From what I understand, teaching English in Korea is a much more enjoyable experience than teaching English in Japan or China.
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How do you feel about your job?
- Thread starter Mather
- Start date
I always thought that the Japanese and Chinese students were eager to learn as these cultures traditionally hold education in very esteem. Perhaps that is just a stereotype on my part. For the most part, the ones here in our local school district are very high achievers and the other students say it is difficult to compete with them.
From what I understand, the issues with teaching in Japan and China are more political-economic in nature than necessarily related to the students themselves. The companies that hire teachers are really more interested in selling class hours to students, and employees are more or less sales people rather than teachers. Plus, there are lot of horror stories of not getting paid and dealing with domineering managers. My understanding is that English teachers in South Korea are more or less teachers in the traditional sense and aren't expected to be sales people like the Eikaiwa schools expect them to be.
Of course, I'm just speaking from research I've done. I've never taught English abroad, though it was something I considered for a while. It would have been a great experience in between college and grad school, but it's probably not conductive to my life and career goals at this point. I have a cousin who taught English abroad after college, and it was a great adventure for him.
Wish I had a job / paycheck. I was in the restaurant industry for close to 20 years, including General Manager positions at a few different restaurants.
Now that I refuse to work in the food service industry any longer, it is impossible to find other employment. So, I have been getting used to being broke. My wife has a minimum wage restaurant job, and we live on that. Barely.
Now that I refuse to work in the food service industry any longer, it is impossible to find other employment. So, I have been getting used to being broke. My wife has a minimum wage restaurant job, and we live on that. Barely.
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I'm enjoying retired life... I make it on my government pension. The wife still works and loves the thrill of challenges and professional accomplishments. I'll occasionally work when it "feels right", and then usually 'pro bono' to avoid paying taxes. I don't miss the 'rat race' at all. Got way too much arthritis to continue in my former career anyway. I hope that all of you still working will soon get away from it all like you certainly deserve to.
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One of my favorite saying I still love to roll out on occasion just for it's 'shock' value or a cheap laugh.. "never pass up an opportunity to take a poop!" . . In times of stress, this practical mindset really does work out quite well.I'm a plumber. As long as you have to poop , I'll have a job. If something breaks and you can't poop, you will call me and pay me what ever I want so you can poop again..
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After 27+ years, still like my "job/career" whatever this is called. Multi-plant petrochem facility, instrumentation & controls, paid to do stuff right(mistakes can be costly and/or deadly), keep up on newest tech stuff, etc. Normal politics as most jobs.
@Dogbertday : for the past 20+ years I've carried 2 "ID Badges", made at a company Christmas party, of my youngest children in my top pocket. I call them my "Do Not Drag Up" cards and use them the same as described below. When the muck gets real deep and blood pressure is going up, look at pics. Having a 2-1 PC sound system that was leftover from a project hooked up to this work PC helps too......this TB visit is legal and not blocked b/c it's already almost an hour after "normal working hours".
Retirement?
Not gonna happen. Job pays well, is fun, and the band is doing very nicely(we're all in our 60's). Family, job that is fun, and band is what keeps us(bandmates) happy and healthy(for now).
Enjoy your life because it is very short.
@Dogbertday : for the past 20+ years I've carried 2 "ID Badges", made at a company Christmas party, of my youngest children in my top pocket. I call them my "Do Not Drag Up" cards and use them the same as described below. When the muck gets real deep and blood pressure is going up, look at pics. Having a 2-1 PC sound system that was leftover from a project hooked up to this work PC helps too......this TB visit is legal and not blocked b/c it's already almost an hour after "normal working hours".
Retirement?
Not gonna happen. Job pays well, is fun, and the band is doing very nicely(we're all in our 60's). Family, job that is fun, and band is what keeps us(bandmates) happy and healthy(for now).
Enjoy your life because it is very short.
slobake
resident ... something
I don't have time to work anymore. Retiring soon and expect to be doing lots more than I am doing now.
I'm happy at my job. I develop technology for scientific instruments. The work is interesting, there's lots of variety and new things to learn, we have a lot of good people, and I think the business is socially redeeming.
Working is the bane of most humans.
