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Hey,
I'm thinking about studying in Korea for one year. One thing I need to consider is how would I make money to pay some of my expenses, and what's better place to ask than TL, right? Few questions I would like to answers to:
1) How is Korean labour market in general? Unemployment rate? Is it hard for young people to find a job there?
2) Job opportunities for foreigners in Korea? I know in China some companies employ foreigners just because of better company-image. But during years at TL I learnt some Koreans can be racist/xenophobic a bit?
3) related to 2). I'm 23, studying economics, that means I don't really know anything and can't do any "qualified work". I'm also not from an english speaking country, so I can't teach english there which i've heard is popular job for foreigners. At the same time I don't feel like flipping burgers in a fastfood. What would I want to do then? Well, for example some administration job, hotel receptionist, dealer at a casino, stuff like that. But do they want foreigners for these jobs?
Thanks ahead for your tips, especially if were/are in the same position as I'm describing (foreigner student without english mother tongue looking for a part-time job).
 
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So you don't have a degree?
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I have bachelor's degree in economics/national economy
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Do you speak korean? If not...
How can you intend to be a hotel recepcionist, casino dealer, or any other job that requires public interaction if you don't speak korean? =.=;;
Unless there are places mainly frequented by foreigns, I don't see anyone willing to hire a guy without any qualifications and do not speak korean.
edited after the post above
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In general the official unemployment rate is not very high BUT there is a considerable grey zone of younger people who are not officially umenployed but are looking for a job while still living at their parents or prepare themselves for tests to get an admission into state service or police. So it is hard to get exact numbers. Another problem is that everybody in Korea has some sort of academic degree which oversaturates the job market for academics.
Usually most of the foreigners in SK work as english teachers. They get a pretty decent salary in respect to the qualifications (if you are nasty you can say that many of the english teachers couldn`t get a Mcjob in their respective homecountries) demanded but most of them also lead a pretty isolated lifestyle where they just hang around with other foreigners and don`t get in touch with the Korean culture at all. But if you want to are a native english speaker and want to have a fun year abroad this could be a realistic route.
In terms of companies I think as a foreigner you only have a chance in international companies as homogenity plays a crucial role in the corporate culture of Korean companies.
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On February 17 2012 23:58 fabiano wrote:
Do you speak korean? If not...
How can you intend to be a hotel recepcionist, casino dealer, or any other job that requires public interaction if you don't speak korean? =.=;;
Unless there are places mainly frequented by foreigns, I don't see anyone willing to hire a guy without any qualifications and do not speak korean.
edited after the post above
That's why I'm asking, here in Czech republic (or rather Prague..and I intend to study in Seoul) it's not uncommon to run at a employees at hotel/casino who don't speak Czech because most of customers are from abroad.
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Oh, you're not from USA/CA, GB, NZ, or Aus. It's not impossible to get a job. But it'll be damn hard. (legally)
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There's a lot of unemployment in Korea amongst young people, but unless you're looking for a full-time corporate job then that doesn't really have anything to do with you.
If you have a student visa then it's technically illegal to work, but a lot of people do it anyway. A lot of foreign students work in restaurants or bars here, but most of them are Chinese or Kyopos as far as I know, so they don't stand out so much as other foreigners, and it's kind of an under the table deal anyway.
Imo, your best bet is private tuition. If English isn't your native language then you can't work as an "official" English teacher, but there are a ton of people/students here who would pay you for one on one lessons just because you're (I assume) white, and (I assume) fluent in English, even if your accent isn't 100% standard. I've never done it myself so I don't know exactly, but I assume you'd be looking at a minimum of 30k (about $30 US) an hour, and it could be significantly higher. The issue is finding students, but if you live here for a while then you'll find plenty of people who have a sibling/friend/classmate who is looking for a tutor.
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If you don't speak Korean, and you don't have a degree in English and you're not a native of English, how do you intend on getting a job?
I feel like your chances of getting a job will be slim.
