Job Discussion Forums

[elliot_spencer]

Hey guys, I was wondering, does anyone get ticked off with working at Eikaiwas up to 10pm at night? Most of my firends have been in Japan for a number of years and work in JHS for good companies such as GP, ULI etc and there's me, stuck with SESJ (one of the better BIG 4's!) The only thing is - finishing at 10 really annoys me, I feel like I can't do anything after work and that it's draining me - by the time I get home it's almost 12am!

I was therefore wondering, as its my dream to get hired by GP or ULI what my options are; I was thiking maybe Interac to get JHS experience but, that would mean a drop in my salary (23000yen a month to be exact) and I am a bit uncomfortable with the whole, 75% pay at Christmas and 60% in the summer. Also, I am qualified in TESOL, both in degree and CELTA - therefore, would I be wasted as an ALT? Any advice?

[Quibby84]

yeah it bothers me..try going to work around 9:30 and not getting home until 9:30 that night...8 solid work hours...the rest is travel, not coming home once...it REALLLLLY sucks. Or try leaving a 8:00 and coming back at 8:00, with only 5 work hours...yeah...you added right..that is about a 5 or so hour train ride. I wonder if everyone schedule is the same or does mine really suck....here is mine:
monday- 10:00-2:30, 4:40-6:30
tuesday- (leave at 8:00) 10:00-12:00, 3:00-8:00 (this is far away and I cant come back home)
wednesday- (easy day) 10:00 (one hour away)-12:00, 3:00-4:40
thursday- 10:00-2:30, 5:00-6:00
friday- 10:00-2:30, 3:30-8:30 (not that close to home)
so there you have it....how does it compare?

so yeah, working all day does suck but we look forward to holidays and weekends...and the weeks fly by so the weekends come fast....

[rebecca432]

I work until 11 pm each night, but I live only ten minutes away from work so I don't mind. I can go out drinking or go to karaoke, can get home at 4 or 5 and still recover for work starting at 3. However, most days I sleep until 1 and go to work and basically the day is lost. It works for me because I'm a night owl but it also sucks because I don't really do much during the day. Now if I could just get out of bed...

[elliot_spencer]

Yes, thats true. I was just thinking - it's ok for a few years, but for those of us wanting to stay in Japan, can we really or moreso, is it possible to continue working until late at night?

I would consider ALT work in order to get experence to progress to JHS through a company like GP but these jobs are few and far between and I don't think that I'd be able to work as an ALT for more than a couple years as I have a degree in TESOL and a CELTA and would feel like my skills were a waste!

[elliot_spencer]

[Glenski]

This type of schedule is practically unavoidable, since the night hours are when many students (clients) are available. There are even some schools that operate from midnight to morning. I've done shift work in another type of business back in the USA, so I know what it's like to have to adjust hours of my lifestyle, and yes, it can be a drag, but you do what you have to, or you find a different job. Simple as that.

I used to work eikaiwa. Finished at 9pm, and by the time I got home it was almost 10pm. It wears on ya, but you just can't function if you choose to stay up all night and sleep away the rest of the day until the moment you have to go to work. If you are serious about improving yourself, you'll find something productive to do during your waking hours.

If someone has been here a year or more and is still in eikaiwa, one way out is to try piecing together several PT jobs and go on "self-sponsorship" of the work visa. No single employer is needed as long as you can show contracts to immigration which guarantee a certain vague minimum income. Private lessons won't count in that, so they will have to come from legitimate businesses/schools, and you can later add on private lessons as you like. I've done that, too, although I was on a spouse visa at the time. If your PT work is during the daytime, great, but I've found that a lot of jobs (especially private lessons) end up being at night, so the days can be just as long and tiring. Depends on what you can put together.

If you have a serious intent on teaching (got a TESOL and a dream to work in a public school, for example), consider using places like Interac if you like to get some exposure to what it's like working with Japanese teachers or understanding what public school classes are like. Totally different world in many respects from eikaiwa.

[Chris21]

If you don't want to work at an eikaiwa, and you don't really want to work as an ALT (because, as you said, your skills would be wasted), then try working at a university.

There are lots of part-time jobs available, so if you have a masters degree in TESOL, you'll be fine. If you don't have one, then get one.

[Vince]

I went the part-time route for my final four years in Tokyo. I worked at my vocational college job four days a week, around 9:00-12:30 some days and 9:00-3:00 others. Then I had a couple of hours before my night job, which was going to a company to teach employees. It was a fun schedule, but I'll need a full-time job when I go back to Japan.

[Gypsy Rose Kim]

The hours in Japan are really not that bad compared to other countries. One nice thing is that the Japanese generally don't study in the morning before work. In many other countries, a split shift starting at six in the morning and ending after ten at night is not uncommon.

Another nice thing is that most of your friends (Japanese and other English teachers) are often working late, anyway, so you don't miss out on too much.

Working weekends in an eikawa sucks, though. The weirdest students seem to come on Saturdays and Sundays. By Sunday evening, it's just a bunch of zombies. I'm not looking forward to that at all.

[JonnyB61]

Elliot
I see that 'pi**ed off' has been changed to 'ticked off'
Has one been reprimanded over one's choice of language?
Well, we mustn't offend the ladies or frighten the horses, must we?

By the way, yes, but I take it as part of the deal.
Regards
JB

[elliot_spencer]

Ok, but - what are the options for us teachers who have no interest in teaching in the university system but want to stay long-term in Japan?

[Chris21]

Just so I'm clear... you don't want to work at an eikaiwa, you don't think you'd be able to handle it as an ALT for more than a couple of years, and you're not interested in teaching at a university. Yet you want to be a teacher?

[Glenski]

[elliot_spencer]

hey guys, maybe I did not explain myself correctly - It's not that I don't want to work in an Eikaiwa - to be honest - I like my eikaiwa, the thing that puts me off is working until 10pm forever - If I could get my hands on the 9 - 6 shift I'd be laughing! I work for Shane and I really enjoy it - they have good career progression and I hope to use them to my advantage - yes sometimes you have to work 6 days etc but hey - this is the world of work w're not in uni anymore! Life is not easy and we all have to do things we don't like! As for the salary - yeah it's crap - as a CELTA qualified I make 280k from Shane but, then I also do some privates and I'm making 300k a month which suites me fine - there is work out there for those of want it! I don't get on with my DoS that much but hey - I get on with what I'm paid to do - there is no gaurentee that I'd have got on with my boss back in the UK had I stayed there! Sorry - I seem to have gone off topic but some people really fustrate me - two of my co-workers were complaining abut the salary today and travel etc - HELLO - wake up and smell the coffee - this is not a holiday!!

Glenski - GP and ULI are Global Partners and Universal langauge institute!

One last thing - what worries me is getting old and then not being asked to resign my contract - does anyone know of anyone who is working until retirement here in Japan and who does not work in a UNI?!

[Glenski]