Job Discussion Forums

jim_brava · Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Posts: 55

I think you are being too harsh Pitarou. You are not flaming/trolling, and arguing your points thoroughly. However, in my defense...

(1)Visas - I have met many people who started working here while their visa was in process, and were glad they didn't spend several weeks bleeding money while they waited for the formality of working permission.

This could have been regarded as wrong, and they "got away with it". However, the ratio of people who came out of this situation just fine would suggest I, without the benefit of hindsight, took a fair gamble but lost.

(2) Lick, and lightning "striking twice" - During that very difficult period, around the time I had this smaller problem with Lick, I was actually involved with several schools and employers. In many cases, I did some work for them while the visa was coming through.

In all-but-one of these cases, things worked out just fine, and I still work for most of these employers to this day. The exception was of course Lick; and thus I decided to post a warning on here.

Given the fact that I had almost zero money at the time (occasionally having to spend a night in McDonald's etc), I am very glad I did some work in the month before the visa came through - it allowed me to eat and sleep. My current financial situation would also have been significantly worse if I hadn't done so.

Japan is a bad country for "waiting" (be it for a job, visa etc.). Literally doing nothing costs 3000 Yen a day minimum (dorm, food). Start going to interviews, and things then further increase.

It's not Thailand, where you can stay in a 200 baht hostel, and "eat/live/drink like a Thai" for a few weeks, with negligible outgoings.

Pitarou · Joined: 16 Nov 2009 Posts: 1116 Location: Narita, Japan

fluffyhamster · Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:06 am Post subject:

@Sour Grape: Actually, I too have had transport paid in some jobs, but the pcm wage has always been correspondingly lower than the average by a good few man, as if to offset that travel reimbursement. Which is why I say that travel isn't really included (in any meaningful sense). That's not to say there aren't any decent employers out there who won't ever cover it, especially when it's beyond one's usual commute.

OneJoelFifty · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 463

My last employer said that travel was already included in the (low!) salary, which was bullshit. My current employer pays for my 50,000ish Yen 3-month train passes on top of the salary.