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croyfish
Joined: 02 Jun 2016
Posts: 10
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 Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
The question for you is how valuable is your Thai research to educators in Japan. |
Makes sense. I had looked at it before, but I'll probably try for something like a TESOL journal first.
A sort of unrelated question--would it be possible to survive anywhere in Japan on 100k a month, living like a monk, considering that Westgate takes housing and utilities out of your contract and travel is covered? That's what I'd be left over with after sending money home and having the rest deducted. Or would I have to go into savings?
Thing is, I'll have a window of unemployment from April through July if I leave my school to start at a Thai university next year, and a 3 month or so placement in that time still makes the most sense, just to dip my feet into teaching in Japan, learn a little more of the language, and have something to put on the resume. Anyway, it would mean no broken contracts, toes stepped on, or bridges burned. |
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Lamarr
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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Some of what's been written on this thread is absolute, utter garbage.
I know someone working at Kanda Gaigo Uni. I'm not trying to talk them up or anything, but he's been working there a few years, started off on Y5m a year, so he'll now be earning more than that (I think pay increases by about Y100k per year, IIRC). They get very good holidays, at least 6-7 weeks in the summer and winter, twice-yearly bonuses, and have little work to do after the winter holidays until the new academic year starts in April.
That said, he wasn't impressed with the way things are set up there. He said they don't have much in the way of materials or a curriculum. I was thinking of going into uni teaching (though I've since changed my mind) and asked him about the age thing. He said the majority of new hires are probably in their twenties, some (like him) in their thirties, and even a few older than that. He said they hired one guy who was in the 45-50 range.
I think that with contracted work, the age generally doesn't matter, as long as you're not due to retire before the contract ends. Eikaiwa regularly hire older people. The reason the majority are in their twenties is because a lot of the applicants are that age!
Be careful believing what people tell you on this site. Some of it is wildly speculative, based on very general impressions and assumptions, maybe from people who are p!ssed off with Japan and want to put people off the place, so they don't have to potentially suffer the indignity of seeing other people having a better time of it than they have. |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Lamarr wrote: |
I know someone working at Kanda Gaigo Uni. |
Golly, so do I. More than one. By the way, here is a list of all full-time faculty--with their highest degree--currently employed at Kanda Gaigo:
http://www.kandagaigo.ac.jp/kuis/about/announcement/pdf/degree_2016.pdf
Per that list, all the permanent foreign faculty at Kanda Gaigo have PhDs (not to mention multiple published books, numerous--sometimes hundreds of--articles, presentations, etc.) All full-time contract faculty have at least an MA (several have PhDs). I've been Googling the issuing universities for these degrees. As far as I can tell, the only English native speaker on staff currently with a graduate degree from a non-English speaking country is Dr. Tim Murphey--who I know personally--who completed a PhD program conducted in French. I.e., his L2 ability was sufficient to keep up with graduate-level coursework aimed at native speakers in that language. (He also has nearly one hundred major publications, including multiple books.)
Yeah, you really proved me wrong.
| Lamarr wrote: |
That said, he wasn't impressed with the way things are set up there. He said they don't have much in the way of materials or a curriculum. |
 They don't have much in the way of materials or a curriculum at Kanda Gaigo, home of one of the premier English programs in Japan? That will be news to the faculty there. By the way, what does your "friend" think of the monthly meetings to discuss materials and curriculum?
| Lamarr wrote: |
I was thinking of going into uni teaching (though I've since changed my mind) |
| Lamarr wrote: |
and asked him about the age thing. He said the majority of new hires are probably in their twenties, some (like him) in their thirties, and even a few older than that. He said they hired one guy who was in the 45-50 range. |
Which exactly reinforces what others have been saying....
| Lamarr wrote: |
The reason the majority are in their twenties is because a lot of the applicants are that age! |
And you know this how?
| Lamarr wrote: |
Be careful believing what people tell you on this site. Some of it is wildly speculative, based on very general impressions and assumptions, |
And posted by people who apparently have never worked at a Japanese university!
| Lamarr wrote: |
maybe from people who are p!ssed off with Japan and want to put people off the place, so they don't have to potentially suffer the indignity of seeing other people having a better time of it than they have. |
Yeah, that's it, I'm terrified the OP is going to get a better job than me. You found me out!
To the OP, as you apparently have job security back in Thailand, it sounds like there's really no risk to taking a job at Westgate (assuming you get hired). So, go for it, and good luck to you!  |
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Lamarr
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:05 pm Post subject: |
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Oh my, I've hit a raw nerve here....
Sorry that you took my comments so personally. They weren't actually aimed at you, though given your reaction... |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:45 am Post subject: |
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Taikibansei says of Kanda Gaigo staff -
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| Golly, so do I. More than one. |
I recgnize some friends and colleagues on that list, many with decades of teaching experience in Japan and abroad. They're not all young.
