Job Discussion Forums

[locomote]

I'm looking at a position with a cram school. It's my first job in Japan, so I'm expecting to start low...this place seems really good - nice pay, good hours, good people in general.

The only downsides I see are that it's super countryside, AND you have to work on national holidays.

Is that common for cram schools? Do you usually get national holidays off or no (people in similar places)?

They offer 2 weeks paid vacation of my choice, 5-day weeks, and some special "school holidays", I guess to make up for the lack of national holidays.

Does that seem way off base, or typical?

I tried a search for similar posts, but it didn't seem to be an easy topic to search...I got mostly completely unrelated posts about China. Any input is appreciated~ ^^

[Celeste]

The reason you are probably having trouble with your search is that we do not call them "cram schools" in Japan. There are conversation schools which are commonly called eikaiwas and dispatch companies. Which scool are you looking at? Sounds pretty typical eikaiwa to me.

[locomote]

Actually, I didn't know the term "cram school" before today when I spoke with the owner of the school (a Japanese woman) and she called it a cram school. I assume that it's an eikaiwa. I gathered that what she meant by cram school was that it was a school that students go to when they have free time from their regular school to "cram" study time in. The Japanese teachers there teach Math and things like that too, I think.

The name of the school is Global Spot, in Soma, Fukushima-ken - about an hour south of Sendai.

So you're saying that it is typical for eikaiwa teachers to work on National Holidays? Is that the case at places like NOVA, ECC, etc...?

[Celeste]

My mistake! Sounds like that is indeed a "juku" or cram school where students go for tutoring in all subjects. It is not as common for EFL teachers to actually teach in one of these places as they usually focus on passing Japanese exams.

Eikaiwas will have instructors working whenever customers are available for classes. This means lots of evenings, weekends, and national holidays. This doesn't mean that you won't get any time off, it will just mean that your "weekend" might be Tuesday and Wednesday (some places will give you 2 days off in a row as opposed to a split weekend) and you will have most mornings free to sleep in.

[JimDunlop2]

Cram school is a legitimate, and even fairly well-used term. In Japanese, the word is juku. It's just that most foreigners never work for a "cram school" because most of them are taught by Japanese-English teachers for the main purpose of teaching grammar. Cram schools also teach other subjects quite frequently and not just English.

Here's the difference:

juku (塾 ) = cram school (supplementary private school)

eikaiwa (英会話 ) = English conversation (school)

Note the different kanji. "Eikaiwa" used by itself can mean either "English conversation" as in: to be good at speaking English: 英会話が得意であるeikaiwa ga tokui de aru or English Conversation School. As in, I teach at an eikaiwa.

Apologies to those who can't see the Japanese characters.

[JimDunlop2]

As an additional reply, working national holidays may or may not be required. Many times those days are off, but if they are not, there are usually other days in lieu. I worked for an outfit that moved the holidays around, so let's say if most holidays resulted in a long weekend Monday, the same students weren't getting less classes than those who came on Tuesdays.

National holidays are not guaranteed in the Labour Code.... But you are entitled to a certain number of vacation days. Check out the General Union website for details...

[Glenski]

National holidays are more like bank days. Government run places get the day off, nothing more.

So, it would be completely understandable for jukus to have classes during those days. It's when students have time off from regular school, and they are therefore available to study.

[bearcat]

As with any job offer here weigh things like this:

Hours per week.
Hours commuting.
Wage per month and thus per hour.
Bonus.
Days off per week(normal days not holidays).
Holidays off.
Vacation time.


Compare them(benchmark them) after that to other no positions such as those found in the big 4 eikaiwa.

Now, I know this isn't an eikaiwa position but if you could fair better at an eikaiwa, then why go for a juku that offers less?

There are no set standards for any of the above categories here in Japan and many companies run schemes in a large array. But most people have nothing to compare it to others and this has been for years a way that many schools slip under the radar and play on the ignorance of folks.

One of these days I'm gonna make a website and database of this sort of thing for people to reference and compare and to know what to ask or how to read an ad etc.

[locomote]

Thanks for the input~

I was just asking if that's a typical thing. How can I compare if I don't know what other schools are like?

To be more specific, let me re-iterate the question:

Do most jobs for English native-speaking teachers in Japan require you to work on national holidays. Is this typical?

