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Permalink Reply by Cory Olson on November 26, 2011 at 9:53am

Greetings Johnathan and welcome to KBC!

Well I originally came to Korea three years ago doing ESL for a public high school. I have made the transition now to working freelance language training for a number of different corporate clients and am currently in the process of looking for full-time positions. It is possible (just last month we had a huge number of applicants from KBC apply for finance-area positions with Hyundai card) but I wouldn't call such positions exactly plentiful. Another point of concern can be your visa. As an instructor you'll be on an E2 which is sponsored by your school and only allows you to teach. The only reason I am allowed to freelance and work any job that I wish is that I have an F2 resident visa because I married a Korean national. Of course that's not WHY I married her, but it's definitely a perk.

The rules have changed somewhat to where you can get a resident visa without marriage, however it does require staying in the country for 5 years on an E2 (continuously), acquiring decent Korean skill and a few other factors. It is also possible that a company could sponsor you to work in the country as well, however those jobs are even more rare.

So to sum it all up, yes it is possible. It is difficult, will take a lot of time and effort (and no small bit of luck) but possible. Personally, I think its worth a shot to come and teach even if nothing results from it. At our young age, we can likely afford to do something just for the experience even if it doesn't turn out as planned. ESL jobs are still relatively plentiful (although Public schools are getting harder to come by). If you have anymore questions, or need more help, feel free to contact me directly. Good luck in making your decision.

 

-Cory

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Permalink Reply by Johnathan Noone on November 26, 2011 at 10:03pm

Hi Cory

 

Thanks for your reply. I agree that it's all about meeting the right people and getting a little lucky, that's why networking is so important.

 

As for the visa, after some reading I hope that I might be able qualify for an E7(?) with my specialised master's degree. Anyway I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

You're right, I think coming to Korea to teach would be a great experience regardless. In the worst case scenario where I'm unable to get a finance job, I've still had a couple of years in an exciting foreign country to tell the grandkids about, and the recession should be over by then too.

 

Thanks for the encouragement and good luck with your business!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on November 27, 2011 at 2:41am

Hi:

With your specialist master's degree, that is a bonus for sure and easier.  I actually forget the visa you can apply for but it's not just an E-7.  I had that for a couple of years since I am a native French speaker.  I taught English but to work in a company full time, I had to have a skill Koreans couldn't fulfill.

 

My suggestion is that you apply to SC or other finance companies from England to be sent to Korea. 

 

I have one extra question.  You didn't mention it.  How is your Korean language skills?  I ask because it's simple.  Would an English company hire someone in their finance dept if they knew no English or the culture?

 

As for myself, I started as an English teacher from hagwon to middle school to corporate work plus lots of cultural experiences at all levels of society.  Thus, I landed a job as an English teacher to the upper management group of a 2 billion dollar company.  Then a couple of years later, I made a few podcasts, wrote a few articles on Korean leadership then voila, a coaching job at a multi million dollar consulting company on business management skills within Korean business and overseas. 

 

Another guy here, Robert Ebenez (spelling might be off) came here as English teacher if I'm not mistaken, wrote some economic pieces for this website and landed a job in China at a boutique investment company.  It is definitely doable.  You can build your resume by writing some pieces here on what you think Korean companies or Korean based offices of foreign companies and make a portfolio out of it.  My problem many times here is not having an advanced degree otherwise I'd probably be swimming in dough right about now...

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Permalink Reply by Johnathan Noone on November 27, 2011 at 11:03pm

Hi Daniel

 

Thanks for your reply. Your career path sounds like something I'd like to replicate myself. Did you have to network heavily to get hwere you are, or did you gain a reputation from your writing and podcasts? I've applied to all the banks but I'm pretty impatient to come to Korea - I'd have to work at least 2 or 3 years here before I could get transferred.

 

My spoken Korean is ok, I can have a basic conversation, though my reading and writing is kindergarten level. But I am taking lessons to try to improve and meeting as many Korean people as possible.

 

I think teaching Business English would be a great way to make useful connections with businessmen and women in Korea. Hopefully I could find a position doing that, though maybe I would have to work in a normal hagwon first.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on November 27, 2011 at 11:52pm

Did you have to network heavily to get hwere you are, or did you gain a reputation from your writing and podcasts?

