Job Discussion Forums

[sj23]

i live in hong kong at the moment but my boyfriend and i will be moving to tokyo later this year. he works in an investment bank and is being transferred. i have a bachelors degree and teach english in a kindergarten in hong kong, where we've been living for the past 8 months.

since we're not married i will have to get a job or be a 'tourist' in japan... but i don't want to work for nothing and would like to be able to enjoy the weekends and take holidays with my boyfriend ... am i dreaming, or is it possible to find a teaching job in japan where you DONT have to work evenings/weekends and national holidays ..???

any thoughts/advice/suggestions greatly appreciated thanks!

[canuck]

[Glenski]

As a newcomer to teaching in Japan, you will have to take the entry level jobs, which means conversation schools (eikaiwas). The majority of them have hours from noon to 9pm. You will have to look very hard to find places that don't teach so late into the evening, as that is when customers (your students) are free. As canuck wrote, jobs that don't have those hours do exist, but I'm not as confident as him in thinking that you can get one easily. Right now is prime hiring season, so scour the boards and see what you can find. The only problem is, most jobs require that you come here for the interview. When is "later in the year" when your boyfriend plans to come?

[chirp]

I fear that I may be attacked for suggesting this but you could always try an ALT dispatch company, especially if the schedule is what matters to you most. Interac is a possibility but unfortunately Altia doesn't cover the Tokyo area.

Best of luck!

Chirp

[sj23]

the school year (and my contract here) finish mid july, so we are hoping to be in tokyo by july. not ideal i know, but we can't really come any earlier

chirp, how would i go about contacting ALT dispatch companies, and why would you be attacked for suggesting them? like i said - any suggestions are appreciated .. at this stage i will investigate them all! the schedule IS important (more the weekends and holidays thing) as "the money" is not the reason i want to work, but because i don't want to do nothing!

in saying that, i don't want to work for peanuts either

if i was to just tutor privately, how would i get on visa-wise..? would it be best to try and get a working holiday visa first so it doesnt look too dodgy when i arrive in tokyo?

[abufletcher]

If you can't be here before July, I'm afraid that conversation schools are really your only hope.

[Glenski]

If chirp doesn't mind me answering early, here goes.

sj23,
ALT dispatch companies have recently come under fire in the past year or two because they are thriving on some borderline business practices. In fact, some people would even say that most of them operate illegally. I'll let those people describe what that means.

Basically, however, as an ALT, you don't work for the school or the board of education; your boss/employer is the dispatch agency, and I believe that is what makes it illegal. What's more, your contract never lasts more than a year (sometimes less depending on the whims of the dispatch agency). They don't usually offer any benefits that a regular employer should (unemployment, pension, copayment of health insurance, for example), and that is another of the "borderline" business practices.

You don't want to work for peanuts. Well, in Japan the regular entry level salaries have held at 250,000 yen/month (on average) for more than 15 years, but in the past year or so, even they have started to go down. I just saw an ad for 140,000 including a 40-hour week and managerial responsibilities. Subsistence living is around 170,000-180,000, and even if you and your husband aren't dependent on getting the higher end salary because of his job, accepting a lower wage only propagates the downward spiral that employers think they can fuel. What ALTs make, I don't know, but it is certainly no more than entry level jobs.

You have two options, depending on how you look at it.
1. Since your husband will be working full-time, you can get a dependent visa and work part-time.
2. Or, you could rely on your own background and skills to get a work visa and then work either full-time or part-time (but you'll need a FT contract to get the work visa).

Of course, with either option you could also supplement your income with private lessons. Just be careful with the dependent visa and your take-home salary. Too much, and you get socked with higher taxes.

Glancing at your last message, I see you mentioned working holiday visa. You might be able to get that if you are the right nationality and age, but you would have to apply for it by showing up in your home country first. Plus, I don't know how long your husband plans to work in Tokyo, but the WHV is only good for a maximum of 1 year.

Teaching privates is almost always done under the table here in terms of reporting income. You still need a proper visa to work, even to take in private lessons. Some people risk is by doing such work on a tourist status, but trust me when I say that the penalties are stiff if you are caught. Getting private lesson students is the trick, as well as keeping them. Many in Japan are fickle and will drop you suddenly, so it is best to have a good business plan before starting. There are online sites you can use to register yourself and attract students, but I have no experience with them other than to give you a list of their addresses.

[chirp]

Glenski,

Thanks for filling in a lot of the information for me!

sj23,

Here is the website for Interac (ALT dispatch company): http://www.interac.co.jp/recruit/cgi-bin/index.cgi/welcome/home.html

If you do a search here with "dispatch" or "Interac" you will see why I was hoping no one would jump down my throat! (Thanks for the restraint everybody!)

IMHO there are positives and negatives to every job so you need to define what is most important to you. If it is indeed finishing your work day by 5pm then I feel you have a few options: work part-time, as a private tutor or as an ALT. Other people may have additional suggestions.

Interac (there are other dispatch companies - I am not an expert) does not hire in Hong Kong so you will need to apply once in Japan but they do have other start times available. Start times listed on their website currently for domestic applicants: Immediate, February and April. Please note that they require a current working (not WHV) visa for these positions.

I would also suggest that you carefully read descriptions (here, on the Interac website and other sources) of exactly what an Assistant Language Teacher may be required to do. It may not suit you based on your previous teaching experience.

You should also be aware (again, I can only speak for Interac) that the monthly salary is less than an Eikaiwa. You get 210,000 yen monthly but that can be increased up to 250,000 yen with perfect attendance and a location bonus. Of course that is before Japanese taxes, deductions for the health plan etc.

As Glenski mentioned, a WHV may be a good option but it has limitations. Depending on your citizenship, the requirements may vary but a trip home would definitely be one of them. For Canadians the details can be found here: http://www.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/2004/VisaTravel/WHV.html

Look into your options.

Best of luck to you and your boyfriend!

Chirp

[sj23]

thanks chirp and glenski for the info

glenski, we're not actually married (yet) which is why the dependent visa is not an option. i am a new zealander and just a spring chicken of 23, so i would hope a WHV wouldn't be too difficult - as long as i go home first.

now another question - does anyone know how LONG you're required to be back in your home country in order to apply?

thanks!

[PAULH]

[sj23]

paulh - do you mean i will need to go home to apply for the WHV and ALSO when i go to japan? ie are you saying i need a return ticket specifically from NZ, or just a return/onward ticket from japan?

thanks again

[PAULH]

[sj23]

looks like i'll be hoping to get sponsored by someone for my visa then!

or maybe convincing bf's employer to pay for a trip home

how dodgy IS it to enter japan on a tourist visa knowing you're looking for a job? do immigration ask a lot of questions at the airport..?

[PAULH]