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ScottishGringo
Joined: 08 Apr 2011
Posts: 45
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 Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:50 pm Post subject: Is Japan what I'm looking for? |
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I'm a native English speaker with a degree and I'm doing a basic TEFL course next month to see how I like it, if it seems OK then I'm considering going abroad to teach. I have to be honest I'm not all that excited about teaching english as a job but I love to travel and could see myself enjoying the living abroad side of things even if I don't enjoy the job. I don't enjoy my current job nor much like the place I live so can't be any worse than things are now.
I'm being a bit overly hopeful in that I can find an easy going job, not too many hours, decent pay (enough that I can live, enjoy myself and maybe even save some money) and possibly even an apartment and airfare thrown in. Probably unrealistic?
Does Japan sound like a place I can find (some of) the things I desire?
If anyone can break down the average monthly salary, total hours worked a week, whether saving is possible after expenses and whether I can find that easy going, fun, lifestyle with minimum working hours balance then that'd be great too.
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:27 pm Post subject: Re: Is Japan what I'm looking for? |
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| ScottishGringo wrote: |
| If anyone can break down the average monthly salary, total hours worked a week, whether saving is possible after expenses and whether I can find that easy going, fun, lifestyle with minimum working hours balance then that'd be great too. |
Do a search. That has been asked and answered so many times already.
But to answer your main question: No, Japan is not for you.
I mean, seriously?!  Could you find a job like that in your home country on next to zero qualifications? Then why do think you that employers in Japan (or any other country) are going to be gullible enough to pay you to travel?
In Japan, you will need a FT employer to sponsor your visa (unless you are eligible for a WHV, spouse or dependant) and most entry level employers will want you at work about 40hrs across at least 5 days per week... That's right; if you come over here on a working visa, people are going to be expecting you to actually put in an honest amount of work! 
And in eikaiwa jobs you may not get all that much holiday time throughout the year. The other main entry-level option is ALT work which will normally give you weekends and school holidays off (the amount of holidays schools have depends on the region. e.g. I only get about 1 week in the winter not including xmas day if it falls on a work day, 2 weeks in the spring between academic years and 4 weeks in the summer + national holidays; ALTs in other parts get far more).
Long gone are the days where jobs in Japan could be used as a paid holiday. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with seklarwia. Reconsider.
I was particularly unimpressed by this statement:
I have to be honest I'm not all that excited about teaching english as a job
Employers will not see this as a positive attribute in interviews, either. Why else do you think they hire foreigners -- to come and work! |
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Sour Grape
Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 241
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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I'm sticking my head out here and taking a wild guess, but I assume the OP will keep the fact that he isn't particularly interested in teaching to himself during the job application process, and not blurt it out in an interview.
JET sounds like the best bet. As far as I know they get airfare and in some cases subsidised housing and, case by case, hours actually worked seem to be fairly few, unless you count hours sitting at school with nothing to do as hours worked.
Apart from that, yes, somewhat unrealistic. |
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think_balance
Joined: 02 Jul 2008
Posts: 67
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
I agree with seklarwia. Reconsider.
I was particularly unimpressed by this statement:
I have to be honest I'm not all that excited about teaching english as a job
Employers will not see this as a positive attribute in interviews, either. Why else do you think they hire foreigners -- to come and work! |
Seconded. You do a grave disservice to yourself and your students if you choose to teach only so you can travel. You're not only there to work, you are there to teach and, ideally, those students expect to learn from you.
If you hate the idea of teaching in order to travel, then work for travel magazine and write about traveling for a living. |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:01 am Post subject: |
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| Sour Grape wrote: |
| JET sounds like the best bet. |
The OP sounds like exactly what JET doesn't want. Thailand or Generic Eikaiwa should suit him to a tee though. |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:05 am Post subject: |
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Oh come on guys, it's not like many people in japan are actually teaching people English. The VAST majority of us are glorified babysitters, even the college professors here. Don't get all high and mighty on the TS. Most 'teaching' jobs here are a joke. Problem is they don't pay well.
To the TS; no man, Japan is not for you. You will be working poor level here. ALTs get a lot of time off, but they also get paid very little. Eikaiwas tend to want to work you to the bone.
