Son Deureo!]

Teaching adults with block shifts is VERY hard to come by anywhere in Korea. The majority of adult ESL students here are company workers and uni students who work at least the 9-5. So guess when the most popular times for adult hogwon classes are? Yep, 6-9a.m. and 6-10p.m. Hence, the evil splits. There just isn't enough business in the middle of the day to make block shifts available for most adult hogwon teachers.

The only ways I know of to get a block shift, or anything like it while teaching adults are in-house corporate gigs and university jobs. Both are great work if you can get them, but probably won't be that easy to swing from outside of Korea, and/or without connections. Go ahead and try, though, you might get lucky.

In Seoul it would be very easy for you to get a job teaching adults for well over 2.2 a month, but expect splits. I hear that YBM on Jongno (downtown Seoul) is pretty good about letting you have block shifts once you've "paid your dues" after 3-5 months, but the pay tends to be a little lighter for first-years than what you're asking.

You probably could easily get at least 2.1 with block shifts at a public school or hogwon in any community you wanted, but that would mean teaching kids. The vacation at public school jobs isn't as good as it used to be, but it's still often better than what you'd get at a hogwon. Maybe high school wouldn't be a bad compromise for you.

Don't give up on what you're looking for, though. There are all kinds of ESL jobs available in Korea and if you keep applying, and have the time and patience to sort through a lot of subpar job ads and offers there's a good chance of finding something you'll be happy with, or at least can live with for a year. Once you're here and have your ear to the ground, it's amazing how many more opportunities seem to appear.

[ella]

And without the TEFL cert? Still realistic?

[flotsam]

[ella]

Why is it in so many job ads? Is it just there for negotiating power on their part? "Well, you don't have a certificate, so we can't actually pay you the 2.1MIL that was listed in the ad..."

[Son Deureo!]

It can't hurt, but to be honest having one doesn't seem to open that many doors, and not having one certainly doesn't seem to close many.

The only concrete exception I know of is that the GEPIK program (public schools for Gyeonggi Province, a.k.a. the suburbs of Seoul) pays extra to teachers with a certificate of just about any kind.

Since you have it, play it up for all it's worth when you sell yourself and it might get you a little extra salary.

The biggest reason I think you are being unrealistic is that block shift adult hogwon jobs are virtually nonexistent, for anyone.

One more avenue you might want to pursue is university hogwon jobs, they're more flexible on quals than straight up uni jobs, and as far as I know, most of them do not have the late night classes that adult hogwons do.

Best of luck!

[ella]

I don't have a TEFL cert. I can leave for Korea the first week in June without the cert, or I can leave the first week in July with a 100-hour cert (good program, too).

If being in Korea makes for better negotiating, I'm happy to get myself there and look for a job from the inside.

I'm not up to doing split shifts at my age, I'll leave that to the 21yos, but that does appear to limit my possibilities.

[jinju]

[flotsam]

[ella]

It's a TEFL course. Looks to be a good, very solid program. I'm a southern California beach babe, born and raised, blonde/blue, Irish heritage. Well, not much of a babe anymore, but you get the idea. I just happen to like Bollywood movies. That's Madhuri Dixit, not Ash, in my avatar.

jinju, I am re-evaluating my priorities for the very reasons you pointed out.

This is the kind of feedback I'm looking for, thank you. (More is welcome, too!)

[jinju]

[ella]

She is indeed. I prefer SRK, myself, but she makes for a better avatar. The dreamy look captures me perfectly.

[jinju]

Teaching adults is fun. But its not as lucrative unless you freelance and set up your own privates or small group classes. It will be 100% illegal for you on an E2 though.

Working for the large adult hagwons is a joke. I would never suggest it to my worst enemy. Pagoda, YBM-Sisa, etc pay a joke. When I charge 50,000 a hour for teaching adults while some schmuck gets not even half that working at a large hagwon, its a joke. Pagoda outsourcing are so bad that they actually advertise jobs for F2/F5 visa holders offering them a pathetic 35,000 an hour. Which isnt even half of what the companies pay them. I cant even imagine how they cheat their hagwon tachers. I say get the cert and apply for GEPIK which will atleast pay you a decent amount instead of a joke 2.0million.

[flotsam]