Korean Job Discussion Forums

[omegamongoose]

It's killing me trying to decide!!!

I know it's a trade off between vacation time/housing taken care of/etc. vs. lots more money, so I guess what it really comes down to is this . . .

Is Seoul worth working a Hagwon like CDI @ 30,000 KRW an hour, or is Busan good enough to work a public school job for 2 mil/month with lots of vacation time?

I know I've asked this question (or a similar one) before, so thanks for your input!

[silver_butterfly]

Having worked in a hogwan and now with a public school job, I would say take the public school job! If like me, one of your reasons being here is to travel then do it! Working a full year with only 10 days vacation is fricking hard!
Then again if you wanna save, take the hogwan job! Seoul is a great place to live, I've heard good things about Busan but I've never been, but I know there's more to do in Seoul.
Hope that helps!!

[omegamongoose]

Thanks silver_butterfly. You basically have summed up my dilemma: live in Seoul but at a Hagwon, or live in Busan with a "laid back" public school job.

And this is down to only two choices. Can you imagine me at a restaurant with 40 things on the menu?

[silver_butterfly]

Make a list with the pros and cons for each then add them up!!

[koon_taung_daeng]

why would you work for such a low wage anywyas, just look around try www.worknplay.co.kr and check out the jobs on these forums as well there are tons of desperate schools out there that need a teacher pick the best deal out there

[omegamongoose]

Oh my god, have I done that?

Let me paste a little example of my financial calculations between the two options. Of course, there is more than financials involved, but this is one fairly important aspect:

CDI (in Seoul) Busan
Hours per week (teaching) 27 22
Hours per week (at work) 31 40
* 52 (teaching) 1404 1144
* 52 (at work) 1612 2080

Less vacation hours (approx.) 0 -240
Total hours (teaching) 1404 1000
Total hours (at work) 1612 1840

Monthly pay (in KRW) $ 3,240,000.00 $2,000,000.00
Severance pay (calc per month) $0.00 $166,666.67
Overtime rate $0.00 $20,000.00
Predicted overtime hours (per month) 0 8
Predicted overtime pay $0.00 $160,000.00
Other compensation $0.00 $108,333.33 <-- return airfare, $300k settlment allowance, etc. / 12

Total predicted pay (monthly) $3,240,000.00 $2,435,000.00
Total predicted pay (monthly) [In $US] $3,489.48 $2,622.50
Total predicted pay (annually) $38,880,000.00 $29,220,000.00
Total predicted pay (annually) [In $US] $41,873.76 $31,169.94 $34,073.76

Total predicted hourly pay (teaching) $27,692.31 $29,220.00
[In $US] $29.82 $31.47
Total predicted hourly pay (at work) $24,119.11 $15,880.43
[In $US] $25.98 $17.10

[xCustomx]

There are a ton of threads comparing hagwons to public school jobs. Use the search function if it's working and think about what YOU want to teach. I wouldn't say that a public school job is "laid back." It can be quite difficult to teach 40 students at a time and takes a lot of patience. I prefer teaching in a hagwon, but all other things considered I will never work in one again

[rjrs0510]

If you want to learn how to teach and network then you must choose CDI, a public school with 30 or more unmotivated kids would be painful! Also, why would anyone choose to live outside of Seoul? The CDI job would also afford you the opportunity to get privates and therefore increase your income~~

[superacidjax]

CDI also has the advantage of not sucking. You don't have ANY administrative work (at least not the hourly employees) and the curriculum is solid and ready for you.

Except for my very advanced English rhetoric classes, I don't do ANY prep work. I get to school 30minutes before class, leave the minute classes are over, get paid on time and don't have any office politics. You get your own classroom, computer and are surrounded by people that are good at what they do. (usually.)

Also, what is the possible raise structure for the public school? With CDI, one can expect a significant raise for staying beyond a year.

The best part of CDI.. no b.s. You just show up, teach, go home. You don't have to worry about lesson plans, student discipline or parent stuff. They have dedicated Korean staff for the student issues and a full R&D department for books.

I teach 4 days a week, 24 hours and I make far more than any typical academy job. Also, CDI is not some fly-by-night crapwon, so suggesting CDI is a "hakwon" job, while technically accurate, isn't doing it justice. CDI is a primo hakwon job.

Besides, Busan sucks.

[omegamongoose]

Does it make more sense to work all year at CDI with minimal/no vacation, but save up lots of money and take a trip at the end of the year rather than work (I typed "wark" at first, hah hah, Chocobo joke . . . Man I'm lame) at a public school and take lots of trips during the year with all that vacation?

Briefly:

1. Work work work vaaccccaaaaatttttiiiiooooonnnnn.

OR

2. Work vac work ati work on.

[omegamongoose]

And yeah, would I really be missing out in Busan over Seoul?

Busan has movie theaters, restaurants, libraries, English book stores, parks, museums and stuff like that, right? I'm not really big on clubs/bars, so even a local bar or pool hall would probably be enough for me.

[Voyeur]

With all the franchises CDI can be a crap shoot and the centralized recruiting means that it can sometimes be hard to get any promises as to exactly where you will teach before you come over.

But if you got offered 30k they either liked you - or there are some desperate franchises with mid-level classes that need teaching. Either way, all-in-all 30k is above the avg. offer for a starting CDI teacher and is mid level (ignore the guys getting offered 35k to start as those tend to be ivy leaguers or some such ear marked for high level classes at the main branches).

CDI is a complicated situation - sure. But if the choice is a mere 2.0 at a public school (where there is a good chance you will only get 2 weeks vacation) vs. CDI at 30k then IMO there is no real dilemma here. CDI takes it in a walk - risks and all (you could get a bit screwed with a bad location, but there is risk in anything and it is worth the risk).

That being said, this kind of feels like a false choice. Is 2.0 at a generic public school in Busan the best alternative job you can get as a second choice? Does the public school you are considering guarantee FULL summer and winter vacations?

[omegamongoose]

Hey Voyeur,

Thanks for your response. This is the kind of dialogue I need to engage in. Just talking this stuff out kind of helps.

The 2.0 mil in Busan is basically the best other option right now in my opinion, versus working at some other Hogwan for longer hours and only marginally better pay. I was offered 2.6 mil/month at a Poly School, but those work hours were too long for me, at least for my first year out the gate. I could wait for a public school job in Seoul, but with no teaching experience (and I'm working on my 100-hour TEFL course) the most I would be looking at is 2.2 MAYBE, plus of course any after-school programs I could teach for over time. The public schools offer 14 days of vacation plus all nat'l holidays, which is up around 30 days a year.

I'll write more later, gotta run.

[Voyeur]

2 Key questions:

a) how many years do you plan on staying in Korea?

b) do you have it in writing that you can get full summer and winter holidays at your high school? (not just like 2-3 weeks a year?)

CDI can be a great first year job as part of say a 2-3-4 year money-making stint in Korea. It teaches you how to teach and you get a lot more support and guidance than a lot of places. If you are good, you can get a decent pay boost in your second year and thrid year.

If you are here for one year just to have fun and not make money then CDI might not be for you. But 2.0 at a high school in Busan without (as far as I can see) any promise of true, old-skool, public school holidays (which can still be gotten from some schools that hire directly), that is a crappy alternative.

[qcat79]

anybody on here who has had the CHOICE to work at a public school and chose CDI first is a frickin' idiot. CDI is a company of liars. public school is so great, especially with the vacation and multiple holidays off during the school year. not to mention the chance to work summer and winter camps for extra flow and having more free time during the day the respect that comes with the position.