Job Discussion Forums

ranmawoman · Joined: 06 May 2004 Posts: 64 Location: San Francisco, CA

Has anyone heard anything about ECC? I've read a lot of positive and negative posts about AEON, NOVA and GEOS (very few negative things about JET), but I can't seem to find anything positive or negative on ECC.

Any input?

Timuli · Joined: 10 Jan 2004 Posts: 51 Location: Saitama

Being one of the bigger eikawas remember that it's first and foremost a business, with profit being the bottom line. That being said it does seem to get the least criticism compared to the other big names. Have a friend who has already worked there for about 6 years, and she is happy there.

bearcat · Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 367

ECC has one of the shortest hours contracts out there for the big schools. 29.5 hours a week (this will most likely increase if they keep cutting advertising, bonus, and award bonuses as they have in recent time).

You gotta like kids to teach at ECC as its the bread and butter. You should ave 3 kids classes a day and 3 adult classes. But there are many variations.

Your comfortability with ECC will be based almost 100% on the branches you are required to teach at. If the staff, students, etc are really nice/good then you are in for some easy cruising. If they are anal, then you're SOL.

First year rookies always get crud schedules but after that it usually improves alot because you go from the bottom rung to about half way up (as turnover of teachers every year is 30-40% for a region. Sometimes less but usually not more. Also you will most likely have non consecutive days off (say like a tuesday and sunday etc).

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Probably doesnt concern you but if you quit another company mid-contract, ECC will not hire you, nor will they re-hire you if you quit early and want to come back.

Haven't heard anything too bad about them. like anything it depends on the branch, managers and staff you work with. The rest is gravy.

Xerius · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Posts: 29

I work for ECC Chubu (Nagoya). It's really not a bad job at all. Yes, it is a corporation, so inevitably they are pretty focused on the bottom line. Still, I hardly feel strangled by company regulations and/or propaganda. The hours are definitely lighter than the other eikaiwas and the paperwork is minimal. As mentioned above, the schools you work at can make a huge difference; if you have problems with the director or staff members (or even other teachers) you work with, it's not as cozy. Fortunately, I've managed to get in with some good ones.

Teaching kids is a big part, but not everything. Most teachers have around 6 kids classes a week, some less. It is possible to have as many as 15 though, plus additional once-a-month visits in other, higher level classes. This year I have 8 regular ones, with 6 extra visits once a month. It's really not bad at all. I had reservations about teaching kids initially, but they actually can be the most enjoyable at times. Adult regular classes aren't quite as common as kids classes; they're usually quite enjoyable and interesting, but if you have a bad mix of students they can be a drag. My one upper levels class this year is a fantastic group though - a true joy to teach.

The rest of the shift mostly consists of free time lessons. These can be hit and miss. The material is heavily book-based, so you have to find ways to keep it more interesting (it gets bloody redundant if you follow the same format over and over). The students make or break the lessons, but even if the mix is bad, there are always ways to get them talking.

It's difficult to come by consecutive days off as a new hire. A lot of employees avoid Mondays (as that's when the bulk of public holidays land), so sometimes those are possible. But forget about getting Saturdays until you've been with the company for three or four years. I wouldn't say the turnover rate is 30-40%, at least not in Chubu. Maybe more like 15-25%. That may change though - this year the pay raises were ridiculously low and corporate cut the long-running bonuses in order to keep down costs. They're trying to go public, so they're cutting corners where they can more and more.

All in all, it's not a bad place to start though. Perhaps 10 years ago it was a good place to stay for a long time, but that's not really the case now. Even so, there are definitely worse jobs out there.

ranmawoman · Joined: 06 May 2004 Posts: 64 Location: San Francisco, CA

Hey Xerius,

What do you mean by this? Can you elaborate?

All in all, it's not a bad place to start though. Perhaps 10 years ago it was a good place to stay for a long time, but that's not really the case now. Even so, there are definitely worse jobs out there.

Xerius · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Posts: 29

The contracts were better ten years ago. The few teachers still around from those days work somewhere around 20 hours a week, and started that way on the same pay as the current contract (252k). Not only that, but the incremental, annual pay raises were higher, so they got to the top income bracket faster. With the pay raises as low as they are now, it would take a long time to cap off with ECC. The bonuses from yesteryear are also now gone - a third reason why the "old ECC" was a better place to work at. Quite a few veterans left this year after the bonuses were dropped. Can't blame 'em, really. But, like I said, it's a good place to start. If you want to be making really solid earnings and are interested in career advancement though, you'd probably be better off switching to another company down the line.