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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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 Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 3:01 am Post subject: |
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| khusam wrote: |
| This is way off topic. But no, none of the actual work has been near the interviews I was late for. No idea what dungarees are, but I did end up showing up in hiking boots for one. And like I said, I got both jobs. I'd just like people new to Japan to be aware that office staff may not be all that great at giving directions in English.. and even if it sounds easy, it's probably not. |
Good advice! Even with very accurate train directions newbs should shoot for about 50% likelyhood of getting to their destination the first time through. I've been in the car with Japanese people who've been unable to get to a destination even after asking people for directions. It's not an easy country to find your way around.
But... THAT'S WHY PEOPLE SAY TO GO AND FIND THE PLACE A DAY EARLY!
You went to an interview in hiking boots? |
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khusam
Joined: 06 Jul 2008
Posts: 16
Location: Oppama
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:12 am Post subject: |
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| Yup, and not even my boots. My boyfriend's. I had shoes in my bag, but as I was already 15 minutes late, not enough time to change. |
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qcat79
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:26 am Post subject: |
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i'm in korea now as well too. i'm considering a move to japan, but like some of the posters have said, make sure you come financially stocked before you go there. i have two friends there now from my CELTA course. they were jobless for a minimum of three weeks before they got a contract. you will be spending some serious dough on housing, transportation and food (and drinks) in the meantime AND when you get a job.
spend all your free-time looking and asking as many questions as possible.
forget those idiots on this board. ALWAYS go to the first interview dressed to the 9s. in asia, a first impression is everything....and it will definitely pay off. |
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massive_wonder
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:37 pm Post subject: |
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| qcat79 wrote: |
i'm in korea now as well too. i'm considering a move to japan, but like some of the posters have said, make sure you come financially stocked before you go there. i have two friends there now from my CELTA course. they were jobless for a minimum of three weeks before they got a contract. you will be spending some serious dough on housing, transportation and food (and drinks) in the meantime AND when you get a job.
spend all your free-time looking and asking as many questions as possible.
forget those idiots on this board. ALWAYS go to the first interview dressed to the 9s. in asia, a first impression is everything....and it will definitely pay off. |
Add me to the list of teachers in Korea planning to make the jump to Japan.  Actually I tried to go last year, until I realized that I didn't bring enough money to hold me over at that time. I wasn't prepared for schools paying salaries on the 25th of the month for work done during the PREVIOUS month. I also found Japan's job market to be more competitive than Korea's, with fewer opportunities to negotiate contracts with schools in Japan. Is this still the way things are in Japan? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 3:15 am Post subject: |
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| Unless you have some extraordinary circumstances or qualifications (and even those can be detrimental), why should the employer negotiate a contract when there are 200 others in line behind you? |
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maccaliam
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Posts: 17
Location: Jeju, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:33 am Post subject: |
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I have been really considering making the jump from Korea to Japan too. I have spent two years in Korea, and I actually really do like it, but i jsut hear so many good things about Japan that I would like to possibly give it a go. I guess my biggest problem is the life here in Kroea is good and pretty easy with EPIK, and I get paid well and can save loads here. In general, can you save as much in Japan as in Korea? I am not a big drinker (neither is my gf), so maybe that's why I manage to keep so much of my wage each month .. plus the free accommodation in Korea helps. I know (or at least believe that I know) most jobs in Japan require you to pay part of your own accommodation.
Can anyone in Japan compare their savings per month to that of someone teaching in Korea (obviously for most this would require having actually lived in both countries)? |
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Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1369
Location: Sagamihara
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:01 am Post subject: |
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in the past I would say that in Korea you could save more, because of lower taxes and a lower cost of living.
But these days, the won has really gotten weaker and inflation is high.
The yen has gotten stronger, but wages here haven't generally gone up. |
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massive_wonder
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:08 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| Unless you have some extraordinary circumstances or qualifications (and even those can be detrimental), why should the employer negotiate a contract when there are 200 others in line behind you? |
Exactly. When I was in Japan last year, the amount of competition for jobs just blew my mind. It's not at all like Korea, where there are more jobs than teachers. So I take it the competition in Japan's job market hasn't changed much since last year?
| maccaliam wrote: |
I have been really considering making the jump from Korea to Japan too. I have spent two years in Korea, and I actually really do like it, but i jsut hear so many good things about Japan that I would like to possibly give it a go. I guess my biggest problem is the life here in Kroea is good and pretty easy with EPIK, and I get paid well and can save loads here. In general, can you save as much in Japan as in Korea? I am not a big drinker (neither is my gf), so maybe that's why I manage to keep so much of my wage each month .. plus the free accommodation in Korea helps. I know (or at least believe that I know) most jobs in Japan require you to pay part of your own accommodation.
Can anyone in Japan compare their savings per month to that of someone teaching in Korea (obviously for most this would require having actually lived in both countries)? |
The exchange rates are one of my big concerns right now, as I watch my savings account getting eroded almost daily. Salaries in Japan seem to be 250,000 yen, which is US$2500. Nowadays the average salary in Korea is probably about 2.3M. The free apartments that they give us are usually around 300,000-500,000 per month. So, assuming the school provides a 400,000 apartment, that would bring a teacher's total salary to 2.7M. Back when the exchange rate was 900 won per dollar, a salary of 2.7M equaled $3000 per month. However, at today's exchange rate (about 1300), that salary is now only $2076. And it will probably get worse.
