An incident at work yesterday with one of my Korean coworkers has sparked a lot of soul searching and thoughts about my future career. Some pressure cooker in her head boiled over when I asked to use a book. It resulted in her yelling in a hallway in Korean about me to the head teacher. All I asked was to borrow a book for five minutes. Honest. My job is secure and was never in question, but it’s sparked a listlessness in me. I don’t know what else is lurking underneath. Now I’m just thinking about my career path, my future, and my family.
Everything about being a single guy willing to come over and teaching English on a lark after college has gotten so much more complicated since I’ve been here longer. I’m still only operating as a teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management of Information Systems. I’ve just got more experience, a reputation in the city as a good teacher, and lots of experience.
I haven’t gotten back to getting more education or gotten specialized. The master’s degree course in ESL at my previous employer seemed like a joke, and I don’t really want to throw money away on another paper degree if I can’t use it practically. I’m planning to get more teaching certifications online for ESL, but I haven’t gotten around to signing up. I’ll probably do this sometime after May if I can keep myself focused. I’ve said this before, of course, but I’m planning on a job hunt this year, so this would be the best time to actually see it through to completion.
I’m trying to future proof myself. Eventually there will be a time when I will be the sole bread winner for this family for a dedicated yearly time frame. I need to make sure I’ll be able to provide for my family and also allow us to live comfortably. I’m going to be responsible for paying all the bills, and earning all the money we save without the cushion of my wife’s salary.
Then there is always the question of what I want to be doing in two, five, or ten years. Who knows what I’ll be up to? Anyone want to drop me an offer? Book deal? Freelance writing position for a magazine? I’m open. Contact me.
We’re thinking about moving apartments, again, to use our savings to pay for a chunsae funded apartment. This is why we’ve been saving money like crazy the entire year. Thank goodness for that. We’d pay a hefty down payment first, then live rent free. We’d save a lot more, if we can find an apartment in our price range to rent in the area. It’s all a big “if” right there.
Then there is always the inevitable “Move to the USA” that sometimes it feels like a terminus to everything we decide. Suddenly I’ll approach a dark precipice and need to take a leap into that unknown, if it ever ends up happening. I’d have to figure out what, where, why, and how of all that as well.
You know what they say, Mo’ money, mo’ problems, and all that. Damn adulthood getting in the way of all our fun.