The trick is to find something you enjoy doing, or finding a way to enjoy what you're doing.
The most I ever enjoyed a job was when it had sod all to do with my normal job.
I went to technical school for electricity, electronics, and ballistics (big weapons), but I spent my time in the designated job work at I.T. projects, like running LAN cables or troubleshooting computers.
Once I was a document control supervisor on a big Oil & Gas project, but the lines got skewed when I was out in the field helping the engineers with their as-built drawings.
Getting paid a heap to do it helped though
It's just fun when you're learning as you go & it keeps things interesting.
When I finally got what I thought would be the perfect job for me, I hated it within months, because it was the same schtick every single day & my bosses were bell-ends.
The trick is to find something you enjoy doing, or finding a way to enjoy what you're doing.
The most I ever enjoyed a job was when it had sod all to do with my normal job.
I went to technical school for electricity, electronics, and ballistics (big weapons), but I spent my time in the designated job work at I.T. projects, like running LAN cables or troubleshooting computers.
Once I was a document control supervisor on a big Oil & Gas project, but the lines got skewed when I was out in the field helping the engineers with their as-built drawings.
Getting paid a heap to do it helped though
It's just fun when you're learning as you go & it keeps things interesting.
When I finally got what I thought would be the perfect job for me, I hated it within months, because it was the same schtick every single day & my bosses were bell-ends.
Just curious. What do you now? Retired?Working is the bane of most humans.
The trick is to find something you enjoy doing, or finding a way to enjoy what you're doing.
The most I ever enjoyed a job was when it had sod all to do with my normal job.
I went to technical school for electricity, electronics, and ballistics (big weapons), but I spent my time in the designated job work at I.T. projects, like running LAN cables or troubleshooting computers.
Once I was a document control supervisor on a big Oil & Gas project, but the lines got skewed when I was out in the field helping the engineers with their as-built drawings.
Getting paid a heap to do it helped though
It's just fun when you're learning as you go & it keeps things interesting.
When I finally got what I thought would be the perfect job for me, I hated it within months, because it was the same schtick every single day & my bosses were bell-ends.
I'm totally happy with my job and my company now. You know, sometimes I thought it is really like my second family with interesting colleagues who I can share my feeling, my study, my future plan and even my love life.
I'm also satisfied with my job as it is totally related to my major in university, so it's good for me to apply all the knowlegde into my job
I'm also satisfied with my job as it is totally related to my major in university, so it's good for me to apply all the knowlegde into my job
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- Dec 21, 2007
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I really enjoy my job - in network/cyber security. Stuff changing all the time, challenges out the wazoo, and endless opportunities to learn.
I'm still at the same gig as I mentioned earlier in this thread. Doing some of the same work, but, also, doing a lot of new and interesting work (and still highly encouraged to learn as much as I can in different areas). Got about a 12.5% raise in late January and became eligible for a bonus that's equlivant of up to 15% of my salary each year as well. My team is still very awesome - we all enjoy each other's company, all work pretty hard, and just make the best of each day. It's still pretty sweet. It'll end eventually, but while it lasts, I'm soaking it alllll up.
Yeah ... if I got a text like this from anyone I worked with, I would be out the door in a heartbeat!
I have noticed a trend here; when most of you talk about your jobs, you feel the need to bring up the topic of monetary compensation -- as if the two are somehow related. Well, I guess most people expect to make money from their place of employment, so it makes a little sense I guess.
I'll tell you though, as someone who was responsible for hiring/staffing a restaurant (yeah, it's sh*t work, but it was work); I would immediately disqualify any person who asked about money in the interview. If all you care about is money, I don't want you working for me. So yeah, any stupid questions like "How much does it pay" or "When do I get paid" or "How often can I get a raise" I would simply shake their hand and thank them for coming in.
I'll tell you though, as someone who was responsible for hiring/staffing a restaurant (yeah, it's sh*t work, but it was work); I would immediately disqualify any person who asked about money in the interview. If all you care about is money, I don't want you working for me. So yeah, any stupid questions like "How much does it pay" or "When do I get paid" or "How often can I get a raise" I would simply shake their hand and thank them for coming in.
