Highest Paying Jobs?

[forgetmyusername]

Hello Everyone,

I've been in Korea for a while, working as an English teacher. I enjoy teaching and would like to continue doing so. But the problem is my current salary. I make a decent amount of money, but I want to know if there are any, more specialized positions that offer higher salaries. In short, what are some of the highest paying teaching jobs you know of in Korea?


Thanks.

[travelinpantsgirl]

How much are you looking for (pay-wise)?

[forgetmyusername]

How much are you looking for (pay-wise)?

Well, I'm making 2.6 now. I was wondering if I could get more (or a lot more) by doing more than just teaching regular ESL. Do you know any way I can go about this?

[bullzai]

Work 2 jobs if your boss will sign off on it. I work at a kindy in the morning for 2 hours, and an academy in the afternoon/evening and i'm pulling around 4.1.

[eggieguffer]

I'm making about 7 million these days.

3.5 mil base
1 mil examining (IELTS)
2.5 mil overtime at 50, 000 an hour.
I also get 0.75 housing allowance on top of that

[travelinpantsgirl]

How much are you looking for (pay-wise)?

Well, I'm making 2.6 now. I was wondering if I could get more (or a lot more) by doing more than just teaching regular ESL. Do you know any way I can go about this?

If you're only looking for one job then only a large, reputable city University is going to pay more than you're making what you're making right now.

[elzoog]

How much are you looking for (pay-wise)?

Well, I'm making 2.6 now. I was wondering if I could get more (or a lot more) by doing more than just teaching regular ESL. Do you know any way I can go about this?

You can, but it would involve
1) Getting better qualifications (so that you can get a university job)
2) Working harder (eggieguffer says he makes 7 million, but it looks like he works a lot harder than many NETs.

If you work a university, the work load would be about the same as working for EPIK (or maybe less) but because many people want a university job you are going to need good qualifications.

Even better than university though, is if you get an actual teaching certificate from your home country (the United States for example) and have two years actual experience teaching in the public schools in your country (not EPIK or GEPIK...) then you have a chance to get into an international school.   Last time I checked, the international schools in Seoul were paying around 3.6 million a month.   Again, the competition for those jobs is probably much fiercer than a typical EPIK job (there are probably plenty of people with an actual teaching certificate and 2 years of experience that want international experience). 

In other words, the answer is yes, but it won't be as easy as an EPIK or GEPIK job.

[eggieguffer]

True, I work pretty hard, 3 Saturday afternoons a month and a few 12 hour days a week but I don't teach kids which is less exhausting, and I love what I do. As people have said, wthout qualifications on an E2, you only have two choices to make good money in TEFL here- work yourself to death and/or break the law and set up privates.  A good Uni job with low hours can give you the opportunity to make good money without doing either of these.

[jkang]

If you are qualified, you can specialize in teaching for English-based tests such as SAT, GRE, TOFEL... etc. But.. of course, this will mean much higher qualifications than your average EFL job. Teachers who specialize in these subjects can get paid at least double or triple the salary that most of us get.

[elzoog]

True, I work pretty hard, 3 Saturday afternoons a month and a few 12 hour days a week but I don't teach kids which is less exhausting,

I found surprisingly, that I don't mind working with kids.   It surprises me because I really don't consider myself good at it.   I find elementary school kids much more pleasant to deal with than high school kids.

Anyway, for me personally, I would rather sort of work and make 2.6 million and have time for hobbies (such as java programming, writing music, etc.) than work hard making 7 million and not have time for those hobbbies.  But I guess everybody has to do their own individual mental calculus regarding what's important to them.

[naturegirl321]

Get a uni job.
And look outside Seoul.  Some unis are dying for teachers and it's better to be a big fish in a small pond.  Just to give you an idea, I live pretty close to Seoul and both semesters we've had teachers turn down the job because it's not in Seoul.  Cost of living is lower outside of Seoul and some places even pay more due to "hardships"  Lots of them have extra hours, bonuses, housing allowance, severance pay, editting, translating, voice work, and work during vacations.  Most teachers where I am make between 10 and 20 mil than what the minimum salary is.

