Job Discussion Forums

Sody · Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 55

Thanks everybody for all their informative posts. It sounds like a good school from what I have researched online. There is very little information about the school though, compared to the other schools like Aeon, ECC, Nova and Geos. A good thing perhaps?

In any case I found it interesting that I have never heard a single complaint about the company, just the actual job. An old friend who used to work for the company said it was essentially day care, but you gotta do some singing and dancing. Not sure about this but from what I hear, the two biggest drawbacks are being bored out of your mind due to a lack of intellectual stimulation and the commuting as Synne pointed out.

For the record I would be going over with a working Visa if accepted since I have a degree from Toronto. I still think it's kinda weird that you gotta pay UI though.

Would appreciate some feedback on a few more questions:

Does the company set up the hotel you stay at or do you have to pay for it yourself and are reinbursed later?

Do you ever feel lonely working for Peppy? I heard that you work alone at the school so if there are no other foreign teachers there, wouldn't it get kinda lonely just being around kids every day?

Do you have time to tutor on the side? I think out of all the eikawas (sp?) the schedule should allow for sufficient time to tutor a few hours a week?

Thanks!

Sody

undrmynd · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 28 Location: Japan

This has been a very informative post for me as well. I am hopeing to get a job with Peppy for April 2005. I am also very interested if we have to pay for health insurance through the school. I was already going to be paying for travellers health insurance in Canada for my stay in Japan. I do not want to be paying twice.
I am also curious as to when I should apply to Peppy? I leave for Japan on March 9th, 2005 and am hopeing to visit my brother until April. I wanted to start working in April sometime. A recruiter from Peppy is coming to my city in Feb. Is that too long to wait if I want to start work in April? I finish my TEFL course in Feb.
Sorry for using your post to add my questions. Thanks for all the info though.

utopianthreat · Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 12

I'm working for Peppy starting this month. I fly in from Toronto in about 10 days and I'm quite excited.

In all honesty, from the moment I applied for the job up until now (practically the eve of departure), the Human Resource department both in Japan and here in Canada (located in Vancouver) have been more than helpful in assisting me with questions that I've had. I don't feel as though they've sugar-coated any of their answers to put me at ease or anything, and I've not been dealt anything I wasn't prepared for.

In terms of the health insurance thing, I am under the impression that when I arrive in Japan with my receipt of insurance purchase, Peppy will reimburse me for half of what I paid. If this seems irregular, please let me know. But I'm a "better-safe-than-sorry" type of person and would rather have the insurance. Just in case.

Good luck! Should you be placed near Hyogo I might see you!

ellethecat · Joined: 11 Apr 2004 Posts: 75 Location: edmonton

I think everyone by law has to pay Ui premiums but the empolyers hides them in other deductions. As i understand it, peppy WAS not making these deductions and were in trouble, or non compliance with the law, until they just recently fixed it. They may have felt the need to put it in their contract, since they hadnt doen it before....
The hotel was all set up and paid for. Transportation was not, but reimbursed later.
I was reimbursed for thr insurance, but it comes later with your paycheck. So I didnt get the cash for 2 months...

ohahakehte · Joined: 25 Aug 2003 Posts: 128 Location: japan

Sody · Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 55

Undrmynd, I would apply as soon as possible. I have a job interview with Peppy for February as well but it depends on where you are in Canada. I know for a fact that Peppy is hiring for April because the HR person told me.

Utopianthreat, I totally agree with you. You never know what could happen, I think getting some kind of insurance is better than nothing. Good luck with the job!

Ellethecat, thanks again for the info.