It has taken a long time to be able to do the actual work I've trained for. I worked in retail for way too long, so I'm happy to be free from that. I'm not thrilled with my work environment. It's far, the city it is in sucks, and the internal organization is a bit of a zoo. If I was doing what I'm doing under other circumstances I would be happier.
Of course I'd rather be a successful musician or author.
Of course I'd rather be a successful musician or author.
For me... topsy turvy. I spent a decade in graduate school and wound up with a PhD in medieval history. I was all set to go get a tenure-track professorship and have a path laid out before me... and the recession happened. So for the last ten years I've bounced from one temporary position to another, adjuncting, one-year contracts, never entirely sure if I'd still have work the following semester. Constantly scrambling to find work pretty much killed any ability to keep up a research agenda, it's been years since I last published an article or gave a conference paper.
A year ago, I decided I was done with it. I had been adjuncting at one school for years with the explicit hope of being the "inside candidate" if anything more permanent or full-time opened up. It finally did... and they gave it to someone else. I decided to stop teaching and pursue library work instead.
The problem is that without a library degree (I have way too many degrees, but not that one), and no experience, it turned out to be harder than I thought it would be to land a library position. My wife is a library director and says she would hire me in an instant, but of course that's conflict of interest - her department heads would not be comfortable having to supervise their own boss' husband. Last summer the school that had turned me down for the full-time job comes and asks if I want more adjunct teaching... and having nothing else in the offing, I took it. This year's teaching has been really hard, I just couldn't summon up the enthusiasm I used to, knowing that I'd been passed over and that there isn't any real future in it, I'm just treading water in class to pay the bills. Add to that that ALL the classes they give me now are freshman introductory things to students who simply don't read, and it's not much fun. Go in to pull teeth every day.
In the meantime, I did finally get my foot in the door at a library - twenty hours a week at $11.50 an hour. It's a start but I have to move up somehow, and a next job beyond that is still not easily forthcoming. But I really like it there and they seem to like me.
The kicker is that yesterday, the department chair at the university stops by an asks if he and another professor can meet with me on Friday - there may be some sort of opportunity in the offing, of some kind, but he can't tell me the details yet. It's like I'm TRYING to reset my course and academic keeps on hooking me back in...
A year ago, I decided I was done with it. I had been adjuncting at one school for years with the explicit hope of being the "inside candidate" if anything more permanent or full-time opened up. It finally did... and they gave it to someone else. I decided to stop teaching and pursue library work instead.
The problem is that without a library degree (I have way too many degrees, but not that one), and no experience, it turned out to be harder than I thought it would be to land a library position. My wife is a library director and says she would hire me in an instant, but of course that's conflict of interest - her department heads would not be comfortable having to supervise their own boss' husband. Last summer the school that had turned me down for the full-time job comes and asks if I want more adjunct teaching... and having nothing else in the offing, I took it. This year's teaching has been really hard, I just couldn't summon up the enthusiasm I used to, knowing that I'd been passed over and that there isn't any real future in it, I'm just treading water in class to pay the bills. Add to that that ALL the classes they give me now are freshman introductory things to students who simply don't read, and it's not much fun. Go in to pull teeth every day.
In the meantime, I did finally get my foot in the door at a library - twenty hours a week at $11.50 an hour. It's a start but I have to move up somehow, and a next job beyond that is still not easily forthcoming. But I really like it there and they seem to like me.
The kicker is that yesterday, the department chair at the university stops by an asks if he and another professor can meet with me on Friday - there may be some sort of opportunity in the offing, of some kind, but he can't tell me the details yet. It's like I'm TRYING to reset my course and academic keeps on hooking me back in...
Your approach might work for that environment, but when you're hiring guys to come work from halfway around the world, they're going to want to know what the compensation is.
They're also going to want to know about mob/demob & if that is covered by the hiring company. You only make the mistake of not making sure once, because it's no fun paying for your own flights to get to work & back home when the job is done.
Having a good job is great, but having it pay well is a bonus.
I finally stopped working abroad, because the pay was getting less & less & the jobs weren't as much fun anymore.
Mainly because the newbs weren't bold enough to ask up front about compensation & would take anything, hoping the pay would get better. That was wrong!
