Korean Job Discussion Forums

Hope · Joined: 22 Nov 2003

How many teaching hours can you manage a day? My boss wants me to work 9 teaching hours. Is it doable? Hours are 630-1 & 530-830. I do not live with in walking distance of the school, so calculated traveling time to and from work each day would be about 2.5 hours. I think this is way too much but when I mention that I might burn out rather quickly, the boss looks at me like I'm a lazy ass. I have agreed to teach eight hours a day with a one hour later start time in the morning but he said that is not reasonable. What I want to know is...Am I being a wimp? Confused

the_beaver · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

For me a six-hour teaching day is tough and there's no way I could do it day after day.

Lizara · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul

Would you be teaching during all those hours you mentioned, or would you have breaks? Either way, it's completely ridiculous.

Dan The Chainsawman · Joined: 05 May 2005

Emphasis on the Either way by the way.

Hope · Joined: 22 Nov 2003

break is 10 min...enough time to get a drink and let students out and new ones in.

SPINOZA · Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Location: $eoul

hellsbells · Joined: 24 Aug 2005

I've been working crazy hours lately - 6 days a week with my shortest day being 6 hours, my longest 8 and a half (contact hours). BUT - I am getting serious overtime pay, and I am only doing it because I know I'm leaving soon.

I'd be very reluctant to commit to it permanently. You will be shattered in a matter of weeks. They can't make you work those hours surely?

jacl · Joined: 31 Oct 2005

As long as you get 3.5 hrs of OT/day and you're not required to be at the hagwon at outside of the mentioned hours. Plus no administration work or anything else. Bare minimum.

The travel time, however, concerns me. As does the early start straight through to 1 pm. Your boss would have to pay you at the very least 1.4 million/month on top of your regular salary.

But the travel time... Not good. You could make that at CDI teaching 4-6 with no travel time.

If there were basically no travel time, it might be worth considering, but still very difficult. You're basically working half the day. Pay doesn't reflect it.

I might have something similar to decide on soon. 6:30-8 and 9-11 on top of my regular 2-9 (6 teaching hours). Thing is, I'd be getting 1.75 million more a month with no travel time to speak of, really. Still, I think that that would be ridiculous.

ontheway · Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 7:12 am Post subject:

Working is easy. I can do 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. But, I could never stand to travel more than 10 minutes to or from work, and I could never do split shifts like you're talking about. Those hours between shifts are the same as working hours to me. Your split shift is like a 14 hour day. It's too much. Breaks are useless. Whether it's 10 minutes between classes or the 4.5 hour split you're looking at it's all the same.

jacl · Joined: 31 Oct 2005

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

SeniorEnglish · Joined: 18 Jun 2006

I worked a 9- 8:30 stint during intensive with a 1 hour lunch. 10x40 min. speaking classes and 3/40 min. writing classes. By the end of the day I had no voice or energy. Not to mention my overtime pay was less than my regular pay. The boss wasn't too bad. I was screwed over by my co-workers, so I had a bad schedule. It seems that the more you complain, the more work shifts on the one you don't. (Koreans hate confrontation)

jacl · Joined: 31 Oct 2005

manlyboy · Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 8:34 pm Post subject:

oldfatfarang · Joined: 19 May 2005 Location: On the road to somewhere.

That schedule would kill me. If I teach 6 hours in a block shift I'm buggered. No voice, no energy, no enthusiam.

It looks like your employer is not interested in having you for the 'long haul'. Some schools are so used to rapid teacher turnover that they adopt the attitude, "use em and throw em". I wouldn't work there for any amount of money because those hours are just not a long-term situation.