Can I work with my parents if I cant find a job?

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Daniel O

am going to be a F1 visa student when I turn 21. I am 19 years old, studying to transfer to UC Santa Barbara pursuing computer science major.

My parents are here in the United States with their E2 visa owned dry cleaning business for the last 11 years. So I am an E2 visa dependent right now.

I am having this constant fear about failing computer science degree nor getting jobs with it. Since I am not very studious person. Also, if I get laid off, I will have to leave this country. I do not feel confident.

To be honest with you, I like working with labors. Its the kind of thing that I feel most comfortable with. I have limited knowledge about dry cleaning, but if I learn I can do it.

I want to talk to my parents and tell them what I really want to be. I cannot leave this country because my family is here. Also I will have to join the Korean army for 2 years. Which is a complete waste of time.

What should I do?
Or is my only path is to get bachelor degree and hope to find a job? I am scared.

Answer
My wife and I owned a dry cleaners. My two sons at various times worked for us. They had legitimate jobs, wee paid a salary and were on the books. You do not have to know cleaning to work in a dry cleaners. There are other jobs such as working the counter, marking clothes in, and bagging.

You can also go to school part time and take evening classes.

Good luck./

is South Korea a safe country to go teaching in?

ella-blah2

I want to teach english,can anyone give me some info on agencies and the country itself?

Answer
Yes, South Korea is very safe to live.

Yes, the North/South Issue is always on your mind when you live there. There was a near sink of a South Korean Navy Ship by the North when I live there in 2002 to 2004. In addition, there were several military shootings across the DMZ.

As for the day to day life, it is really nice. There are many places to go, the people are very friendly, and the job it self is not to bad.

Being an English Teacher is part being able to put up with the English School B.S., having the right students, and most of all being able to put it behind you when you go home for the day. The best thing I would recommend is the public school. This is called the EPIK Program, a great city is Seoul or Pusan (sometime called Busan).

http://www.teachaway.com/content/epik-english-program-korea-public-school-jobs-korea

Try to stay away from the private schools, they can be a mixed bag.
Also try Pusan Web;

http://www.pusanweb.com/

This is a website of mostly foreigners living in South Korea. Also there are many Koreans who want to meet and make friends with Foreigners. I would recommend this site to meet people before you get to South Korea. You can also find postings for jobs, apartment, and forums, and general information on Korea.

Also try Korea Bridge, it has a lot of the same info as Pusan Web, but more detail.

http://koreabridge.net/


If you like South Korea after the first year another great job is teach at the Universities.

If you have more questions, please feel free to e-mail me.

Philly Guy

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Can I work with my parents if I cant find a job?

korean school bags image

Daniel O

am going to be a F1 visa student when I turn 21. I am 19 years old, studying to transfer to UC Santa Barbara pursuing computer science major.

My parents are here in the United States with their E2 visa owned dry cleaning business for the last 11 years. So I am an E2 visa dependent right now.

I am having this constant fear about failing computer science degree nor getting jobs with it. Since I am not very studious person. Also, if I get laid off, I will have to leave this country. I do not feel confident.

To be honest with you, I like working with labors. Its the kind of thing that I feel most comfortable with. I have limited knowledge about dry cleaning, but if I learn I can do it.

I want to talk to my parents and tell them what I really want to be. I cannot leave this country because my family is here. Also I will have to join the Korean army for 2 years. Which is a complete waste of time.

What should I do?
Or is my only path is to get bachelor degree and hope to find a job? I am scared.

Answer
My wife and I owned a dry cleaners. My two sons at various times worked for us. They had legitimate jobs, wee paid a salary and were on the books. You do not have to know cleaning to work in a dry cleaners. There are other jobs such as working the counter, marking clothes in, and bagging.

You can also go to school part time and take evening classes.

Good luck./

What is the best way for a male college graduate to get a job teaching english in Seoul, S Korea?