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You will have absolutely 0 chance of getting a job in Korea. Unless you are willing to work illegally as a migrant worker, or have some super uber connections, you will not get a job here the traditional way. And that's if you know at least some Korean (not for the first one though).
This is coming from someone who had the connections, and still had to fight tooth and nail for the job - even after the offer.
1) How is Korean labour market in general? Unemployment rate? Is it hard for young people to find a job there?
It's okay, not good, not bad. You're gonna have a lot of people who go to college, and not get hired cause of how many people who do go. There's a lot of stuff that Korean college grads have to go through in order to get a job.
2) Job opportunities for foreigners in Korea? I know in China some companies employ foreigners just because of better company-image. But during years at TL I learnt some Koreans can be racist/xenophobic a bit?
Chinese companies want foreigners but it's not as common as you'd think. Koreans can be a bit racist and xenophobic but it's not that common either. If you come here, and actually try and learn the culture, you probably won't even be exposed to ANY of that stuff. If you come here, be a snob, then you're gonna have some trouble. Just like any place.
3) related to 2). I'm 23, studying economics, that means I don't really know anything and can't do any "qualified work". I'm also not from an english speaking country, so I can't teach english there which i've heard is popular job for foreigners. At the same time I don't feel like flipping burgers in a fastfood. What would I want to do then? Well, for example some administration job, hotel receptionist, dealer at a casino, stuff like that. But do they want foreigners for these jobs?
See the first answer. You won't get a job.
I'm not trying to be mean either, it's just the reality of the situation. Sorry.
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"Koreans can be racist/xenophobic"
I lol'd.
Nope, Job market is TERRIBLE in Korea and unless you've blindingly good looks, you won't get a company image job. Enjoy flipping the bulgogi burgers.
(My cousin went to Youngsae University, got a top 50 in his class with his bachelors and STILL couldn't get a job in economics... so he went back for his masters/Ph.D...)
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On February 18 2012 01:27 ShatterZer0 wrote:
"Koreans can be racist/xenophobic"
I lol'd.
Nope, Job market is TERRIBLE in Korea and unless you've blindingly good looks, you won't get a company image job. Enjoy flipping the bulgogi burgers.
(My cousin went to Youngsae University, got a top 50 in his class with his bachelors and STILL couldn't get a job in economics... so he went back for his masters/Ph.D...)
You need connections. And what is Youngsae University? Yonsei lol?
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Koreans love people that are charming, and have good people skillz. Oh wait, that's what's important in almost every casual job out there.
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@Shatterzero: I don`t think the job market is too bad though. My gf is Korean and all her friends (mostly graduates from mid-class universities) got decent jobs in larger companies, whereas she is on the verge of getting her PHD (in Germany) and already has some offers for jobs in the Korean outposts of some big German companies.
So it`s not as bad as everyone makes it sound albeit the working conditions in Korea suck as you have very short vacation and are forced to work insanely long hours just for the sake of staying long in the office. Plus whenever your boss wants to go drinking you are pretty much forced to join the party (which sucks in the case of a young attractive woman in an office full of greasy Adoshis)
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Literally the only option you would have is getting into a student exchange program which would allow you to work part-time (I think the limit is 20 hours per week or something), and then hopefully finding someone to give private English lessons too. You're not likely at all to find a real job there without knowing the language and having connections.
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Um, people saying job market is not bad in Korea have no clue... This is REALLY off topic but just 2 days ago, I read Nate article about Korea's job employeement rate in their 20's. Officially it is around 9%, but that is not counting people who went to the army, who gave up on finding jobs, who cannot find a job in student status and etc. Putting everything together, it soars to around 23%. That is 1 out of 4 Koreans graduated from UNIVERSITY not being able to find a job. Not only that, but finding a good decent job is slim. Basically, to find a happy job with decent benefits and decent pay so that you will be able to get married, have kids, etc is slim to none. One only needs to read Naver or Nate news daily or Pan just to have a grasp of how bad and desperate the situation is in their 20's. Birthrate is at 1.1 because people cannot afford to have children. Both people need to work their ass off for decent apartment yet that is often still not enough. You basically need to be a top notch in top universities to get a decent job or study from good university overseas... I am so glad I am not working in Korea right now...
