Job Discussion Forums

[dzolkind]

Hi all,

I was recently offered a position with NOVA. I also have an interview with AEON*Amity scheduled in two weeks. I can't decide whether I should just cancel it. Is there any reason to highly recommend AEON over NOVA, or should I just be happy with what I've got?

It doesn't seem like I will find out where in Japan I'll be living until 2 weeks before my departure. Is this common? I requested "a major city"-- are these requests generally honored?

Random question: I am allergic to shellfish and generally don't eat any fish at all. Can I survive in Japan??

Thanks for the help!

[Glenski]

Nobody can guarantee the results of an interview that you have not yet taken, so my advice would be to continue with both interviews. Besides, interviews are not just for the company to hire you; they are for you to learn something more about the company. So, look them both over and decide.

[yelley]

i was in the same situation except i was offered the postition with aeon*amity first.

i ended up going to my nova interview anyway, just to hear what they had to say about the company and to get some more interview experience. if it isn't a huge hassle for you to get to the aeon recruiting office, i recommend that you go to the aeon interview even if it is just for the experience.

i'm no expert on this at all, considering i don't start working for aeon until august, but there are a few differences between aeon and nova that you might want to consider before skipping out on the aeon interview...

-if you're applying for amity, then i'm assuming you like kids or would prefer to teach just kids... with nova you'll be teaching all age groups, not just children. if that matters to you. i really wanted to teach primarily children, so i opted for aeon*amity.

-nova gets you shared apartments... you might have more space, but you'll also have one or two roommates. aeon gets you an apartment of your own, but it will probably be smaller. i really like not having roommates, so that was another thing that made me choose aeon over nova.

-i guess nova doesn't tell you where you'll be going until a few weeks before you need to leave... which would trouble me somewhat. i like planning ahead for things. way ahead. ridiculously ahead sometimes. so i like that aeon was able to tell me where i'd be living and working right away.

i'm sure there are some other differences, but those are the ones that made my decision easier.

anyway, moral of the story is interview experience is never a bad idea and who knows, you might decide you like aeon*amity better. why not go find out?

[craven]

One important thing to consider is what kind of teaching you think you'd enjoy doing. With Aeon, you will have regular classes with the same students at the same time every week. With Nova, there is no set schedule, and students simply come to the timeslot you're teaching in. With Aeon, you teach fewer classes, but there is CONSIDERABLY more prep needed (especially for kids classes at Amity)...with Nova, you will need to do little if any prep.
Time off is another factor: Nova does not give you any national holidays off. Aeon gives you much more vacation time, BUT (and this is a HUGE but), you can ONLY take it during times when the school is on vacation, such as Golden Week or Obon. With Nova, you get fewer vacation days, but you are able to easily swap shifts with coworkers in order to take days off at will.
Hope that helps.

[PAULH]

(Recent post from Job Information Journal)


To all of those readers who work at AEON, I am tired of people who like AEON overall but have a few complaints. For those individuals who are thinking about working for AEON, are you sure you are up for it? I often read entries that talk about AEON and their experience. Most of the entries are okay, but most complain about some aspect of working at AEON. I can't believe that people have anything bad to say. For the most part, you do less than what is asked of you in your contract. If you look at your co-workers who earn less than you, but work ten times harder than you, can you really complain about anything?

For the most part there are just a few things that you should keep in mind about working for AEON.

1) It's a job to teach English and work for a Japanese company. If you want a vacation look elsewhere. If your main reason to come to Japan is because you want to study Akido or improve your Japanese, this is not the place to do it.
2) You're not a teacher. You are an Employee of a company.
3) It's a business, so the primary goal of the company is to make a profit. Therefore, you have to recommend/sell things.
4) Remember this position is an entry level position. Don't bring your titles, past experiences, etc with you.
5) It's a corporation. So, the teaching style is set. If you want to teach your own lesson, open your own school.
6) You are most likely going to work a Tuesday to Saturday Schedule and you are going to be busy from the moment you walk in until you leave.
7) The apartment is for only one person and the apartment is small. Sometimes it is old. Sometimes it is dirty. It is usually livable and bearable.
No matter the job, no matter the place, the environment and your happiness depends on you. What ever you think your situation is, that what it is. Do not tie your happiness to those around you. I have worked with unpleasant people at every job I have had. That did not stop me from being happy.

