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weigookin74
Joined: 30 Mar 2010
Posts: 265
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 Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 2:07 am Post subject: ESL in Japan in 2017. |
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How are things in Japan in 2017? I will assume you still don't make money there? High rent, taxes, ect and lower salary? IE Public school dispatches try to gyp you on things.
Just to be clear, I'd love to experience it again. But, my guess is 2017, go with a lot of money saved up and have more saved up to subsidize your lifestyle because the wages may barely be enough and you won't be able to save or pay off loans or anything like that?
One of these websites - interact? - says bring 5 grand as start up costs. Staying for a year or two with basic salary after deductions means not much of a life. They also gyp you with holidays. Do, they still try to scam you by not giving pension or medical insurance?
So, my thinking is have 10 grand saved. Use 5 for start up costs and the other 5 to dip into to subsidize your living there. I mean don't go to Japan to make money, but just to experience it. I have saved up a lot working in another Asian country (though that one might be slowly following in Japan's footsteps). |
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kzjohn
Joined: 30 Apr 2014
Posts: 277
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| Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 3:40 am Post subject: Re: ESL in Japan in 2017. |
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| weigookin74 wrote: |
How are things in Japan in 2017? I will assume you still don't make money there? High rent, taxes, ect and lower salary? IE Public school dispatches try to gyp you on things.
Just to be clear, I'd love to experience it again. But, my guess is 2017, go with a lot of money saved up and have more saved up to subsidize your lifestyle because the wages may barely be enough and you won't be able to save or pay off loans or anything like that?
One of these websites - interact? - says bring 5 grand as start up costs. Staying for a year or two with basic salary after deductions means not much of a life. They also gyp you with holidays. Do, they still try to scam you by not giving pension or medical insurance?
So, my thinking is have 10 grand saved. Use 5 for start up costs and the other 5 to dip into to subsidize your living there. I mean don't go to Japan to make money, but just to experience it. I have saved up a lot working in another Asian country (though that one might be slowly following in Japan's footsteps). |
Pessimists! Calling all pessimists! Please pick up a white courtesy telephone... |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 4:25 am Post subject: Re: ESL in Japan in 2017. |
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| weigookin74 wrote: |
How are things in Japan in 2017? I will assume you still don't make money there? High rent, taxes, ect and lower salary? IE Public school dispatches try to gyp you on things.
Just to be clear, I'd love to experience it again. But, my guess is 2017, go with a lot of money saved up and have more saved up to subsidize your lifestyle because the wages may barely be enough and you won't be able to save or pay off loans or anything like that?
One of these websites - interact? - says bring 5 grand as start up costs. Staying for a year or two with basic salary after deductions means not much of a life. They also gyp you with holidays. Do, they still try to scam you by not giving pension or medical insurance?
So, my thinking is have 10 grand saved. Use 5 for start up costs and the other 5 to dip into to subsidize your living there. I mean don't go to Japan to make money, but just to experience it. I have saved up a lot working in another Asian country (though that one might be slowly following in Japan's footsteps). |
Or, you know, you could just come through the JET Program (among other perks, they pay airfare to and from Japan, subsidize your insurance, and assist with housing):
https://jetprogramusa.org/
https://jetprogramusa.org/eligibility/
Or, you could, like, become qualified, avoid dispatch entirely, and instead get a great job that pays a very high salary. Many of us here have done just that.
I will say it again: Whatever you do, do NOT come to Japan if you are over 40 and minimally qualified (generic BA/BS and not much else) just to be an eikaiwa instructor or a "dispatch" ALT. Not only are the salaries and working conditions often horrible, these are almost invariably dead-end positions, particularly at that age (when age discrimination really begins to bite).
Anyway, good luck. |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 5:36 am Post subject: Re: ESL in Japan in 2017. |
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| kzjohn wrote: |
Pessimists! Calling all pessimists! Please pick up a white courtesy telephone... |
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mitsui
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
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| Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 7:26 am Post subject: |
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I make less than I used to.
I have to make my resume look better.
Get better at Japanese. N2 at least.
Have an exit plan.
I am certified in a couple states in the US so I can head back there if I need to.
It does not get easier the longer you are here.
You get older and younger teachers keep coming.
Taxes will go up since the debt the government has is too high.
I know a couple teachers. One is 59, and the other is 60 or 62. Guess what? Both are unemployed. One has a BA and the other a MA. |
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The Transformer
Joined: 03 Mar 2017
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 11:24 am Post subject: |
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If you just want to come over to Japan for a year or two for the experience, then probably any job is OK, as long as you've got enough money to cover whatever it is you plan to do while you're in Japan.
If you're in it for the longer haul, you can still make something more of it beyond the bog standard eikaiwa and ALT hellholes, if you stick at it and are in it for the long haul. I know a guy who came over in his early 40s, nearly 10 years ago, just as the global economy was tanking. He did 5 or 6 years in an eikaiwa instructor job, then landed a job a couple of years ago as an ALT through an agency that pays more (300k a month). He also started doing a distance MA. He's now married with a kid.
They may actually prefer older candidates in some ways, as you'll likely be more mature, on the straight and narrow and focused on your career, rather than just looking to paint the town red.
Money isn't the be all and end all. What's more important is working out what you want to do with your life and the kind of lifestyle you want, then earning enough to cover that from stable, steady employment (which has been getting harder to find). You don't necessarily need to be rich to do that. |
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Jagariko
Joined: 14 Oct 2013
Posts: 40
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| Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 12:13 pm Post subject: |
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| They may actually prefer older candidates in some ways, as you'll likely be more mature, on the straight and narrow and focused on your career... |
Only for university teachers and, of course, you'll need to have a masters. Some uni jobs advertise with a cut-off age of 40! Eikaiwas like the young, fresh meat that are happy to go to school events and not get bored with the "do you like Japanese food" questions the obachans will want to ask. Would a reputable school hire an older person that isn't qualified for anything else - ie not career-focused - or obviously intends to quit for a much better job as soon as one comes along?
A 300k a month job in a city wouldn't go far for a family with a child unless the wife was also working - not always the aim of Japanese wives!
Weeigokin - Yes, salaries in Japan have decreased across the board. Some uni jobs that used to ask for a master's degree and two or three publications are now asking for a PhD - of course with the same salary. And the uni jobs that don't ask for a PhD now pay only 350,000-520,000 on average rather than the 500,000-650,000 that they paid 10-15 years ago.
At the other end of the scale, I've seen full-time eikawai type jobs advertised for as low as 180, 000. A youngster that just wanted to get by and experience Japan for a year or so and was living in a studio or small 1K apartment would be OK if s/he lived in the suburbs, cooked most evenings and took left-overs for lunch and only had a big night out once or twice a month or so.
I can't see that you would need 5,000 dollars if you had a job already lined up and only had to wait one month for your first pay check. Most jobs that provide apartments jack up the rent and don't charge the key money.
How about a rural location if you previously lived in a city. Salaries would be lower and jobs fewer but living costs - including rent - would be low.
Besides you don't state your qualifications or experience. If you have experience teaching TOEFL or are a qualified IELTS instructor, you can pick up part-time work paying 4,000-5,000 per hour in a juku-type place. Private students will pay 5,000 per hour if you can offer something other than conversation practice: most teachers can't! The British Council pays 5,000 per hour for DELTA-holding teachers and has advertised a six-hour Sunday job in Osaka and Tokyo recently: 120,000 for working Sundays wouldn't be bad for a start! |
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mitsui
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 1:10 am Post subject: |
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Yes but iof you aren't British good luck getting a job at the BC.
Even a MA and experience isn't enough. |
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