Hello and a ?

[dharmabumin06]

Hello everyone,

Im a climber and i was introduced to KOTR by Sonia (hi Sonia its Mike: ) who I met on Ton Sai a few weeks ago. She said that y'all are a worthwhile bunch 'o folks and suggested that I ask this question here, so heres my querry:

Im in month # 2 of a 7ish month holiday around SE Asia. I am interested in teaching english when the money runs out and am considdering doing it it Korea. That being said, Im a bit overwhelmed by the variety of companies and would like some advise along the lines of:

What is the first step to applying as an english teacher?
What is a good/bad company?
What are considdered the best jobs?
Are you happy?
Any other advise you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Michael

[shanja]

Mike,
Personally I have had a pretty graet experience teaching English in Korea...maybe I've been luckier than most, but I don't think so. It's a very unique culture here. Education can appear to be more a business than a learning centred thing but...after 7 years here in KOrea I guess the pros way outweigh the cons.
Firstly there are a few different styles/ spheres of English teaching here. The most common are:
1-Hakwon/Hagwon (학원): By far the most common employment opportunity. They are esentially private institutes, after hours schools, Language Academies etc. In Korea there are Hakwons for everything from Hip-Hop dancing to Celo, to English. 80% of English teachers work in this area, at least initially. Some are very professional, company run, some are nation-wide chains, some are private family businesses. Many are OK, some are great some are hell. Finding a good one is a matter of e-mailing them and asking to talk(e-mail) with a current foreign teacher, checking English Teacher web-sites and asking people like us in Korea. They usually offer 2 weeks paid holiday a year, plus public holidays, a salary of about 2,200,000won a month, provide semi-furbished small apartments of which you pay utility bills only, usually provide a return air ticket from and to your hometown (if it has an international airport), and a one month bonus salary on completion of the years contract. You work about 30 teaching hours a week (but this can add up to a lot more actual hours of being at work). Most people do this job for a year or two only, then move on to high schools, Universities or something else. It can be tough, but if your boss and colleagues are OK it can also be quite nice. My Hakwon boss was a penny-pinching tax-evading, truth bending bugger but he gave me time off for a few expeditions and generally looked after all his staff. It's a lot of give and take and knowing how to network, when to yeild and when to butter 'em up. Generally you need at least a BA, and a TESOL/ TEFOL certificate is a great advantage. Not hard to get, and any teaching experience can be a boon too. Many Hakwon teachers are less qualified than this, but they are weeding out fake degrees and trying to hire better "qualified" folk.

Universities and Colleges-Dae hak kyo (대학교): These offer much longer holidays, though not all are same. Some have amazing 4 months paid off a year (just like students holidays), others keep you busy over the vacations with camps, make-up classes or "Hakwon" classes where you are loaned out/ used as an extra money earner. This isn't unfair/ illegal/ immoral, it's just reality and in your contract. Be aware. But all are longer, much longer than Hakwons. The students too are generally all Uni students, though they may ask you to teach at an affiliated High school, Hakwon occaisionally. The salaries are often a little lower, about 2,000,000 a month, and apartments are similar, sometimes better. As a uni teacher you are expected to have more qualifications (usually). A BA plus teaching ceertificate would be the bare minimum, and even then you are up against all the hakwon tired flk who want the uni job too. If you have a Masters, it's a lot easier. Many unis state Masters is a minimum, but the reality is a bit different. A year or 2 of teaching at a hakwon or in a school at home is a pretty good substitute to a Masters. Speaking a second language helps, as does any experience in business fields, law etc.
Send out e-mail resumes to the relevant people/ places, or post online at Daves esl cafe etc (I'll let other KOTRers post exact websites). Hiring is a 12 month, 52 week a year event. Umm that's about all for now. Goodluck.

[skinsk]

Mike, good to see you here! Posted some photos under "fun photos" as you appear with so many people from this site. Hope Malaysia is/was nice!

Look for Uni jobs at the end of the previous semester (May-June is a hiring season, with some spots holding until July or even August as teachers get better offers or just don't show up; for spring semester jobs, start looking end of Novemeber when teachers give notice; classes start in March). Check KOTR at these times for connections -- the best way to get a University job is to know someone. It is not uncommon for employers to ask their teachers if they know anyone or have any friends. It's easier for everyone and friends and connections are especially important in Korea.

Most climbers like to work with other climbers. That said, I've gotten all my jobs from Dave's (http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/) (just don't go to the forums-- they are festering with overwhelming amounts of negativity and bad interpretations that you don't need to see or read, at least not until you can come and see both sides). Eric (who created KOTR) has http://www.eslhq.com/ (a good source of materials if you teach ESL). My city (Jeonju) and several other cities now have google-pages, yahoo groups and websites where (mostly) local jobs are announced.

Read a bunch of what's out there to get an idea of what is included in most contracts. Prioritise. What is most important to you? What can you do without? Vacation, my view and the quiet, and proximity to climbing brought me here. The pay, my co-workers and administrators, my students, and the climbing community (none of which are perfect) have kept me here much longer than I anticipated! Some people are mostly here for $ (Seoul), others want something that feels like home, or something with a beach, or a vibrant foreign night scene. Does it matter what kind of students you have or what hours you work? (Besides Unis and Hakwons, there are public school jobs that others could tell you more about). Look at your options. You can search the forums for several old threads on "best" cities for climbers. Be specific with what you want and we can help you with location; look at lots of jobs and we'll be happy to look at the ones that appeal to you most for any red flags that might not be so obvious to someone not here.

Sorry if you're paying by the minute, er but you know how it is when I answer a question! Feel free to PM or e-mail a resume or cover letter too. The more flattering you are about Korea, the better.

[dharmabumin06]

Wow, thanks for the great bit 'o beta. Ill start looking into it further and im sure ill be posting more questions.

Great pictures Sonia, how was/is the rest of your trip?
Malaysia has has been wonderfull and tramatic, but always interesting.

M

[Jessica]

I'll add a public school perspective:

* according to my contract, I have 5 weeks of vacation. (most public schools will say 4-5 weeks, but most people get quite a bit more time off)
* had I been smarter about sweet-talking my principal, I would have had enough lead time to plan for the almost 2 months of vacation I DID have this winter.
* while a lot depends on your school, from what I've heard, there is less of a chance of getting a really bad job situation.
* There are some good recruiters out there - Canadian Connection (http://www.canconx.com/) has been in the south for a while now (don't know anything about the stuff they have started placement for in the Seoul area, but from what I've read, their vacation time sucks), and I have heard good things about Work n Play and Footprints (but I don't have first-hand info on those programs.)
* You don't have to be from Canada for Canadian Connection.
* My contract states I can have up to 20 classes a week, but I don't think I've ever had that many unless I was teaching extra classes (and for that I was paid overtime).

The main downside is that even if I don't have classes, I still need to be at school. But then, my hours are consistent and on a daytime schedule (8:30-4:30) and I get a lot of holiday time off. All in all, quite a good deal.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.