Job Discussion Forums

[gittelbug]

Hello all! I was just offered a position at the Heart School. I've seen some negative posts about this company from back in 06. I was wondering if anyone has had any recent experience with them or could give me some more info about troubles they encountered. I know the pay is low which sucks but I'm more than happy to take low pay if I means I get to be in Japan. What makes me worried is all this talk of dishonestly as seen here.

any comments/advise would be most welcome

[ripslyme]

[Glenski]

I agree with ripslyme. Desperate people will accept desperate wages, which only continues the sad economic situation for EFL teachers.

There is no reason a company has to offer less than 250,000 yen/month. It never changed for decades despite the changes in economy, and only in recent years has it dipped lower because employers know they can get away with it..mostly because of desperate people wanting to come here.

Know what you're getting into.

[gittelbug]

Well seeing as I have limited teaching experience and the competition is so high I figured a year with a low salary is a small price to pay to gain the experience I need. Am I wrong?

[Glenski]

How low and where exactly?

You must of course think of No. 1 (yourself) above all other things, but have some consideration for the next poor slob who is hoping that salaries have not fallen (much) since 5 years ago, when it was almost always at least 250K per month. Think of stopping the trend of lower wages.

[gittelbug]

[Glenski]

gittelbug,
So, you aren't even going to answer my simple questions of how much pay they offer and where in Japan the job is?

If you don't feel like answering publicly, ok, but please send me a PM.

[OneJoelFifty]

I've worked for Heart since April this year and have had no problems as yet. The biggest criticism I can give is that they can appear a bit disorganised at times, but I've generally found the staff helpful.

Through perseverance (and having made a couple of Japanese-speaking friends!) I've managed to be relatively self-sufficient in terms of asking for stuff from my company, so I can't comment on what experience you might have if you're someone that's going to need a lot of help settling in.

Where is the position, or have you just been offered a place providing there is a space for you in August?

[gittelbug]

[OneJoelFifty]

[gittelbug]

Ok I reviewed my emails from them again:
There's a part time in Kashiwa city in the part time in July and then start up full time from September through February.

And others starting in September and going through March in various places of the country

I am emailing them about salary and placement before I sign a contract agreement though.

edit: This is a September start but they don't know the location as it depends on what they school board says. At this point they are waiting for confirmations from school boards. Also the salary depends on that as well. The one I posted was from Mito which is apparently at the lower end of the salary range.

edit 2: Wow I was just offered a Job from the American Language School in the gumma prefecture. It's 250,000 a month but i'd be the actual teacher will still makes me a bit nervous but it looks like an amazing area.

[OneJoelFifty]

Okay, then that sounds a lot more like an actual offer! You wouldn't sign the real contract until you are in Japan and know all the details.

The July work is possibly for schools that want their students to get practice for speech competitions/interactive forum during the summer holidays. Heart also offer private Japanese lessons so you could be asked to take some of them.

[ssjup81]

I'm working for Heart as well. I have been since April.

For me, I haven't had any real problems with them either. Having a higher pay would be nice, but I'm not complaining. I'm still actually saving money...then again, I'm not a party-type and not a drinker (I'm more casual), I just eat the school lunch (and that's cheap), and I don't have to worry about the cost of car maintenance since I don't own one and walk everywhere, so that probably has a lot to do with it.

The most help I've received so far is the medical stuff. Both the school I work for and Heart have been very helpful to me. This past Sunday, I went on a trip with the Art Club. While on the trip, I cut my foot...and...it got infected. ^^;; So Heart has been helping me a lot with the medical stuff since my Japanese isn't sufficient enough to do the hospital thing by myself. I'm also being driven to and from the school until my foot gets better. Also helping me get set up with a bank account and all that. So yeah...

Hm, main criticism...well, I don't have one yet...just the pay, but I'm able to eat and pay my rent (60,000) and do a little traveling (if I choose to), so that's cool.

[Glenski]

[PO1]

It would be a stretch to get by on 205,000 yen. I could understand if they were paying for your housing, but they probably aren't. I've heard mixed things about pretty much every company in Japan, so it's really based on your personal preference. It's taking a leap of faith going to work in another country to begin with. Making low wages (especially if you have bills back home) doesn't help things.

But there are ways to manage your costs. If you walk most places, don't eat out/go out much, and keep only essentials like gas/water/electricity, then it's feasible. I made 260,000 my first year, and I had about 200,000 a month to deal with after everything was said and done with taxes and housing. I usually saved at least 100,000 yen a month, and I wasn't conserving either. Granted, I wasn't living in a big city, so that's something to consider for sure. 205,000 a month in Tokyo would be impossible I think.

Weigh your options. You can always get your foot in the door, scrounge your money, and then look for more substantial wages elsewhere later.