So, with that said, and if you are still interested in working for AEON, what does a typical day look like?

The workday usually starts at 10 am on Saturday or noon on weekdays. This is Japan, so you are expected to be at the school about 15 minutes before you start. The time you start means you are ready to go, not clocking in...Culture Gap. Now, I could go on and on about things that are different from here and your home country. But, isn't that why you are here and not there?

We usually start the day with morning meeting to go over the goals for the day, check each other schedules, and to go over what happened yesterday. They always talk about numbers that go over my head, but I try to understand the chaos. Usually it helps that my Head Teacher tells me that we need X amount of students to renew or walk through the door and sign up.

I have to teach 29 classes a week. The funny thing was I thought I was getting 4 hours of overtime a week and when it didn't show up on my pay check I was suprised. My Head Teacher told me that is why I was an English Teacher and not a math teacher. AEON teachers can work a maximum of 25 teaching hours before they get any overtime. Since all of my classes were 50 minutes and a few 40 minute privates, I never went over the threshold. Shucks. The remaining time was considered 'office hours/duties' or somthing like that. Anyway, in between classes, I have to check homework, give check tests, do interviews, and lobby talk. Actually, I enjoy lobby talk the most since it is the only opportunity to really get to know the students since the lesson structure is pretty rigid and does not allow for a lot of free talk outside of what we are learning for the day.

In the day time, I have to do a lot of prep to make the lessons at night go well. My Head teacher is always telling me to have my lessons prepared earlier since we want to share the materials with everyone else to be more efficient with our labor. I know that, but it is hard to get things done with the balancing of all that other stuff they want us to do. Anyway, the head office has some stuff that helps with the preparation, but the low stuff is totally different from the high stuff and you can tell different people made it. My only request would be for them to make the materials look alike and make more props for us? I'm busy here at the school. Help us out! But at the same time, I should just do it myself, right?

Then there is the Self Study Campaigns. These are times when students buy materials which help them improve in areas that each student is most vunerable in. The cost is so much more than that of a bookstore, but what most teachers fail to understand is that extra cost is for teachers to help students in the lobby and after class with those materials. That is why students have to pay that much. Also, when you compare the cost of the self study materials to the actual cost of a lesson, almost $60 U.S. for a fifty minute lesson, self study is pretty cheap over the long haul. Teachers who don't put all of what they can into their lessons are just cheating their students. Some students come twice a week, in a month, that is over $400 U.S. on language lessons. For those AEON teachers out there, would you pay $400 U.S. for your lessons? Your students do. Even if you don't like your manager, your head teacher, your co-workers, your apartment, your situation in Japan, think about your students. If you don't you are just selfish and a pretty low person in my book.

So, all in all, I have a great time in Japan with AEON. I used to work back in the States with people who were ten times more challenging than the people I work with now. Compared to them, this is a piece of cake. This is a job and I get learn about Japanese business and about teaching. So, if you are thinking about AEON, remember the things I said above and you should be all right. If you think it is not the right place for you, do both of us a favor...don't come. I'd hate for one of you to come to my school and mess things up.

Peace.

J.S.
January 23, 2005
[email protected]
Kanto, Japan


Posted: January 23, 2005

[whatthefunk]

The only people that I have ever met who enjoyed teaching for NOVA were totally brainwashed and dead inside. My NOVA friends hate the company. Thats all I know.

[craven]

Moral does seem to be low at Nova...golly shucks it's a good thing there are no brainwashed corporate stooges working for Aeon. Or posting on this thread:D Good grief PaulH lets not give people scary dreams at night!
Peace