All in all, if you do not have an English degree, even though there are plenty of unqualified retarded english teachers in Korea, chance of getting a job there is probably sub 0. Remember, Korean students with pretty good degrees cannot get a job they want most of the time..
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You can probably private teach. But as soon as they find out you're not from one of the native speaking English countries... yeah - it won't be good.
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On February 18 2012 03:33 Chaggi wrote:
You can probably private teach. But as soon as they find out you're not from one of the native speaking English countries... yeah - it won't be good.
And that is really not the right thing to do. You are basically cheating those people into believing that you are fluent in English. That's a completely moronic move and should not be done.
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On February 18 2012 03:34 ExceeD_DreaM wrote:Show nested quote +On February 18 2012 03:33 Chaggi wrote:
You can probably private teach. But as soon as they find out you're not from one of the native speaking English countries... yeah - it won't be good. And that is really not the right thing to do. You are basically cheating those people into believing that you are fluent in English. That's a completely moronic move and should not be done.
It's also pretty easy to tell. There's a lot of foreigners, and Koreans consume a lot of western media.
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On February 18 2012 03:40 Chaggi wrote:Show nested quote +On February 18 2012 03:34 ExceeD_DreaM wrote:On February 18 2012 03:33 Chaggi wrote:
You can probably private teach. But as soon as they find out you're not from one of the native speaking English countries... yeah - it won't be good. And that is really not the right thing to do. You are basically cheating those people into believing that you are fluent in English. That's a completely moronic move and should not be done. It's also pretty easy to tell. There's a lot of foreigners, and Koreans consume a lot of western media.
Doubt it, in China most ppl i talk to think I'm from the US or England despite having a Dutch accent. Although I guess it's hard to hear for ppl from other countries and it would be mostly the Dutch that would hear im from Holland... A guy from the Australia that I spoke to a few weeks ago in a bar even thought I was from the US (normally I don't ask of course but he mentioned that when I said I was Dutch)...
I mean it's not always as easy to recognize an accent and even if you do where it's from...
And i also doubt they rly care... Not sure how the situation is in S Kor, but I know here in China they most of the time don't care too much, as long as the price is a bit lower or they know your English is ok...
When I left my old company my manager in that company called me a few times to teach his son and some of his friends English as he knew I didn't have a job and didn't mind doing it. None of them cared that I wasn't a native and in general it's still very good practise for them, especially since they barely get to practise speaking...
Like I said before, I'm not sure if the same can be applied to Korea, but I bet there's plenty of ppl who would be more than happy to pay for any non-native with decent English...
Felt I had to say that, since I think you guys are being too negative ... That said, finding a job in S Kor will be hard and i wouldnt count on flippin burgers... South Kors can do it cheaper than you and on top of that they speak the language and they don't need working visas.
Good luck whatever you decide ^^
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One buddy did modeling but i guess that's for a slim few
the other taught English privately but he had to prepare for that back here with how to actually teach.
the third said he had a business admin degree from Canada and taught company's there the etiquette and ideals of how the western worlds does business.
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Calgary26003 Posts
Do you have a Visa? If not, start applying for a Working Holiday Visa.
