Mid Life Crisis (!?)

[thewaitingtree]

I realize I'm not 30 yet (... korean age 30 next year! eek!), but I just was informed today that the Korean government has cut spending on English programs - so my province cannot afford to hire or renew any teachers for the upcoming school year (which starts in March).
So. basically. I'll be laid off effective February. confused

I don't really know what I want to do - career-wise. I kind of was planning on teaching a lot longer.
(but I don't foresee staying in Korea - if the government is cutting then the private academies will not only be flooded but will be able to make lower offers than what I currently make - which is still what you would consider poverty in most states of the US... sounds bad but it's not bad.)


All that aside, spoon time!

Have you ever had a mid-life crisis?
What did you do?

How do you go about job searching (or job searching from overseas)?
Websites? Groups?

Ever think of joining Eharmony? xd

---
If I let myself go off the deepend in this midlife crisis - I could easily dye my hair pink, get a job at Hot Topic and join Eharmony for the lols. (actually... 2 girl friends of mine just met and married guys from there.... it's freaking me out.)

[Inscriven]

I know the feels. I just turned 30 a few months ago and now i realized that ********, I graduated high school 12 years ago, been at the same job for 11, still don't have a degree and have really nothing to show for the past decade.So I've been getting in overdrive and switching majors to something more marketable, joining a startup business, volunteering to feed the homeless, starting my professional portofolio, and getting in shape because my body is painfully reminding me that i can no longer abuse it if i expect to make it past 45. I still don't think I have a set plan, but hopefully something in all i'm doing sticks and shows me the way. And I sure as hell want to make it to Seoul or Busan at some point in my life.


Do you have all your TOEFL and such certifications? Have you thought about teaching in a different country? I imagine Japan and China are really damn competitive, but if not them what about Vietnam or Thailand? Maybe there's a Korean company looking for a token white guy to do their English communications?

Eharmony is the devil. Charging you a ton of money to pay for a list of people that want to get married. Feels a little forced to me. I met my wife on OkCupid.

[AmoreJocelyn]

it may not be the same but I had an experience that made me have to think about k whole career. I didn't get the financial aid I needed to continue school and couldn't really afford taking out loans. So I decided to focus on my job and I realized over a period of time I wanted to do something else.

[zuzehhx]

I have a crisis of sorts every day it seems. I have four more semesters left of my undergrad and that's a constant source of worry for me. Because after that if I can't find myself work I'm screwed since all parental support ceases. Part of me wants to go for a phd, part of me just wants to enter the workforce and maybe get myself established, and another part of me wants to just transfer to a masters engineering program and be done with schooling altogether after that. I also plan to find work overseas, and that's a source of stress since I'm rather unfamiliar with things.

Also, I'd personally avoid eharmony. Like someone said above me there are tons of free services that do the same. I'm not in a relationship and I'm probably not going to look for one until I'm out of this financial rut.

I'm only 19, btw. I can only imagine the regrets I will have at 30...

I wish you luck with your job searching though.

[GhostlyMark]

those eharmony commercials are weird

[GSK Lives]

********, been going through one for a couple of years now, no end in sight. sad

[thewaitingtree]

GhostlyMark

those eharmony commercials are weird

so damn true.

honestly online dating is scary. not a fan.

lol. i could be a mail-order bride. you know that's a big thing in Korea these days....

[thewaitingtree]

Inscriven

I know the feels. I just turned 30 a few months ago and now i realized that ********, I graduated high school 12 years ago, been at the same job for 11, still don't have a degree and have really nothing to show for the past decade.So I've been getting in overdrive and switching majors to something more marketable, joining a startup business, volunteering to feed the homeless, starting my professional portofolio, and getting in shape because my body is painfully reminding me that i can no longer abuse it if i expect to make it past 45. I still don't think I have a set plan, but hopefully something in all i'm doing sticks and shows me the way. And I sure as hell want to make it to Seoul or Busan at some point in my life.


Do you have all your TOEFL and such certifications? Have you thought about teaching in a different country? I imagine Japan and China are really damn competitive, but if not them what about Vietnam or Thailand? Maybe there's a Korean company looking for a token white guy to do their English communications?

Eharmony is the devil. Charging you a ton of money to pay for a list of people that want to get married. Feels a little forced to me. I met my wife on OkCupid.

What a drag it is getting old.

At least you have more work experience than I do. That's something. Usually. A lot of places like to see you've got experience.
I've only got 2 years at the same job. Hoping it's enough to give me an edge... Well

I don't have any certifications in teaching or ESL. I'm a linguist. I could get the certifications easily enough... they just cost money. (really.. you pay 1k for a piece of paper... annoying)
Jobs in Japan are hard to get without one of these pieces of paper (or these days, they prefer to hire people already living in Japan, so they don't have to pay transportation or sponsor a visa).
Jobs in China are easy enough to get, but better jobs require better certificates... Many jobs in China though pay much much less, and the conditions are poorer.
Thailand and Vietnam are hot places for jobs... but I'm not interested in going there. I have a friend who now teaches in Thailand. She posts mini horror stories of how there are random bugs in her school food. Extra protein? wink

My real interest is in translation though. So might get more training in that area and try to find a company that wants linguists. (teaching is nice, but wasn't my long term goal. kinda just wanted to do it for 3-5 years... )

LOL. Thanks for the tip. I'll remember that if I do jump off the deep end.

[Xiam]

thewaitingtree

Have you ever had a mid-life crisis?
Does being 13 count? Also recently I've been having a bit of a crisis. I'm nearing 30 and my life has gone absolutely nowhere.

thewaitingtree

What did you do?

Dwelling upon my eventual death, with a downward spiral into depression and withdrawl from the world into the realms of fantasy.

[thewaitingtree]

Xiam

Does being 13 count? Also recently I've been having a bit of a crisis. I'm nearing 30 and my life has gone absolutely nowhere.

Dwelling upon my eventual death, with a downward spiral into depression and withdrawl from the world into the realms of fantasy.

*hands you some kinder chocolate*

it can't all be that bad.

[Moogle Voodoo]

where would you move to if you left Korea?

[Srintella Tiagara]

I thought a midllife crises was when you turned 40! gonk

I haven't had one..as of yet. Hmm op..Do you have something to fall back on?

[AngelBiscuits]

I had a "quarter life crisis" about this time last year. I wasn't quite 24, but I felt totally lost. I'd just dropped out of college, and a whole bunch of other stuff was going on.

I was depressed and anxious (moreso than usual) and just wanted to do or have something that would make my life more fullfilling. It got really crazy and my fiance finally realized what I was experiencing was a mid-life crisis and he helped me sort it out and figure out what was actually bothering me so we could move forward.

[koketsuna]

No midlife crisis whatsoever. But I do constantly think about my future and all the possible ways to get there. I recently decided to change majors to what I love the most, video games. I have always been passionate about them. As a biologist (my current major) there was no room for video games, specially because of the little free time. I loved the lab work and everything, but my interest for video games far exceeds. Hell, maybe I'll even help in Gaia one day.

And no, no eHarmony, just... no.