Job Discussion Forums

[SoKoNotes]

Hello everyone. I am beginning research into teaching in Japan. Currently, I am working for a hagwon in Busan, South Korea. My sister and I want to teach in Japan starting in January of 2007, and we have been looking at a number of situations and corporations.

Recently, I have been researching a company called Amity, which is the child-side of AEON. I figure with my experience with children, I'll be a shoe-in for the job. The school seems a lot more rigorous and serious about teaching than my hagwon in Korea. They pay 285,000 yen per month, which is 35,000 better than AEON and they pay the key deposit and subsidize the rent on my apartment so that I only pay the first 42,000 yen. The hours are longer. According to the website I will be working a solid 40-hour workweek.

I have been talking to a few people about Japan, and I get mixed responses. Most people loved their experience and some spent years there despite the low savings rate and strict working conditions. Others are much more cynical and characterize the Japanese as a cold, ultra-reserved group of people disdainful of Westerners and Americans in particular. I am a 26-year-old white American male, by the way.

I am not a party animal, nor am I a hermit, but boozing is not my life. I spend most of my time here in Korea traveling and taking photos for my blog. I am writing to ask generally what people think the risks and rewards of working in Japan are and specifically I am interested in gathering anecdotal reports on Amity and AEON. If you have worked for either of these companies, I would love to hear what you have to say about your experience. Of couse, I will look into any new ideas anyone has for my sister and I.

My last question is probably the hardest to answer. The interview process for Amity and AEON is quite extensive compared to Korea. First, there is an information meeting, than a group interview, and then a personal interview. The website does not lay out a time frame for these three events. Does it take one day or three? I ask because I have no vacation time here in Korea, so I would not be able to make an interview anywhere until September when my contract is up here. Could I fly to Tokyo for a weekend and have it done, or should I just wait till September?

Thank you for all your help.

--Stephen Jones.

[Nismo]

Check your private messages.

[SoKoNotes]

Hey Lynn, and anyone else interested, the blog URL is as follows.

http://sokonotes.blogspot.com

I am still searching for anyone with first-hand experience teaching for Amity. I am interested in learning about the work hours, conditions, people. Also, by my estimation, living expenses in Japan will consume a solid 200,000 yen of my 285,000 yen paycheck. Is that about accurate? Like I said in the first post, I don't drink heavily or that often.

Thanks, Nismo, for the finer detail on the management at your branch. This might be stretching things a bit, but is there a way to email the potential school Amity wants to send me to and ask questions of the staff and managers? If so, are there any questions that when answered might give me some insight into the type of managment I am being tethered to so that I can request a different school?

That question might be unanswerable. More realistically, I heard that there are student quotas a teacher must fill at AEON or risk being fired. Is this true, and if so, did you find it hard to meet those numbers? Thanks for all the help, and Lynn, thank you for the positive message. I would love to travel to Japan, but I must first weigh the positive cultural experience against the impact on my lifestyle and finances. I am writing so as to gain a more accurate picture of working in Japan. I'm sure Japan itself is amazing.

--Stephen

[stillnosheep]

Aeon do not interview in Japan but only conduct large (200 people or so) recruitment interviews every few months in a few major cities in US/Canada/UK/Australia and possibly NZ. I believe that the same is true of Amity.

Aeon and Amity*Aeon interviews run as follows. First day group brainwashing and observed part lesson to other interviewees; 2nd or 3rd day individual interview with 'lesson' to interviewer pretending to be crazy Japenese student with little knowledge of English.

Those travelling furthest to interview have first pick on early 2nd interview slots.

There is no 'student quota' that are fired for not meeting.

[tantina]

I'm working for Amity at the moment.

Conditions vary depending on your branch manager and school. You have to be at school 40 hours/week. depending on which school, many of those hours can be boring slack-off hours. Your max class cap is 34 classes, the rest is for preparation.

285000, with rent and tax deducted, you are left with about 190000. Good enough if you don't send anything home. And if you're not a big shopper or drinker, you can easily save 80000-100000. You get a raise every year after up to 3 years, and travelling expenses for trainings and stuff are paid by the company.

Good experience for people coming for the first time.^^

oh...but I didn't know Amity accepts Interview for Foreign teachers within Japan? Even so, it won't be done in Tokyo, coz Amity's head office is in Okayama and so is the first training.

[SoKoNotes]

Tantina, thank you for the first hand info on Amity. So your check comes to 190,000? That's not quite as good. Taxes are really high there, huh? Saving money is a big deal for me. You say a person can save up to 100,000 yen? I would be really interested in seeing a breakdown of your monthly expenses, things like food, utilities, internet service. It's good to hear that you are having a good experience at the company (or at least, not a particularly bad experience). I guess the quality of the experience all comes down to the luck of the draw. What city are you in? How is thesix tatami mat apartment? Thanks again for your previous (and hopefully future) reply(s). --Stephen

[marksuth]

Stephen,

I started working for AEON a couple months ago and I work at a B school which is kids and adults. Lucky for me, I don't have many kids classes as Japanese children can be a really handful, and I've heard more horror stories about kids classes than I care to share. Out of the two other trainees from my group, one developed insomnia from being so worried about all the prep time he needed to plan all the kids lessons, and the other one quit cause his kids students were total terrors. The 3 teachers from my group who went to schools with adults only are having a breeze of a time due teaching certain lessons several times, and adults are simply more cooperative. Having said this, it's amazing how experiences can vary based on the individual schools.

Amity only pays you 30 000 yen more a month, because you fall under a different income bracket because you work 34 hrs/week at Amity vs 29.5 hrs/week at AEON. Since you work more at Amity, you must pay for health insurance (30 000 yen a month), which is not a bad thing, but basically you have to work more hours per week at Amity, and are not compensated. And honestly, no matter which one you take, you'll be working far more than 29.5 hours a week between lesson planning and counselling your students.

I just thought you might be interested in another perspective. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Mark