I also know some graduates of the programs there who are testament to the high quality of the instruction, and the commitment of the students. |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 3:05 am Post subject: |
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| TokyoLiz wrote: |
Taikibansei says of Kanda Gaigo staff -
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| Golly, so do I. More than one. |
I recgnize some friends and colleagues on that list, many with decades of teaching experience in Japan and abroad. They're not all young.
I also know some graduates of the programs there who are testament to the high quality of the instruction, and the commitment of the students. |
Just to make sure there is no confusion, I am NOT employed at Kanda Gaigo.  Like TokyoLiz (and most likely unlike Lamarr), I know people there. It's by most accounts a good place--both for students and for faculty.
One final point about the "hiring young" phenomenon. It exists, and links like this suggest why:
http://careergarden.jp/daigakukyoujyu/salary/
That link contains the national salary averages for university faculty. As it suggests, people over 50 with the rank of "kyouju" often earn over 10 million yen per year. On the other hand, a "koushi" under 30 would be lucky to get 5 million yen per year. In this time of shrinking budgets, well, you can do the math, I'm sure.  |
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Lamarr
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:59 am Post subject: |
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I do "know people" there actually. You really do yourself no favours making stuff up like that. I'll put your overreaction down to not being entirely confident in the information you're giving out, and a certain degree of internet paranoia.
If you read what I said about it, from what my friend told me, I don't think it comes across as a bad place to work, and would recommend it to anyone with the right qualifications as a way into Japan, though they do like it if you've got previous experience, particularly in Japan.
He had reservations about it, as I've explained. I'm sure most people have reservations about their jobs and companies. You'd be stupid not to. |
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moviefan1987
Joined: 23 Nov 2015
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:34 am Post subject: |
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This is an interesting thread. Flame wars aside, it's good to have some active discussion on this board about TEFL work conditions in Japan.
It's been mentioned many times on here that stringing together PT University work at many different universities can be a decent payout. My understanding is that PT uni work is paid for 12 months, even when you're not in class, and that the pay for private vs. public universities can vary sometimes dramatically.
So this is my question: how many classes would one have to teach a week / month on average to reach a salary of 4 million yen a year? I use the 4 million yen a year figure because its specific to my situation of what I earn right now hustling at my day job as a direct hire ALT and filling up my evenings doing business English classes. It's a specific figure, but I am sure there are other people here that would be interested in knowing the skinny on PT university work as well. |
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Lamarr
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:52 am Post subject: |
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| taikibansei wrote: |
http://www.kandagaigo.ac.jp/kuis/about/announcement/pdf/degree_2016.pdf
Per that list, all the permanent foreign faculty at Kanda Gaigo have PhDs (not to mention multiple published books, numerous--sometimes hundreds of--articles, presentations, etc.) All full-time contract faculty have at least an MA (several have PhDs). I've been Googling the issuing universities for these degrees. |
So you just looked the uni website up now, skimmed through the faculty list and Googled a bunch of the unis that their lecturers did their degrees. You're obviously the expert on it.
| taikibansei wrote: |
| Lamarr wrote: |
That said, he wasn't impressed with the way things are set up there. He said they don't have much in the way of materials or a curriculum. |
They don't have much in the way of materials or a curriculum at Kanda Gaigo, home of one of the premier English programs in Japan? That will be news to the faculty there. By the way, what does your "friend" think of the monthly meetings to discuss materials and curriculum? |
He told me this about two or three years ago, so things may have changed. He did say at the time that they were looking for some sort of materials or curriculum developer, so maybe things have improved in that regard. When he arrived there, he said they were basically just left to make things up as they went along, make their own materials off the net or whatever. There was nothing in terms of a proper curriculum.
Again, you damage your credibility even further making these sorts of accusations and insults. Keep going.
| taikibansei wrote: |
| Lamarr wrote: |
I was thinking of going into uni teaching (though I've since changed my mind) |
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Why is that funny? Do you make a habit of laughing at other people's career choices? Is that because you're kind of like the God of university teaching and look down on everyone else?
| taikibansei wrote: |
| Lamarr wrote: |
The reason the majority are in their twenties is because a lot of the applicants are that age! |
And you know this how? |
Because I asked him about it.
| taikibansei wrote: |
| Lamarr wrote: |
Be careful believing what people tell you on this site. Some of it is wildly speculative, based on very general impressions and assumptions, |
And posted by people who apparently have never worked at a Japanese university! |
I never claimed to have done. The reason I made my comment was that someone else had made a comment about this university, and I felt the need to correct them, as the said poster has said some other ridiculous things on here (notice I've avoided naming them directly, so as to try to avoid offending anyone, though that was obviously beyond your intelligence to comprehend). I've said on this forum before that you should never simply believe what other people tell you on here, and I include myself in that. Everyone has a different impression of things. What's good for one person may be bad for another.
