CDI: My Honest Opinion
I've been getting e-mails since I started this blog asking me how my experience with Chungdahm specifically is. That being said, anything I say is only of my experience or what I heard from people I have seen working here.
Quickie Review
The People: Lovely
Training: A lot of work but very doable/easy if you are good at taking feedback
HQ: Puts in orders that don't make sense. (Has to do with Korean Hierarchy)
Overall: As long as you aren't in a leadership position, the job is good for making money straight out of college if you don't want to take vacation.
Training: A lot of work but very doable/easy if you are good at taking feedback
HQ: Puts in orders that don't make sense. (Has to do with Korean Hierarchy)
Overall: As long as you aren't in a leadership position, the job is good for making money straight out of college if you don't want to take vacation.
Background
First time teacher who has never taught before coming to CDI. I am 23 years old and I am one of the youngest at my branch. I am at a very large branch with over 20 teachers and over 1,000 kids coming in weekly. I live outside of Seoul and live in an upscale area which means the kids are rich and most of them have travelled to an English Speaking country.
Pros
Training: I was trained by people at my branch. I had 3 weeks of training before I started working so I felt like I was as prepared as I could be when I started teaching.
Co-Workers: I love my co-workers and they are the people I hang out with in my free time. We eat together, play together even sleep together (Overnight stay with all the staff). Our manager and branch boss are almost always in and are ready to take care of any problems.
Korean Staff: Unlike the teachers, they deal with the admin stuff. Our staff is amazing and they take care of us and joke around all the time. Always ready to help though we aren't that close, if there are problems I have no trouble going to them
Hours: 24 hours a week as promised and I feel like the hours are good though it drags on on bad days as it does in every job.
Lifestyle: Easy. I have no problem with my zero Korean. I can read a little and that's all you really need. I get paid enough to save about 30% while not being stingy. I eat what I want buy what I want and have plenty leftover to play and save. Great and cheap Korean food for days. My closet has never expanded at such a rate and I may own more shoes here than I do back home. There are things to explore and see all the time.
Other Pros: The kids. Whenever I have a shit class and it makes me want to quit, I remember the sweethearts that really enjoy your class. The ones that make me laugh and the ones that come back even though you aren't their teacher anymore just to say hello and chat with you. I love hearing that they want me as their teacher again or when they use a word/concept that you talk them.
Co-Workers: I love my co-workers and they are the people I hang out with in my free time. We eat together, play together even sleep together (Overnight stay with all the staff). Our manager and branch boss are almost always in and are ready to take care of any problems.
Korean Staff: Unlike the teachers, they deal with the admin stuff. Our staff is amazing and they take care of us and joke around all the time. Always ready to help though we aren't that close, if there are problems I have no trouble going to them
Hours: 24 hours a week as promised and I feel like the hours are good though it drags on on bad days as it does in every job.
Lifestyle: Easy. I have no problem with my zero Korean. I can read a little and that's all you really need. I get paid enough to save about 30% while not being stingy. I eat what I want buy what I want and have plenty leftover to play and save. Great and cheap Korean food for days. My closet has never expanded at such a rate and I may own more shoes here than I do back home. There are things to explore and see all the time.
Other Pros: The kids. Whenever I have a shit class and it makes me want to quit, I remember the sweethearts that really enjoy your class. The ones that make me laugh and the ones that come back even though you aren't their teacher anymore just to say hello and chat with you. I love hearing that they want me as their teacher again or when they use a word/concept that you talk them.
Cons
Training: Other people didn't get to be trained by their branch people and therefore had to be retrained to fit the branch when they got there. It sucks that they just don't have everyone trained by their own people. People who fail are left with no place to stay and are meant to survive on their own in a foreign country. MAKE FRIENDS IN TRAINING: at least you can crash at someone's place. Training is not paid.
Co-Workers: I have heard other branches don't talk to each other much. Everyone preps in their own classroom and don't talk to each other. They don't see their Manager often either. Also, it sucks when people you like leave especially since you are all based somewhere different in the world.
Hours: Other people actually don't prep before going into the classroom but I spend about 1-3 hours for each class depending on the class, level, type etc. It is not paid but you are paid a high wage for the hours you do work. Also I have to mark essays/speaking assessments in my own time if I don't get it done in class. Usually not a problem but the bigger the class the more likely I will have to.
Vacation: No vacation time, we don't get the Korean holidays off except Chuseok and even then we have to make up the classes. Summer/Winter Intensives are hard but the paycheck is worth it. People taking vacation means others have to sub which can be annoying. I can't imagine how the other smaller branches take vacation.
Lifestyle: Food is not varied. I wish there was more foreign foods for me to devour. I have to travel to food (COEX and Itaewon has some great food).
Other Complaints: HQ puts out random and usually pointless materials. Tabs are a pain in the butt because they aren't perfect and dongle technology isn't great. Lower level seems more like instructing than teaching. Many times the work is too difficult for the kids and some of the topics just don't make any sense. Why do kids need to know about how to succeed in the business world or drone strikes? They are in elementary school
Co-Workers: I have heard other branches don't talk to each other much. Everyone preps in their own classroom and don't talk to each other. They don't see their Manager often either. Also, it sucks when people you like leave especially since you are all based somewhere different in the world.
Hours: Other people actually don't prep before going into the classroom but I spend about 1-3 hours for each class depending on the class, level, type etc. It is not paid but you are paid a high wage for the hours you do work. Also I have to mark essays/speaking assessments in my own time if I don't get it done in class. Usually not a problem but the bigger the class the more likely I will have to.
Vacation: No vacation time, we don't get the Korean holidays off except Chuseok and even then we have to make up the classes. Summer/Winter Intensives are hard but the paycheck is worth it. People taking vacation means others have to sub which can be annoying. I can't imagine how the other smaller branches take vacation.
Lifestyle: Food is not varied. I wish there was more foreign foods for me to devour. I have to travel to food (COEX and Itaewon has some great food).
Other Complaints: HQ puts out random and usually pointless materials. Tabs are a pain in the butt because they aren't perfect and dongle technology isn't great. Lower level seems more like instructing than teaching. Many times the work is too difficult for the kids and some of the topics just don't make any sense. Why do kids need to know about how to succeed in the business world or drone strikes? They are in elementary school
Conclusion:
Even though the cons side is longer, I have enjoyed myself enough to stay another year. I hope to take some time off to travel a little bit and maybe go back home to see people.