Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jurassic82]

I have been working at a school in Bucheon now for 4 months and have seen many kids join the school and later drop. Nothing out of the ordinary but recently there have been a lot of kids dropping. The week after we had tests 9 kids dropped. In the last week 3 mores kids dropped. We are a small school of about 130 kids. We have 5 teachers. One other foriegn teacher and three Korean teachers. My question is when does one begin to worry about the school possibly closing down. So far I have had no pay problems but I fear that problems could arise. My question to everyone out there that may have been in similar situation is this, when do you begin to worry? Is this sort of stuff common with many students dropping at once. I have already begun to get my resume and transcripts ready just in case. I hope to hear other peoples experiences and to recieve a little bit of advice in this matter because it is kind of freaking me out!!!

[candide]

Generally, when you are losing students at that rate, things tend to go downhill fast. Hopefully you are the favored teacher and will be the last to get the boot from the place.

[Captain Corea]

It's occasionally seasonal... I wouldn't worry too much.

After 3 years at one school, I got pretty used to the patterns.

The big thing is to have kids filling up those seats in a month or two.

[Son Deureo!]

Always have money saved in case of emergencies. Always keep your resume up to date and have your documents at the ready. Always do the best job you can in the classroom.

Never worry about the ups and downs of enrollment. That's your boss' problem, not yours. Students come and go, sometimes it's the FT's fault, but usually it isn't no matter what your boss says.

Captain Corea is right, it may also be seasonal. November/December tend to be slow times (kids are too busy studying for finals and the college entrance exam to worry about hogwon). Enrollment tends to pick up during winter vacation, January-February.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

It could be the beginning of the end but more likely you'll notice a downward trend until March when a bunch of new students will start.

[Pak Yu Man]

It could be people jumping ship. It could be seasonal.

Here's a word of advice for new people. Always stick about 1.5 mil in the bank and never touch it. This is your airplane ticket home.
You want a new Tv or the PS3...don't touch yoour nest egg. I still have my bank account in my original job (almost 8 years ago) with 1.5 mil sitting in it. How much interest will I have after 8 years? lol.

It's there when I need it. I never will need it..but it's still there.
Whatever happens..I can get the hell out of Dodge.