Job Discussion Forums

[kml636]

I have my interview with AEON this weekend, and I'm really freaked out by the teaching part. I'm wondering if it's going to be a waste of my time, and if I should just go with an independent school where I wouldn't have to do this. Any advice?

Also, I was reading the FAQ's in this forum and it states taht you should have $5000!?! before coming to Japan. Is this accurate at all? I would prefer to live in a city, which I know is more expensive, but I don't have much money saved. Any help would be appreciated!

[Glenski]

If you can't afford to come to Japan and look for work, you will have to be interviewed in your home country. That means only about a dozen employers will do that and sponsor your work visa. Of course, you will have to pay expenses to attend the interviews, which can last 1-3 days.

$5000 to come to Japan? Figure this way.
$800 for a plane ticket.
50,000-70,000 yen/month for a gaijin house (maybe with an additional 25,000 deposit)
30,000 yen/month for rent
10,000 yen to install a cell phone, plus 5000-8000 yen/month for basic service
20,000 yen/month for local transportation
TOTAL so far is 115,000 to 163,000 yen for your first month (not including airfare)

You can't expect to be hired in a couple of weeks, and it will likely take 1-2 months, so your second month will be 105,000 - 128,000.

TOTAL spent to this point is 220,000 - 291,000 yen.

But wait. Those figures only account for shelter, food, and local transportation. You will also have to pay for things like insurance, dry cleaning, postage, transportation to non-local interviews, The Japan Times, perhaps some Internet service at an Internet cafe, haircut/perm, etc. Sure, those things won't amount to another 200,000 yen in 2 months, but they will cost something. And, note that I have listed only the basic needs related to job hunting. If you want to go out drinking or do some sightseeing, that will drain your pocketbook even more.

Now, if you get hired in the second month, you still have to get a work visa. This could take 4-7 weeks. Will your employer allow you to work illegally during that time? Maybe. Maybe not. Will he pay you full wages? Maybe. Maybe not. If you deal with the "nots", you will have to pay for another month or even 2 of those expenses, and that hits the $5000 mark. Will your immigration office require you to leave the country to finalize your work visa paperwork? Maybe. It's not a sure thing yet that you can just stay in Japan to do that. So, budget a flight to Seoul for this. Even if your employer allows you to work on the day he hires you (a little rare because he has a schedule himself, so figure at least 2 weeks before you are in the office), you won't get paid for at least 4 weeks, so you WILL have to pay for that third month of expenses without having a paycheck.