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Spinoza
Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 194
Location: Saudi Arabia
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 Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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Last edited by Spinoza on Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:12 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2005 12:47 am Post subject: |
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| Spinoza wrote: |
Well there's certainly nothing wrong with my conversion. There are 200 yen to the GBP, almost exactly.
Fascinating stuff, Gordon. It's probably the 5th or 6th time I've read you bring your materially-lavish lifestyle in to a discussion. Didn't your parents teach you that it's rather vulgar to boast about money? And why the blinking toileting flip do you refer to yourself as a "university professor" in your profile when you're evidently in the middle of a Masters? I do wish North Americans wouldn't do that. Smashing also how you know of few people in Japan who earn 500k a month - that's only two and a half grand in GBP. That's not an outrageously high salary, actually (my mother earns that as a public sector secondary school teacher) - particularly in a country where the cost of living is high. Granted, Japan's income tax rate is wildly less than than the UK, but even that isn't very significant given the higher cost of living. If you're trying to tell me it's possible to save a worthwhile sum in the likes of Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo etc on miserable 250k a month (rent also having to be deducted) then you're obviously completely barmy. Japan is a wealthy country where the average salary is not considerably less than 500k a month. I'm quite sure there are plenty of people who earn 500k a month and more quite irrespective of whether you know of them or not.
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Spinoza, how much time have you spent in Japan? You talk like you have lived here for years. Your mommy's income has no bearing what salaries are like in Japan. Your comments about income levels in Japan show you don't know what you are talking about. Perhaps that is why I don't tell people what incomes are in the UK. The fact I give my salary range is because it is related to the topic on hand.
About my profile, I only go by what my university business card says that they gave me and the fact it says "professor" on my work visa. This is not my opinion, it is a fact. So I am sorry about that, would you prefer I lie about my occupation? |
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Rice Paddy Daddy
Joined: 11 Jul 2004
Posts: 425
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sat May 07, 2005 7:44 pm Post subject: |
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Do you come across the same way to your teachers at USQ, Gordon?
Do you tell your USQ profs/lecturers and fellow classmates that you're a "Professor?"
You're silly. |
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Doglover
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 305
Location: Kansai
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| Posted: Sat May 07, 2005 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="Spinoza"]
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CFirstly, I've never worked in either, so take my opinion as less authoritative than people who have worked there, obviously.
Nonetheless, my observation is that common sense appears to suggest strongly that it is jolly, jolly difficult to save money in Japan unless you are paid 500k Yen per month or more. 250-270k is what a young office girl with just high school qualifications living with parents earns. When people say Japan is expensive, they mean it. Even with the low taxes, those wages paid by the schools (which have barely risen since 1985) are low, very low, relative to the cost of living. Y |
As someone who lives in japan I can tell what the cost of things are here. I also support two children in japan and work at a university.
Spinoza is way off the mark about incomes.
A 250K salary is an entry level salary here and wages are going down in the EFL industry. A person coming here to teach English can cover his costs and save about 50-60,000 yen a month if they are careful, thats about 200-300 pounds after expenses are taken out.
A teacher on the JET program paid by the government gets about 300,000 yen a month and after expenses makes a little more than a language teacher at a big conversation school. Health insurance is quite a big expense, at 10% of ones salary.
A young girl out of high school would not be making 270,000 yen a month but more like 180,000 and working long hours. At NOVA the office staff make that and work 10-12 hour days. A higher salary would mean they are making more than the teachers, who have university degrees. Add in the fact an office girl pays no rent, no board, no utilities and has no expenses apart from what she spends on herself. A girl living in an apartment and working in an offcie would be living from paycheck to paycheck.
Income tax here is 7-8%, health insurance and pension premium is 10%. resident tax is 4% a month, so you may be paying 20-25% taxes etc on an entry level income. You are forgetting as foreigners here many people also want to fly home once or twice a year so you have airfares to pay as well. health insurance on NHI people are paying 20-30,000 yen a month in health insurance.