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On February 18 2012 04:06 Kaolla wrote:Show nested quote +On February 18 2012 03:40 Chaggi wrote:On February 18 2012 03:34 ExceeD_DreaM wrote:On February 18 2012 03:33 Chaggi wrote:
You can probably private teach. But as soon as they find out you're not from one of the native speaking English countries... yeah - it won't be good. And that is really not the right thing to do. You are basically cheating those people into believing that you are fluent in English. That's a completely moronic move and should not be done. It's also pretty easy to tell. There's a lot of foreigners, and Koreans consume a lot of western media. Doubt it, in China most ppl i talk to think I'm from the US or England despite having a Dutch accent. Although I guess it's hard to hear for ppl from other countries and it would be mostly the Dutch that would hear im from Holland... A guy from the Australia that I spoke to a few weeks ago in a bar even thought I was from the US (normally I don't ask of course but he mentioned that when I said I was Dutch)... I mean it's not always as easy to recognize an accent and even if you do where it's from... And i also doubt they rly care... Not sure how the situation is in S Kor, but I know here in China they most of the time don't care too much, as long as the price is a bit lower or they know your English is ok... When I left my old company my manager in that company called me a few times to teach his son and some of his friends English as he knew I didn't have a job and didn't mind doing it. None of them cared that I wasn't a native and in general it's still very good practise for them, especially since they barely get to practise speaking... Like I said before, I'm not sure if the same can be applied to Korea, but I bet there's plenty of ppl who would be more than happy to pay for any non-native with decent English... Felt I had to say that, since I think you guys are being too negative ... That said, finding a job in S Kor will be hard and i wouldnt count on flippin burgers... South Kors can do it cheaper than you and on top of that they speak the language and they don't need working visas. Good luck whatever you decide ^^
China is a pretty big place and vastly different depending on where you are and the people you interact with. I'm from Shanghai myself, but I can tell you that my cousins from other areas are completely different from one another in terms of what they are exposed to. So that's not really a good indication.
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Thanks everyone for answers, even the harsh ones 
If I went to Korea to study for one year, it would be through uni-exchange program, that means I would pay no tuition and would get money each month from our government. So me going to Korea doesn't depend on getting a job there or not. It would be nice to earn some money to be able to go out more though. Well, guess I will have to be visiting GOM studio a lot to get free pizza! :D
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On February 18 2012 05:55 ondik wrote:Thanks everyone for answers, even the harsh ones If I went to Korea to study for one year, it would be through uni-exchange program, that means I would pay no tuition and would get money each month from our government. So me going to Korea doesn't depend on getting a job there or not. It would be nice to earn some money to be able to go out more though. Well, guess I will have to be visiting GOM studio a lot to get free pizza! :D
The hell?! They have free pizza!??! I NEVER FOUND THE FREE PIZZA!!!
And you should, even though I've never met anyone from TL, I hear there's a good group of people in Seoul, and it's all in all a great place. I've been here for like almost 2 years myself now.
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On February 18 2012 05:55 ondik wrote:Thanks everyone for answers, even the harsh ones If I went to Korea to study for one year, it would be through uni-exchange program, that means I would pay no tuition and would get money each month from our government. So me going to Korea doesn't depend on getting a job there or not. It would be nice to earn some money to be able to go out more though. Well, guess I will have to be visiting GOM studio a lot to get free pizza! :D
I wish I could go as well  Unfortunately I'm studying biology and CUNI doesn't send us there. But hey maybe you'll run into my ex-gf who's also studying economics and wants to go there. If you do meet her, tell her Stratos sends a fuck off. Thanks.
+ Show Spoiler +
PS Take some pictures and blog the whole Korea experience if it works out! GL
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On February 18 2012 03:33 Chaggi wrote:
You can probably private teach. But as soon as they find out you're not from one of the native speaking English countries... yeah - it won't be good.
Out of curiosity, if you're Asian but also a native English speaker with a degree and good grades from a highly-regarded US university, how difficult would it be to get a job there (whether as a private teacher or a teacher in one of the schools)?
