Teaching: it's a serious thing

Teaching: It's a Serious Thing

A short one today. Maybe I'm gotten a wee case of the emotionals since it's now down to my second last semester teaching at a Korean university, but I couldn't help feeling like it was a huge responsibility. Almost all my students are the hardest working, most earnest, dedicated students I could ever hope for because they see English as vital for their future success and as I sat in class, thinking, I felt this weight on my shoulders. Like these students are really depending on me to do my best to help give them the skills they need for their futures. Hopefully, they get what I'm giving and my class is a valuable thing to them. It's a serious thing.

University Job in Korea with only a BA

University Jobs Korea with a Masters Degree

A reader question from Jennifer:

"I am currently looking for uni jobs that do not require a masters.  Do you know of any groups on Facebook I could get notifications? Thank you so much!"

My answer:

If you haven't already read my book, check out How to Get a University Job in South Korea: The English Teaching Job of Your Dreamsfor advice on what to do if you don't have a masters degree but want to work at a uni. It's going to be tough, but not impossible especially if you're working on a masters or are willing to work at a "unigwon."

But, to answer your question. I don't think there are any Facebook groups, or any other kind of site for that matter which is dedicated solely to uni jobs in Korea for those without masters degrees. You could join my Facebook group, Foreign Teachers in Korean Universities where jobs occasionally get posted. I'm sure you look there already, but check out Dave's ESL Cafe Korean job board. You'll have to wade through lots of junk but there are a few nuggets of gold. Finally, I recommend Profs Abroad. It is a paid site, but you'll be able to get access to all the uni jobs in Korea, even the hard to find ones on school websites very easily in one place.

Job Security in South Korean Universities

Job Security in South Korean Universities?

 A reader question:

"I recently bought and read your book, How to Get a University Job in South Korea. I really enjoyed it and found that it answered many of the questions I’d had about applying for university work in South Korea. While reading the book, I was hoping that you might touch on the topic of tenure for university jobs. I’m currently teaching at a Japanese university and have found that - for foreigners - securing a tenured position is extremely difficult if not impossible in most institutions here. Working in South Korea, have you found that most employment is rotational, contract based with limitations on renewal? Are there stable, tenured positions with upward mobility? If you have the time, I’d really appreciate your feedback on these questions. Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response."

Thanks for checking out How to Get a University Job in South Korea and also sending me your excellent question. I didn't include this topic in the book simply because there are no positions teaching English in South Korean universities for foreigners that are tenure-track, and upward mobility is extremely limited in almost all cases. Most universities offer one year contracts (a limited number 2 years) and your renewal depends on the whims of the powers that be and until you've been at a place for a few years, you really should have some back-up plans come contract renewal time.

The exception to this would be if you have a PhD in a field other than TESOL, but you'd still have a hard time getting tenure and moving up the ranks if you don't speak Korean. It's all about relationships here and greasing the right wheels and lack of language skills would limit you significantly. Competition even for adjunct professor positions is fierce here, as it is in the west.

It sounds to me like the situation regarding tenure in Japan is basically the same as in Korea, so I wouldn't recommend making a move based on that alone.

Question: How to get a university job and how to have fun in Korea

University Job in South Korea

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This is a question from a member of my Facebook group, Foreign Teachers in Korean Universities, which you should join if you teach at a Korean uni, or want to at some point in the future.

"Will someone please advise me on the best ways to get a job teaching at a university in Korea and the best ways to have fun with expats once there? Besides teaching I love writing, movies, books, board games, biking, hiking and camping."

As for the first part about how to get a job teaching at a university in Korea, you should check out How to Get a University Job in South Korea: The English Teaching Job of Your Dreams. Almost all of the feedback on it has been extremely positive and I think you'll pick up at least a few useful tips (and probably a lot more!).  The book's website, universityjobkorea.com has some excerpts from the book as well as some of my guest posts on other sites if you want to try before you buy.

As for the second question about having fun in Korea: you'll find it far easier to meet people and make friends than you would back home. People are always coming and going so people are pretty open to newbies.  If you live in a big city like Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daegu or Daejeon, there will be a multitude of expat groups on Facebook for just about any hobby or interest that you could possibly imagine. I would caution against living in the countryside if you are coming to Korea alone and like to have an active social life since it can be extremely isolating and lonely to be the only foreigner in the vicinity.  

Uni Jobs in Korea: It's a game of chicken

Uni Jobs in Korea: it's a game of Chicken

A few days ago, I wrote about possible reasons why you might not be able to get a university job in South Korea in response to a negative review over on Amazon for the book, How to Get a University Job in South Korea: The English Teaching Job of Your Dreams, asking the reviewer to respond with specific details about his situation so I could possibly help him. His reason had nothing to do with anything that I talked about! Ha!