As someone raising two children here my take home pay for a full time university position is about 380,000 yen a month after insurance and tax is taken out (base pay is about 450K a month). Of this I am able to put aside 90,000 a month for my offhore pension and savings fund, so I could probaly 'break even' here on about 300,000 a month without saving anything. My rent for a 2 bedroom apartment is 86,000 yen a month or 440 pounds a month. In Tokyo you couldnt buy one room for that and a 90 square meter 2 bedroom would be 150-200,000 yen a month.
You can save money but it depends on how much you want to save, how you economise and cut costs. Many salarimen here get 'pocket money' from their wives of 1,000 yen a day to cover their meals at work. Depending on the kind of work one days, the average Japanese salarimen doesnt earn that much, and many of them work long hours. I think the average 40 year old mid-level management office worker would be on 330-350,000 yen a month but it depends on job, age and skills.
I only know about university salaries (Japanese professors as well) so im only guessing.
FWIW I was on a 500K salary last year, could save a lot of money as I also had bonuses, could afford two trips overseas for the whole family and a new car.
The average salariman also has a mortgage, loands for his childrens education and has more expenses than the average foreign teacher here. |
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Rice Paddy Daddy
Joined: 11 Jul 2004
Posts: 425
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 7:46 am Post subject: |
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I lived in Tokyo and made between Y500,000 - Y600,000 per month teaching.
Lived like a king.
Several of my friends were making Y400,000 - Y500,000 as well teaching.
In a place like Tokyo, it's possible to make really good money. You have to round up the work and fit it into your schedule, though. You also have to work everyday.
Next to the Middle East, Tokyo is without a doubt the most lucrative TEFL'ing destination, in my opinion.
Try telling that to the teachers in Korea and they'd never believe you - they figure they all have the best deal. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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I lived in Tokyo and made between Y500,000 - Y600,000 per month teaching.
Lived like a king.
Several of my friends were making Y400,000 - Y500,000 as well teaching.
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Stop throwing around mere figures, RPD. Just what KIND of teaching were you and your friends doing? University? A string of PT work? Got your own eikaiwa? FT private HS?
And, what were your hours? Most people that I know who claim to be making over 500K are working 6-7 days a week. Even if you don't work a full 8 hours each day, you still have to lose your full day off by doing lessons.
"Living like a king" is relative. |
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jitkasan
Joined: 01 May 2005
Posts: 12
Location: Kyoto, Japan
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| Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 11:56 am Post subject: Japan for sure |
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You can save or travel or both, you decide how much you want to work and how much fun you want to have etc. Basically it's all possible. I chose the work little, travel O/S every three months, go out once a week and save about 500dollars a month option. The lowest I was ever paid was $20US an hour, the highest $100 - the average for me was about $30/hour. I was lucky to find a cute little house where I could live alone, downtown for just $300/month. My friends lived a little further out in apartments for about $700/month. I worked about 15-20hours a week earning from $2000US-$3000US.
One of my other friends worked a little more than me, rarely travelled but went out 3 or 4 times a week. However after two years he went back to Canada with about $10,000US saved.
Yet other people I meet save absolutely nothing no matter where they live.
And others knuckle-down and save hard for a 5 years and go back home with a nice nest-egg for an apartment or study.
But the key is that you can do it. You just need a plan and a budget.
Good Luck!
Jitka |
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jitkasan
Joined: 01 May 2005
Posts: 12
Location: Kyoto, Japan
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| Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 11:59 am Post subject: |
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the above is FOR JAPAN!! The post subject doesn't show it up very clearly.
ps. I did mostly adult Eikaiwa teaching, mornings and evenings with the day FREEEEEEEE, during which I relaxed, studied or sometimes taught the odd private or kids class (not for less than $80/hr, the mothers pooled their money so it was a bargain for them and fantastic for me). |
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