Job Discussion Forums

[dawnbuckley]

Hi,

I have just received an offer from Westgate after having applied for their University programme. I was all excited about it before it was actually offered to me but now I am getting worried again!

It sounds like a great foot in the door to Japan and a pretty good company but I was wondering:
Has anyone come back with ANY money? I am not expecting to save or anything but a little bit to start up somehere else would be nice as I don`t have a huge behind me, but enough.
I am open to staying on and finding another job after the 3 months but not sure yet. I don`t expect to save in such a very short time at all, and I know how much you spend varies from person to person. I am just wondering should I decide to come home to Ireland in July, will I be broke and end up living at home! Any experiences?

Thanks,

Dawn

[Glenski]

Geez! Westgate reimburses your airfare. Ka-ching right there!

Westgate also pays a little more than the standard eikaiwa and dispatch fare. Figure on spending half or slightly less than half of your take-home salary on things like basic necessities, and what do you have left? Roughly half your salary, right?

How you blow or save it depends on you. It's not hard to do either one. Since you are hired only 3 months for Westgate, it's pretty easy to do the math on how much you can potentially save.

If you go out twice a week and drink conservatively, you'll eat up 50,000 yen/month. Factor that in. Anything else you spend will use up your potential savings.

After the Westgate stint, your visa is still valid until it expires, so you can hang around and work elsewhere on it. More ka-ching if you are frugal, and even MORE if you take on private or PT work on the side.

[azarashi sushi]

Ditto what Glenski said.

You've basically got no set up costs, so you can start saving money right away. How much you save depends on you.

I've never worked for Westgate and don't know anyone personally who has, but it strikes me as being a very good deal for someone who just wants a "sniff" of Japan with minimum financial outlay.

If you do plan to stay after the three month stint, just be aware that you most likely will not be able to line up another job immediately afterwards, so that's going to eat into your savings.

If money is really such a big issue for you, you should just stay in Ireland. You will save the most money that way. The yen doesn't convert to much in Euros these days! And generally, English teaching is not for getting rich!

If you are interested in the experience of it, then Japan is a great place to come and teach.

I've noticed you've posted about a million enquiries about schools. At one point os another, you're going to have to take the leap! You will never find a school that's perfect. While I don't doubt that shonky employers exit, through my own experience I have found that if you just keep your head down, do the job that you've been paid to do, stick to the rules of etiquette, don't cause trouble for other people, then you will have a good, hassle-free experience. I personally, have never had any problems.

I don't know, but I think a lot of the negativity comes from new graduates who have never had a job before and resent being told to do something or feel that the world owes them.

Anyway, good luck! You can do it!!!!

A.S

[pcorbett]

Dawn, Japan is a lot cheaper than Ireland. Especially if you live in Dublin. Westgate's salary works out at around 2000 euro a month. With flights on top it's not too bad. I reckon you'll be able to save about 700 euro a month unless you go out every night and blow lots of money on fine food and booze...which is always a possibility.