| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
anto_funnfunn
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 7
Location: new york
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 9:48 pm Post subject: what happened when you got back? |
 |
|
Hi y'all:
i'm new to the forum and will be leaving for kanagawa in september. my family is super supportive but all my friends say i'll have a hard time re-adjusting once i get back to the u.s. i would like to make this decision with eyes wide open, so when they mention that my year abroad will, in most interviews, reduce my 'marketability'--i get really concerned  .
did anyone experience much trouble re-entering the job market once they got back home (wherever that may be?) and did the efl expererience count for much on your resume?
thanx guys. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
voodoochild
Joined: 04 Apr 2003
Posts: 80
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 5:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
| I had so much trouble re entering the job market (computers/sales) back in the UK that I had to change my career!....take a year out and most companies think you are a dosser! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
matador
Joined: 07 Mar 2003
Posts: 281
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 6:26 am Post subject: It Depends... |
|
|
It depends on how you play it: If you don't utilize your time in Japan it will be a waste of time to any employer (they just can't relate to it)...
However, if you learn the language...make as many good contacts as possible...sharpen your business skills... then you'll be in a better position to negotiate any future deals.
What might happen is that you find the business opportunities in Japan are so good (along with your lifestyle) that staying for only one year will not seem enough. Give it 3 years and THEN think about your next move. Often people stay for a year or two...are just getting traction and making a name for themselves...business contacts,etc....then they trash all that hard work and go back to the US (or wherever).
I hope that gives you something to think about.
You can contact me if you like. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
David W
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 457
Location: Japan
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:59 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Gee you haven't even left yet and already you're worried about what will happen when you go back home? Are you sure you're coming for the right reasons? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
C76
Joined: 13 Jun 2003
Posts: 113
Location: somewhere between beauty and truth...in Toronto. ;)
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 2:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Hey...
I think anto's got a perfectly viable concern.
One of my ESL/TESL teachers left to teach in Korea when he was a bit younger. Came back. Now it seems that all he can do is teach. But he doesn't want to be a teacher anymore. Which is a shame, because he's a spectacular instructor. Nevertheless, I feel his pain. And I haven't even gone anywhere yet.
I figure you could do worse upon your return than to have ESL teaching as a day job. But if that's not your "thing", I imagine it'd be pretty disappointing/annoying. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
anto_funnfunn
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 7
Location: new york
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 4:15 pm Post subject: Re: It Depends... |
|
|
thanks for the feedback y'all,
| David W wrote: |
| Are you sure you're coming for the right reasons? |
well, i don't really know what the right reasons are supposed to be. i've always wanted to go abroad, and i think a year in japan would be challenging and ultimately one of the best learning experiences. i just graduated and i think this is the best time to take a year off. right now i'm not 100% sure of my exact career path, but i know my interests lie in education.
[quote="matador"]It depends on how you play it: If you don't utilize your time in Japan it will be a waste of time to any employer (they just can't relate to it)...
However, if you learn the language...make as many good contacts as possible...sharpen your business skills... then you'll be in a better position to negotiate any future deals.
^^^ i intend to study as much japanese as i can learn.....i guess i'm just concerned that "international experience" mightgn't be as important to emploers as they made it seem in college....
-anto. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2003 2:53 am Post subject: Re: It Depends... |
|
|
| anto_funnfunn wrote: |
^^^ i intend to study as much japanese as i can learn.....i guess i'm just concerned that "international experience" mightgn't be as important to emploers as they made it seem in college....
-anto. |
Anto, this is only my opinion, but this is like when people come to Japan seeking non-teaching jobs in japan- the big question is what do you have that no one else has and what do you offer your employer?
Spending three years on JET being an assistant to a qualified Japanese teacher does not really prepare you for anything for when you go back home, and it really depends on what you mean by 'international experience'. Does it mean being able to talk to foreigners or people of a different race or ethnicity than you? Lots of Korean-Americans and Japanese-Americans in the US as far as I know.
Did you develop any professional skills or acquire any professional qualifications while in japan? MBA, Masters degree? level 1 in Japanese Proficiency Test? Pass the CPA test? Or did you just feed at the tax-payer funded JET pig trough for 3 years? What skills do you have that you can show employers.
Studying Japanese is a worthy pursuit but with the Japanese you learn could you work in mergers or acquisitions, the trading desk in a foreign bank in Tokyo or design brake systems with Japanese engineers? Japanese is simply a tool for communication, but behind that you need formal skills, training and qualifications. three years living in Japan courtesy of the Japanese taxpayer doesnt really amount to a hill of beans in the US.
perhaps Im speaking from a rather biased and privileged position but rather than think just about what you think employers may be looking for and jumping through the hoops trying to get hired, its best to look at what you are good at, what you earn doing and where you see yourself. 10 years ago you had computer programmers and techies who drove Porsches, thought they could walk on water and thought their jobs were more important than 'teach english'. Now they live at home with Mom and dad. the porsche is repossessed and they are drawing benefits. You may get a job back home, find its not what its cracked up to be with the hours office politics and drudgery, they miss Japan and teaching here and get back here within in 6 months. Seen it happen all the time. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2003 3:06 am Post subject: Re: It Depends... |
|
|
| anto_funnfunn wrote: |
| David W wrote: |
| Are you sure you're coming for the right reasons? |
well, i don't really know what the right reasons are supposed to be. i've always wanted to go abroad, and i think a year in japan would be challenging and ultimately one of the best learning experiences. i just graduated and i think this is the best time to take a year off. right now i'm not 100% sure of my exact career path, but i know my interests lie in education.
-anto. |
Speaking from my experience as a foreigner married with kids in Japan
if you travel to Japan before you settle down and have kids it will probably be the only chance you will get. I took my wife, kids and mother in law to Hawaii at Christmas for a 6 day holiday and the whole experience cost me about $6000.
when I was 23 I didnt know what I wanted to do with my life and 1 year trip turned into 15 year permanent stay.
I dont know what your long term goals are re pursuing a career in education, nor am I familiar with the US education system if thats where you are from.
If you want to become a high school teacher back home you will probably need a state certified teaching licence before you can get a job in a high school.
I know americans with Masters and phDs degrees teaching in japan wanting to get teaching jobs back in the US but most ESL teaching jobs are very part time, require long commutes and pay about $10-12 an hour. To get a university teaching job of any merit you will need at least a phD, publications, a solid research track record, for teaching jobs in the US as well as contacts etc. A lot will depend on what you study and what field you go into as well.
I can advise you on an academic career in Japan but that may not be what you are looking for, based on your original question. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
denise
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2003 5:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
Anto,
If you think you want to stay in the education field when you return from Japan, then I'd say your time here would be quite beneficial (assuming you use it well--learn how to teach. join/network with professional organizations, etc.). If you spend a year backpacking around Asia and then try to get into a "serious" field (in quotes because for me TESOL is as serious as it gets--it's my career and I take it very, very seriously), then you might have some problems.
Personally, I had no problems whatsoever adjusting after I returned from my first teaching experience. I discovered that I loved teaching, so I went straight into an MA program upon my return.
Good luck. I agree that you're in an ideal place in your life to travel and explore your options. I left when I was 23.
d |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
