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bornslippy1981
Joined: 02 Aug 2004
Posts: 271
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 Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| skelonas wrote: |
It's good to see that switching jobs with a visa is no problem, but a bit discouraging to hear people's accounts of failure in finding work. We'll probably make our decision one way or the other in the next few weeks, so any other advice/wisdom would be much appreciated! |
I don't know if it's easy to do this. I know people who changed from a "Specialist in Humanities (whatever that means)" to an Instructor visa with few problems. Those visas are both education related though.
Either way, it looks like the skiing sponsorship is out if they will only sponsor a WHV. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:19 pm Post subject: |
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skelonas,
You wrote that you had 2 years of HS teaching experience, then wrote:
"I don't have any English teaching background".
What exactly is your HS teaching experience? If you actually have a teacher's license and 2 years of teaching experience (in any subject, not just English), you are qualified for international schools (teaching that subject). Clarify, please. International schools pay very nicely, but their school year has already started.
When exactly did you sign up with the Hokkaido Insider? This is approaching a very dead time of year for jobs, and August was not the best, either.
This one also confuses me:
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| I don't have a job and don't feel like taking a serious job for 6 months |
What do you mean? Do you just want to mix drinks somewhere or shovel snow?
You also wrote:
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| We would like to work for the same company, but at this point we would be ecstatic if one of us is able to land a job before heading over. |
Both of you need separate visas if you plan to stay and work longer than a 90-day tourist, so I don't know if I understand you again by the above statement, which seems to suggest that if one of you comes, everything is great for both of you.
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| It's good to see that switching jobs with a visa is no problem, but a bit discouraging to hear people's accounts of failure in finding work. |
You've hardly heard from anyone in Japan. Just a few bodies who answer this thread. How much job searching have you done so far, and when did you start? Jobs are not going to fall into your lap. There are a lot of foreigners already in Japan with experience, contacts, and a bit of knowledge of the land giving you competition. The two of you have to think about ways to overcome that, but your plan itself needs to be realistic in terms of what you want and when. |
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skelonas
Joined: 18 Sep 2007
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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| You've hardly heard from anyone in Japan. Just a few bodies who answer this thread. How much job searching have you done so far, and when did you start? Jobs are not going to fall into your lap. There are a lot of foreigners already in Japan with experience, contacts, and a bit of knowledge of the land giving you competition. The two of you have to think about ways to overcome that, but your plan itself needs to be realistic in terms of what you want and when. |
My girlfriend and I have been searching since the beginning of August, and trust me, we've researched plenty (well beyond this forum) and we've applied for countless positions. We both have offers with AEON, Nova, and Peppy but have only been interested in Hokkaido, and a start date of Nov-Jan. At this point, the reality is setting in that the likelyhood of that happening isn't great, but at no point have we expected nor acted as though "jobs are going to fall into our lap".
Now we are looking at what plan B can be. You're suggestion seems to be to wait and be willing to start work next spring. Though I appreciate your advice, that is simply not our best option. Our primary motivation for coming to Sapporo/Hokkaido is that we want to live there and ski, not just be in Japan, and not necessarily just teach. We know about other skiing/mountain regions in Japan, and Sapporo is where we want to be. I am currently not working, and my girlfriend is bored with her job.
My background: I was a full time high school science teacher for the last two years, with an engineering degree, and will have my preliminary California teaching credential in a month or so. I'm 3 courses away from my Masters in Education. My girlfriend speaks Japanese well, and has lots of experience working with kids beyond her JET experience. Neither of us are qualified for much more in Japan than entry level, but I believe we are among the best candidates for that (based upon the group interviews we've had, and our success rate with getting offers.. just not in Sapporo).
Teaching high school physics at a international school in Sapporo would be awesome, but as you said yourself, there is only one there, and they are completely staffed.
One option for plan B is rather than wait around looking for work in Sapporo, just take the earliest job somewhere else in Japan, and hopefully find work in Sapporo while we are over there before the end of the ski season. Getting opinions on the feasibility of that option is the main purpose of this post, along with some general opinions on hiring practices for Nov-Jan in Sapporo.
