Job Discussion Forums

User N. Ame · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 222 Location: Kanto

Even though I've done my time in Nippon, I still like browsing the job ads. This one has to be a new low. Is this even legal?

Selti Co., Ltd. is currently accepting applications for an experienced Elementary School Assistant Language Teacher position in Central Ibaraki commencing in April 2007.

The monthly remuneration is 180,000 yen plus transportation allowance and attendance bonus.

The position is full-time, with a fixed schedule Monday to Friday (no evening, weekend or public holiday shifts) working between the hours of 8am and 5pm up to 29.5 hours per week.

Granted, 30hrs/week, but that's just a few shy of the usual load.

No housing allowance.

Are dispatch companies now becoming so brazen that they think they can actually attract candidates at this rate? Is this rate even legal within the laws governing ALT dispatch companies?

G Cthulhu

User N. Ame · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 222 Location: Kanto

AndyH · Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 417

I hope they have trouble finding someone.

baasbabelaas · Joined: 23 Jul 2006 Posts: 142

Sorry to drop in on your forum fellas (I'm not in Japan), but I think salaries are dropping day-by-day.

Instead of picking cherries in Western Europe for a summer, come to Asia for a year of fun-in-the-Asian-sun, it seems..

Taiwan seems to hold pretty well, salary-wise, and Korea is pretty desperate, so I get a dozen job offers from that land.

That said, once you're established in your location, it's you that can do the cherry-picking.

I remember when I started out TEFL-ing, first job was crap, second was good, cuz I spent a month sorting through the junk mail till I found a reasonable one.

Pity the newcomers..

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

jademonkey · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 180

But Nova pays more than that...and that's Nova. Why would you?

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:05 am Post subject:

jademonkey · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 180

G Cthulhu · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:30 pm Post subject:

Mosley · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 158

Sadly, Glenski is right and that's the root of the problem with the crap contracts being offered these days. How to solve the problem, for newbie and vet alike? Well, everyone looking for a job in Japan should follow my lead: here's a verbatim transcript of a phone interview I had a few months ago w/a Western guy who was recruiting for an ALT dispatch outfit(side note: this guy insisted I call him, not the other way around. That should've been my first warning).

ME: So you're not going to budge on the contract terms? I mean, really, you're offering a quarter mill./mo. with no housing, no airfare allowance[etc., etc.]?
HIM: That's right. It's pretty much take it or leave it.
ME: Uhh..maybe I wasn't clear about my experience & qualifications in my application.
HIM: Oh no...crystal clear. Quite impressive, really.
ME: And given that, you still only offer those terms?
HIM: That's right.
ME: Do you like hairy bums?
HIM: What?!
ME: [click]

When hordes of applicants handle interviews that way, we'll see a change in contract terms. But I ain't holdin' my breath.

So, I'm back in S. Korea now. A short time ago people back home asked me:"Mosley, given the nice things you've said about Japan and the nasty things you've said about Korea, why in the hell would you be going back to Korea?" And here's my answer:

I came here 3 weeks ago w/little cash and a $2K credit card balance. I don't even get my first paycheque until late Apr. but after 3 WEEKS I've already sent home $500 for my cc bill. That's due to a small settlement allowance and airfare refund already given to me. How would've I been doing after 3 weeks in Japan had I taken that dispatch job and arrived w/the same financial situation?

Money talks and BS walks....

bearcat · Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 367

As the above is an ALT position, I bet they also do not pay when there are vacation/down periods during the school year. Meaning that 180,000 a month becomes much much smaller to nothing.

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:28 am Post subject:

sethness · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 209 Location: Hiroshima, Japan

Salaries for english teachers used to have a 250,000-per-month minimum established by law. That's been deregulated, however, so now anything goes.

Worse, most Japanese workers are "hakkensha-in" (short-contract outsourced labor from a temp agency, even in core positions) or no-paid-overtime salarymen, and frequentloy make less than the pet gaijin teacher... so one can't expect sympathy from the Japanese staff. They may well be working harder and earning less, with similarly crappy longterm prospects.

The O.P. says that "30 hours is less than normal", but I'd disagree there. Most English teaching jobs are only 25 "contact" (classroom) hours per week, with possible office hours/lesson-prep-time for another 5 to 15 hours a week-- or no office hours at all. AFAIK, only Nova demands 40 contact hours per week from its teachers-- and NOVA's teachers tend to quit ASAP.

Another very disturbing trend is the increase in part time offerings. Very few foreigners in Japan are able to, or would care to, divide their employment between several conflicting employers.

The only silver lining in this cloud is that nonAmerican foreigners can often self-sponsor their visa, thus enabling them to create their own very lucrative lesson groups. Without the overhead of a boss and an office to pay for, teaching English is miiiighty profitable.

keister · Joined: 18 Jan 2007 Posts: 26