I've been looking at craigslist, and I've been talking to a company called Gone2Korea. Does anyone have any advice? Care to share any experiences? I'm specifically looking to go to Seoul, but if there are other similar cities where I'd get better pay/housing and still get the same experience/night life let me know!

Answer
Rule #1 when job hunting in Korea is be prepared to walk away. If you've spent any time looking for jobs and reading up on working in Korea then you've probably come across hagwon horror stories. Some of these might include, but are not limited too: not paid on time, overworked, not worked enough, no medical insurance, no severance pay, screwed out of the return ticket, apartment was a hell hole, boss spied on them, forced to work over contract hours or on weekends with no overtime pay, attempted restrictions on personal time, head games, refusal to return passports and other important documents... The list goes on.

These are all dangers that have happened and most likely will continue to happen as long as newbs fresh off the boat with dollar signs in their eyes continue to sign the first contract that's offered. Not that that's you, this is just a cautionary tale, remember.

So how avoid all of those? Just follow a couple of basic rules. First and foremost, get the information of the last teacher that worked there after they've left employment and contact them. Don't accept the current teacher because they might be locked in until a new teacher is found so will say that strippers greet you at the door and give you a complimentary lap dance before you begin lesson prep if they think that's what you want to hear to sign the contract; they just want out. If the recruiter (or the school, if you're dealing with them directly) gives you some reason why it can't be done, walk away. Not necessarily from the recruiter, but from the offer. It's not worth the risk.

The second basic rule is be clear in what you're looking for and if you're not willing to bend then don't. This could be how many hours a week you want to work, what kind of vacation time you expect*, what age group you want, where you want to live in the country (as you've indicated Seoul. more on that in a minute) and any other things you may require. Don't be shy but also don't be a douche bag about it. Obviously you want to be respectful and have reasonable demands, this is not advice on how to stick it to the hagwons, but know what you want and don't let them try to talk you out of it if it's not something you can't stand to do without. And if they won't, walk away.

And the other rule is to remember that you have the power in the relationship. At least that was the case in years past. I've heard rumblings that demand is low for teachers right now because of the U.S. economy and the number of teachers who have come in recently to live under better economic conditions. Low demand means it's easier for the schools to bargain. I haven't looked in to this because I got my asking price when I came back last June and haven't had to worry about it since. But do a little checking. A good place to ask questions is a website called www.eslcafe.com (known colloquially as Dave's. There are also job postings there if you're not getting the kind of offers you want from your current recruiter or craigslist.) Go to the Korean teacher bored and post any Korea-specific questions you have in the appropriate section. There are some lifers there, and some otherwise very knowledgeable people.

As far as pay, Seoul is where you're going to get top dollar by default. That doesn't mean you won't find a higher salary somewhere else, but it's not going to be as easy. Seoul, being the capital (for now) and their largest city, has the highest cost of living, thus the highest wages. So keep that in mind when you're job hunting. Just because you're making more, doesn't mean you're taking home more. For instance, let's say you find a job in Seoul paying 2.5 mil a month, but a job in Daegu, that, for the purpose of this discussion, is essentially the same, but the pay is only 2.2 mil. Well, If money if you're main concern, Daegu would be the better deal. When you factor in cost of living, you'll be pretty much even.

You indicated a desire for an active night life and while Busan and Daegu will provide a rather active night life, Seoul being the cultural center of the country, will have them beat by a mile. You'll have access to much more of everything in Seoul. So if that is more important than stick to Seoul.

A guy above me mentioned the TALK program and I have a friend who works for them. He likes it, they're a pretty active group with lots of get-togethers throughout the year, but his pay is pretty low. He makes 1.5 mil a month, plus a 400K housing allowance, so it's not great. But I think he only works like 15 hours a week at an elementary school, so it's not so horrible. Still, if you're paying back student loans, that would not be the option for you. If you aren't and just want to experience the culture while getting paid, it might not be a bad way to go. They're a reputable program.

If you've other questions, shoot me a message, I'll help if I can.

-S-

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