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After graduating from college with a degree in mechanical engineering back in August, I had a lot of trouble finding a job/internship in my field. I fruitlessly applied for over 50 entry-level jobs/internships, even two with the company for whom I spent 8 months working for free last year for my senior design project with spectacular results. All turned down. It's pretty shitty to be denied so many times. (for reference my GPA upon graduating was 3.48)
So I turned to the next best thing. Teaching English to potential future pro gamers and other Korean children. As it turns out, they actually really need native-speakers over there to teach their kids the language. The only stipulation is you need a 4-year degree of any kind. So I figured, why not? It'll be something to put on my resume and start paying off my loans with.
Two days ago I found out that I passed my FBI background check and got my diploma in the mail. Today I landed my first interview AND my second job offer. So I guess it's official: I'm moving there! The land of kimchi and starcraft. It's sort of a dream come true, I've wanted to visit ever since I was thirteen and learned about OGN and esports. Hopefully by the end of February I'll be working all day and stalking pro gamers all night 
The best part is I don't have to regret college anymore!
Also, my girlfriend of five years is coming with me and has saved up a little over two grand to live on for a while. Hopefully it'll be up to three by the time we hop on the plane. Only problem is, she doesn't have a degree and doesn't qualify for a work visa.
So this is where the [H] comes in. I was wondering if anybody over there could help us find her some kind of income under the table, even if it's just part time. We'll both be vigorously studying the language in the mean time, but she's really good at making food and handling money and has a little restaurant management experience. I understand this is probably a long shot, but I gotta reach out to TL on this because I'm not sure where else to go.
I could probably support the two of us on just my salary, but I also have extremely substantial and taxing student loans that are due in April that will probably sap almost half my income for the entire duration.
Even with the potential financial problems, I'm super excited. I don't think I've ever been more excited for a drastic, life-altering change like this one. I can't wait to meet all the TLers in Seoul.
As far as the two job offers I got, which one would you pick? They are almost identical except the location, hours, and salary.
Poll: Which job should I take?Gwangjin, 2.2 KRW/month, 9am-6pm w/ 1hr lunch (22) 88% Incheon, 2.1M KRW/month, 10am-8pm w/ 2 hr lunch (3) 12% 25 total votes Your vote: Which job should I take? (Vote): Incheon, 2.1M KRW/month, 10am-8pm w/ 2 hr lunch
(Vote): Gwangjin, 2.2 KRW/month, 9am-6pm w/ 1hr lunch
edit: Gwangjin should say 2.2M, not 2.2 
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Based on salary, better hours and location (after a quick trip to google maps) I would take the gwangjin job.
Good luck to you sir!
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gl and hf meta, make sure to get out there and watch as much bw as you can dude. super cool that your gf is coming with you too, ill bet itll be a great experience
incheon does look quite nice but im afraid im gonna have to go with the extra pay and smaller lunch break
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So you want someone to help you find an illegal job for your gf?
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On November 26 2011 20:59 mizU wrote:
So you want someone to help you find an illegal job for your gf?
it's not illegal... it's under the table.
how much is the salary in USD?
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On November 26 2011 21:07 leo23 wrote:Show nested quote +On November 26 2011 20:59 mizU wrote:
So you want someone to help you find an illegal job for your gf? it's not illegal... it's under the table. how much is the salary in USD?
If she's working without a visa, it's illegal.
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On November 26 2011 21:08 mizU wrote:Show nested quote +On November 26 2011 21:07 leo23 wrote:On November 26 2011 20:59 mizU wrote:
So you want someone to help you find an illegal job for your gf? it's not illegal... it's under the table. how much is the salary in USD? If she's working without a visa, it's illegal.
downbuzz
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After graduating from college with a degree in mechanical engineering
So you graduated with engineering but chose to teach english? Is this temporary until you find a position in engineering? Because lets face it, english teaching will only get you so far.
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On November 26 2011 21:07 leo23 wrote:Show nested quote +On November 26 2011 20:59 mizU wrote:
So you want someone to help you find an illegal job for your gf? it's not illegal... it's under the table. how much is the salary in USD?
Yeah unfortunately Korea immigration is EXTREMELY strict about income which is not directly connected to your current visa, that's not to say it's impossible to find it, but it will lead to permanent deportation if you are caught.
