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yamahuh
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1033
Location: Karaoke Hell
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 Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:17 am Post subject: |
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Good for you Rooster - glad things are finally working out for you after all your hassles on La Isla Formosa. I'm very curious to be updated on your progress over there.
Sent you a PM. |
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Ikki
Joined: 31 Jan 2011
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 7:27 am Post subject: |
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Not to get too off topic but since it's already been mentioned...
The "Gloomy Gus"(so to speak)at the Japan forums raises the ire of some because he tells them truths they don't want to hear. Sure, I've disagreed with him on occasion, but GENERALLY "Gloomy Gus" is correct when he asserts:
a)Being in Japan while job hunting greatly increases your chances of getting a gig(the OP admits he was in Japan when he landed a job).
b) Having experience in places other than Japan generally counts for jack. It might even hurt your chances.
c) Employers generally prefer you already have a visa.
d) The EFL market is saturated and salaries have not merely stagnated but regressed.
So before the OP rages triumphalist because he landed a Japanese gig, let's remember that he hasn't exactly landed in Shangri-la. Quarter milllion a month? You can live on it but you won't exactly be socking cash away, travelling much, and getting the most out of the Japanese experience. Airfare? National health insurance enrollment? Bonus? Probably not.
"Gloomy Gus" is GENERALLY gloomy for a reason. But the OP is invited to come back to this thread in, say, 6 months & tell me(and Gus) how wrong I am. |
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Shimokitazawa
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 458
Location: Saigon, Vietnam
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:28 am Post subject: |
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| Ikki wrote: |
Not to get too off topic but since it's already been mentioned...
The "Gloomy Gus"(so to speak) at the Japan forums raises the ire of some because he tells them truths they don't want to hear. Sure, I've disagreed with him on occasion, but GENERALLY "Gloomy Gus" is correct when he asserts:
a)Being in Japan while job hunting greatly increases your chances of getting a gig(the OP admits he was in Japan when he landed a job).
b) Having experience in places other than Japan generally counts for jack. It might even hurt your chances.
c) Employers generally prefer you already have a visa.
d) The EFL market is saturated and salaries have not merely stagnated but regressed.
So before the OP rages triumphalist because he landed a Japanese gig, let's remember that he hasn't exactly landed in Shangri-la. Quarter milllion a month? You can live on it but you won't exactly be socking cash away, travelling much, and getting the most out of the Japanese experience. Airfare? National health insurance enrollment? Bonus? Probably not.
"Gloomy Gus" is GENERALLY gloomy for a reason. But the OP is invited to come back to this thread in, say, 6 months & tell me(and Gus) how wrong I am. |
He is no more able to predict whether someone will be successful finding a job than anyone else. In fact, he is a detriment to new people looking for information on TEFL work in Japan. His manner is condescending and he his information misleading. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Ikki wrote: |
Not to get too off topic but since it's already been mentioned...
The "Gloomy Gus"(so to speak)at the Japan forums raises the ire of some because he tells them truths they don't want to hear. Sure, I've disagreed with him on occasion, but GENERALLY "Gloomy Gus" is correct when he asserts:
a)Being in Japan while job hunting greatly increases your chances of getting a gig(the OP admits he was in Japan when he landed a job).
b) Having experience in places other than Japan generally counts for jack. It might even hurt your chances.
c) Employers generally prefer you already have a visa.
d) The EFL market is saturated and salaries have not merely stagnated but regressed.
So before the OP rages triumphalist because he landed a Japanese gig, let's remember that he hasn't exactly landed in Shangri-la. Quarter milllion a month? You can live on it but you won't exactly be socking cash away, travelling much, and getting the most out of the Japanese experience. Airfare? National health insurance enrollment? Bonus? Probably not.
"Gloomy Gus" is GENERALLY gloomy for a reason. But the OP is invited to come back to this thread in, say, 6 months & tell me(and Gus) how wrong I am. |
Oh, I'm not saying I disagree with Gus on everything. In fact, I agree with him on many things. I'm sure the market in Japan is stagnating. Heck, I actually agree with that statement.
However, I disagree with him on the extent to which things have gotten bad, and I disagree with him on some specific points. The gloomy, glum guy makes Japanese EFL sound like a lottery where newbies can only land jobs through luck and random chance, not through credentials or outside-of-Japan experience, and I beg to differ.
For example, I disagree with Gus when he says that J-employers don't look favorably on experience in other countries -- evidence please? I find it very hard to believe that J-employers consider experience in Taiwan, Korea, China, etc. "worse than no experience at all." Sounds like a rumor concocted to protect jobs against the throngs of EFL teachers in Korea, that's what it sounds like to me...
I actually agree with Gus on many things, but I think he exaggerates how bad things have gotten and actively discourages people from coming to Japan, perhaps to protect himself, the union/association he works for, or both.
Finally, the thing that irks me the most about Gus is that he simply sits at his computer everyday cranking out tens of thousands of posts, making it impossible to go anywhere on the Internet and get a Gus-free point of view. He has taken over Dave's, Gaijinpot, and countless other Japan sites -- there is no escape!
Last edited by Rooster_2006 on Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:34 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Shimokitazawa wrote: |
| Ikki wrote: |
Not to get too off topic but since it's already been mentioned...
The "Gloomy Gus"(so to speak) at the Japan forums raises the ire of some because he tells them truths they don't want to hear. Sure, I've disagreed with him on occasion, but GENERALLY "Gloomy Gus" is correct when he asserts:
a)Being in Japan while job hunting greatly increases your chances of getting a gig(the OP admits he was in Japan when he landed a job).
b) Having experience in places other than Japan generally counts for jack. It might even hurt your chances.
c) Employers generally prefer you already have a visa.
d) The EFL market is saturated and salaries have not merely stagnated but regressed.
So before the OP rages triumphalist because he landed a Japanese gig, let's remember that he hasn't exactly landed in Shangri-la. Quarter milllion a month? You can live on it but you won't exactly be socking cash away, travelling much, and getting the most out of the Japanese experience. Airfare? National health insurance enrollment? Bonus? Probably not.
"Gloomy Gus" is GENERALLY gloomy for a reason. But the OP is invited to come back to this thread in, say, 6 months & tell me(and Gus) how wrong I am. |
He is no more able to predict whether someone will be successful finding a job than anyone else. In fact, he is a detriment to new people looking for information on TEFL work in Japan. His manner is condescending and he his information misleading. |
Well said. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Rooster to be honest I think there are the nay sayers on most of the forums. |
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creztor
Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Posts: 476
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Nay, it isn't true. |
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