International schools are the other way to go.  You usually need to be a licensed teacher and have 2 years experience, but if not, you culd get a job at a bilingual school or an "international" school.  Going to intl school job fairs would help too.  Here's some more info, http://tefltips.blogspot.com/2008/11/international-schools.html

Other ideas
The problem is that all good things have to come to an end.  So while you might have a good job, it's a good idea to have another income or make your money work for you.

Another Income
Open your own business
Make money online: teaching, stock photos, websites, affiliate programmes, make money blogging
Teach privates if you can legally
Writing: travel, market, etc.

Make Your Money Work
Put it in the bank: CDs, high interest accounts
Invest: stock, bonds

[pak yu man]

It's simple...marry a Korean :)  Easy to make huge $.

[naturegirl321]

It's simple...marry a Korean :)  Easy to make huge $.

Not that easy if you're already married to a non Korean ;)

[doubledown]

Presumably through teaching private lessons legally, and having a pretty decent network of Koreans through which to find new clients.

[Janitor]

Get a uni job.
And look outside Seoul.  Some unis are dying for teachers and it's better to be a big fish in a small pond.  Just to give you an idea, I live pretty close to Seoul and both semesters we've had teachers turn down the job because it's not in Seoul.  Cost of living is lower outside of Seoul and some places even pay more due to "hardships"  Lots of them have extra hours, bonuses, housing allowance, severance pay, editting, translating, voice work, and work during vacations.  Most teachers where I am make between 10 and 20 mil than what the minimum salary is.

International schools are the other way to go.  You usually need to be a licensed teacher and have 2 years experience, but if not, you culd get a job at a bilingual school or an "international" school.  Going to intl school job fairs would help too.  Here's some more info, http://tefltips.blogspot.com/2008/11/international-schools.html

Other ideas
The problem is that all good things have to come to an end.  So while you might have a good job, it's a good idea to have another income or make your money work for you.

Another Income
Open your own business
Make money online: teaching, stock photos, websites, affiliate programmes, make money blogging
Teach privates if you can legally
Writing: travel, market, etc.

Make Your Money Work
Put it in the bank: CDs, high interest accounts
Invest: stock, bonds

This is some solid advice. Since I will be getting married soon, I have been looking into this a lot and talking to a number of my friends that are doing well and making a decent living here in Korea.

One of the best examples is of a friend that has his own place with his wife. He works part-time making around 1.7 to 1.8 mil 3 times a week. He adjusted his schedule to accommodate two of these jobs in the same week. He also works for a few companies in the mornings where he takes in an additional 1 mil per job a month. Typically if you get hire by the company directly they will pay more. If they go through a broker they will pay less because the broker will take a cut from your wage.

Add in another few privates and he is up around the 7 mil mark. He is also a very smart investor and has been dealing with stock and high interest accounts for some time. To be honest he is one of the only foreign teachers that I know living in a prugeio apartment and driving a nice car. He may be a borderline workaholic but I think that he has enough saved to have a good life.

[ironopolis]

I have to ask because it is too curious to ignore.  How does marrying a Korean translate into a pay bump?

I suspect that comment wasn't intended 100% seriously. 

Having a spousal (F) visa does give you a bit more flexibility but, as someone else said, it isn't the instant cash cow that some people think and others claim it is.

Bottom line is - if you want to be getting towards the middle to top end of the 5m - 10m range, you're going be working damn hard for it. Not that it isn't doable and not that some people don't cope easily enough with it. But it's still a lot of work and not a lot of free time.

Someone mentioned international schools. They do indeed pay a lot more than the PS NET jobs. However, as well as needing the teaching qualifications and experience for those jobs, you'll also be worked much, much harder than in an PS NET job. You'll have planning and marking to take home with you. I've known of IS teachers who've averaged 2-3 hours an evening on school work. As a "proper" teacher you'll also have pastoral duties with all the associated duties and stress that can entail. And you'll probably be expected to show some commitment to extra-curricular school activities. Again, not that people don't enjoy and thrive in those jobs, but it mightn't be the easiest way to up one's salary.

If you're married (happily, of course!) to a Korean who earns well and you don't have kids or other major financial drains, then maybe that's one of the best financial positions to be in.

[forgetmyusername]

Does anyone happen to have information about the salaries for test-prep teachers at Proud7? I recently job an offer from them, but they asked me to name my salary. I want to know how much they're realistically willing to pay.


Thanks.