The two jobs you showed so far... I think you can do better if you search harder/wait for more offers, be careful about the school you choose to go to and do some research on it, maybe ask for some ex-workers email addresses that you can talk to. Although Incheon has it's perks, I'd probably choose the job in Seoul for my first.
Do not rush to accept the first job you are offered.
IF you want some more advice about choosing a job and moving to Korea feel free to PM your queries, I'll do my best to answer.
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Get your GF to make money the way most of the bw foreigners did; Online poker! Or she could start a few websites/blogs with google adsense, its easy to make $300 a month at least from it with afew hours a day (legitimately)
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For being in Seoul that's a pretty average salary for a first year but it seems like a lot of hours. Personally, I like working less rather than more. I work in a smaller city (1m people), 6 hours teaching on MWF, only 3 hours teaching on Tues/Thurs and make 2.3m a month. Feel free to message me with the contracts you've been offered or questions as well.
The only work your GF will possibly find is tutoring. I've been here for about 3 months and even though I'm an English teacher I've never even been approached to tutor on the side. She cannot advertise herself for fear of deportation. Be wary of veteran visa holders that tutor legally on the side, they have been known to turn in illegal tutors in order to keep demand high and supply low. Tourist visa expires after 3 months, she'll have to leave the country for a good while and is not guaranteed she'll be allowed back in.
On November 26 2011 21:56 ShloobeR wrote:
maybe ask for some ex-workers email addresses that you can talk to.
This is extremely important. Teaching here can easily turn from a dream into a nightmare if you pick the wrong job to say yes to. Do as much research as possible and be patient with job offers. There are thousands of hagwons that need teachers, be picky. If you plan to stay for a year then plan now to save stress later. If anything smells fishy, just say no and be proud of yourself for waiting for the best possible job. It is extremely easy to get offered a job.
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Do you get housing from your job? Cause if not, i am not sure if your salary can support more than one person.
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Thanks for all the replies. I'm definitely gonna be picky, I got the Gwangjin offer a couple weeks ago and decided not to follow it up until I got more offers. Plus, I'm working closely with a recruiting agency based in Denver that my friend used when she was looking for jobs over there a few months ago. I'm still being very cautious, but I'm not TOO worried that I'll end up in a bum gig. Still, I'll definitely be e-mailing past employees to get their take on the jobs. I just asked if my recruiter had the emails of ex-employees, thanks for the tip guys!
Also, about my girlfriend. Yes, I was asking for illegal work for her. I would never openly look for illegal work, obviously, and that includes on the internet, EXCEPT on this site. Like I said, TL is the only place I feel comfortable admitting our situation and the only community worth reaching out to, from my perspective. It was worth a shot I guess, but I wasn't really expecting to find anything for her here anyway.
Our backup plan is to find a way to make money online somehow. I have the beginnings of a business venture with an old friend who knows a market for particular Korean goods here in the states where we might be able to see some profit. Just thought I'd see if anyone generous enough was in a privileged position and needed some behind-the-scenes labor.
Like I said we have a little nest egg built up for a while. Worst scenario is that she'll have to head back to the states for a few months and save up more money, which would suck 
Anyway, thanks again for the replies and information. Hope to meet some of you when I get out there and watch/play some SC!
On November 26 2011 21:37 frodoguy wrote:So you graduated with engineering but chose to teach english? Is this temporary until you find a position in engineering? Because lets face it, english teaching will only get you so far.
Yes, but the market is rough for recent engineering graduates right now. If I could do it again I would go back and start looking for jobs earlier, but about 50% of the people that I know from my graduating class also can't find work. The few people that I do know that landed a job on graduation were lucky enough to get one with their senior design sponsor or get picked up from an internship they had during one of the previous summer vacations.
Right now I'm banking on just holding a job, getting some work experience to put on my resume and going back to school in 2013 to pursue a master's in engineering. But for now, this is the right fit for me. I don't need that much money to live happily + pay minimum on my loans, and I've always wanted to go to Korea. If it sucks, it's only for a year, and if it doesn't, it'll be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Frankly, I don't think anything could suck as bad as an undergrad education in engineering
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Too bad chances like this won't arise to Europeans
I hope you learn some Korean while you're there — I would.
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May I ask which university/college u went to? just wondering
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On November 27 2011 06:00 DNB wrote:Too bad chances like this won't arise to Europeans I hope you learn some Korean while you're there — I would.
Definitely, in fact there's a bunch of videos on basic korean online for free that I'm watching in my spare time.