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This one also confuses me:
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| I don't have a job and don't feel like taking a serious job for 6 months |
What do you mean? Do you just want to mix drinks somewhere or shovel snow? |
Meaning that I'm currently unemployed on a leave of absence from my former job, and that I don't want to find a teaching job or engineering job over here only to quit in 6 months to head to Sapporo once the ski season is over. I'd rather get work in Japan and get my feet in the door with a visa, and leave that job once I'm able to find work in Sapporo. I know you expressed disdain at that idea, but it is legal, and a well known cost of doing business for the eikaiwas. If they didn't want so much turnover with entry level positions, they would pay much more, have stricter hiring standards, and treat their employees better. If I find a job that meets that description, than I'll be much less motivated to look for a position in Sapporo. You have to understand that my intention is not to start a long term career teaching English in Japan, it is to have an amazing experience, learn about a new culture, and pay the bills while I"m doing it.
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We would like to work for the same company, but at this point we would be ecstatic if one of us is able to land a job before heading over.
Both of you need separate visas if you plan to stay and work longer than a 90-day tourist, so I don't know if I understand you again by the above statement, which seems to suggest that if one of you comes, everything is great for both of you. |
Meaning we would have a place to stay in Sapporo, and some income, which for us would be enough to take the chance that the other one could get work (and have to fly to Korea and wait to get their own visa, etc). If the other fails to find work in a month or two, we would re-assess then, but wouldn't have shelled out nearly as much cash as if we came over without work, and we would have enjoyed Sapporo in the meantime.
Glenski, I really appreciate your time and wisdom. You post often here and on other forums, and obviously know a lot about the industry. Thanks for any more constructive advice that you can provide. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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I don't understand the fascination to get here for skiing. I don't ski, so that's part of the reason, but my point is, if you are that intent on being here for work, focus on getting a job.
That means realizing that there are only about a dozen places that hire abroad and sponsor visas. Not all of them provide jobs in Sapporo, and not all of them come to the USA. So, in my opinion your best option (a third one so far in this thread) is not to wait and come in spring, but to come here ASAP, set up in a guest house (so you can pay weekly or monthly), and do some serious job hunting now.
You don't have to go to Korea to finalize visa processing anymore. That is old information.
Realize, too, that while most employers may provide housing, it is meant for singles. Oh, I've known some people who managed it as a couple, but they were very experienced in such cramped quarters beforehand. If you want to find your own place, you'll have to spend a lot of money for key money deposits and furnishings (and I mean every furnishing, from curtains and bedding to every major appliance and light fixture).
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| I'd rather get work in Japan and get my feet in the door with a visa, and leave that job once I'm able to find work in Sapporo. I know you expressed disdain at that idea, but it is legal, and a well known cost of doing business for the eikaiwas. If they didn't want so much turnover with entry level positions, they would pay much more, have stricter hiring standards, and treat their employees better. |
My next comments are probably going to draw fire, but take them for what they are worth.
1) Eikaiwa life is not a career option, but it does provide work. Not all eikaiwa are bad.
2) Eikaiwa have been offering pretty much the same salary for the past 20 years, but in the past 3 or 4 years, that has gone down. They are being held more accountable for putting people on national health insurance, so they turn the tables by cutting hours that you spend in the classroom in order to classify teachers as part-time (despite the full-time nature of the job) and avoid the legality of making insurance copayments. It's a business. However, some places are offering incredibly low wages (I've seen 170,000 or less for a 40-hour week), and it's desperate teachers that take it, only to perpetuate the acceptance of such pitiful pay.
