Job Discussion Forums

[Ikki]

Well, you certainly can't say that anyone who would accept an Interac or Westgate contract was "egocentric" or money-obsessed.

People who accept such contracts fall into two broad categories: those who are really hard up back at home or have a romantic, idealistic fantasy of the "Japanese experience" awaiting them. They(of the latter category)will convince themselves that working for 200K/mo. with no paid airfare/no enrollment in NHI & pension/and subject to the dismissal whims of their overlords will provide them w/the "Japanese experience" they dream of.

I was lucky-I was on JET and was provided with the "warm & fuzzies" of Japan. I just think that non-JETs should be provided with info on forums like this one so they can make an informed choice about what likely awaits them.

[rxk22]

[ghostrider]

Agree with Ikki, though JET has its own problems, like having no control over where you're placed. People choosing eikaiwa or Interac tend to be more concerned about location. If you go with them and they want to send you to the middle of nowhere, don't do it. I'd apply for JET and those and then decide. Also, remember the parts of Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa closest to Tokyo are essentially Tokyo. Few JETs get those locations anymore though, better off aiming for Kansai cities, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo if you're applying for JET. JET is the government run ALT program. You're still facing the same issues that ALTs with Interac face when it comes to your job functions and interaction with Japanese teachers. Otoh, the pay is higher, they pay for your flight, they don't try to reduce your pay for vacations, and you don't have to worry about power-tripping former ALT managers. JETs have a reputation for thinking they're special because of the way the ALT position is presented and how ridiculously complicated and long the application process is.

[Denizen]

Well, blueman, seems that this thread has shown that there are good and bad aspects of living and working in Japan, depending on your frame of mind. I will agree to disagree with those among us who don't share my optimism. I simply wanted to show that there is hope.

Best of luck to you.

[nightsintodreams]

People like Ikki may have had a bad time in Japan, but that certainly is not the case for all of us.

I work for Interac, which after listening to the people on this forum, you'd think was the worst employer in the world. Let me start by telling you, I've worked here one year and had an amazing time.

Interac pay 2750000 yen a year. that's 20500 pounds or 34000 dollars. All transport is paid and you get 10 weeks holiday plus all national holidays.

With my first year's wages, I've been to Sri Lanka, Philippines and Indonesia, paid back almost 5000 pounds worth of debt, traveled to a few places in Japan, spent the first 6 months partying every weekend in Japanese bars and also managed to support myself for the year.

On top of that ive been studying Japanese and am now at a level where i am comfortable having simple conversations (depending on the topic, dont ask me to talk about politics or of the meaning of life in Japanese) and learnt to read almost 400 kanji.

In short, Ive had the best year of my life by far. Now ive been here a year, the novelty of living in Japan is starting to wear off so I've got myself a second evening job at an Eikaiwa company, working 3 nights a week and Saturday day. In total my yearly salary is over 50,000 dollars a year. Not too shabby.

The people who dont get on too well in Japan are the people who dont bother learning to speak Japanese, expect all the same rights and customs as they have back home and like to feel like the victim in every situation. As mentioned by a previous poster most of the teachers out here are wingers and whiners, always complaining. But do they go home? nope, they stay, I wonder why!?!?!

[OneJoelFifty]

I was getting 205,000 a month working dispatch last year and a bit extra through private lessons, and I also had the best year of my life. I spent about six weeks seeing other parts of Japan, didn't cut back on my spending and generally enjoyed myself. There were weeks when money was tight but it was nothing I wasn't used to before I came to Japan.

If you're not uptight, don't have an inflated sense of self-entitlement and don't harbor unrealistic expectations about your trip to Japan, you can have an amazing time working in the public school system through a dispatch company. You will have plenty of time in the evenings and during the holiday periods, and you can easily budget to take full advantage of those times.

I don't know what these "warm and fuzzy" things people are talking about are...it makes it sound as though if you don't work through JET you'll never have a friendly conversation with a Japanese person. Not the case at all. Make an effort, learn the language, don't be a weirdo and you'll be fine.

