Just to clarify you do of course need a BS from a 4 year university and no you do not need to be Korean. In fact most schools or hagwons (private academies) prefer it if you are not Korean because parents prefer foreign instructors teaching their kids English. That being said, most places require you to sign at least a 1 year contract with the school, it would be hard to find a 6 month stint unless you are doing part time. Also you need a lot of paperwork before hand, so if you are serious about doing it, start now as the paperwork could take up to 3 months to complete start to finish (most is just waiting time).
Quote (shibal @ Mar 27 2013 05:05am)
they pay you anywhere from 2k to 3k usd, depending on the area/city/region. i don't know where you guys live or what you guys do for a living, but that's pretty low income considering you graduated with a bs degree. you could be working at in n out full time and get paid that much. people presume it's easy money, because how hard can it be? right? to some extent it's true, but they also make you take tests and i believe you have to get 100% on it, it's one of those toeic tests. and they can easily fire you if you are late or if you aren't donig a good job, etc. and rush hour = hell in s. korea. and no paid vacation time, etc. it's not a good working environment, especially for those who came abroad to teach english in korea.
that being said, it's not bad for the first year, but i recommend not to stay any longer, waste of your life and priv institute doesn't really treat you all that nicely. when you first arrive, they find housing for you, which of course i think you need to pay monthly rent for. it's literally no bigger than a cubicle. of course you can move out on your own and find a better apartment.
Most places pay you around 2200 to 2400 USD per month, but they also give you housing (about 500-600 per month), some utilities (around 20-30 per month), round trip air fair (1200 total, 100 per month), 50% health insurance (100 per month), pension, and severance pay at the end of the contract (2400 bonus at the end, 200 per month). I don't know how much in-n-out pays, but after totaling up everything it comes to be least over 3100 a month which isn't bad for a job right out of uni. The working hours usually aren't too bad either, about 25 teaching hours per week with 10 office hours. True some places work you harder than others. I never heard of those tests you have to take, I never took those and got jobs fine over here. And no, they can't easily fire you for no reason. If you are constantly late or doing a half ass job, then they can fire you, but I'm sure that's true for any job in the world. Rush hour isn't so bad unless your in Gangnam or have to take other hub stations. Even then it's only bad from around 7-10 am and 4-7 pm. If you can avoid those times you would be fine. And yes you do get paid vacation time, I don't know where you heard that, but most private schools will give 10-20 paid vacation days per year, 3-5 sick days, and 15 national holidays, public schools give even more (but generally pay less).
I would recommend it if you feel in a rut after uni and not sure what to do. It's a good way to have an adventure and make money for a year or two while you decide what you will do with your live.
This post was edited by mjm69 on Mar 26 2013 08:02pm