Job Discussion Forums

[mfaulkner]

First of all, this is my first post, but I have been following the forums for a few weeks. I've looked at the jobs posted and looked up most of the companies using the search feature (when it decided to work *ahem*) to see what people said.

However, what I would really like to hear (read?) is any advice or recommendations based on my situation.

I feel like every time I look up a company, it's about 1/3 positive and 2/3 negative... Am I imagining this, looking at the wrong companies, are they really all bad, or is it just that negative things make a stronger impression, so they get posted more and I remember them more?

Anyway. I'm 20, from California's central coast, and female. I just completed a BFA in Fashion Design. Both my parents are teachers, and I tutored at my school for about six months (including one happy day when my favourite instructor asked me to substitute for her). I'm not 100% green to teaching but obviously my experience is severely limited.

I've taken about a year and a half worth of college Japanese courses (the most recent well over two years ago), retaining most of the grammar but forgetting a lot of vocab and almost all kanji. I'm generally a pretty quick study with languages though.

I'm hoping to be able to leave fairly soon (September sounds good, if I can wrangle it), as I'd like to be able to come back to the states to start grad school next fall. Ideally, as I've never been to Japan, and with grad school semi-lined up, I'd like to not have to stay a whole year. (Plus, I'd rather not have to be there for the summer heat.) However, it seems like the only program I've seen that has contracts for less than a year is Westgate, for whom I am under qualified. I read another thread where someone wanted to stay less than a year, and people were advising her to just break her contract. I'm reluctant to go into a contract with the intention of breaking it; but more importantly, what penalties are there usually for leaving a contract early?

I am hoping for a contract that will not try to restrict me from other work, such as private tutoring. Furthermore, I was kind of hoping to try to intern with a Japanese design company (something like h.naoto, hysterical glamour, or baby the stars shine bright) once I've settled in.

As for location, I've heard that Kyoto is fabulous, but if I want to pursue the internship idea, I'd probably have to be closer to Tokyo. (Plus, I would love to go to Harajuku on the weekends to shop, ogle, and maybe even hang out.) I don't party or anything; I'm pretty shy, so I'm fine with living in a small town, as long as they have a bookstore and a CD store. (Preferably a used CD store... great for experimenting.) And DSL.

I'm not heavily concerned with salary, but no one can deny it's easier to have fun when you have some spending money. (Plus, it'll be time to start paying off those student loans.)

So, I hope that answers any potential questions. I realize I wrote a bit much, but I wanted to be thorough. If anyone has any particular recommendations for location and company, I would await them with bated breath.

Browsing through some ads currently up, these are the ones that seem plausible (but if you know of another, by all means, tell me):
Heart (but aren't they technically illegal? also, is pay really as bad as I hear?)
ALS (but they wouldn't sponsor my visa...?)
Global Crossroad (can't find anything on them--good or bad--here, which is suspicious in itself)
Mac School (sounds good, but again, can't find anything on them...)

Thanks for sitting through all that!

[Glenski]

[mfaulkner]

Thank you for your prompt reply. I know I was asking for a lot, but it wasn't with the expectation of getting it all, just laying all the cards on the table.

Honestly, though I do have a sincere interest in teaching English in Japan (and any of those elements separated from the other two), I still plan in the long term to go into the field of fashion design. I feel that going to Japan could be very inspirational to my design sensibilities. I wasn't hoping for a full-time paid internship or anything of the sort, but while I was in school my teachers recommend looking into internships in any capacity, even if only for a few hours per week. Maybe things are different in Japan and a lot more hours are expected of interns, in which case I am willing to accept that it is just not feasible.

As for being aggressive and disciplined, as it is something I truly enjoy and am interested in, I feel confident that I can pull it off.

Offhand, I am not sure what the minimum monthly payment for my student loan is... I don't think it's too much, and last time I checked, I am not required to start paying it off until six months after I complete school (whcih was in June). Altogether the loan was for about 40~45k. Payments can go back on hold once I go to grad school to further my debt to Sallie Mae.

[TokyoLiz]

mfaulkner,

You've got a lot going on! You sure you want to teach English in Japan? There are many more things you could do here...

I don't mean to put you off McEnglish in Japan in the short term. ALT or eikaiwa work is a good first exposure to Japan.

Hands down, Tokyo is where you would find the most contacts and stimulation in the fashion business. And there are foreign people making it here in business, fashion, IT, entertainment.

Considering your goals and what you're bringing to the experience, and before you sign up with eikaiwa/ALT work, I'd say you should look up some other contacts.

Digital Eve http://www.digitaleve.org/chapters/japan/index.htm
Foreign Executive Women in Japan http://www.fewjapan.com/
JETRO Japan External Trade Organization
http://www.jetro.go.jp/
Being-A-Broad http://www.being-a-broad.com/

Nothing happens fast in Japan except for the speed of money leaving your wallet. Don't expect that, in a year, you could move into an internship from teaching, or save much (read pay student loans) on an ALT or eikaiwa salary. If you're changing jobs, making contacts and visa wrangling takes time. Start up costs are killer. Countless times on this forum, people have told us US $5000 just in the first few months. It's no joke.