 

Both.  I networked by being the cheapest around.  I wrote on business websites and here at KBC.  Everyone loves a deal.  And they keep you even if you make a mistake here and there since you were not of the greedy type.  Hagwons are a good way to go since you get your feet wet, plus if you do some bargaining, your hagwon owner will let you do corporate work on the side for a fee.  Mine was ticket home.  Never had a hagwon pay for a ticket home.  He gave me permission to do extra work under his business license in exchange for me not making him pay plane ticket.  In Korea, it's about give and take not persuasion.  Now, if you take a hagwon, try and work at a big hagwon that has corporate work.  Pagoda, English Channel, Wall Street Institute plus others are adult focused.  And, look for work in Gangnam or around city hall in Seoul.  Your chances are bound to be better to meet finance type people.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on November 28, 2011 at 6:46pm

On this site, there is a certain amount of disparaging remarks about English teachers.  Don't worry about it.  As long as you're reasonable, respecful and willing to be open, being an English teacher can get to where you want to be.  Especially with a degree in finance.  Some English teachers have experience but with a degree in history or liberal arts, it's pretty tough to break through though not impossible.

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Permalink Reply by Johnathan Noone on November 29, 2011 at 1:24am

Thanks for your advice Daniel! I'll definitely bear it in mind, great to hear from someone who's been there and done it.

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Permalink Reply by Eun-Shil Park on November 28, 2011 at 10:04pm

It is just like Daniel mentioned above, you need to come forward with some -extras- when you are on a Korea focused jobhunting. Just having a degree is not good enough. Make yourself visible, for instance to develop a good online presence. An another example i can give you are the KBC members Liam Lusk & Carl Kwan. They started a new subgroup on our website which matches their interests combined with their company Kwalus - Social Media Presentation Services. They delivered (and still delivering) regularly new content for free here on KBC. They got noticed by potential clients and are doing right now interesting projects for Korean customers like Bank of Korea and many more. Resume: you need to show what kind of qualities you´re be able to deliver. Network, network and network even more! I raise my eyebrows if you´re saying that you are in a hurry. Don´t do things in a hurry. Do the things on a right sustainable way.  

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Permalink Reply by Johnathan Noone on November 29, 2011 at 1:25am

Thank you Eun-Shil. I agree, and I am ready to network like crazy to get to where I want to be. I'm in a hurry to be in Korea, but not necessarily to get that finance job. I know it will be a long and difficult path.

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Permalink Reply by Ondrej Slechta on November 29, 2011 at 3:54am

One Korean saying goes 급할수록 돌아가라 or the more you're in a hurry, the the longer detour you should take.

It seems that you've pretty much made your mind up already and are ready to go to Korea and face all the risks and headwinds. Yet, it's still important to remember what competition you'll be facing: hundreds of Korean speaking foreigners with degrees from Korean universities, thousands of English speaking finance professionals who can't speak Korean but have long years of relevant experience and are willing to make a move to Asia due to the current environment in the UK, and thousands if not tens of thousands English speaking Koreans with Ivy league MBAs often supported by additional qualifications such as CFA and PRM.

The bottom line is, it's not solely about networking. It's about networking while also having an edge and being able to offer something very unique.

Is there any possibility for you to delay graduation and spend at least 1 semester as an exchange student in Korea? If not, have you considered doing and MBA at a Korean university which would provide you with an opportunity to learn Korean and an access to alumni and professors' networks? You can do this while teaching English part time without the ESL position having any negative effects on your career. Even a short career with any London based bank (while working on your Korean skills in private) would probably position you better for a job in Korea than a ESL position (in my humble opinion). There's about 25 Korean finance companies in London - perhaps another opportunity to network?

But as I said above, if this is about Korea (or anything/anyone in Korea) more than about a solid career start then all I can do is wish you best luck!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on November 29, 2011 at 4:40am

I bow to Ondrej superior knowledge in this regard.  He has good ideas here:

 

Knowledge

Network

Edge

Experience

 

Move to Korea, have the advantage with KNEE...

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Permalink Reply by Cory Olson on November 29, 2011 at 6:59am

Completely agree with everything said here (although the numbers seem exaggerated. Not questioning, but just out of my own personal curiosity, is there any data available on figures like those?) The plan presented is well-thought out and very pragmatic. The problem is when I came from a similar situation, I have a very hard time being logical about the whole thing.

Out of University and after a brief stint in Japan, I managed to land an incredibly sought after job with a major mutual fund company. I went through training, started working and was completely miserable, couldn't help but thinking I was missing out on something. Somewhat out of the blue an offer to come to Korea popped up with only about three weeks notice before I would need to leave. I would up doing the very illogical thing, gave my two weeks, rushed the visa paperwork and hopped on a plane. At that time I was doing it for the thrill of doing it, but obviously it's turned into something greater. Who knows exactly where my career would be if I hadn't, but if I had honestly been that concerned with my career in the first place, coming to Korea wouldn't even had been a thought.

So, in the end, I suppose my advice is if Korea is strictly a career move then you should most certainly be careful about it, take time and steps to raise chances of success before coming. If instead you're simply ready for a life change and Korea is where you happen to want to be at the moment, then just jump in.

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