Job Discussion Forums

[nightsintodreams]

I pay individual health and pension, if you don't pay it they will take it out of your final salary before you leave the company. You will get a one year excemption from paying pension though. In some areas Interac were taken to court for not paying shakai hoken and they lost, subsequently they lost their contracts in those areas also. Because of this they now pay shakai hoken in Osaka, hyogo, Kyoto and maybe a couple other areas. Countrywide however most of their ALTs do not get it.

[kah5217]

Do you think that will take a huge chunk out of my start up money? I have the full 50 man that they want me to bring. I'll be with the Tokyo branch so I have no idea what they're doing.

[nightsintodreams]

No, I think you'll be fine, but as you'll be living in Tokyo I imagine you'll have to budget a bit more carefully. If it's your first year in japan then you need not pay pension or city tax. The pension is an exemption, the city tax on the other hand you must pay the following year or before you leave Japan. Also, the health insurence will be an extremly low rate for your first year in Japan. When you tell interac you are leaving they may take any unpaid taxes out of your next pay check/s. As I mentioned earlier though, interac pays fairly well in my opinion, you'll be fine. If you get a part time job or some privates you'll have plenty of money to save, travel, go out etc. Without the part time job you'll still be fine but you may have to make a choice between travelling abroad, saving or going out all the time. In my first year with interac I only had the one job but still managed to save a few thousand dollars, go abroad twice to neighbouring Asian countries and go out sometimes, but I did budget very well.

[kah5217]

I'm actually going to be in Ibaraki, so that will cut down expenses somewhat. Weird though that my branch is Tokyo when there's an office right in Mito...

[judoka]

Low pay. It is about 230,000, at least in my area, but 3 months of the year you will make less than that. December, March, and August I believe.

Not much help.

[nightsintodreams]

Out of interest, what branch are you at? I've heard from some people that how well you're treated can depend on the branch you work for. I've never had any problems with Yokohama or Hamamatsu. But I do know some people who worked for the Osaka branch and one of the branches in Kyushu. Their experience wasn't as positive as mine.

[Nagoyaguy]

I am a former Altia employee, last worked for them, what is it, about 6 or 8 years ago. They were decent and helpful, no BS.

I WAS surprised to read about their salary situation. That is, reduced salary in certain months. If you go to their homepage, it says;

[steki47]

[JRJohn]

I recognise that Interac can work well. I met an ALT in Niigata who said that his elementary school had cured his depression! It's possible to see an interesting side of Japan through Interac.
But there ARE ALSO ISSUES; or at least there were in 2007, when I was there. I went to an important high school in a small town. There were 2 other ALT's but things were tense rather than friendly. A lot of the time it was about spending all my time with just a very few people. Things were very tense. The working day was 8 till 5 or longer and not 8 till 4 as you mentioned. Things got heavy and tense, and the BoE said I should leave. The school held a goodbye party for me because they had grown to like me.
I suppose poor staff retention is an issue at interac, because many people left quickly. The 50% pay in summer is an issue too. Key money is also an issue in Japan generally-I call it a scam-and it can ruin your savings. Of course people pretend that it's a privilege work in Japan even on minimum wage-that's a lie!
I have to say though, that at Interac there were sweet moments, the orientation, some teachers, some wonderful classes, trips to a teacher's house, cherry blossom, Golden Week, etc. The magic of Japan had started for me and was a keynote of my time in the country. The real magic would begin if there was no key money and even teachers in Tokyo could save. .

[aya1412]

From what I've heard, working for a small, private Eikaiwa seems to be better than working for a large ALT chain as far as working conditions and general enjoyment goes. It's all kind of a toss up, but all the people I've talked to that work for an ALT dispatch company or big Eikaiwa chain have a lot of complaints and horror stories. The people I know who work for small Eikaiwa are all happy with their jobs, myself included. I know that this isn't true in all cases, but it's true for a lot of the foreigners I talk to.

You're right that people mostly only talk about their bad working experiences on the internet. So here's an example of a good one:

After researching about working in Japan I was ready for a pretty bad first year. But I ended up loving my job. And although I didn't even like children when I signed up, the kids have really grown on me (save for a few badly behaved ones, that is). I will be starting my third year at a children's Eikaiwa in Mie-ken, which is a really boring prefecture but centrally located and much cheaper than Tokyo. My youngest student is nine months old, and the oldest is eleven. The majority are between two and five.

Because the Eikaiwa is privately owned and small, there is no corporate bullshit or office politics to deal with. To give you a sense of how small the school is, for my first year there were only two teachers: me, and a part-time teacher. But my boss ended up being very nice (his wife is very nice too), lets me know my work is appreciated, is not a pervert, always pays me on time, and was very helpful about general living things. For example, he helped me set get a phone, and when I moved apartments last year he went with me to sign the contract and brought his car to help me move. His wife came in to help explain my taxes.

That's not to say that there aren't small problems or things that annoy me. But I enjoy working for this Eikaiwa enough that I haven't even looked for a job in Tokyo even though I dislike Mie-ken and want to live closer to my grandmother.

[nightsintodreams]

Yes, judging from the experiences my friends have had, I'd agree with what Aya has written above. In general people seem to be well paid and made to feel valued t smaller eikaiwa.

You will not feel like a valued employee at dispatch companies or big Eikaiwa. What I will say though, is that when it comes to learning Japanese language and culture, an eikaiwa of any kind cannot compare to working in a Japanese public school, and how valued you're made to feel by the Japanese teachers and staff is largely up to how hard you're willing to work.

[ssjup81]

I work for a small Eikaiwa. I'm the only teacher. I'm glad the job is ending for me soon (this Friday). I'll miss the students immensely, but not the job particularly. My experience was a somewhat negative one because of the school's set up, so it was a bad fit for me.

I do agree with what Aya said, but I guess it's truly an ESID situation.

I got a new job, though. Bigger chain, well-known in the Tohoku area and I'm glad for it, as I've aspired to work there for nearly five years now. I feel that this will be a very positive experience. At least I pray that it will be. ^^

[kenishi86]

[marley'sghost]