Job Discussion Forums

[Glenski]

snooky,
Perhaps my use of the word scam isn't appropriate. I'll amend that to simply dirty pool.

guest of Japan,
What if someone is already in Japan renting in the area that AEON chooses to place him? He will have to pay 42,000 yen extra per month, right? Is that fair? Think about it. Some people may have a good deal going already and not want to move out. Or what if someone wants to move to the area with furnishings in tow from a previous apartment? Will AEON's policies accommodate that (separate issue than the previous one, a bit, I agree).

[Zzonkmiles]

My understanding of the AEON housing policy is that the apartments they provide are subsidized over 42,000 yen and that you will still have to pay this money even if you don't live in the company provided apartment anymore. I have heard this from other foreigners here, but would appreciate it if someone else could confirm it for me.

While 42,000 yen/month is pretty good, the fact is, your accommodations are still tied to your employer. What happens if you decide to quit AEON or are fired? Then you have to find a new job and a new apartment at the same time. And if you move out prematurely, the money you're wasting on two separate rents could easily be used to pay key money for another better, larger apartment. In short, the AEON housing policy is good if you don't plan on switching employers, if you're not staying in Japan for a long time, and if your apartment is relatively clean and in a decent location. Otherwise, having the freedom of your own place while still having to pay 42,000 yen each month to AEON is simply as much of a ripoff as NOVA's housing policy where all roomates pay inflated rates for the same apartment.

As for the single/married issue, Japanese apartments in general are ridiculously small. I don't think most married people would be able to survive in a 1K or 1-room apartment at all, regardless of whether it's an AEON apartment or one you rent on your own. While I've never seen an AEON apartment for myself, your basic 6-mat 1 room apartment has about the same amount of floorspace as four 3-person sofas.

[guest of Japan]

Glenski,

Simply put, AEON policies do not accommodate (Big F'n Period)

AEON does not make exceptions. It has a one size fits all policy on every conceiveable idea there is. There are no exceptions made at the corporate level unless they are purely in the interests of AEON.

[guest of Japan]

Zzonks - all of your conerns are legitimate, and are not factored into the interests of AEON.

[stillnosheep]

[rich_n23]

AEON or NOVA???

in my opinion the answer really depends on what your looking for. If your just coming to Japan for a couple of years, to experience different culture, a change of scenery etc etc... then neither company is too bad.

There are several(thousand) horror stories about NOVA on this(and every other ESL web site), and i'm not going to argue NOVA's case because.... well to put it bluntly they have been known to screw their employees. But i've had no problems with them, for me Nova provided an easy way to experience Japan. The job is ok, like any job you have bad days and good days, their accomodation is expensive(but convenient), if you want to transfer then you can(after 3 months).

I can't say much about AEON, because i have no direct experience of them. But if you're coming to Japan for a short stay then don't be put off by what you read about NOVA, it's been a fun experience fr me.

P.S. i have only worked in one of Nova's 000's of schools, so other people will undoubtedly have different opinions

(hope this helps)

[rich_n23]

AEON or NOVA???

in my opinion the answer really depends on what your looking for. If your just coming to Japan for a couple of years, to experience different culture, a change of scenery etc etc... then neither company is too bad.

There are several(thousand) horror stories about NOVA on this(and every other ESL web site), and i'm not going to argue NOVA's case because.... well to put it bluntly they have been known to screw their employees. But i've had no problems with them, for me Nova provided an easy way to experience Japan. The job is ok, like any job you have bad days and good days, their accomodation is expensive(but convenient), if you want to transfer then you can(after 3 months).

I can't say much about AEON, because i have no direct experience of them. But if you're coming to Japan for a short stay then don't be put off by what you read about NOVA, it's been a fun experience fr me.

P.S. i have only worked in one of Nova's 000's of schools, so other people will undoubtedly have different opinions

(hope this helps)

[bassnyc1]

Actually, I worked for both companies. Neither are perfect. However there are two arguments here: Which is better for the student academically and which is better for the teacher (working conditions)

Academically, I'd choose AEON. Their lessons are much more structured and they build on each other. Also the regularity of meeting with the same teacher and classmates is there which is much better for learning. NOVA's flexible lesson schedule is great for all those salarymen and OL's working overtime but it's not helping their English. AEON's lesson isn't perfect but it's better than NOVA's.

