Job Discussion Forums

[PAULH]

[stillnosheep]

I second the above. By all means try Japan on a WHV but it will be more difficult. More and more countries are tightening up on issuing work permits to teacher's without experience of higher education.

For a full (not temporary WHV) work permit in Japan, No degree (or years of certifiable experience) = No work visa = No legal job.

[PAULH]

Just to add to this, there is a guy here at the moment in Japan who had a japan job offer and came on a tourist visa with the expectation his visa would be ready when he got here. Job fizzled and boss 'fired' him after 4 days in the country. Now here running around around japan with a tourist visa (he has a degree) but cant find a sponsor for his visa and haemorraghing money on hotels and food.


the moral of the story is: this is not 1990 and the bubble era and the jobs simply arent always there. You can be a native speaker, have a degree, but not always get hired or find the job you want. the jobs here in Japan now are part time or pay less than they pay an 18 year old at McDonalds (about AUS$12-15 an hour for working at NOVA. A lot of bosses in Korea also see you as shark bait for ripping off poor gullible and young wannabe teacher travellers seeking adventure.

Make sure you come with plenty with money because it might be 6-8 weeks before you see a paycheck and you need a roof over your head and you need to eat. Dont come just thinking that people will bash down your door to hire you, I promise they wont, unless you agree to work for sweatshop wages. Japan now is like what apple picking is in Australia, strictly for backpackers, if you like that kind of thing.

here is a recent article on teaching in Japan from the Sydney Morning Herald

[Hoser]

I don't know Paul, I don't think there's a single McDonalds on Earth that pays more per hour than you get at NOVA-I don't care if it's AUS $ or not. God knows that I would never base a career working for NOVA but for one or two years you can't go wrong. There are a hell of a lot worse paying jobs, both here and back home.

[Apsara]

Usual pay advertised for baito at McDonald's or similar: 800 yen per hour~

Even with the pay dropping, Nova is not quite that bad. No one seems to mention that the 230,000 or whatever rate is the BASE rate- most people get a regional allowance, plus decent shift allowances on top of that. I worked back in the fulltime era, but with the Kanto allowance, evening and Sunday allowance, and 2 pay raises with contract renewals, in my last year I was earning a semi-respectable 315,000 yen a month.

Sure it's 6-8 lessons a day, which is draining, but I left my job at the door when I went home, and I've worked in office jobs in NZ which were more tedious, equally draining, and paid a lot less.

A lot of people on this forum are EFL professionals with families to support and so wouldn't consider working for the eikaiwas, of course, that's to be expected, but often I think this forum gets unnecessarily discouraging for those who want to take a year or two out of their lives and experience another culture- and even in an eikaiwa, you do get to see a bit of Japan and interact with the Japanese- really!

Not everyone wants to make a career out of EFL- I, like most people, just wanted to work on my Japanese (and it improved a lot!) pay off my student loan (did it in 18 months) and save a bit of money for travelling- in a 2.5 year stint working fulltime for Nova I went to Thailand, Laos, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Korea and back to NZ twice, and had saved enough to spend the next 4 months travelling from London to Cairo and back.

Sure the job isn't the most rewarding in the world, but I wonder how many people have been put off Japan entirely by some of the comments on this forum- I've jokingly compared it to McDonald's myself, but really it's a long way from that.

There are some people who've had bad experiences posting on this forum, and many who've never worked for Nova but seem to know all about it, but it doesn't reflect the reality of most people who work there just getting down and doing their job to a reasonable standard, taking the good with the bad, and going back to their home countries after a year or two with an interesting experience under their belts.

It may not be "real" English teaching, but most students do improve their English. It may not pay that well, but most people do manage to save some money. It may not be a fascinating job, but how many people had richly rewarding jobs in their home countries before coming to Japan?
If they were satisfied, I don't think they would have come. There may be some weirdos employed by Nova, but lots of great people as well who will probably become lasting friends.

I'm not trying to push Nova or anything, just trying to balance out the constant "Nova is hell on earth" posts. It may not be heaven, but it isn't McDonalds either!

[sidjameson]

cool post Aspara. I think you hit the nail firmly on the head. When I look back on my life I could definitly say that I would have improved a couple of them had I had spent the year at Nova instead. Who of us here hasn't spent a year or more drowning in a sea of boredom while keeping the sharks of frustration at bay in our homelands? I'd rather be in Japan at Nova than working in an office in the UK, thats for sure.

[gaijinalways]

Wish your niece the best. If she is already planning to go back to uni next year, I don't see the big problem. Berlitz I know also hires people for the summer. I would suggest calling the headquarters here in Aoyama to find out the details.

[FuzzX]

I`ve never had a degree and I`ve never needed one! I always get legal work visas btw. You have just got to know what your doing when it comes to immigration. Dont worry about these guys! At least try getting it and find out for yourself if you can or can`t. Then ask one of the 100,000 teachers that teach around the world and somehow manage to get work permits without degrees. Why you would want to teach when you have a degree is beyond me! Why not be an astronaut or scientist instead? Anyway just go get your TESOL and CELTA certifications and you`ll be a shoe in.

[PAULH]

[FuzzX]

No Paul I can`t cause Im pretty sure (from your other posts to me) that your one of those bitter arseholes that likes to call immigration and get the competition thrown out. There are other ways, this person will find them if he/she is really interested in getting to Japan, it just requires a little more work on their part.

[FuzzX]

I`ve never had a degree and I`ve never needed one! I always get legal work visas btw. You have just got to know what your doing when it comes to immigration.

[PAULH]

[aroha]

Back on the topic of what a 19 year old can legally do in Japan...

When I was 19 I got a working holiday visa and found a job in the summer holidays in one of the Tokyu hotels in the Nagano region. There was a guy in New Zealand who had an arrangement with the flower-growing companies and the hotels. He interviewed and sent young NZers over to work during the summer holidays.

At the time, I was studying Japanese at university and I had already visited Japan once before, but nevertheless I had a real culture shock. Japan was a completely different kettle of fish as an employee.

Overall it was a good learning experience and we did some fantastic skiing in the Japanese Alps, but I dont think I could have lasted more than 3 months. It might be different if your niece is living near you and can visit you, otherwise it can be lonely. Back in 1996 the pay was about 800 yen/hour. Food (bad fried and refried food with cabbage as the only vegetable) and dormitory was included, and we all came back 5 kgs heavier accompanied by a thick wad of cash.

Good luck to her

[Glenski]

[FuzzX]

nope, no fake degrees.

Your school can arrange a work visa for you once your in the country. Just have to get here. Dont need anything but a tourist visa. I dont know why Paul is here at all. I guess he has nothing better to do.