Job Discussion Forums

maya.the.bee · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 118 Location: Stgo

i am looking for another opinion on a possible internship

the deal is:
180000 yen/month
40000 of that taken for rent/util.
comp. for travel to/from schools

20 hrs/week teaching
attending jl classes

stateside this looks like an awesome opportunity. but...i can't call it from here. so, guess i'm asking: is this reasonable? if it were you, would you take it?

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

maya.the.bee · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 118 Location: Stgo

that's why i was asking. is this slave labor or an opportunity?

work hours per week: 10-20
japanese classes & utilities provided for

i would be responsible for:
food
entertainment
phone...

it is a teaching internship, an exchange program run through my uni. i have (or will at that time) a BA & TEFL cert. the classes could be any level, or so i am told, from pre-k to uni,& ESP. i won't be told my schedule til arrival.
so, by my way of thinking, i have 140000 to play with monthly. can i live & still play a little?

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

You get 180,000 yen/month.

Rent is 40,000.
Utilities could be 15,000-20,000 (seasonal and depending on lifestyle)
Food will be 30,000-40,000.
Phone will run 500-8000 (after a 10,000 setup charge).
That leaves you with 180,000 - expenses = 72,000 per month

What are you going to do for insurance? Another expense.
Will you get reimbursed for transportation (a temporary expense), or do they give it to you at the beginning of the month?

Would you be sharing your housing, or living in a separate apartment?

If you get foreign insurance, and if you don't count transportation, you will have roughly 70,000 yen/month to play around with. Go out once or twice a week to the bars and drink conservatively, and you could blow 30,000-50,000 yen per month.

Factor in haircuts, dry cleaning, shipping, long distance calls, cable TV, postage, souvenirs, sightseeing, medical payments that you have to pay up front before reimbursement, etc.

180,000 is bare bones subsistence/survival pay. Where is this? Tokyo? Kyoto? The boondocks?

Just what do they provide for training you on this internship to teach babies to senior citizens?

First you said 20 hr/week for teaching duties, then you wrote 10-20 hr/wk. Which is it? That's actually quite a difference, and for someone just learning the ropes, you will need SOME preparation time. Full-time teachers at conversation schools have just over 20 hours a week in many cases, so you would not be far from being considered a FT worker in that sense, and it is up to you to decide if they give you enough prep time. Plus, how far are you going to be traveling to these classes? Given that transportation is paid, but for a greenhorn to ride the train and subway for 40-90 minutes one way in downtown Tokyo is asking a lot for some. And, are you expected to TEACH right away, or how much training comes first?

Would I take this? Depends on where I was posted, what my goals were, and a few other factors.

Awesome opportunity? Not exactly in my book, but if certain things panned out, it could be a nice one.

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

My only question is where can you still rent a video for 150 yen? But then again, 40,000 yen for rent is cheap.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Renting videos on the cheap days (usually Wednesday) amounts to 100-150 yen per video in most shops. And, you can get 150-yen videos any day of the week at the Geo shop near me.

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Maya,

The question that hasn't been asked yet is the duration of your internship. If you're here for say 3-6 months, and the school pays the key money and provides a furnished apartment, you'll be fine. Do check into that.

Some Canadian university students have worked internships in the Japanese boonies and been able to work full time, learn Japanese, and travel around a bit. One UBC student I met spent his summer (3 or 6 months, I can't remember right now) in rural Ehime teaching at an eikaiwa.

It's quite the opportunity, I think, to get a taste of Japan as part of your education. Don't expect to save much, though. The other posters are right - where you are decides your cost of living.

Good luck!

shuize · Joined: 04 Sep 2004 Posts: 1270

I lived in Tokyo as a student for about six months on 40,000/mo. after rent (student dorm).

Can it be done? Sure. Will I ever do it again? Hell no.