Job Discussion Forums

[brainmonster]

I recently interviewed with a woman from Fukushima, for a job teaching English in Japan. The interview went well and I basically have the job if I decide to to it, starting in March. I was wondering what you guys thought of the pay/benefits for the job. Here they are:

Feel English School: Fukushima, Japan
1 year contract
12:30-9:30 5 days a week
Overtime is possible
base wage 200,000 Yen, but she said they will give me pay raises.
And bonus 2 times a year for 1 months salary
overtime 125% of hourly
15 Paid holidays
free japanese/chinese/korean lessons

This is in Fukushima where a part of my family is sapposedly from. The woman is very nice and aparently they are a small very new company that started only half a year ago. She said that they are growing and that I will get pay raises depending on the amount of students that i can bring in. Theres about 5 people or so working there now.

In terms of houses, the woman said she would let me do a homestay with her family. This might be good because two people in her family are trying to learn english and they can teach me some japanese. I could also commute to work with her in her car.

I may not mind mind living in Fukushima even though aparently its a pretty small town with not much to do, and a lot of old people. It could be more laid back.

My only concern is the wage which to start seems a little on the low side. I also am not sure if I would like to work with such a small company - a larger company might be more interesting with the potential of meeting more people.

Let me know what you guys think.

[kdynamic]

The homestay part put up a red flag for me... what if you don't get along with them? Homestays are very tricky, much less staying with your boss!!

[taikibansei]

[chirp]

brainmonster,

What about health insurance? How long are the classes? How often do you get breaks and how long are they? Are they using textbooks or do you need to create your own lesson plans? Where are the other teachers from? How are you expected to "bring in" new students?

And I agree with kdynamic, the homestay idea is troublesome. How well do you know these people? Would you have your own room? Unlikely. You would always be mixing your work life and your home life with no breaks.

I live in the country and absolutely adore it. But, I have a car and a train station just a short walk away. When I need to, I can easily head off to visit friends in other places or go on a weekend trip. If you are also dependent on your employer for transportation, they you will be stuck.

I would think carefully about this offer. Ultimately, it is up to you. And to answer your question, yes, the salary is a low.

Good luck!

[JimDunlop2]

No.

[The_Hanged_Man]

I agree with all of the above.

If you are still considering it then I recommend you ask the owner for the contact info of some of the current foreign teachers. They will be able to give the low down on whether or not it would be a good place to work/live. If she refuses to give the contact info, I would immediately write it off.

[canuck]

Immediately write it off now.

[Gordon]

The salary is a sad joke and NEVER NEVER live under the same roof as your boss. So many things could go wrong.

[AndyH]

Also, the "you'll get raises/bonuses depending on how many students you'll bring in" statements always make me suspicious. Unless a raise is specified in your contract, don't assume you'll get it just because the owner says so.
Y250,000/month used to be the norm for a new eikaiwa teacher in Japan, but it seems that lately, salaries are going down.
Still, I'm sure you can do better than this place.

[ndorfn]

The pay is low, and the homestay might turn into you basically doing extra lessons for free if they are trying to learn. I reckon definitely seek you own accommodation.

will she be able to get you a visa? if so, you'll be free to leave if you don't like it.