Anyway, that's the revenue side, which is only half the picture. The other half is expenses. Since you're not much of a drinker, that will definitely help you. I've seen some of the teachers in Korea who can't save anything because they spend all that money on alcohol! I'm not much of a drinker either, but I do have two other mouths to feed, which has made saving for me a bit of a challenge. Anyway, I would also be interested in hearing from those in Japan about how their monthly expenses stack up... |
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Deicide
Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 1005
Location: Caput Imperii Americani
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Sadebugo wrote: |
Just do it!! I worked four years in Korea on my own back in the 90s. I worked in Japan last year for the federal government for six months. I had never been to Japan before, but wish I had. The two countries don't compare. Once you've lived in Japan, you'll rue the time you wasted in Korea.
Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/ |
Very true. Korea is an enormous dunghole. It is the Mexico of Japan. Everyone wants to go to the promised land and leave the Land of Stink, Smog and Trash, but getting into Japan is tough as nails. You know the deal in Korea. You can get work there so fast it's scary, which says a lot about the place. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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| massive_wonder wrote: |
| Glenski wrote: |
| Unless you have some extraordinary circumstances or qualifications (and even those can be detrimental), why should the employer negotiate a contract when there are 200 others in line behind you? |
Exactly. When I was in Japan last year, the amount of competition for jobs just blew my mind. It's not at all like Korea, where there are more jobs than teachers. So I take it the competition in Japan's job market hasn't changed much since last year? |
No, in fact, the market may have actually gotten worse. They are still picking up the pieces from the NOVA collapse, and schools are merging or eikaiwas are folding here and there. |
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Deicide
Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 1005
Location: Caput Imperii Americani
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| massive_wonder wrote: |
| Glenski wrote: |
| Unless you have some extraordinary circumstances or qualifications (and even those can be detrimental), why should the employer negotiate a contract when there are 200 others in line behind you? |
Exactly. When I was in Japan last year, the amount of competition for jobs just blew my mind. It's not at all like Korea, where there are more jobs than teachers. So I take it the competition in Japan's job market hasn't changed much since last year? |
No, in fact, the market may have actually gotten worse. They are still picking up the pieces from the NOVA collapse, and schools are merging or eikaiwas are folding here and there. |
Meaning, less is available or more? |
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massive_wonder
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 7:17 am Post subject: |
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| Deicide wrote: |
| Glenski wrote: |
| massive_wonder wrote: |
| Glenski wrote: |
| Unless you have some extraordinary circumstances or qualifications (and even those can be detrimental), why should the employer negotiate a contract when there are 200 others in line behind you? |
Exactly. When I was in Japan last year, the amount of competition for jobs just blew my mind. It's not at all like Korea, where there are more jobs than teachers. So I take it the competition in Japan's job market hasn't changed much since last year? |
No, in fact, the market may have actually gotten worse. They are still picking up the pieces from the NOVA collapse, and schools are merging or eikaiwas are folding here and there. |
Meaning, less is available or more? |
That would mean fewer jobs are available. And to make matters worse, the Japanese currency is strong, so Japan is even more attractive for teachers who need to send money home to pay bills, student loans, etc. And more English teachers equals fewer job vacancies. |
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anne_o
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Posts: 172
Location: Tokyo
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:55 am Post subject: going to korea |
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Hi....i'll just add my opinions from living here 1 year and a half.
I'm going to Seoul in the next week or so for several reasons....some personal, but also related to the teaching situation here.
Everyone on the Korea board seems to want to come to Japan!!
I can only talk about Tokyo as that is where I live.
I found a good job fairly easy last August after coming here from Bangkok, but I quit after the eikaiwa where I was working hired a total ex-nova tool to replace the boss who quit.
Needless to say, I don't play the game well.
Anyway, I had a private class and several private lessons to keep me afloat while I looked for something new.
I was very disappointed at what was out there.
There are a lot of part time jobs, but most of those will not get you a visa.
I didn't need a visa as I am married, but you will need one unless you qualify for a working-holiday????
As far as the differences between the 2 countries? This has been argued over and over and it really is personal.
I love it here....the food,people, lifesytyle, arts, etc....but it is RIGID....and it seems that many of the other foreigners who live here and have lived here for awhile are also pretty rigid. This makes life hard for me here. I mean, I don't surround myself with it, but it's just hard not to notice....even on this board.
I had really great experiences with all of the Japanese people I met and I married a Japanese man, but it's really hard, for me at least, to find cool, like minded foreigners to hang out with, and it is important to me to have foreign friends as well as Japanese.
Back to the job situation.......it is definitely hard to find work, but not impossible. There is no way that economically Japan is better than Korea!! At least not with the lifestyle I lead....rent, shopping, eating out, entertainment, etc is expensive here, and I only go out a couple times a week.
I'm really looking forward to a change for a bit. And I'm going to have an apartment here and in Seoul!
Maybe I'm still afraid of settling down!
Good Luck...oh, and bring lots of money! |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 11:20 am Post subject: Re: going to korea |
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| anne_o wrote: |
There are a lot of part time jobs, but most of those will not get you a visa.
I didn't need a visa as I am married, but you will need one unless you qualify for a working-holiday???? |
If you can't qualify for a working holiday visa (and remember that you have to be in your home country to even apply for it), then you have few options to land a work visa.
bachelor's degree, or
minimum of 3 years of work experience
Come the first year, and you will need an employer to sponsor you for a FT job. After that, however, and you can "self-sponsor" your same work visa if you have enough income from several PT sources. |
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