Job Discussion Forums

[razorhideki]

For most of the PRC, wouldn't the equivalent of a quarter mill. YEN/mo., coupled with a free apartment, be a hell of a deal? I was under the impression the average contract paid about 700 bucks a month?

[JZer]

[Rooster_2006]

[JZer]

[robertokun]

Let's say you had one of those home country teaching credentials... How would you go about getting one of the good gigs in Taiwan?

[markcmc]

Good Gigs in Taiwan?

Read the post above yours by JZer. That might give you a clue.

[robertokun]

Nah, I think he was talking about doing business classes. I was asking about how you get one of those jobs that require a teaching credential-- which someone I think said were all public school jobs. I think TeachAway works with Taiwan and those jobs that include airfare and housing, but I'm not sure. I was just wondering if anyone knew or cared to share.

[JZer]

If you have teaching credentials try to get a job in Hong Kong. The pay in Taiwan is $2000 US a month. In Hong Kong they pay $4000 plus housing. Not to mention that they actually give you a raise if you stay. They have an actually pay scale.

[robertokun]

Yeah, NET seems awesome if you can land one of those positions.

I just remember visiting Taipei while I lived in Japan and I really liked the vibe I got there. I'm surprised to hear all the talk of how dire things are in Taiwan nowadays.

[JZer]

[razorhideki]

Rooster: What ARE you on about? Or, what are you on?

So, "according to [me], [one can]live like a hermit and save $500 a month on 180K yen."

I could make all kinds of sarcastic comments about an experienced EFLer who, presumably, taught RC to students along the way but can't fathom a paragraph employing elementary figures of speech and a crude kind of subjunctive mood. But I'm going to resist the temptation.

I will ask, however, how in the wide, wide world of sports you possibly could imagine that I somehow magically & instantly believed saving 500 bucks a month, in Japan, on a lousy(yes, LOUSY!)180K yen was possible.

Let's analyze the para you quoted:"Let's play it your way.": this is an informal figure of speech that, in context, virtually every NS of English in the world would take as "Let's temporarily enter the realm of your imagination that leads you to believe one can save money in Japan on 180K/mo." In other words, "Let's enter YOUR fantasy world for a bit". And what part of "not bloody likely" did you not get? In the world I come from, that is equivalent to "only in your dreams" or, "no friggin' way." See, as I wrote in that post, I was trying to "humour" you. Get it?

Years ago, I met a chap who was just starting JET in Japan. He lamented the fact that he was up to his eyeballs in student loan debt. I met the same guy about a year later. He was pleased that he got a contract renewal and had put a dent in his debt load. Then he slumped and almost moaned:"I sure don't socialize & travel like other JETs". In effect, he was living like a hermit. If a guy who made Y300K/mo., with all the subsidized goodies of JET, had to live like a hermit just to get a bit ahead financially, how in the wide, wide world of sports does someone expect to do so on 180K/mo.?!

By his own admission, Rooster has been having a rough time of it in Taiwan, even though he's an experienced instructor. Part of this problem, evidently, stems from an oversupply of available NTs on the island, many of them all too willing to accept poor jobs/contracts. Does anyone really believe that the best way to escape this situation is to go, of all places,to Japan?!

Yet Rooster thinks I'm guilty of "aggression" or "flaming" simply because I dare to assert an inconvenient truth(sorry, Big Al). For a guy that speaks Korean & graduated from a Korean univ., it's hard to believe you've never visited the Korean Forums(now, THAT IS WHERE you find "aggression", etc., mate). Indeed, you could show me, even though I don't know you and never will, a little gratitude for trying to save you from yourself.

But it's not really about Rooster, per se, at all. It's about the deplorable non-JET job situation in Japan. Until applicants, vets & newbies alike, tell employers, "No! Give me JET-like pay & benefits or stuff it!", near-slavery conditions will prevail. Ditto Korea, Taiwan. Only with solidarity can we save ourselves from ourselves.

[Shimokitazawa]

One would barely able to survive on 180, 000 yen a month. It would be tough to impossible.

Also, if one is having problems getting work in Taiwan, then Japan would be the last place to look for work. The market is saturated with EFL teachers looking for jobs.

A gaijin house is Yen 80, 000 - Yen 95, 000 a month, plus Y 12, 000 deposit. And forget about getting an apartment in Japan with an income of only Y 180, 000 a month. To pay the deposit and Key (gift) money and first months rent, you'd need about Yen 400, 000 up front.

Forget about paying for a ticket to get on the train to get to work also!

It just can't be done, at least not without gradually starving to death.

[Rooster_2006]

@razorhideki

Maybe you're right, but rather than just saying "I'm right, you're wrong, I lived in Japan for five years and you didn't, now please shut up," why don't you explain the mathematics of what you're saying? That would be far more convincing.

Would a physicist or mathematician explain his theorem by saying "Just believe me, I've been a physicist/mathematician for 30 years?" No, he'd write a proof or conduct a tangible experiment.

If you actually break down the cost and it adds up to over 180K, then I'll believe you.

However, at present, this is how I think the cost of living in Tokyo would pan out:
180,000 yen base salary
-30,000 yen in taxes, pension payments, health care payments, etc.
-59,000 yen for rent and utilities for a room with a shared bathroom (Sakura house, check out the one in Ikebukuro, yes, there is a room there for 59K and there is no key money or gift money)
- 20,000 yen for home cooking (yes, I went to Tsushima one time and walked around the supermarket for a couple hours jotting down prices, I could definitely cook on 666 yen per day)
- 0 yen for transportation if you use a bicycle
- 20,000 yen for basic entertainment, reading material, and miscellany
= 51,000 yen saved (close to $600 a month)

Okay, so that's taxes, rent, food, health care, transportation, and miscellany, and that allows 51,000 yen per month in savings. What's wrong with my budget? What is it missing that's apparently so essential to life?

Not only that, but I believe the savings potential on 180K could be HIGHER than 51,000 yen per month outside of Tokyo.

Why not, instead of throwing your weight around, simply tell us the economic reason that 180K can't permit $500 a month in savings?

[Rooster_2006]

[Shimokitazawa]

Rooster,

Those Y 60, 000 a month apartments aren't located close enough to where you'll be working.

So you can not walk or ride a bike to work.