Job Discussion Forums

[gregcamp66]

My friend and I are thinking of going to japan to teach, but are looking for advice on how to get job. Were thinking of Nova initially, they offer both full and part time positions.

If took part time would it be possible to do private lessons on own and if so how much could one earn per hour

Cheers Greg

[Sherri]

The point here is that you will need a work visa before you can think about part time work and privates. (I am assuming you do not have a valid work visa for Japan.) To get a work visa, you will have to take the fulltime position with Nova--others on this board please correct me if I am wrong about this--but I am fairly sure that Nova's pt hours will not be enough to qualify for sponsorship (which you need to get a work visa).

Once you get sponsorship and get your work visa, then you can start thinking about going pt and picking up privates. For more on privates, you can read some older posts on this board, all your questions have already been answered here.

[Glenski]

I agree with Sherri.

As for private lessons, you can make whatever the market will bear. Average hourly rates per person are 3000-5000 yen. You can charge a per lesson fee, or a per month fee. You can charge a per PERSON rate, or a sliding scale that makes it cheaper for each student as the group grows. Your choice.

Think hard about privates. They are notoriously unstable, hard to get if you are a newbie, and offer no paid vacation or insurance. Moreover, you get tired of the traveling to each lesson (or you will just have to keep your apartment clean all the time).

[Lucy Snow]

The other thing to think about if you're considering part-time work is housing. Does Nova set you up in an apartment (i.e. no key money) if you're only part-time? I suspect the answer is probably not, but I'm sure some old Nova hands can clarify the issue.

So, if you're going to opt for part-time work that doesn't provide an apartment, then you've got to bring buckets of cash to pay for key money and furnishings.

[tjpnz2000]

`Old Nova hand` here.

Most part-time Novs (Nova teachers) are on working holiday visas. If you start as a full-timer you can request a reduction in your hours. `Request` being the operative word here. Nova is run for the benefit of Nova so they will give you the reduction only if they are full staffed and this posese no problems for them.

Nova will set you up in an apartment if you are part-time, same as the full timers and you may get overtime.

Bottom line is money, isn't is alway? Full-timers start at 250K per month, usually about 270K after allowences. Part-timers start on about 180K a month, don't know the allowence but it is probably not much. Did I hear someone say Japan was expensive?

Part-time Novs get Sat/Sunday weekends. Full-timers get two consecutive days off sometime in the week couples can get the same days off but what those days are is anyones guess.

Nova has a very liberal policy with regard to privates, as long as you don't poach their students anything goes. I have even known of head teachers in schools setting up contacts for new teachers.

I would say privates are a good suppliment (and you can meet some very nice Japanese this way) but I would not want to live off them.

This is a general break-down, if you want details of anything please email or PM. I don't like typing huge replys on the boards