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nawlinsgurl
Joined: 01 May 2004
Posts: 363
Location: Kanagawa and feeling Ok....
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 Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:42 pm Post subject: nova vs interac |
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Ok so these two subjects have been beaten and bled to death, but I still have one more question after reading all the other posts.
Is Interac better than Nova in way of how working for them is viewed in the Japanese community and job stability for 2+years? Also how easy is it to request a certain area, even after you are hired?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!!  |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 5:20 am Post subject: Re: nova vs interac |
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| nawlinsgurl wrote: |
Ok so these two subjects have been beaten and bled to death, but I still have one more question after reading all the other posts.
Is Interac better than Nova in way of how working for them is viewed in the Japanese community and job stability for 2+years? Also how easy is it to request a certain area, even after you are hired?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!! |
Viewed by whom? Japanese dont really care or lose sleep about where foreigners work ro think about the 'reputation' of these companies unless it personally affects them. All they care about is affording lessons and getting their scheduled booking.
Most Japanese have never even heard of Interac, don't care, though NOVA is everywhere. Not sure what foreigners think fo the difference between them, but basically all language schools are cut from the same cloth. Interac seems to send more people to work as ALTs in high schools and elementary schools.
General feeling about NOVA is that one year teaching in their booths is enough, two years is masochistic and there must be something wrong with you if you cant get a job somewhere else.
there is no Japanese 'community' the whole country is Japanese. there is no gaijin community either, like a gated community in Florida for retired folks. Most people have Japanese neighbors and friends, who make up 99.5% of the population. |
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nawlinsgurl
Joined: 01 May 2004
Posts: 363
Location: Kanagawa and feeling Ok....
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| Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Paulh sorry for my choice of words. I was just looking for a variey of opinions on the two schools. Next time I'll be more grammatically correct. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:53 pm Post subject: |
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| nawlinsgurl wrote: |
| Paulh sorry for my choice of words. I was just looking for a variey of opinions on the two schools. Next time I'll be more grammatically correct. |
Sorry to be so pedantic, but most people dont think past how they can get their next paycheck and not get the employer from hell, and employers want to make sure they have enough teachers to teach their students. Employers dont really worry about their reputations and do whatever they need to to stay in business.
Japanese at large dont worry about the reputations of language schools or "how they are viewed" except if they happen to be convenient and have lessons that they themselves can afford. Its every man (and woman) for themselves in this country. |
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Seeker of truth
Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 146
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| Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 7:28 pm Post subject: Interac? |
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Keep in mind that Interac has a union to deal with:
http://www.interacunion.org/
As I remember from my days studying labor policy at the uni, unions don't come into existence because a company has been a wonderful place to work. |
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SEndrigo
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Posts: 437
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| Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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This just keeps getting better and better....I never thought I'd see the day when someone actually compared NOVA to working for a public school. Let's see, here are some of the many advantages of working at Interac:
1. MUCH more holiday time (some teachers have two months off in the summer)
2. better hours (8 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m.)
3. better working schedule (Monday to Friday, NO WEEKENDS)
4. all national holidays off
5. no ridiculous, Gestapo-like non-socialisation policy
6. less classes taught per week
7. equal or higher pay than NOVA. I have been told that NOVA pays new hires 220,000 yen per month
8. the ability to work part-time jobs in the afternoon/evening, thus increasing your income
Do you need any more reasons?
In fact, the only way to do worse than NOVA is to work for GABA....and God help you, if you do ! |
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Rorschach
Joined: 25 Mar 2004
Posts: 130
Location: Osaka
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| Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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| SEndrigo wrote: |
7. equal or higher pay than NOVA. I have been told that NOVA pays new hires 220,000 yen per month
8. the ability to work part-time jobs in the afternoon/evening, thus increasing your income
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7. Bit of misinformation. After penalties and allowances are added it comes to about 250-260,000 a month. Not as good as it once was but it is average.
8. Branch schools may be different but the MM allows extremely flexible schedules. You can basically have any time of day you want. The 10:00-5:40pm shift is the most popular now. |
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canuck
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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More misinformation given...