Also, I went to the University of Colorado, Boulder. Nice school for engineering with amazing faculty and facilities, I highly recommended if you can afford it
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On November 27 2011 06:36 Meta wrote:Show nested quote +On November 27 2011 06:00 DNB wrote:Too bad chances like this won't arise to Europeans I hope you learn some Korean while you're there — I would. Definitely, in fact there's a bunch of videos on basic korean online for free that I'm watching in my spare time. Also, I went to the University of Colorado, Boulder. Nice school for engineering with amazing faculty and facilities, I highly recommended if you can afford it
Can you give the link for the Korean videos? I'm travelling there in February so would like to learn some basics.
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16986 Posts
I'd really recommend not paying the minimum required amount on your loans. Anything you can scrounge up should go towards them.
Unless you never want to go back to the U.S. again. In that case just fuck your loans.
But seriously, student loan debt isn't even forgiven upon death. What's with that :/
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On November 27 2011 13:31 Empyrean wrote:
I'd really recommend not paying the minimum required amount on your loans. Anything you can scrounge up should go towards them.
Unless you never want to go back to the U.S. again. In that case just fuck your loans.
But seriously, student loan debt isn't even forgiven upon death. What's with that :/
Yeah, that was my plan. Hopefully I can sink about $1000 a month into them over there with the low cost of living, which is way more than I'd be able to sink into them with an hourly job I'd get out here. Bailing on my loans by never coming back and changing my name has crossed my mind more than once, but it would fuck my mom over who co-signed them
And Haji, I've actually thought about CS. I took some CS classes during my undergrad and enjoyed them well enough, if the money's really there I'll give it some serious thought. Either CS or electrical, both are pretty awesome fields for up-and-coming businesses, as far as I can tell.
As far as korean lessons, I've just been memorizing hangul consonants and vowels, and basic phrases like "Do you speak english?" and "Thank you". Plenty of resources on google, but when I'm out there I'll probably invest in lessons with my GF.
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On November 27 2011 13:31 Empyrean wrote:
I'd really recommend not paying the minimum required amount on your loans. Anything you can scrounge up should go towards them.
Unless you never want to go back to the U.S. again. In that case just fuck your loans.
But seriously, student loan debt isn't even forgiven upon death. What's with that :/
I was positive you can default out of that.
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16986 Posts
Student loans are some of the hardest debts to err, get rid of without paying. The easiest way is for someone to be forgiven on student loans by doing something like join the Peace Corps and commit to the full two years. I don't think you can simply default on them or you'll be hounded by agents forever.
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The private loans are impossible to get rid of. Even if you file bankruptcy, they won't go away. It's pretty absurd.
Federal loans, on the other hand, get forgiven eventually. I think it's after 10 or 15 years the remainder is waived or something... I'd have to ask my mom to be certain. Anyway federal loans are only about 15% of my debt so it's not that much, but it's still something.
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NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
(I'm currently an English teacher here in S.Korea.) Just to back up what others have said - make sure you've really researched your school beforehand. I made the mistake of not doing my homework for my first position and regretted it. You can really luck out (like I have with my current job.) but you have to do as much checking as you can (getting the phone numbers/emails of current teachers etc.)
As for getting your GF an illegal job - I'm not touching that with a barge pole. You're asking for trouble - plus she'll have to leave every 3 months (or less/slightly more depending upon the official limits for her country) on a tourist visa. With all the new checks (it's gotten way stricter even in the 5 years I've been here) immigration could potentially get suspicious if she keeps coming back and forth without an E2 or F-series visa. If she stays without any visa at all and you get found out then usually the punishment is a large fine (1 million won is the figure most people who've spoken about this on Dave's etc mention.) and deportation.
Also, even if you go for a housing stipend most employers don't look kindly on having extra people living with you full time. Some even actively forbid it unless you're married and they're also on a legal visa/are a Korean who doesn't need to worry about visa concerns etc. It depends upon the school, but I've seen lots of stories online about employers flipping their shit when they discover things like this.
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On November 27 2011 15:49 Meta wrote:
The private loans are impossible to get rid of. Even if you file bankruptcy, they won't go away. It's pretty absurd.
Federal loans, on the other hand, get forgiven eventually. I think it's after 10 or 15 years the remainder is waived or something... I'd have to ask my mom to be certain. Anyway federal loans are only about 15% of my debt so it's not that much, but it's still something.
