Job Discussion Forums

[Crab]

"I'm in Bombay, Elaine. You may know it as Mumbai, but it will always be Bombay to me. You there, on the motorbike. Sell me one of your belts!"

Sorry, I'm writing from Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and was always tickled by the above Seinfled quote. Mr. Peterman said it to Elaine with Bombay/Mumbai substituted with Burma/Myanmar.

Anyway, this post isn't about Seinfeld or India so I'll get to the point.

Wow! Sure are a lot of Nova postings at the top of the board. Lots of worried people wondering how things are going to turn out for them and the Japanese ELT market in general. Here's my thoughts:

Nova's financial problems really have nothing to do with anyone looking at staying in Japan for more than a couple of years. Eikaiwa work, in general, is not a long-term proposition. It is a nice way to experience Japan for a short time and then get the heck out. Eikaiwa long-termers have always faced dismal prospects both in Japan and their home countries. Psst! Here'sa little secret... If you are looking at ELT in Japan as a mid to long-term career, then you need to have some kind of related education. This has always been the case. The fact that NOVA is going t1ts up, should not be a sudden lightning strike for Eikaiwa teachers causing them to realize that their long-term prospects are less than rosy. They always have been.

And no, when I say education, a CELTA or other intensive TESL course won't do. In Japan, you need a teaching certification (for international schools) or a TEFL/TESL related MA (for high schools and university work). A DELTA might help as well, but I wouldn't bank on it.

If you can't be bothered or don't feel you can make the investment, well, tough luck. Your happy ride in Japan will end sooner rather than later, regardless of the situation at NOVA.

Bottom line: the formula for success in ELT is the same as any profession. Get the requisite qualifications and commit to a solid work ethic. You will be rewarded with a secure job in a good work environment with a soild compensation package. If you decide to not pursue this route, you will be condemned to a life of perpetual job insecurity, an unrewarding work environment and bad pay. This is just simple labour market reality.

So, chin up eikaiwa workers! Yes, the job market stinks. The long-term prospects are dismal. You may not have a job next year or may be making 200 000 yen a month. The writing on the wall has always been there - long before NOVA started spasming. If you are serious about long-term ELT in Japan, get the necessary qualfications and put your nose to the grindstone. It's really quite simple. Let NOVA's closing be your inspiration to aspire to something better.

Good luck!

[Angelfish]

Wow! Pompous much?

Some us of quite like being responsibility-free bottom feeders.

Not everyone wants a career.
*don't worry, my parents already give me enough grief on this front*

[G Cthulhu]

[lagerlout2006]

actually the line on Seinfeld was:


...you may know it as Myanmar, but it will ALWAYS be Burma to me.


we get you though

[chollimaspeed]

[Crab]

Man, tough crowd! "Pompus", "smug". Not my intent at all and sorry if it was taken that way. Boy, I even got compared to Tigerwood - perhaps if I had included more spelling mistakes, exceptionaly poor grammar and a few personal insults, I could aspire to such heights! Lagerlout didn't even fully read/absorb my post and thought I messed up the Seinfeld reference. Now that's an isult!

I was simply noting that there are a lot of threads about NOVA and what will the eikaiwa workers do and will this drive down salaries etc., etc. My point was that eikaiwa work has never been known as a bastion of security and high pay. The closing of NOVA should not have come as the lightbulb moment when people realized this fact. If it is, then my advice was to get the proper qualifications and work hard. And wintersweet, if you don't care to be in Japan for a while or, in your words, "don't want a career", cheers to you! I was speaking to those who wanted to make a career in ELT in Japan. Nothing wrong with being a responsibility-free bottom feeder

I will say it again and enunciate very sloooooowwwwwwllllllllyyyyyy. If you want to work in Japan for more than 2 or 3 years as an English language teacher, you should get the necessary qualifications to move beyond eikaiwa work. It would also help if you work hard at your studies and your job. These simple steps will lead to a more rewarding and secure work environment. If you plan to be in Japan for more than 2 or 3 years as an English teacher and don't take these steps, you will almost certainly have no job security and poor pay. I am not making any value judgment on either path, so calm yourselves.

G Thulhu, I don't know if you were being ironic or sarcastic. I know you've been around (not in the biblical sense, though that may be true as well) for a while. Long enough to know, I would hope, that job appropriate education and hard work is a winning combination in the work world, or any other life pursuit, fo that matter. I think you must be joking, so I won't belabour the point.

I leave you with Bob Marley:

Everyting gonna be alright, everyting gonna be alright, now.
Little darlin don't shed no tears!
My feet is my only carriage,
So I've got to push on through.

Ahhhh, Bob....

[Sweetsee]

Ride on, Crab! I saw Bob twice at the County Bowl. We were at his last show.
But hey, isn't job security an oxymoron, Crab?

[chollimaspeed]

[Sweetsee]

How many foreign tenured professors do you know?

[taikibansei]

[Sweetsee]

That's nice. I don't know any.

[Gordon]

[chollimaspeed]

[G Cthulhu]

[TokyoLiz]

Crab wrote