Ohahakehte, thanks for posting that sincere reply. I appreciate it a lot. I heard the same thing about Corea from a friend who taught there. He said most of the classes in Corea involved teaching kids so his fellow co-workers were all women. There were almost no other teachers in his area so he said he was lonely. He stayed for the whole contract but he didn't like the experience. I think a lot of your social interaction will depend on your job so that's why I was asking. From what I gather most overseas English teachers are true introverts with a desire for a little adventure or change in their lives Very Happy

Sody

ohahakehte · Joined: 25 Aug 2003 Posts: 128 Location: japan

mwboyco · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Montreal

This thread has been helpful. After not getting a JET interview (damn it!), my girlfriend and I are looking around for other options. Peppy sounds as good (or better) as any. I'm more than a little concerned about the multitude of horror stories involving the other big ones (especially NOVA). I like the sounds of peppy, I'd like working with kids, and I like the idea of a shorter work day.

One further question that maybe someone with Peppy experience could help me with...What are the chances that my girlfriend and I would be able to live/work close or together. Peppy's website says it does have limited accomodation for couples. And does this mean married couples only? I think our biggest challenge in Japan will be finding a place to live together when we're not married.

We will both likely be getting TESL certification, and we both have degrees, so we can qualify for working visas. I'm hoping this will act in our favour when it comes to trying to get placement together.

So if anyone has any experience working w/ peppy w/ a significant other, or has any input, let me know. Also, I am in Vancouver and Peppy will be holding an info session here in Feb. I'll ask my questions there and if anyone has anything else they're curious about, I can raise it for you...

cheers!

jaul2 · Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 2

PKC biggest catch is the working hours, so I hear.

The average day is supposed to be around 6 hours; YET in their website it says that Working Visa holders are "contractually required to work up to 40 hours per week"... Question

are these low hour days just for people with Working Holiday Visa? Question

Is there anyone who knows about the teaching hours for people with regular Working Visas at PKC?

mwboyco · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Montreal

That's a good question. I too would qualify for a regular working visa as well and would like to know if such employees work a full 40 hours or not...

jaul2 · Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 2

I just came back from an interview with PKC and they pointed out that the contract says "UP TO" 40 hours.

They say that just in case you have to work them. However, the interviewer said she didn't know anyone who had worked 40 hours....

So, for those of you who were wondering... yep, the hours are still good (in theory at least). On the other hand, I was told that comutes are usually longer; they should make up a couple of hours of your day.

utopianthreat · Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 12

After a month and a half with the company, I can say that:

a) Yes, things are good. As has been previously noted, training is a bitch but helps you figure out the ropes with the transport system and that, which is in many ways more useful than the teacher training that they give!

b) Yes, things do get lonely. But I am getting on well with both the Japanese teachers who work for the company (all of whom are teachers of English, so they speak English very well) as well as the other native-speaking English teachers imported from Austrailia, Canada and the occasional American. I happen to be the only one in my group who isn't married, so I return home to my books for now. Gives me lots of time to study Japanese though!

Also, a lot of the Japanese nationals who teach for the company have been more than willing to do language exchanges, where you speak English for half the time and Japanese for the other half. A good oppourtunity to learn Japanese for use and a good oppourtunity for them to refine their accent and intonation. Also, a great social oppourtunity in general.

uT

ohahakehte · Joined: 25 Aug 2003 Posts: 128 Location: japan

mithridates · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 4

I remember working for them the first time I was in Japan in 1999. It was all right at first and I had four classrooms, two within biking distance of my apartment and the other two were still quite close by train. After a few months my performance got evaluated and the superior didn't like that I didn't talk about vegetables enough (since the unit was vegetables that month) and a month later I was offered a job at a high school so I quit.
Not bad...I didn't like some of the curriculum and back then I didn't know how to keep kids in line like I do now, but I'm still eternally grateful to them for getting me out of Canada and into asia (in Korea now).
Wink

glsco · Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:04 am Post subject:

Sody and undrmynd:

Both of you mentioned applying with Peppy to start in April. Did either of you get accepted? I am curious because I am also starting with Peppy Kids in April. Training starts April 1 in Nagoya.

As an aside, it works out very nicely because Expo is just outside of Nagoya and will be starting just before training does. I'm going early to check it out for a day or two before training (which has a reputation for being harsh) kicks in.