University Salaries

[ashay]

I recently got hired at a university but I have not yet signed my contract. I'm meeting with the university staff later this week to sign my contract, and the woman who hired me suggested I "educate myself" on university pay scales before the meeting.

The strange thing is, she said salaries are on a standard pay scale from the Korean government, like EPIK or something. Why do I need to educate myself on the salary? Is this her way of telling me I should try to bargain?

Can those of you with university positions help me out? What should I be paid? Is there a standard pay scale for public universities?

My stats: Bachelors degree, TEFL certified, a few years of ESL experience. (I know, I really lucked out on this job.  )

Thank you for your help.

[Sara]

I'm curious about university salaries, too. Can anyone help him out?

[gilbert.a.h]

From what I can gather from my wishes of becoming a Uni instructor, it all depends a LOT on your education and the location of the school.

For example, Yonsei University in Seoul has jobs for people with just BAs, but the pay is fairly low at 2.1~2.3 but it does include housing, which is on-campus.

Other universities I saw in Seoul require something more than just a BA, like an MA, PhD, any degree in education, TESOL/CELTA, or experience teaching at a Uni in your home country. Those generally pay a bit more, however, I never really saw their starting pay crest more than 2.6mil won a month. Outside Seoul, I saw some that went up to 3.2mil won a month, but that is because either they don't pay for housing, or they give a small amount for housing, but you have to go find it yourself.

Honestly, in my opinion, if you want 2.5mil a month, and you want to make a deal with them, you better prove why you are worth that much. The last thing you want to do is get off on the wrong foot. If you are super awesome, and you can prove it, do as much research as you can and bring your portfolio when you go for the deal. Otherwise, it is a bit of a waste of time, unless you just wanna know what the average salary is.

Every school is different. They have their own pay scales. Some are good, some suck. I have a friend working at a private university, and his base salary is just 1.6mil a month. But then he is asked to teach extra classes, which give him almost another 1 mil a month. That is a university near Busan.

[ashay]

Did anyone negotiate their university salary? Is that common?

Also, Gilbert, so you're thinking there's no set payscale for public universities. I just don't understand why the woman would lie about it. Perhaps there's just a widely used scale in the college town of Cheongju which is where the university's located?

[Damien]

I saw something for a university position, but it was months ago. It was around 3 million a month. You needed to have a BA in any major, be a native speaker, and have taught in Korea for one year+. I am not sure where it was located or if it covered housing. I just remember seeing the pay scale.

[Ben-Ja-Meen]

I'm interested in this topic as well... I did a simple google search:  "university instructer" seoul esl salary?

... and found this after about 30 seconds:

http://joeseoulman.blogspot.com/2009/04/korean-university-jobs.html

It's a little dated (2009) but I doubt salaries have changed much since then.  Hope it helps.  Let us know how it works out.   :)

[gilbert.a.h]

I'm interested in this topic as well... I did a simple google search:  "university instructer" seoul esl salary?

... and found this after about 30 seconds:

http://joeseoulman.blogspot.com/2009/04/korean-university-jobs.html

It's a little dated (2009) but I doubt salaries have changed much since then.  Hope it helps.  Let us know how it works out.   :)

Wow, thats cool...

But I don't think she is lying. I think she just wants you to have a general idea and not try to say "I'm worth 4 million won a month!" She probably just wants you to know that the jobs are probably similar to EPIK payscales, but I doubt there are any official public school payscales for foreign teachers.

[naturegirl321]

I've seen anywhere from 1.8 to 3.5  Keep in mind there are chances to make extra money,

I make a pretty decent salary and make about 20 mil on top of that, legally at my uni,

Severance
housing money
extra classes
vacation classes
bonuses
editing, proofreading
etc

[Jpitch]

I'm sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but where is the best place to find out about university jobs? For example, one of you mentioned Yonsei University in Seoul, do you know where they advertise vacancies?

Many thanks,  J

[Sara]

I'm sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but where is the best place to find out about university jobs? For example, one of you mentioned Yonsei University in Seoul, do you know where they advertise vacancies?

Many thanks,  J

I've seen a few university positions advertised on ESL Cafe. There's a bit more information on this thread -

http://waygook.org/index.php?topic=5202.0

[pak yu man]

Bad/desperate unis advertise.  Good ones don't need to...it's all word of mouth.  Good luck finding a great uni job without knowing someone who works at one.

[southernman]

I agree with others it's pretty much luck of the draw unless you know someone.

A friend of mine, who had been a Newspaper reporter back in Britain. Got hired for a writing class at a Uni in Seoul,  they loved her Resume she had interviewed Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver etc and had the articles to prove it.

Plus one years teaching experience here,  she got 2.25 as her starting salary.  I don't think the lady that advised you to check salaries was lying either,  maybe she was just trying to give you a heads up that some starting salaries are pretty low.

That being said my friend could well have negotiated a better salary,

[southernman]

I agree with others it's pretty much luck of the draw unless you know someone.

A friend of mine, who had been a Newspaper reporter back in Britain. Got hired for a writing class at a Uni in Seoul,  they loved her Resume she had interviewed Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver etc and had the articles to prove it.

Plus one years teaching experience here,  she got 2.25 as her starting salary.  I don't think the lady that advised you to check salaries was lying either,  maybe she was just trying to give you a heads up that some starting salaries are pretty low.

That being said my friend could well have negotiated a better salary,

[naturegirl321]

Not too sure about that.  I'd classify mine as a great uni, it's one of the top in Korea, pay and benefits and treatment are good as well.  I didn't know anyone when I applied.  Just an FYI: each semestre we've had people turn down this job because it's not in Seoul.  We get 5 months vacation and people make 50 mil min, most have made at least 10 mil extra and some get up to 30 mil extra.  We're not working heaps of hours either.

[southernman]

Not too sure about that.  I'd classify mine as a great uni, it's one of the top in Korea, pay and benefits and treatment are good as well.  I didn't know anyone when I applied.  Just an FYI: each semestre we've had people turn down this job because it's not in Seoul.  We get 5 months vacation and people make 50 mil min, most have made at least 10 mil extra and some get up to 30 mil extra.  We're not working heaps of hours either.

Shhhhh.............   It's supposed to be a well kept secret    :)    but I totally agree with you,  I've steadfastly avoided Seoul for both monetary and lifestyle reasons.