For the teacher, hands down NOVA is better. With Nova, the opportunity for shift swaps and transfers is invaluable. Also, the schools tend to be bigger so there are more chances to meet more people. AEON has teachers locked in a very strict schedule which is impossible to alter. Also, you are required to do lobby talk and other bull@#%! during your non lesson time. At Nova, we used to hide from the students and staff in the ten minute interval and chainsmoke. In both schools, there's a fair amount of corporate nonsense that has to be dealt with but in the end, it's easier to deal with in NOVA because if you keep your nose clean, you won't be noticed...which is what you want.

I hear that GEOS is very similar to AEON except there's MORE pressure to do sales, etc. Run far away from them!!!

Bottom line: work for Nova and don't believe all the BS you read. It's all what you make of it.

[SEndrigo]

So what you're saying basically is NOVA is better for the "teacher" (not teacher cause you actually don't teach anything, you just read out of a book) because you can avoid students, chainsmoke with your mates, and transfer when it all becomes too much for you to handle?

Using that logic, yeah, I suppose NOVA is a great company!

Maybe you should change your statement and say NOVA is not better for the teacher, but better for the backpacker/slacker with no teaching experience who wants to call himself a "teacher" as he reads out of a book and pretends to teach.

[stillnosheep]

[stillnosheep]

[bassnyc1]

This reply is meant for SEndrigo:

I will clarify what I wrote in my post. I didn't mention "hide" as to mean "avoiding" students. I meant that in NOVA, a teacher can actually have a break for a few minutes as opposed to in AEON where you always have to be "on" from the time you enter the school to the time you leave. At least that's how it was in the school I worked at. I also didn't say you could transfer when it all becomes too much for you to handle. I mentioned that the possibility to transfer is there which can be for many reasons (healthy or otherwise) and I didn't mean "chainsmoke" as in slacking off. I used that word to demonstrate that as a teacher at NOVA, you could get a few minutes of break which is a good thing when you're teaching up to 8 lessons a day.

I don't know how much time you've been in Japan but unless you've worked at both companies, you have no right to say the things you say. There are some people who work for both companies who are good or even great teachers. (yes some are truly teachers. You don't have a monopoly on judging who is and isn't a real teacher.)

If you did work for NOVA and you felt that most of the teachers were slackers, well it's possible that some were but don't assume all NOVA teachers are.

If you think teaching in NOVA is not teaching, then maybe YOU don't know much about teaching. Why do I feel I do? Well, I happen to be a slightly older professional teacher with credentials and I probably have a lot more years experience than you. I worked in Japan to have a different experience and I knew how to make the NOVA lessons I taught real lessons that were beneficial to my students.

While it's true that many NOVA teachers don't know how to do that, it's important to remember that working for any eikawa in Japan is an entry level position with no teaching experience required. That's just the nature of the industry in Japan and that's what I was pointing out in my post; if you have no experience but you want to come to Japan and get a teaching job, it might be easier to experience Japan working for NOVA since you can manage to take time off not only during the heavy travel times in Japan like in AEON. Remember: most people come to Japan with their own goals and agenda. That's just the reality. I never met someone who came to Japan with the sole purpose of teaching English. If that's a fault for you, fine but remember that not everyone falls in the category of backpacker/slacker.

Finally, my dear SEndrigo: it seems you have become bitter and twisted teaching English in Japan since you probably are seeing teachers come to Japan who are having a great experience while you are sulking about your own. No one ever said a person working for any English School in Japan should be a Ph.D in English. It IS possible for someone with little or no teaching experience to come to Japan and teach well and give the student their money's worth. That's the bottom line, AEON,NOVA,GEOS, ECC, BERLITZ and all the rest know that and that's why they're all sucessful in Japan.

[SEndrigo]

[Hoser]

Coincidently, I met the landlord of my apartment tonight. Our 3 bedroom apartment costs 110,000 yen to rent. How much are we paying NOVA? 210,000-yep that's right. NOVA is scamming a thousand bucks a month off of us. I just commented to my roommate that the whole "school" thing is just a front for some sick kind of real estate loan sharking.

[Brooks]

it wouldn`t surprise me if the yakuza had something to do with that.