I couldn't be bothered reading all your crap yesterday, but now that I have, what a performance from you. The amount of stupid comments you've come out with would make anyone wonder whether you really are a university teacher or not. Perhaps, as some people claim, uni teaching in Japan really is for dunces.
Last edited by Lamarr on Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:09 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Inflames
Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 486
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:55 am Post subject: |
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| taikibansei wrote: |
| As far as I can tell, the only English native speaker on staff currently with a graduate degree from a non-English speaking country is Dr. Tim Murphey--who I know personally--who completed a PhD program conducted in French. I.e., his L2 ability was sufficient to keep up with graduate-level coursework aimed at native speakers in that language.) |
This is a bit off-topic, but while it is rare for foreign faculty teaching English to have a degree from a non-English speaking country, lots of tenured foreigners have degrees from universities in Japan. The difference is that they don't teach languages.
As for making 4 million yen a year from just universities - figure about 12 or 13 classes a week (for an average private university). The course load for full-time teachers varies but 10 classes a week would be high (even for language teachers, who seem to have higher than average class loads).
Honestly, if someone wants to be in Japan for the long-term, they are much better off getting their Japanese up to N1 and finding a non-teaching job. |
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currentaffairs
Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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Private universities pay 12 months but public universities only pay for the classes that you teach. Overall, even though public universities pay more per class you would earn more at private universities for the year.
Several US universities have satellite campuses in Tokyo and run popular MA in TESOL courses like Temple and Columbia. I know a few western full-timers who studied on those programs.. |
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Lamarr
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Inflames wrote: |
As for making 4 million yen a year from just universities - figure about 12 or 13 classes a week (for an average private university). The course load for full-time teachers varies but 10 classes a week would be high (even for language teachers, who seem to have higher than average class loads).
Honestly, if someone wants to be in Japan for the long-term, they are much better off getting their Japanese up to N1 and finding a non-teaching job. |
IIRC, they work two-hour lectures, twice a day at Kanda. They also have a thing called the Self Access Learning Center where they have to be available (one afternoon a week I think) doing English conversation and advising students.
Y5m a year is a good wage for starting off on. I've seen some other unis advertise full-time posts for less.
I'd agree you're probably better off getting your Japanese up and finding a non-teaching job. Unless you were really committed to going the whole way to getting a PhD and an academic career.
(Disclaimer: don't anyone take this as read, particularly as my new little lover boy above will no doubt pounce on every aspect of this post and tear it to pieces with his vastly superior knowledge of the university teaching scene in Japan.) |
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twowheel
Joined: 03 Jul 2015
Posts: 753
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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mitsui and kzjohn,
Many thanks for your insights and answers.
twowheel |
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moviefan1987
Joined: 23 Nov 2015
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
As for making 4 million yen a year from just universities - figure about 12 or 13 classes a week (for an average private university). The course load for full-time teachers varies but 10 classes a week would be high (even for language teachers, who seem to have higher than average class loads).
Honestly, if someone wants to be in Japan for the long-term, they are much better off getting their Japanese up to N1 and finding a non-teaching job. |
This is the dilemma I face. I am sure others are in the same boat. 13 university classes a week is a lot of hustling to make 4 million yen a year, especially since few universities will give you more than 1 or 2 classes to start off with. I know working in a non-teaching job is the holy grail for some people here in Japan, but I have gaijin friends here that work at Japanese companies (they were hired like Japanese hires, not as expats) and they generally get worked like slaves with 10-12 hour work days for low pay. One of my gaijin friends at a Japanese company in his third year there is only making 3.6 million yen a year with bonuses. He has job stability, yes, and he can move up the corporate ladder if he doesn't mind being an office drone forever. It's not a lifestyle I would like, but different strokes I guess.
As for me, I have an MA TESOL and N1, but I have no publications, so it feels like university work is a difficult step to reach for someone like me or the OP without the right networking. I know private high schools can be a good deal, though, so that may be a good option for the OP. |
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Lamarr
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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3.6m-yen plus bonuses would probably be 4.2m-yen a year I guess. That's not a bad wage to be going on with if he has chances of promotion. I see translation jobs for example that advertise the same wage as an entry-level eikaiwa job, about Y3m a year. Japanese office drones and reception staff earn less than that even.
I think it's a mistake to purely focus on the money when looking for jobs. Focus on what it is that interests you the most, what you're most naturally inclined towards doing, regardless of money, and take it from there. Chances are that you will have a more stable, focused career that way, even if the rewards aren't as high as some other fields. Money isn't everything. |
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