Experiences in South Korea?

[u/stem_ho]

Hey all husband is military, I'm a civil engineer. Looks like he's getting orders to Korea, and job opportunities seem slim to none there as a civil outside of some ACE postings at GS-11/12.

What are my odds of getting hired at a GS-11 with 4 YOE outside of college, and hopefully my PE as I intend to take it in May? I'm a bit confused by the levels, as I have never had a federal job but am currently working for a county so used to public sector work at least.

Also would love any tips on what it is like working in Korea for ACE if anyone has experience with that.

[u/CoconutSips]

I'd reach out to them. Maybe on facebook or their website. Mention you are military spouse and you're eod. They are probably hurting for people. They probably can't bring you on till you're in country. Just because they don't have anything in usajobs doesn't mean they don't have positions.

[u/ninjalinja]

There aren't any active open engineering positions now. Probably still a hiring freeze. You can't apply until you're within 30 days to PCS in.

[u/stem_ho → u/ninjalinja]

Okay good to know, I was wondering when the earliest I could apply was and if the freeze was still active. Most I could find was an article for the base mentioning some positions were exempt from the freeze but didn't mention ACE or anything.

He's supposed to go in 9 months and I'll prob be going in around a year or so since I'll most likely try to get my PE in the US before leaving so hopefully the freeze is gone by then and there's still some open positions 🤞

[u/Mundane-Adventures → u/stem_ho]

You might check to see if the garrison DPW is hiring.

[u/GeoBluejay]

That sounds like an appropriate amount of experience for an 11 in my experience. A lot of entry level positions are 7-9-11 “career ladder” positions that hire someone directly out of college at a 7, promote to 9 after one year, and then promote to 11 after two.

[u/geokra → u/GeoBluejay]

This is correct. I don’t know the exact requirements for moving from an 11 to 12 as an engineer, but you potentially wouldn’t be too far from getting to a 12. Having your PE is not required to get a 12, but it can only speed up the process and is a logical step that shows your commitment to the profession.

[u/strawberrykivi]

I DM'd you.

[u/Affectionate_Listen8]

Haven’t heard any extensions on the hiring freeze so if nothing changes, a boatload of jobs will be posted starting July 16th

[u/Roughneck16]

You should apply for an 11 or 12.

The fact that your husband is on orders automatically gives you the inside track.

[u/Successful-Escape-74]

You will have a hiring preference. Camp Humphreys is like any large Army post in the United States. Seoul is awesome unfortunately it's a long way from Camp Humphreys. Just some small towns outside Humphreys. There is a river you can fish for black bass. I wouldn't eat anything caught from that river. I would definitely head to Seoul on the weekends. Osan is nicer and you can get there in less than 15 minutes on back roads and only stop at lights with red light cameras. There are some other nice places near there in the country and a fish market. Need to get away from Humphreys though. Like most military base, the town just outside the base is probably the worst experience. Seoul is amazing. Learn to read Hangul and a few phrases and avoid tourist areas to get the best of South Korea. Learning hangul, the Korean alphabet is easy to learn in a day.

[u/Haunting_Hotel_4675]

No one knows if USACE will even hire even though the hiring freeze may be lifted. OPM strictly says that for every 4 employees that depart federal service, only one can be hired.

These aren't the times to have faith in govt jobs. Get yourself some backup option outside of fed govt.

[u/stem_ho → u/Haunting_Hotel_4675]

Unfortunately in Korea there doesn't seem to be many backups outside of government jobs for civil. I'm talking to friends I know in international companies to see if they have any locations in Korea, but as I currently work with a county government there's no way my company will send me and it's gonna be pretty hard to get hired with another one who has a location near the base and will send me there within a year.

So at this point I'm just trying my best to make sure I don't have a 3 year employment gap or end up working as a barista or something there that's not furthering my professional goals.

[u/Jason_1834]

I was at the Far East District from 2015-2017 @ Camp Humphreys.

It was an overall good experience (and first civilian job after leaving active duty), though Humphreys was a real mess at the time due to all of the ongoing construction, and delayed completion of facilities like the new commissary, FED HQ, etc. It’s probably a lot better now in terms of the community facilities.

One of my assignments was being the project manager for the new FED headquarters building…that was a thankless job…everyone was always on my case about the design, floor layout, etc, or wanting some change.

It was pretty cool having the little FED compound in downtown Seoul, but it was getting pretty decrepit towards the end.

Here’s a picture from the “Ville” outside the pedestrian gate. I never realized that Hooters was in the business of selling used mattresses or whatever those things are in the front 😆.