Even private loans can be rid of, just need to prove that you've tried. It's not easy but if your life is really fucked they won't have a choice.
About working illegally - you are obviously taking a risk there, but I wouldn't dismiss it right away. If you only doing a year or two then who cares? Worst case scenario they will kick you out of the country, I'm not sure how they can make you pay the fine.
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gl Meta! Pretty scary you had such a difficult time finding a job though... Scares me a bit seeing as I'll be graduating with a bachelors in ME in a year and a half.
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On November 27 2011 16:22 NeverGG wrote:
(I'm currently an English teacher here in S.Korea.) Just to back up what others have said - make sure you've really researched your school beforehand. I made the mistake of not doing my homework for my first position and regretted it. You can really luck out (like I have with my current job.) but you have to do as much checking as you can (getting the phone numbers/emails of current teachers etc.)
As for getting your GF an illegal job - I'm not touching that with a barge pole. You're asking for trouble - plus she'll have to leave every 3 months (or less/slightly more depending upon the official limits for her country) on a tourist visa. With all the new checks (it's gotten way stricter even in the 5 years I've been here) immigration could potentially get suspicious if she keeps coming back and forth without an E2 or F-series visa. If she stays without any visa at all and you get found out then usually the punishment is a large fine (1 million won is the figure most people who've spoken about this on Dave's etc mention.) and deportation.
Also, even if you go for a housing stipend most employers don't look kindly on having extra people living with you full time. Some even actively forbid it unless you're married and they're also on a legal visa/are a Korean who doesn't need to worry about visa concerns etc. It depends upon the school, but I've seen lots of stories online about employers flipping their shit when they discover things like this.
Thanks for the information. I think I could work something out, considering my girlfriend and I have been living together for three years and plan on getting married eventually, to enter a type of common-law agreement in order to smooth things over with the Korean government and my future employer.
In my state, common-law marriage requirements are rather lenient, basically as long as we live together and "hold ourselves out as husband and wife" we qualify.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage_in_the_United_States#Colorado
Hopefully that will help, perhaps she can even apply for an F-1 visa under those conditions!
I have a friend over there who's living with her Canadian boyfriend full time, and they have to leave to renew his visa every few months. As far as I know they have yet to run into any problems.
Anyway I doubt she'll actually be doing any work in public, per se, however I have a few backup plans right now to make money and avoid deportation so that we can feed both of ourselves.
On November 27 2011 16:56 Jonoman92 wrote:
gl Meta! Pretty scary you had such a difficult time finding a job though... Scares me a bit seeing as I'll be graduating with a bachelors in ME in a year and a half.
My advice is try to get into a company on the ground floor this summer. The summer after my junior year I spent taking 1 class and playing the sc2 beta instead of looking for internships. Hopefully the economy will pick back up in the next 18 months though and there will be more opportunities then. I'm sort of banking on it myself 
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
On November 27 2011 13:50 Meta wrote:Show nested quote +On November 27 2011 13:31 Empyrean wrote:
I'd really recommend not paying the minimum required amount on your loans. Anything you can scrounge up should go towards them.
Unless you never want to go back to the U.S. again. In that case just fuck your loans.
But seriously, student loan debt isn't even forgiven upon death. What's with that :/ Yeah, that was my plan. Hopefully I can sink about $1000 a month into them over there with the low cost of living, which is way more than I'd be able to sink into them with an hourly job I'd get out here. Bailing on my loans by never coming back and changing my name has crossed my mind more than once, but it would fuck my mom over who co-signed them And Haji, I've actually thought about CS. I took some CS classes during my undergrad and enjoyed them well enough, if the money's really there I'll give it some serious thought. Either CS or electrical, both are pretty awesome fields for up-and-coming businesses, as far as I can tell. As far as korean lessons, I've just been memorizing hangul consonants and vowels, and basic phrases like "Do you speak english?" and "Thank you". Plenty of resources on google, but when I'm out there I'll probably invest in lessons with my GF.
Dont do hardware, seriously.
Please please please do CS if you enjoy it.
If you need figures I can give them to you, but I don't even think it's necessary. Every company here is looking for software developers.
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I've heard Incheon is a very nice area. Lots of good things about it. Haven't heard much if anything about Gwangjin. You should definitely look into housing prices and the neighborhoods before accepting anything. Good luck.
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EPT
