Korean Job Discussion Forums

[esetters21]

I know the scale that SMOE bases their starting salaries on. I'm curious as to what most new appointees will be starting at salary-wise. Are most of you getting the base level or have you been able to go up a notch or two?

[egrog1717]

I'm at 1.8 mil.

[Chris_Dixon]

[semi-fly]

Shouldn't the base salary be around 2.0 - 2.2m to start, why would accept 1.8m?

[egrog1717]

Its a gov't job... They set the pay scale based on experience (of which I have none... at least not "official" teaching)... The loss of a couple hundred a month doesn't really bother me as I would rather work for the SMOE than a hagwon (it will look better on my teacher's college application for next year...)

[sigmundsmith]

Yes, you could work for a hogwan for your first job with no teaching experience and get 2 -2.2 mill a month. Get 10 days vacation a year and work 30 hours a week.

Or, you can work with SMOE, get 1.8 mill a month (with no experience). Get 4 weeks (21 days) paid vacation plus 2 week vacation re-signing bonus plus return airfare to your home country for re-signing. And teach 22 classes a week. I am elementary so actual time standing infront of a classroom is no more than 15 hours a week. The remainder is infront of the computer planning my vacation, watching episodes of southpark etc and studying a little korean.

Plus, many classes are cancelled on a regular basis. These classes do not need to be made up as you are there ready to teach but it is out of your control that classes are cancelled.

Like with hogwans, public schools are the same when it comes with dealing with the personalities of teachers and Peeps/Vpeep's. But it is vary unlikely you get screwed on pay etc.

So for someone who has no experience teaching or other teaching qualifications, it is up to them whether smoe or hogwan would be more suitable for them for an extra 200,000won a month.

Having worked in both I know which one I would pick.

[KYC]

They're pretty rigid about their payscale.

Also, don't listen to your recruiter about the pay. Mine told me I'd start at 2.0 but during my interview I asked and was told I'll be getting 2.2.

[Bibbitybop]

A 100 +hour TEFL course will bring someone from 1.8 up to 2.0 in SMOE. Online ones work, too.

[egrog1717]

I plan to return a year after I finish my current contract (yes, the one I havn't started and may hate... but I may love it as well) with a year's experience teaching as well as my teaching certificate... 1.8 this year means 2.2 when I come back, as opposed to 2.0 (or something close to that...)

[Clemmens]

I'll be getting 2.0. I'm fresh out of Uni. with nothing more than BAs in English & Spanish, time abroad, and 2 years experience working at a Juku(japanese version of a Hakwon) here in my town. Though the max number of students I worked with was 5, I usually worked with 2 so 40 kid classes should be an interesting challenge. I was surprised that SMOE would even hire me because I'd read here that they tend to look for people with more teaching experience. Gonna give it a shot and see what happens. On a side note, anyone here know if getting TEFL certified at this point would bump my pay, considering that an English degree/TEFL certification are in the same pay scale bracket? I assume it wouldn't do anything, though if it would, I'd definitely spring for a certification. I posted this on another thread but didn't get much of a clear answer. Thanks and sorry for the slight hijack.

[egrog1717]

No offence to anyone with an English degree (god knows I couldn't do it... History and Pol Sci all the way, lol)... But how dues studying lit. (which the majority of uni level English courses are about) help you to speak better English?

Or am I completly off the map because you Eng. majors took 10,000 grammer courses I don't know about?

[MollyBloom]

If someone received their Master's in the middle of a contract, do they have to wait to re-sign to get the salary increase, or could it happen as soon as the transcript and diploma is showed to SMOE?

[missty]

[Bibbitybop]

[Bibbitybop]