I7d try China, you can live reasonably well there on a teaching salary. |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:42 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
I have to be honest I'm not all that excited about teaching english as a job
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Could you write that at the top of your CV so that I can shred it when it comes across my desk at the BoE? That'd be great.
| Quote: |
| Oh come on guys, it's not like many people in japan are actually teaching people English. The VAST majority of us are glorified babysitters, even the college professors here. |
You only get out what you put in. JET would be a waste on a person with this kind of attitude - JET may be a box of chocolates, but it is a terrible shame that people don't understand that teaching in public schools is a great responsibility. Nominally, you are an assistant, but many ALTs, like me, are asked to lead lessons, develop programs, liase with cultural exchange programs. A year on the JET Program is a year to either party and drink a lot on government dime, or make a real difference in your community and your life.
And I quite agree with think_balance who said
| Quote: |
You're not only there to work, you are there to teach and, ideally, those students expect to learn from you.
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Anybody who works in a school - a counsellor, a nurse, a special ed assistant, an ALT, the little man who minds the garden - is a model of behaviour for children. And the children have very high expectations, and will eat up everything you teach them.
I'm teaching in a regular elementary school, and my Grade 4, 5 and 6 kids are unstoppable in English. They want to know how to express themselves, about things that are important to them. They routinely eat up my lesson plans, and will stop me in the hallways of the school to try their English on me.
Please meet your students' expectations. You work for them. |
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ScottishGringo
Joined: 08 Apr 2011
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 6:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Could you find a job like that in your home country on next to zero qualifications? Then why do think you that employers in Japan (or any other country) are going to be gullible enough to pay you to travel? |
We all know that people are employed all round the world with next to no relevant qualifications to teach English. Many countries just require you to be a native English speaker. We also know the teaching English route is often used by people who want an easy life abroad or to fund further travels. I'm no different. At least I'm honest about it.
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I was particularly unimpressed by this statement:
I have to be honest I'm not all that excited about teaching english as a job
Employers will not see this as a positive attribute in interviews, either. Why else do you think they hire foreigners -- to come and work! |
Well like was already mentioned I didn't plan to tell my employers in the interview that I didn't give a shit about the job I was applying for. I wasn't particularly interested in my current job when applying but still managed to impress in the interview, still don't give a shit about it but I'm still there.
| Quote: |
JET sounds like the best bet. As far as I know they get airfare and in some cases subsidised housing and, case by case, hours actually worked seem to be fairly few, unless you count hours sitting at school with nothing to do as hours worked.
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Thanks for the info. 
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Seconded. You do a grave disservice to yourself and your students if you choose to teach only so you can travel. You're not only there to work, you are there to teach and, ideally, those students expect to learn from you.
If you hate the idea of teaching in order to travel, then work for travel magazine and write about traveling for a living. |
I work my current job simply to get enough money to travel, I don't particularly care about the customers who phone me for help with their broadband either but I still help them. Why does teaching English need to be any different, it's not any different than any other job.
The majority of people in the world don't like their job much, nothing unusual there, and I'm no different. Why I'm expected to be 100% devoted and love it because it's teaching English abroad I'm not sure.
If I could write for shit sure I'd be a travel writer but I can't so need to be more realistic. I've met a lot of people who weren't exactly all that bright who managed to teach English so I'm pretty confident I could manage it.
| Quote: |
| A year on the JET Program is a year to either party and drink a lot on government dime, or make a real difference in your community and your life. |
Sign me up for the partying and drinking please.  |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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| rxk22 wrote: |
| Oh come on guys, it's not like many people in japan are actually teaching people English. The VAST majority of us are glorified babysitters, even the college professors here. Don't get all high and mighty on the TS. Most 'teaching' jobs here are a joke. Problem is they don't pay well. |
No, the problem is the OP's attitude and yours. Being glorified babysitters is irrelevant, and nobody is high and mighty here. Work is work, whether at a uni, eikaiwa, ALT agency, or wherever. Employers expect a full day's work for full day's pay, like everywhere else in the world. Even if you--rxk22-- doesn't believe the jobs here require some measure of professional business behavior, the employer deserves it. Even in an eikaiwa, students want something when they show up for the native speaker's class. They certainly don't want somebody who has zero attitude about being in the same room with them, whether to review grammar or to shoot the breeze.
