Job Discussion Forums

[keister]

Hey ya'll. I'll be arriving in Tokyo in a few days and don't have a job lined up. The only thing I have is a room at a guesthouse. And I only have $3000 American dollars. I don't know if that's enough to last me until I get a job. The reason I'm going without a job is because I don't want to work for any of the big schools. And the rest of the schools require applicants to reside in Japan.

How easy is it to get a job? And how long does it usually take for newcomers to get work? And do u think $3000 is enough to last? what is the easiest way to find work? What are your experiences?

Any help would be appreciated

[Mark]

Right now is the best time to be looking for work, so I don't think you'll have much trouble. $3,000 will probably get you through, but I would suggest not having much of a social life until you get your first paycheck.

[Gordon]

I hope you have a degree. With persistence and not being too picky, you should find something.

[sethness]

Your timing is good-- March is the biggest hiring season of the year, since the language schools consider April to be the start of a new year.

As for whether $3k is enough to get you started, I wouldn't bank on that, depending VERY much on what a "guesthouse" is, and how much it costs.
Do you mean a Japan youth Hostel, which runs about $25~30 a night, no meals included? Or a "weekly mansion" that can run as much as $1500 a month?

Other big factors are:
a)
lifestyle-- bring what you can, rather than buying in Japan. Suits, shoes, etc. are much more costly in Japan than back home.

b)
Using public transport to find work-- public transport is VERY expensive in Japan, so while you're showing your face in as many doorframes as possible, you're also haemorrhaging money into the local bus, taxi and subway systems

c)
A HUGE factor is how much the new employer will help you to get into a new apartment. Ideally, the employer will already have an apartment for you, so you just start paying monthly rent. At least half of the cases, though, teachers must hunt for apartments on their own, which very often (not always) means paying huge non-refundable real estate commissions and apartment-renovation fees, which can easily add up to the full $3,000 in your pocket.

If I were you, and although this may sound a little exploitative/mercenary, I'd try to find a host-family that might truly enjoy letting you stay with them, use their phone, change restaurant prices for home-cooked prices, etc.-- you're still expected to chip in and show up with exhorbitant gifts from your home country, but the safety-net and cost-savings to you cannot be underestimated. For their part, they get free English lessons while you're there and after you get settled elsewhere-- English lessons are very expensive in Japan.

Perhaps you could even offer to rent a room in a host-family's house. as long as you don't absolutely need the privacy of living alone, the incredible convenience of the host-family's guidance and the cost-savings to you cannot be understated.

To find a host-family, if I were you, I'd search for free-advertisement bulletin boards here in Japan (at local "international centers", for example), perhaps run a small personal ad in the newspaper "The Japan Times", and find an international penpal service on the 'Net.

[Gordon]

The benefit of a guesthouse is the contacts. Many people there will know someone who is looking for a teacher. Desperate schools who had a teacher skip on them might come by and look for a teacher.

[keister]

I'm not too worried about the living situation. I found a rent-a-room on craigslist. Of course everything else is shared, but we all have to make sacrifices, eh?

But as far as transportation goes, does anyone know how much it would be to get from Mitaka to Shinjuku? And which is cheaper? Subway or bus? I'm even thinking of getting a bike

[Angelfish]

Just a quickie warning about craigslist:
Please be sure it's a real listing. I don't know about the apartment side of it, but my bloke is a writer and about half of the writing "jobs" he's applied for have turned out to be scammers just trying to get his bank details or other personal information.

But host family idea sounds stellar. Might try that if I ever decide to quit the eikaiwa industry

[azarashi sushi]

[sethness]

Angelfish-- this is O/T, but I'd love to hear more about your bloke's encounters with those scammers. Sounds like an important cautionary tale.

(There's CraigsList for Japan? Didn't know that.)

I hope you'll start a separate thread-thingy 'bout it.

[Apsara]

I kind of doubt there are buses from Mitaka to Shinjuku. It's a straight run on the Chuo or Chuo Sobu line, as someone else mentioned. Those are above ground lines rather than subways by the way, that's quite an important distinction when getting around Tokyo.

By bicycle that would probably take about an hour to an hour and a half. Only one big hill, just before Shinjuku. Bike parking is a bit of a hassle in the Shinjuku area because it is busy and in mid-summer you won't be wanting to ride a bike for an hour in the heat and extreme humidity.

A bike is good if it turns out your guesthouse is quite a way from the station.

Mitaka is right next to Kichijoji, which is a fun area for shopping, eating and hanging out.