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On February 18 2012 05:02 Chaggi wrote:Show nested quote +On February 18 2012 04:06 Kaolla wrote:On February 18 2012 03:40 Chaggi wrote:On February 18 2012 03:34 ExceeD_DreaM wrote:On February 18 2012 03:33 Chaggi wrote:
You can probably private teach. But as soon as they find out you're not from one of the native speaking English countries... yeah - it won't be good. And that is really not the right thing to do. You are basically cheating those people into believing that you are fluent in English. That's a completely moronic move and should not be done. It's also pretty easy to tell. There's a lot of foreigners, and Koreans consume a lot of western media. Doubt it, in China most ppl i talk to think I'm from the US or England despite having a Dutch accent. Although I guess it's hard to hear for ppl from other countries and it would be mostly the Dutch that would hear im from Holland... A guy from the Australia that I spoke to a few weeks ago in a bar even thought I was from the US (normally I don't ask of course but he mentioned that when I said I was Dutch)... I mean it's not always as easy to recognize an accent and even if you do where it's from... And i also doubt they rly care... Not sure how the situation is in S Kor, but I know here in China they most of the time don't care too much, as long as the price is a bit lower or they know your English is ok... When I left my old company my manager in that company called me a few times to teach his son and some of his friends English as he knew I didn't have a job and didn't mind doing it. None of them cared that I wasn't a native and in general it's still very good practise for them, especially since they barely get to practise speaking... Like I said before, I'm not sure if the same can be applied to Korea, but I bet there's plenty of ppl who would be more than happy to pay for any non-native with decent English... Felt I had to say that, since I think you guys are being too negative ... That said, finding a job in S Kor will be hard and i wouldnt count on flippin burgers... South Kors can do it cheaper than you and on top of that they speak the language and they don't need working visas. Good luck whatever you decide ^^ China is a pretty big place and vastly different depending on where you are and the people you interact with. I'm from Shanghai myself, but I can tell you that my cousins from other areas are completely different from one another in terms of what they are exposed to. So that's not really a good indication.
Yea sure ppl are different in all areas, what's that got to do with it tho?? They all wanna learn English... I've been to many towns/cities in China and almost everywhere you will meet ppl who want to talk to you just to practise English...
Shanghai is prolly the city with the most expats and if there is demand for non native English speakers here, there's demand for 'em anywhere...
Fact is that it's easy to land a job as English teacher anywhere in China if you are white, even if your English is half crappy and you have an accent.
I don't rly expect it to be different in Korea as everyone wants to learn English and there's only a limited number of English teacher who are freakin expensive... I would say you might not be able to charge the same amount of money, but you should be able to find some work teaching English...
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On February 18 2012 03:33 ExceeD_DreaM wrote:
Um, people saying job market is not bad in Korea have no clue... This is REALLY off topic but just 2 days ago, I read Nate article about Korea's job employeement rate in their 20's. Officially it is around 9%, but that is not counting people who went to the army, who gave up on finding jobs, who cannot find a job in student status and etc. Putting everything together, it soars to around 23%. That is 1 out of 4 Koreans graduated from UNIVERSITY not being able to find a job. Not only that, but finding a good decent job is slim. Basically, to find a happy job with decent benefits and decent pay so that you will be able to get married, have kids, etc is slim to none. One only needs to read Naver or Nate news daily or Pan just to have a grasp of how bad and desperate the situation is in their 20's. Birthrate is at 1.1 because people cannot afford to have children. Both people need to work their ass off for decent apartment yet that is often still not enough. You basically need to be a top notch in top universities to get a decent job or study from good university overseas... I am so glad I am not working in Korea right now...
All in all, if you do not have an English degree, even though there are plenty of unqualified retarded english teachers in Korea, chance of getting a job there is probably sub 0. Remember, Korean students with pretty good degrees cannot get a job they want most of the time..
Yea but the job market in the U.S. is just as bad if not worse(okay maybe not as bad as 23% as you say)and I'm pretty sure it's for all ages not just people in their 20's. And I know it's been awhile ago but when it first hit the U.S.about 4 years ago, circuit city had to officially close down and people were getting laid out from their jobs and it's been veryvery hard to find a job since then even at Mcdonalds unless you have connections. And this is off-topic but with megaupload shutting down and them trying to get rid of illegal dling in the U.S. on top of all this, I think it's time to gtfo here and start life elsewhere.
I think for you though, that deal in china "teach for china" thing sounds pretty sweet and u don't even have to be a fluent native english speaker and u get to go to china.
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