| ScottishGringo wrote: |
| We all know that people are employed all round the world with next to no relevant qualifications to teach English. Many countries just require you to be a native English speaker. We also know the teaching English route is often used by people who want an easy life abroad or to fund further travels. I'm no different. At least I'm honest about it. |
Yes, you are honest about it. So are we when we say don't come. You would be a poor ambassador of your country and of the rest of us who take our jobs seriously. Understand? It makes no difference that others keep coming here with poor attitudes like you; we don't like them here, either, for the same reason.
| ScottishGringo wrote: |
| Well like was already mentioned I didn't plan to tell my employers in the interview that I didn't give a shit about the job I was applying for. I wasn't particularly interested in my current job when applying but still managed to impress in the interview, still don't give a shit about it but I'm still there. |
You don't garner any sympathy here. I'm sure someone where you currently work see through your charade. You may buffalo your way through interviews, but your view on the job will show.
| ScottishGringo wrote: |
| Why does teaching English need to be any different, it's not any different than any other job. |
Because you represent your country and many others just by virtue of being a foreign worker.
| ScottishGringo wrote: |
| Sign me up for the partying and drinking please. |
Even if you manage to sly your way through a JET interview, don't get the impression that it's all partying. ESID (every situation is different), as they say in JET, and you may end up with 3-4 schools where your Japanese supervisor actually expects you to lead the class and take a major role. Shoe would be on the other foot then. Oh, and you know that most JET ALT jobs are in very rural areas, don't you? Enjoy the partying in the sticks.
One more thing. Now that we know you are British, those of us who actually take part in the hiring process will be leery of taking anyone from the UK. See how your poor attitude affects others? |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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Pardon - I'm dropping in on the forum for Japan and I freely admit that I know nothing about teaching in Japan.
But I've noticed Scottishgringo around over the past few days, and it seems like an opportune moment to remind him (and perhaps others) that there are some of us around on the boards who, in fact, are on hiring committees. Many of us also work with partner schools and universities.
I'm obviously not saying that a poster won't get a job if he/she has made a bad impression here, but writing on a public forum is documented evidence of whatever one's written about. This can in fact have real-life consequences.
It's not that difficult to suss out posts on a board and relate them to an identity on a CV. I can assure you it's happened in my own work situation. |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 2:48 am Post subject: |
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Glenski wrote in response to the OP
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Because you represent your country and many others just by virtue of being a foreign worker.
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Besides being an amabasador of your country, you are expected to serve the community that hires you. In order to teach in the schools, you become a public employee, or you are contracted through a company to work for the public.
I'm a member of one of the hiring committees that spiral78 talks about. Anything you write on a public forum reflects on your level of professional behaviour. Or lack of it.
I don't want to work with people who have a poor attitude about teaching, or ELT, or work in general. And I don't want my coworkers, HRTs, JTEs or principals to be subjected to that poor attitude, either.
We don't need you in Japan. Go away. |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 3:01 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| One more thing. Now that we know you are British, those of us who actually take part in the hiring process will be leery of taking anyone from the UK. See how your poor attitude affects others? |
What are the odds that someone involved in the JET hiring process reads this phpBB, has noted the OP is (presumably) Scottish or at least a Brit, knows the OP works in IT at a call centre, thinks the OP is a waste of space as an employee, and has let the consulate JET desk in London know about him and to tag the apps for the coming year?
Really, what're the odds? It'd never happen. :lol: |
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Sour Grape
Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 241
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| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 3:33 am Post subject: |
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| G Cthulhu wrote: |
| Sour Grape wrote: |
| JET sounds like the best bet. |
The OP sounds like exactly what JET doesn't want. Thailand or Generic Eikaiwa should suit him to a tee though. |
Perhaps. I was merely answering the question that JET seems most suited to what he wants, of the jobs in Japan. I decline to comment on how suited he is to JET. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 6:45 am Post subject: |
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| G Cthulhu wrote: |
What are the odds that someone involved in the JET hiring process reads this phpBB, has noted the OP is (presumably) Scottish or at least a Brit, knows the OP works in IT at a call centre, thinks the OP is a waste of space as an employee, and has let the consulate JET desk in London know about him and to tag the apps for the coming year?
Really, what're the odds? It'd never happen.  |
So, in case he can't figure it out, tell us which office you send such reports to, G Cthulhu.
| TokyoLiz wrote: |
| I'm a member of one of the hiring committees that spiral78 talks about. |
Me, too. |
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