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Japan today. Is it worth it?
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timothypfox



Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 492

PostPosted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 4:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've read about people tacking together 3 part-time university jobs, and then having to reapply for those jobs after a 3 or 4 year contract expires. It has always sounded like hustling and difficult to turn into full time work.

That is why I opted to work at a private (as opposed to public) junior high and high school. I could buy a house and start a family. This though, was not an easy job to find as I was hired based on having lived in Japan before, having public school teacher's experience in my own country, and a Master's degree. The downside is not very many holidays.
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kzjohn



Joined: 30 Apr 2014
Posts: 277

PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know at least a few people who do this, and they seem to like/accept/enjoy it.

Ten classes a week makes for a decent salary, and there are pluses like no faculty meetings, no committee meetings/duties, no need to be around for graduation and entrance ceremonies, no writing syllabi, and sometimes no need to make final exams (I did the exams for a few large courses staffed by me and 6-7 part timers, only a couple of them would even have to proctor).

Also, when your grades are done, you're free to do whatever until classes begin the next term, no permission required. OTOH I was expected to be on campus between ~Aug 8th and ~Sept 30th, and ~Feb 15th to ~Apr 8th. They also have a slightly longer new year's break, since classes end sooner and restart later than the official days off.
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki

PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I would rather make more money, so full time is better if the salary is decent. Plus the commutes can be tiring.
In April I will work in Chiba, Tokyo, and Yokohama.

But it is a chance to learn, and it does make my resume better.
Each university seems to have a different emphasis so I can learn more about CALL, assessment, syllabi, project-based teaching, etc.
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currentaffairs



Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828

PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In all my part-time uni jobs I had rolling one-year contracts. No hassle. Yes, sometimes the class load went up or down but overall I had the opportunity to make more money almost every year as I got offered more work and other job offers came along.
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki

PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Things are changing and one university cut my hours so I had to scramble to look for work. This could happen more in the future, although schools seem to prefer part-timers to full-timers.
Some universities are limiting teachers to 5 years.
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Black_Beer_Man



Joined: 26 Mar 2013
Posts: 453
Location: Yokohama

PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I love the question of this thread because I ask myself the same question everyday. But, I don't know the answer myself.

Teaching in Japan is a rich cultural experience and living here is comfortable because it's safe and everything's reliable and efficient. I'm sure I'll miss this country after I leave it.

On the other hand, for most language teachers in Japan, it's an economic struggle. Salaries have actually gone down over the past 20 years while taxes, health care insurance and train fares have gone up.

It used to be customary for employers to pay your train and bus fares to your workplace, but recently some companies have stopped paying (one of my employers, a language school, doesn't pay for this - even for full-time teachers).


How many of you have decided to leave Japan (or are thinking of leaving) due to your struggling to make ends meet?

Meanwhile, I see Japanese people doing quite well for themselves driving hybrid cars everywhere. I guess they're not language teachers.
Laughing
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Sudz



Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 438

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Depends on a lot of factors I guess (your job, the amount of time you plan to stay, your interest in the country itself etc.) Personally, I would have likely been gone by now if I were still teaching at eikaiwas/ALT dispatch companies (the latter I had a fun year with, but there was zero incentive to stick around).
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki

PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 1:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am ready to go but need a job in the USA first.
I would rather work at a private school since public schools don't pay well.
My wife works here so in the US I would need a job, since it could take my wife some time to find one, and to be allowed to work.
For now with both of us working we are getting by but I am not saving money.
If I can make more money, that would help.
I think we will leave within the next four years.

Another issue is the longer you stay here the harder it can be to find work in your own country.
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timothypfox



Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 492

PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mitsui said,
Quote:
I am ready to go but need a job in the USA first.
I would rather work at a private school since public schools don't pay well.


Do you mean work the US? And you mean universities, don't you? I ask these questions because working at a public school (K-12) in the US, if you go to a major city such as NYC, can pay as much as a full-time university professor. Private (K-12) schools in the US generally pay poorly.

If you mean work in Japan (I assume this is what you meant, but just wanted to clear this up for our colleagues on this site! Laughing ), are you talking about part-time or full-time positions at private vs. public universities? [/quote]
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The Transformer



Joined: 03 Mar 2017
Posts: 69

PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wages in the "big" eikaiwa and ALT have definitely fallen and the pay bands have compressed, so it's a lot less attractive option than it used to be. Back in the day, Nova instructors could start off on 280k with all the allowances you used to get, and be easily earning 300k+ after a couple of years. These days, the pay starts off around 250k a month across the board and peaks at around 260k for a regular instructor. It's still probably worth it if you just want to have a period of living and working abroad, see the sights, then go home and get a proper job.

