Job Discussion Forums

themomohime · Joined: 13 Jan 2010 Posts: 3 Location: Berkeley, CA

So.. here's the deal. I am applying to work with Interac this coming Fall, and I am planning to live with my significant other wherever I am placed. We are not married because we are both female. Of course, I know that I don't need to broadcast this to the company, as "sex-life" should be private, but I do have a few questions:

1) Is Interac's salary pretty fair in the suburban areas if my S.O. will also have a salary to supplement?

2) How do I tell Interac that I need an apartment for two people? Will being "friends" be sufficient? Or will I need to search on my own?

3) Can you suggest any companies that don't require a B.A. for my S.O.? Smile

Thankies!

The Momohime

seklarwia · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:33 am Post subject:

Starting with your 3rd question: The BA requirement is a visa requirement not a job requirement. So if your partner does not have one or does not have 3 years of relevant working experience, she is going to have a hard time even being seen as eligible for a visa that allows work, let alone finding an employer.
Can I guess that you and your partner are from the US? If you are, she's not even entitled to the non-renewable 1 year WHV. And even if she were, should you be intending on staying for longer than a year, she'll have the exact same problem next year.

To your 2nd question: Forgetting the fact that your partner is the same sex for the moment, I think you will have an issue if you say that you want a place for you and a person who cannot legally be classed as a dependant and who may not be entitled to legally live and work here. Yes you could simply do your own search once you were here, but the fact that your partner may not be able to legally work here then leads into the answer for your 1st question...

... you could both live off the salary, but you wouldn't really be able save anything and may not even be able to afford living in a place big enough for 2 unless you were somewhere very cheap and rural. But if your partner is unable to gain some form of legal working status, she will be in no position to help out moneywise.

Does your partner have any intention of studying to get a degree? It would be a whole lot better if she had one, since I believe Japan does not recognise same sex marriages, so even if the two of you got hitched, she'd probably still not be entitled to a dependants visa (which allows PT work with special permission).

themomohime · Joined: 13 Jan 2010 Posts: 3 Location: Berkeley, CA

seklarwia · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 11:18 am Post subject:

In that case, there shouldn't be any reason that they couldn't look for an apartment suitable for the 2 of you. It's not strange for people to house/apartment share and even less so if the are friends. But of all the friends I know living together, they started out in individual apartments then moved in together later. It might be easier if you just said you wanted to live with your "partner".

And if your partner is arriving with WHV in hand, she is able to start working immediately, which would make her an attractive candidate for things like local eikawa should a position open up. Also she's not limited to ALT and eikawa work.

stefanreynolds · Joined: 12 Mar 2010 Posts: 34

i think its oly fair that the boe know your sexual orientation so they can make an informed decision about placing you.

Mr_Monkey · Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 661 Location: Kyuuuuuushuuuuuuu

WTF?

NO, it isn't.

seklarwia · Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 10:20 pm Post subject:

stefanreynolds · Joined: 12 Mar 2010 Posts: 34

well, ultimately it is the boe's responsibility not only for education but for pastoral care of the children. It is thus important that they know about a teacher's ethics before they are employed. ultimately, teachers influence their students...

Mr_Monkey · Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 661 Location: Kyuuuuuushuuuuuuu

And gay people have no ethics?

Are you a troll, or are you just stupid?

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

No, its a private thing.
Just say I will stay with my friend and leave it at that.

my_way · Joined: 16 Feb 2010 Posts: 72 Location: tokyo

ShioriEigoKyoushi · Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Posts: 364 Location: Japan

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

To the OP, themomohime,

You could just bypass Interac and try to get a place by yourselves. Stay in a gaijin house for a while, where you could possibly share a room, and then go looking for private digs. It's hard to advise you on gaijin house accommodations as you don't know location, right?

If your partner is on a WHV, then she can work in just about any industry, right? Is she a recent grad or does she have work experience?

If she's a fresh grad, the best she can probably do is minimum wage retail job. Mind you, this is brilliant if she speaks a little Japanese and wants to learn in a hurry.

Does she have work experience/licensure? I've met WHV holders who work in their fields - an Australian hair dresser, a Canadian construction worker.

I think you'll find that, while Japanese do not openly show prejudice towards GBL people, as do some people who post here, they will shut you out of jobs if they discover your relationship. Some fields are more tolerant of different ways of living - entertainment, esthetics, etc. - but education is still pretty old fashioned.

Some recommended resources for foreign women in Japan -

http://www.fewjapan.com/ network of foreign professional women
http://www.being-a-broad.com/ Magazine, book and web forum

Good luck!