Yes/No

[guest of Japan]

If the salary is over 250,000 yen a month it sounds fine. Yes, many schools give national holidays off, but it can actually be a curse. If your holidays are always during the national holiday periods then you pay roughly triple to go anywhere. I've met a few people who have taught in jukus and they all had good experiences. It doesn't sound like you get many holidays but if the salary and the working hours are good, then don't think twice.

[locomote]

Thanks~

I'm torn between it (in the middle of nowhere) and a "much less-paying but similar teaching conditions with more vacation" eikaiwa in Tokyo.

Decisions, decisions....

[Glenski]

[bearcat]

To answer your question loco:

Yes and no.

ECC gives national holidays off plus 4-5 weeks vacation. They are one of the big 4 eikaiwa.

I've seen as well some companies have different standards for different teachers. ES Consulting is one. Each teacher's schedule depends on the schools they go to. Some teachers can thus have 3 weeks off in the summer and others much much less. Some have to work on holidays and others do not. Etc etc.

So again, its best to list all the aspects of the job.

I've work in situations that the money wasn't all that great but the actual working conditions were a breeze. I've worked where the money was realyl good but because the curriculum sucked donkey butt and the commutes were a total of 4 hours a day, the days working were long due to split shifts, and the support/management was a joke, that it wasn't worth the money.

Others might not care in the above situation and be totally satisfied. Again, there are NO SET STANDARDS for jobs in Japan. This constantly is a concept that new folks just can't wrap their understanding around.

My best suggestion is for you to go on Gaijinpot, Ohayo Sensei, jobs in japan, etc and scroll through pages and pages of jobs and you'll see all sorts of conditions, visit the websites of some of them where applicable as well and you'll see.

I really think that you're going to just have to decide what conditions are best for you personally and go from there.

Now we can tell you places to avoid that we're aware of as well though because the industry is rife with companies that exploit and harm teachers on purpose for the sake of profit or other reasons. And some of them you cannot garner this from simply contacting them or reading an ad.

[locomote]

Thank you for the frank answer~

I didn't realize that things were so varied in Japan. In Korea, things are quite varied, but it is somewhat of a given that national holidays are "holidays"...red days on the calender means nobody works. I was trying to gather if that was true in Japan as well. In Korea, if someone told me I had to work on national holidays, I would be VERY shocked, and they'd have to have SUPER conditions for me to even consider it. I understand I'm getting into a new boat by going to Japan, so I wanted to find out what the waters are like on that issue.

If you're interested in the specifics of the two jobs:
1st:
Cram School
Located in Soma, Fukushima - way out in the boon-docks, about an hour south of Sendai. The one full-time co-teacher lives in Sendai and makes the 2 hour commute every day. She said she's never seen another foreigner in Soma.
280,000/month
25,000/month housing (partially subsidized)
2 weeks of holiday that I can take when I choose, but not all at once.
Some school holidays at random times~


2nd:
Medium-sized eikaiwa (ALS)
Located in Ayase, on the NE tip of Tokyo.
250,000/month (50,000 contract completion bonus)
55,000/month rent
5 weeks of holiday spaced out throughout the year - chosen by ALS
Good support structure and potential for advancement in an established company


Basically my options seem to be:
1. Live in the middle of nowhere making quite nice cash and saving it all because I'm bored to tears with nothing to do (which isn't bad since I have student loans to pay - and I'm pretty good at entertaining myself). Potential to learn a lot of Japanese language/culture and really get a feel for the country.

2. Live in one of the most exciting cities in the world making average cash for a starting position and spending most of it while I have a great time and really enjoy life now. Potential to get involved with a lot of things and possibility for acting side-jobs, a bit of a passion of mine. Also good potential for getting side teaching jobs if money becomes a problem.

[JimDunlop2]

You never mentioned how many hours/week you would be teaching, how many classes/day (that's important)......

If either option has you teaching any more than 5 classes a day, take the other one. Seriously, for the sake of sanity -- 6 classes (even 5) 5 days a week is a LOT -- and even if you live near the party, you'll be too tired to enjoy it.

Otherwise, all other things being equal, I'd probably opt for the boondocks option, but NOT commute 2 hrs from Sendai unless necessary... Get a local apartment if you can.