1. Time off is unpaid. At interac, you get paid per day worked. No school, no pay. (this is what I was told from someone in Osaka)
4. Yes, but unpaid.
7. Nova pays more, after probation, especially if you have a later shift.
extra: Zenken/Ziac are much worse. |
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saloc
Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 102
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| Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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| People at Nova get paid on time. I'm not sure of the current situation, but a couple of years ago Interac were habitually paying their staff late, or paying half the salary when it was due and half later. They seemed to be having serious cash-flow problems. |
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Rorschach
Joined: 25 Mar 2004
Posts: 130
Location: Osaka
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| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 11:03 am Post subject: |
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| I heard the same thing about Interac as well. I'm not the biggest fan of Nova but one thing the have always done is pay my wage on time, every month since I started with them. The payslip is really detailed as well so you know exactly where your money is going. Also, if the 15th of the month (standard paydate) falls on a Saturday or Sunday Nova will put the money into your account on the Friday before that weekend begins. |
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Willy_In_Japan
Joined: 20 Jul 2004
Posts: 329
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| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 11:38 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
More misinformation given...
1. Time off is unpaid. At interac, you get paid per day worked. No school, no pay. (this is what I was told from someone in Osaka)
4. Yes, but unpaid.
7. Nova pays more, after probation, especially if you have a later shift.
extra: Zenken/Ziac are much worse. |
I work for Interac out of the Tokyo office, and this is not the case with contracts in this area.
National holidays are paid. School holidays run from about July 21 until August 28th....school starts on September 1. For people being hired on at the moment, expect a 40 percent deduction in pay for August, and 25 percent in December. Albeit, lower pay that many (including myself) are unhappy with, but still you get paid something. During the months of September, October, November, January, February, you get a full months pay. They pro rate your March and April salary depending when it ends and starts respectively, but if a holiday falls for example on March 21, and your contract ends on the 24th you DO get paid for the holiday.
Ive worked for them for two years and have never met an employee who complains his or her pay was late. Old news as far as Im concerned.
Ive worked for GEOS and Im far happier working as an ALT. I have a part time job with 7act, and so far, Ive got 5 privates. I am making an extra 60,000 a month and GEOS would have fired my butt for that. Im not sure what Nova's policy is on moonlighting. |
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SEndrigo
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Posts: 437
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| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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I actually know a teacher who works for Interac in the Tokyo area who is off from the end of June until early September!
And, that time off is paid, although not full pay.
I have not ever met a single person who, if given the opportunity to work as an ALT, would prefer working for a "school" like NOVA. |
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saloc
Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 102
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| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Well, I'm not sure that I would like to work for somewhere like Nova rather than be an ALT, but I would far rather work for a good Eikaiwa school than work in the public school system. I've experienced both, and found that you can see a lot more improvement in students and have far more rewarding classes in a good Eikaiwa school. Granted, there are a lot of very bad Eikaiwa schools around, but there are also a lot of public schools where you don't have that much control over your lessons. Generally, as far as working hours are concerned, public schools are better, but as far as the work itself is concerned I would choose a good Eikaiwa. (But not Nova) |
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yamanote senbei
Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Posts: 435
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:13 am Post subject: Interac vs. eikaiwa |
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I feel strange defending the eikaiwa industry, but Nova and GEOS actually have a proper business licence for their operations. Sure they at times violate labor law, but Interac's business is a massive fraud. Outsourcing ALTs is illegal. The core of Interac's business is unlawful.
If you are thinking about job stability, it's probably better to go with an eikaiwa than with a company like Interac that has no legal right to do business. |
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casual
Joined: 13 Oct 2003
Posts: 105
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 3:53 pm Post subject: |
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Why dont you just work at Nova? Believe me they have loads of ALT positions going.
I have taken one myself and i have a fairly good deal. I get 300 000 a month and i will get 1000 yen bonus for everyday worked in the junior high. I am scheduled for 170 days so thats a nice 170 000 yen i will get next April.
When the schools are on holiday you work back at a nova branch. Nice and easy, i would recommend it to anyone. |
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