Job Discussion Forums

[seklarwia]

[genesis315]

That was an excellent write up on China! I like the part where the person walks up to the till.....classic!

[Cool Teacher]

My bags are unpacked!

[starteacher]

[kotoko]

I'm here in Japan because I studied Japanese and TESOL at uni.. sometimes I find it hard to remember exactly why I started to study Japanese..

But the country is good, I have a nice job with better pay than most of my friends back home. It's nice to live in a different culture and although the Japanese drive me round the bend sometimes, it's not as difficult to live compared to other countries. Living in Nagoya for a year was hard and there was some coldness with patches of racism from time to time (like not sitting next to me on a train ) but now I'm in a very small town and the locals couldn't be nicer.

[genmakenx]

I can't speak as someone who is currently teaching in Japan, however, I know I would work under lower conditions. For me it is the point of being back in Japan again (I studied there during college and was a Japanese major). To be back in the place I love is more than enough reason for me. Don't get me wrong, I like my home country as well, but I feel more at peace in Japan. Perhaps it is because it is so new and will wear off over the years...but Japan is what I chose for my future. Unfortunately I am having a hard time landing a job and have been searching for over a year now

[kahilm]

I've been back in the States for a little over a year now after living and teaching in Tokyo for about two years. I'd go back in a heartbeat if the pay wasn't so low and if there was room for advancement.

Right now I'm at a pretty low paying office job in the shipping industry but there is a lot of room for growth. But I got this job through family and I spent a good 3 months looking for work before I took it.

So, the reasons I'd stay in Japan, in no particular order:

- There are very very few job opportunities back home for college grads with useless majors, like myself (woohoo film studies...). I've heard that even with a "useful" major, like engineering or accounting or whatever, it's slim pickings.

- Even if you do find some sort of entry level job here, 200-250k yen a month is probably more than what it will pay. That's the case for me right now...

- Universal health care is a pretty big positive, compared the the train wreck of a health care system here in the States. Luckily, I'm covered through my job, but I had no health insurance for the first 3-4 months when I first got back.

- Japan is clean and safe. Don't have to worry about getting mugged in Tokyo, for the most part. Bums don't bother you compared to a lot of U.S. cities.

- I'll probably get flamed for this, but women are actually a healthy weight and they dress nicely. Women in the U.S., on the other hand....

- Food. Delicious, relatively healthy, not too expensive.


That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Now I really miss Japan

[PO1]

I agree, Japan is safe. But there is a lot of petty theft. Someone stole my bicycle and that made me pretty mad. Even if you go to Ueno, where there are lots of homeless, they won't try to panhandle or beg for money.

I usually hear the same types of things:

a. Safe
b. Friendly
c. Good food
d. Nice scenery

Good enough for me (and it's true for the most part)!

[Apsara]