He did respond with a long email, which I won't post here but the gist of it is that he had already signed a housing deposit, was supporting a wife and needed to take a job offer quickly, so he ended up working in a public school.

My response: think of getting a uni job in Korea as a game of chicken. As I mention in the book, almost everything in Korea happens last minute- the "bali-bali" syndrome. This means that schools will be interviewing and making hiring decisions alarmingly close to the start of the semester. If you're the type who likes to have things locked down early (or in your case-you signed a housing deposit so were tied to a certain physical location), then you'll probably hate it and end up taking an inferior job such as at a public school or hagwon. It's the "safe" option but doesn't really help you get that sweet uni job.

In both my rounds applying for uni jobs, I got interviews and job offers astoundingly late, more than I would have ever thought possible and even for some of the top jobs in the country. As I mention in the book, the top candidates turn down job offers and then it's on to the next tier of candidates and on and on it goes.

Where, if you play the game of chicken well, and wait, and wait, and wait until the last possible minute for some good job offers, you'll likely get something if you meet the basic qualifications (a masters + a couple years teaching experience in Korea). However, you might end up with nothing and totally regret not taking those inferior job offers that you had. It's kind of a crap-shoot, however you can improve your chances at winning by following some of my advice:

1. Try to avoid something like signing a housing deposit until you have a job locked down. This means you are free to move easily if you get a great offer in another city.

2. Emergency fund. Get one. If you lose at the game of chicken, then you'll have a bit of a buffer.

3. Always have a back-up plan. It's great to have plenty of options so apply for any and all jobs in case your first few choices fall through.

4. It's all about being in the right place at the right time and who you know. So, make networking with uni teachers a huge priority in your life and you'll hear about those last-minute job opportunities (there is basically one at my own uni every single semester!).

5. Join this Facebook group: Foreign Teachers in Korean Universities. Just this semester, there were a couple posts with last-minute offers.

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Reader Question: PhD to Get a University Job in Korea?

PhD to Work at a Korean University?

"I've just finished my masters in TESOL and want to make a smooth transition into a university job in Korea. Any advice on how to get into the game without any current uni teaching experience because it seems like every position requires it.  Is it worth it to get a PhD?"

Thanks for the question- it's a position that many people in many industries around the world find themselves in. They have the education, but lack the experience to get them the job in the field. The catch 22. 

Anyway, because your masters degree is in TESOL it will be possible for you to get a university job in Korea, eventually so don't give up. I talk about this very question in my book, How to Get a University Job in South Korea: The English Teaching Job of Your Dreams and give some suggestions such as working at a unigwon for a year or two or at a lower level uni out in the countryside. I give an abundance of detail in the book, so check that out if you haven't already.

As for the PhD thing, I've been around Korean universities for the past 8 years and can count the number of foreigners with PhD's working there on 2 hands, and possibly 1. The people that I have met were those who studied something else besides TESOL such as English Literature, Social Welfare or Engineering and were working in those departments teaching content classes, as opposed to general English classes.

Since you have a masters in TESOL, I'm assuming that is what you'd do your PhD in. In this case, it is a total waste of time and money if your end goal is to get a job at a Korean university; it just doesn't matter to Korean universities when they hire an English conversation instructor. If your goal is to make teaching ESL your career and move on to other countries or back home, then yes, possibly it is a good idea but it really depends on your individual circumstances.

Korea Teacher's Pension Plan Payout

In Korea, there are two basic teacher's pension plans. The first is the national pension plan which all hagwon teachers, most public school teachers, and national university teachers would contribute to. The second is the Korea Teacher's Pension Plan, which is what most university teachers in Korea are a part of, including myself for the past 7.5 years. I'll be talking about this second type of plan in the remainder of this post.

Since I'm leaving Korea in a year to return to Canada, I was wondering what my payout would be because it is a big part of what will fund my return to school to study finance.  The Korea Teachers Pension (KTPP) website is really confusing, such that is almost impossible to calculate your own refund.

I asked for some information in this Facebook group, Foreign Teacher's in Korean Universities and struck gold: a number to an English speaker at the pension office. The number is: 02-769-4408 and the guy answering the phone speaks strangely good English. He asked for a bit of basic information such as my Alien Registration number and name and then told me the news.  

As of now (7.5 years), my payout would be 28.5 million and after 8.5 years (next year), it will be 32.2 million, after tax.

A tip: although the exact time frame is uncertain (after 5 years, or at 6 years-perhaps phone the office), you get a significant bump in your payouts at that time so if you transfer jobs, it is in your best interests to transfer the plan to your new job instead of taking a lump-sum payout part way through.

Tip #2:  while it was possible to transfer your time on the national pension plan to the Korea teachers Pension Plan about 10 years ago, it is not possible now. But, of course check for yourself.