If you want to stay longer term, you need to think about where your career is going. You want to look at getting a promotion, getting better qualified, or setting up your own school. Just dawdling along in eikaiwa and ALT instructor jobs at one of the big chain schools, the way a lot of people used to do because it was "easy money", is going to leave you with fewer and fewer career options, probably not expand your bank balance much (unless you do a lot of work, take on another job etc,), and will leave you more and more stuck down a dead end in an increasingly difficult and unpleasant situation that will only get harder to get out of the longer you're in it (I've seen people who've ended up like this, going more and more weird and crazy, drinking more and more, and it's not a good place to be).

I think the best way of "doing" Japan, or any foreign country, is to get into the career that you most want to do in your home country first, then once you've built up some experience, and got some language skills under your belt, look for a job in that field in Japan or your chosen country. If you really want to be a teacher, there are much better options than the large eikaiwa chains or ALT dispatch companies, which are by and large money rackets just looking to fleece their customers and treat their staff like dog dirt. There are better schools knocking around, usually smaller and more localized, but they don't become so apparent or available to you until you've been in the country for at least a year or two, got a bit of experience, and have a longer term commitment to Japan.
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki

PostPosted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 1:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The US. It depends on the state. Not all states pay well. My wife does not want to work on the East Coast.
Arizona and other states don't pay well.
I was thinking of the West Coast or Hawaii.
I would like a state like Virginia, where previous teaching is given credit and means more pay.

For private schools it depends. There are 50 states and some schools pay well.

But for now I am thinking just to go back to full-time work since my wife is working here in Japan.
I don't want to work on Saturday mornings but I want to make more money and take a vacation in California.
I find part-time teaching tough since it is hard to get enough hours. Work in Chiba, Tokyo and Yokohama means more time on trains.
It really is a gig economy now for many teachers.
Teachers need to live in a central part of Tokyo so it is easy for them to get to Saitama, Chiba, west Tokyo and higashi Kanagawa in order to have enough work.
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weigookin74



Joined: 30 Mar 2010
Posts: 265

PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 6:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Black_Beer_Man wrote:
I love the question of this thread because I ask myself the same question everyday. But, I don't know the answer myself.

Teaching in Japan is a rich cultural experience and living here is comfortable because it's safe and everything's reliable and efficient. I'm sure I'll miss this country after I leave it.

On the other hand, for most language teachers in Japan, it's an economic struggle. Salaries have actually gone down over the past 20 years while taxes, health care insurance and train fares have gone up.

It used to be customary for employers to pay your train and bus fares to your workplace, but recently some companies have stopped paying (one of my employers, a language school, doesn't pay for this - even for full-time teachers).


How many of you have decided to leave Japan (or are thinking of leaving) due to your struggling to make ends meet?

Meanwhile, I see Japanese people doing quite well for themselves driving hybrid cars everywhere. I guess they're not language teachers.
Laughing


I remember when I was young about 20 years ago, Japan's GDP being about 5 trillion US and the US was just over 8 trillion. Per capita, it was a very rich country. But, today, Japan's GDP is the same and the US is around 20 trillion. Japan has lost a lot of ground and most people in Japan are quite poor and just getting by.
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Yanklonigan



Joined: 23 Jan 2017
Posts: 36

PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Going to Japan for a gap year would still be worthwhile for any young person. You'd have to play it by ear and see if you have a realistic opportunity at career advancement before making a decision that you wanted to make a career out of teaching in Japan. It might be wise for a person to give it a reasonable time limit before moving on. Don't wait too long before throwing in the towel.

Some of our fellow posters offer wise counsel for English teachers to further their training-education, publishing, attending conventions, networking and building up solid teaching credentials: all very sound advice. However, personality, appearances, age,, socializing with the bosses and being in the right place at the right time may be equally important.

Calculate what you think your percentages will be in becoming successful in Japan. Rarely does anybody defeat the house.
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The Transformer



Joined: 03 Mar 2017
Posts: 69

PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 4:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

People need to realize that the large eikaiwa and ALT dispatch companies have nothing to do with teaching. That's a facade to cover the real purpose of these companies: to make as much money as possible by a) fleecing as much cash off their customers as they can, using whatever deceitful tactics they have to in order to achieve that; and b) keep their wages, overheads and conditions as low as possible.

The main part of the job is to not do anything that puts customers off signing up for more lessons. As long as you turn up on time, dress smart, smile a lot, spit something out of your mouth that vaguely resembles English, and get the "students" to spit something out of their mouths that vaguely resembles English, success is waiting. Teaching doesn't even come into it.

Eikaiwa and ALT dispatch are not "schools", they're money rackets for organized criminal cartels. Stay as far away from them as you possibly can.
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki

PostPosted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 1:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I applied to be a part-time ALT in Tokyo but was not selected.
I am certified to teach in the USA, but that is not good enough for them.
That is very telling. They probably just want someone who is young.
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