Survey of 1,788 Students for 2024 Academic Year
Top Post-Suneung Activity: 'Part-Time Job'
Aiming to Earn Pocket Money and Gain Work Experience Independently
Three out of five examinees chose part-time jobs as the first thing they want to do after the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).
On the 17th, 'Alba Cheonguk,' a job and part-time job portal, announced the results of a survey conducted on 1,788 examinees who took the 2024 CSAT, asking what they most wanted to do after the exam. 'Part-time job' ranked first with a response rate of 61.2%.
According to the survey, male students (67.5%) showed a higher desire to work part-time than female students (59.1%), and high school seniors (65.9%) showed a higher response rate than so-called 'N-su students' (40.7%) who took the CSAT multiple times.
Among those with no part-time job experience, 73.7% responded that they would seek part-time work after the CSAT, which was particularly higher than the 45.1% of examinees with part-time job experience.
The reasons why examinees plan to work part-time after the CSAT include not only financial factors but also the experience of earning money on their own. Specifically, the reasons were ▲to earn pocket money (58.0%) ▲to try earning money independently (48.7%) ▲to save for travel expenses (31.2%) ▲to gain part-time job experience (26.9%) ▲to pay for college tuition (16.2%), in that order.
Job Seeking Starts Immediately After CSAT... Job Search Difficulty Expected to Be High
Half of the respondents (49.3%) said they start looking for part-time jobs immediately after the CSAT, and 80.6% predicted that the job search would be difficult.
When considering important conditions for part-time job hunting, the most common answer was ▲a workplace close to home (54.4%). This was followed by ▲high hourly wage (47.3%) ▲good welfare benefits (30.5%) ▲jobs at large companies or franchises (17.0%) ▲part-time jobs where peers work together (16.1%).
The preferred job sectors were led by 'Food and Beverage' such as fast food, cafes, and bakeries (61.3%). This was followed by Culture & Leisure - Lifestyle (15.0%), Distribution & Sales (13.5%), and Services (2.7%), which also attracted significant interest.
Among the examinees planning to work part-time, 7 out of 10 (67.7%) had no prior part-time job experience, and most of them (98.2%) expressed concerns related to job hunting.
Specifically, the concerns were ▲unfair treatment such as wage arrears (34.5%) ▲adapting to the work atmosphere (17.4%) ▲finding part-time job postings (17.0%) ▲understanding job duties (11.1%) ▲part-time job interviews (10.3%), in that order.
On the other hand, 9 out of 10 respondents said they also have romanticized expectations about part-time jobs. Specifically, these included ▲a plentiful bank balance (38.8%) ▲a kind and sensible angel boss (17.8%) ▲a relaxed and enjoyable work atmosphere (16.3%) ▲a part-time job perfectly suited to their aptitude (12.2%) ▲new relationships with peer part-time workers (10.5%), in that order.
2023 Minimum Wage 9,620 Won... Over 76,960 Won Paid for 8 Hours of Work Per Day
Meanwhile, the minimum wage for 2023 is 9,620 won, a 5% increase from the 2022 minimum wage of 9,160 won. This means that employees working 8 hours a day must be paid at least 76,960 won per day.
If an employee works 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, the weekly wage including weekly holiday pay amounts to 461,760 won. From 2024, the hourly wage will increase by 2.5% to 9,860 won.
The minimum wage system is a policy where the government intervenes in the wage determination process between labor and management to set the minimum wage level and legally requires employers to pay wages above this level, thereby protecting low-wage workers. Violations can result in imprisonment of up to 3 years or fines up to 20 million won, making compliance mandatory. If wages are not properly paid, one can report to the nearest local employment and labor office.
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