But it's still wonderland.

[Big John Stud]

I have to ask the same question Liz asked. Are you sure you want to teach English in Japan? As stated in another post September is not a good time to come to Japan.
To get a visa, you will have to sign a contract for one year. Breaking a contract just adds fuel to the bad reputation of English teachers in Japan. You should never sign a contract with the intentions to break it.
I have never worked for Westgate, however, I do know they have a high turn over rate. They are always advertising.

Besides the morals reasons of keeping your word if you sign a contract, there is the financial. Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world, Osaka second. When you move into an apartment you will need to buy a refrigerator, washing machine, and stove or eat out all the time. After a year, you will just have started saving money.

[mfaulkner]

I suppose I am underconfident in my ability to do something else. My parents were very supportive of me while I was in college, so I didn't have to work full time. (Basically, my work resume doesn't look so great. There are about four things on there.) I don't know what other work I would be able to do in Japan without fluency in the language, and I wouldn't know how to go about finding it.

As for having a genuine interest for teaching English in Japan, I do. Before I switched to fashion design, I wanted to major in Japanese. Even so, if fashion design was taught at the CSUs or UCs, I would've double majored. I've been interested in JET for several years; I thought I was going to start grad school this year, which is why I didn't apply.

Thank you for the links; the "Being-A-Broad" one especially made me giggle. (And click on it, of course.)

Regarding my student loans, I certainly wasn't expecting to pay off the entire amount in a year, just to make minimum payments or so. Whenever I've looked at salaries and projected expenses for eikawa teachers, it's looked pretty reasonable. Of course, these numbers are generally from the eikawa themselves, so it is quite possible the numbers are a little "fixed." (Still, I was assuming to save a little extra because I don't go out much or drink at all.)

If I were to work in Tokyo, I was hoping to live outside the city and just take the train or whatever to get there, to avoid the expense of living within the city itself.

It seemed like some of the eikawa include such amenities as washing machines and stoves to their employees [in company housing]? Or is there a hidden catch, or is it just not very common to do so?

September just seemed a good time because I would want to be back for grad school next September. If it were possible to obtain a shorter contract, then I would go... whenever it turned out to be most convenient, all around.

Am I being excessively optimistic? I generally consider myself a realist, but maybe my strong desire to go through with this is blinding me to the difficulties.

Sorry if I ask too many questions. (But, being teachers, you all believe "There is no such thing as a stupid question," right? ^_^;;)

[Glenski]

Amenities like washing machines? I think it is fairly safe to say that most eikaiwas will provide something in the way of housing, and that means furnished housing. Is that "most" 99%? Probably not. Couldn't tell you what percent, but if you have to take a job with only the guarantorship for an empty apartment, pass. Furnishing an apartment from scratch when you are just getting used to the country (and your job) is asking too much.

[mfaulkner]

I want to thank everyone for their advice and input. It is important to hear about stuff I didn't think to ask about; however, can someone please answer my original questions?

I am curious to know what a good company would be to work for. Clearly a short term contract is pretty unlikely, but I would at least like a contract that would enable me to do private lessons on my own time, with a company that treats their employees decently.

Also, could someone please recommend a smaller (read: less expensive) city outside of Tokyo itself, but within easy commuting distance? I don't drive, so at least I got well used to public transportation while I was going to school in LA.
Edit: I googled "map of greater tokyo area," and this came up: http://www.answers.com/topic/greater-tokyo-area
The map is basically useless, but it does list an awful lot of nearby cities. Just to try, I clicked on "Abiko," because it was first and because the name is cute. It sounds nice enough... about 45 minutes from Tokyo, has classes in Japanese, plenty of trees and water. But the internet can't convey firsthand experience (and I didn't see anything about cost of living), which is why I ask for suggestions on nice areas.

Regarding my internship idea, I hadn't realized that a work visa authorized one to work only within the field detailed on said visa, particularly since I'd recently looked at a thread that asked about modeling "on the side." If it were possible (and I realize this is something of a longshot) for part of my internship duties to include tutoring English to employees of the company, could that serve as a loophole?

[Glenski]

A loophole to what? Either you get a job teaching English or you get a different type of position (including internship).

[mfaulkner]

So basically doing an internship on the side [assuming that my main job is teaching English] is a legal impossibility? How does this explain those who model on the side; are they merely going under the table? Logically, that seems to be even worse of a violation, as I would not expect to get paid at an internship, but freelance modeling would get you paid.

[TokyoLiz]

You can work outside your visa specifications if you get permission from immigration. How many people are honest about that, I don't know.

About internships and Instructor or Humanities visa, I don't know. Check the immigration website - http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/information/iic-01.html

About internships in Japan in general, see http://www.internabroad.com/Japan.cfm.

Wow, mfaulkner, you have asked some good questions that got me thinking about all the possibilities in Japan! Thanks and you're welcome, too!

[mfaulkner]

TokyoLiz=<3