3) You may scoff at this, but quitting a school early in the contract not only inconveniences the school (for which you don't seem to have much regard in the first place), but it puts paying customers out. They may have signed up to take classes just from you, only to find you are gone. So, what we have is a bad image of foreigners (or perhaps just your countrymen) from two sets of people. Call it selfish, or call it looking out for number one, but people who have chosen to stay here (or maybe just the next guy looking to get hired at the place you ditched) will have to face that image and any repercussions. Some repercussions include lower wages and benefits, as well as highly complex contracts full of legalese meant to protect the school from such shenanigans. It's a vicious circle, and this is what I am prompting people to break if they can. |
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Quibby84
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 643
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 12:58 am Post subject: |
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| A addition to the previous comment: my husband and I live in a shoebox size apartment (the size of a bedroom) with one cat and two rabbits out on the deck (we dont want the rabbits they were dumped on us). It is SUPER crowded but if we get a bigger apartment then we have to buy furniture and junk, and once you buy it and decide to move then it is a huge hassle. So I am living proof that two people can live in a TINY space BUT it is not for everyone. My husband and I know how to go in our little zones, he plays his game and I watch TV to relax. We have seperate chores to make sure that the apt stays clean and no one gets annoyed. We also dont mind spending 24/7 together...so it is tough but it is possible, it will either make you closer or hate each other..lol. |
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skelonas
Joined: 18 Sep 2007
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:52 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| I don't understand the fascination to get here for skiing. I don't ski, so that's part of the reason, but my point is, if you are that intent on being here for work, focus on getting a job. |
It may sound silly, but skiing is so important to both of us- it's a big part of our spiritual routine. When we first decided to travel together, it was "let's go find work in an amazing ski town in Europe!" The complications of finding work over there, plus the excitement about learning that Japan skiing is world class with better snow than Europe, is what catapulted us to our current job search. The more we looked into it, the more excited we got about the prospect of staying for longer than a year, but it has always been 'arrive in early winter', otherwise I would have worked another year.
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| So, in my opinion your best option (a third one so far in this thread) is not to wait and come in spring, but to come here ASAP, set up in a guest house (so you can pay weekly or monthly), and do some serious job hunting now. |
This is a good idea, but I have to admit I know very little about these guest houses. What is the typical rent, and how do you arrange the stay? If it is super cheap, then perhaps finding one in Sapporo while looking for jobs is an option. My Grandma is turning 100 years old on October 17, so November 1 is my earliest departure date. You mentioned that Nov-Jan is very dead for finding work. How about Jan-Feb? Perhaps deciding to come then and staying in a guest house would be a good option, if we haven't lined something up already. That was our original thought, but we saw it as prohibitively expensive and risky. If it is reasonably affordable and we could sort of view it as a long term ski vacation/adventure if we're unable to find work, than perhaps it would be a decent idea.
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| You don't have to go to Korea to finalize visa processing anymore. That is old information. |
Thanks. Do schools typically make you wait the 4-8 weeks it takes to get the COE in order to start working?
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| Realize, too, that while most employers may provide housing, it is meant for singles. |
We've been there, trust me.
I understand your concern with transit English teachers, and I sympathize with the schools, students, and professional native English Teachers who have made a career or would like to. I would never want to leave my students in the middle of the school year over here (thus the leave of absence vs. quitting mid year), and would frown upon anyone who did this without a very good reason... but would I frown upon a classroom aide or hall monitor for doing this? Absolutely not.
I suppose I view the professionalism of entry level Eikaiwa work to reflect the pay and conditions, and that paying customers are aware of that. Certainly there are better entry level conversation teachers than others, but a student if probably lucky to get someone with anything more than energy, enthusiasm, and a cookie cutter lesson. If students want a higher quality and more reliable English learning experience, they will pay for it, and the companies that provide it will provide more reliable, trained, and talented teachers: professionals (if you pay them, they will come). If students would rather pay less and accept less than professional learning conditions (turnover, entry level teachers, etc) than that is what the schools will provide, if not, the schools will go out of business (which is likely what is happening with Nova) and shlubs like me will have less opportunities.
It's all good old supply and demand capitalism my friend. I'm sorry to be part of the desperate cadre of would be English teachers willing to be paid peanuts, suffer ugly working conditions, and change plans at the drop of a hat, as I'm sure this reflects negatively on the industry as a whole. The fact remains though, that if students are willing to pay for this, that is what the schools will provide. |
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