Job Discussion Forums

aliciarc416 · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 8

i was just wondering if anyone had good and bad opinions of these two companies. I am about to graduate and i am debating over which one i want to apply for first. I know Aeon pays more and Ecc has more vacation and so on. But i am interested in peoples experience and opinions.
Thanks for any and all replies.

ghostrider · Joined: 30 May 2006 Posts: 147

Apply for both and take whichever offers the best deal in your opinion.

I think the difference between the 2 is minimal except with ECC you'll probably be teaching children more often. I think AEON has a separate children's branch, so you may not teach children at all, though that's just a guess.

Inflames · Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 486

You're applying for a job, so they choose you. Either way, I'd apply to both as there's no guarantee of you getting a job offer and interview practice is always useful. They're both supposed to be decent. ECC is half kids though (at least in Kansai).

They both have positives and negatives. If it's just for a year (and don't make a career out of eikaiwa) they're basically both the same.

jc1977 · Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 29 Location: Nerima

AEON does have a separate children's branch, but more and more schools are now teaching adults and children due to increasing demand for kid's lessons. Don't know much about ECC, but AEON is a pretty good place to work.

stillnosheep · Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 2068 Location: eslcafe

poohbear · Joined: 01 Mar 2005 Posts: 46 Location: Toronto & Tokyo

both have good reps for eikawas, but i'd choose aeon because they have 2 consecutive days off, i can't stand 2 days off spread out through my week. but honesty dude do a search and you'll see tons of threads on aeon and ecc and peoples experiences. why start a new one?

Ryu Hayabusa · Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 182

The main difference from what I've gleaned from this, other sites, and the company websites is as follows: The work days are shorter at ECC. On average, an ECC teacher has less than 6 hours of teaching a day with maybe an hour of prep. The travel time is a wild card and you'll be going to 2-5 schools every week. With Aeon, you're expected to be at the school from around 1-9pm. Add travel time on top of that. The good thing is, an Aeon apartment is not too far away from the school and a person is at the same school everyday. The prep and paperwork time is built into that. There is more paperwork with Aeon. I am anticipating that once I get to Japan and get the swing of things at ECC, I'll be able to spend less time prepping and be able to work 5-7 hour days not including travel time. With Aeon, even if a person gets the swing of things, they're almost always going to be at work for 8 hours a day not including travel time.

I researched the hell out of this. I was going to apply to both Aeon and ECC last February. I eventually just applied to ECC. I got through the process and got the job.

Yes, Aeon pays more and the single-ocupancy apartment is subsidized, but since my time is more important than money, I went with ECC. Plus, after 6 months or so I might get some private students and that'll boost my income to Aeon levels easily.

If I've written something that's not true, please correct me.

vancouver_syndicate · Joined: 09 Sep 2004 Posts: 46 Location: Canada

in terms of preping at aeon, there's actually very little. they have all the lessons planned out and the material ready. all you have to do is follow the lesson plan. if you actually follow the plan it can be painfully dull and boring.

as for teaching hours. it looks like they're both the same 25 hours. you just end up spending more time doing office hours at aeon. which could mean a number of thing from handing out flyers outside to filling in student progress reports.

The_Hanged_Man · Joined: 10 Oct 2004 Posts: 224 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia

I worked at Aeon for a bit over a year and was satisfied with the company. Both ECC and Aeon are honest companies and you can expect them to follow through with their promises. Honestly though the workload really depends more on the individual school and manager than the company in this case. Even between Aeon schools there was a fairly wide variance in the number actual classes you teach and what you are expected to do when are not teaching. Some managers were chill and let you do your own thing and others had you sweeping, chatting with students with in the lobby, and handing fliers out on the street.

aliciarc416 · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 8

Thanks some of your post were very helpful and others kind of missed the point. i applied for both and a few smaller ones that i have heard good things about and now have an interview for Aeon. So thanks again and hopefully i will get a job soon.

Vince · Joined: 05 May 2003 Posts: 559 Location: U.S.

c233 · Joined: 27 May 2008 Posts: 4

I have heard about taking out the trash and selling stuff at AEON. What is a fact is that some teachers work saturdays and some don't. Those that dont not only get the best day off, they miss out on the hardest work. And because of the nature of national holidays, those teachers get more holidays in a year as well!

thefpq · Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 6

Apply for both.

AEON is a decent gig...as is ecc. Last year Aeon switched to a 36 hour workweek which lets you get medical and pension. ECC runs the 29.5 schedule. No medical besides travel insurance type stuff. But fewer hours in the office.

However...all in all...it depends on your manager. My manager is pretty easygoing. I have heard complaints from students from both schools from multiple branches. But it depends on the staff, manager, region...

On an aside...is it just me or are AEON teachers the most socially retarded group of people in japan?

I am an aeon teacher. Not trying to threadjack. PM me a reply.

aliciarc416 · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 8

Well Aeon didn't want me. There were 11 of us at the interview and it didn't seem like they were planning to have many come back. Good News is that ECC wants me to interview, bad news is that i would have to go to Toronto to interview, which is about 14 hours away. Not sure if i can afford to go for the interview yet. I have to work a little bit and get some money in the bank before that type of trip. Wish me luck and any advice for the ECC interview would be appreciated.

inkansai · Joined: 18 Jan 2005 Posts: 39

If you don't have the money to travel to Toronto how are you going to survive in Japan with ECC.

ECC doesn't provide a return airfare
ECC doesn't pay you 252,000 until you pass training and start teaching in one of their schools.

The benefits at ECC are nowhere near as nice as AEON. Don't be fooled by the 29.5 hour contract or the 7 weeks of holidays.