[ghostrider]

The first year is cheap because the NHI is usually under 2000 yen/month and you don't have to pay the residence tax. But after that, you get hit with the hefty residence tax, the cost of 2 of those vacations, and 10000-25000 yen/month NHI bills. The standard ALT Pay right now is 250,000/month or less. Some make more, usually if it's a school further from a city or a rough schedule. Interac typically reduces the pay during vacation periods, so you have to plan ahead. That said, ALT's tend to have better hours and more days off for roughly the same pay as teachers at eikaiwa. 205,000 yen/month is going to be tough to live off of after the first year unless your housing is included. Don't let the exchange rate fool you. Japan is quite expensive when you're living in it. The exchange rate only helps if you have a lot of extra cash to send back home.

[nightsintodreams]

In the first year you don't pay any residence tax, the employers tax was always about 6500 yen a month for me and my NHI bill is 50 000 for the entire year.

@Ghostrider: I agree currency conversion can be misleading, especially if you come from America where the cost of living is apparently very low. Coming from the UK however, I can say the living expenses are pretty similar in Japan (if anything Japan is slightly cheaper) so for me the currency conversion is not completely pointless.

Out of interest how much was your residence tax after you'd lived in japan for one year? How much did you NHI bill go up to?

[the4th2001]

[ghostrider]

The general NHI is meant as a last option. It is fine if you're barely making any money because the monthly fee is low, but the cost shoots up if you're making a normal living salary. Mine went from 1500 yen the first year to 20000 yen after that. I wasn't making all that much money.

To help full-time workers deal with this, companies are expected to pay a portion of the insurance under another name. Eikaiwa and dispatch companies are notorious for finding loopholes to make sure you're basically working full time, but they don't have to pay into this.

My residence tax was also about 10% of my income.

Another issue with both the insurance and the residence tax is they are based on the previous year's salary and are given as stubs that are to be paid each month (every 4 months for residence tax) at the post office or convenience store. If you lose your job or are making less money for whatever reason, it becomes increasingly difficult to pay them. You don't lose health coverage if you don't pay, but you will be charged a monthly late fee and now you can be denied a visa renewal if you can't prove you've paid, though they may be flexible if you show you're attempting to pay it (so I've been told, not my first hand experience).

[the4th2001]

[Ikki]

Yeeesh....some people need reading comp lessons & lessons on how not to make inferences when there are no reasons to do so...& then try to add personal insults to boot....

nightsintodreams: where did I even hint that I "had a bad time in Japan"? Re-read my post at the top of pg. 3.

Maybe making less than 3 mill./yr. tickles your fancy & floats your boat. That's an amazing thing to boast about. But not nearly as amazing as claiming that, on a salary that's no screaming hell(to put it mildly), you've travelled widely in E. Asia, paid down 8 grand US(roughly)in debt, partyed hearty for 6 months while paying your everyday expenses! AND you got 10 weeks vacation?! Even JETs don't get that much time off. It violates the TOS at Dave's to say a poster is full of it...so I won't. But you get the point, eh, mate? And what's this bit about "all transport is paid"? Why, you mean when you visit different schools your train tickets are paid for? How I envy you! And I envy how you do 3 nights extra a week AND Saturdays! I'd only envy you more if you did Sunday privates in your apt.!

You imply that I a)have never learnt Japanese. Mate, I'll wager that my lousy Japanese is head & shoulders above yours. b)never adapted to local manners & customs. Mate, I'll wager that I'm more "Japanese" than you'll ever be. c) stay when I'm unhappy. I'm long gone from Japan. Better that than working for gangsters like Interac.

OneJoel: Wow. 205K/mo. No wonder you're bragging.

So, as long as you're not "uptight" or a "weirdo", everything's peachy keen? To me, "weird" is boasting that you make 205K/mo.

Maybe you think you're having a Shangri-la Japanese experience because you have a "friendly conversation with a Japanese person."
As for "warm & fuzzy", it's a figure of speech. Sorry if it confuses you.

Look...people...has there ever been a a discontented JET? You bet. Has there ever been a contented eikaiwa/dispatch co. drone? You bet. My assertion is simply that a JET will be FAR MORE LIKELY to have the pleasant "Japan experience" than non-JETs will.

That's all....

[Denizen]

With all due respect, Ikki, your bitterness is showing...

[rxk22]

[seklarwia]