Job Discussion Forums

This Charming Man · Joined: 07 Mar 2007 Posts: 6

I will graduate university this year, with a bachleor degree in Japanese language. During my studies I have been fortunate enough to be able to spend almost 18 months in Japan and all I can think about is going back. I really love Japan and I would like to live there for a longer period of time. From what I hear, getting a job as an English teacher seems to be the easiest way to get into Japan, so I pretty much had this plan of becoming an English teacher as a way of getting back, but lately I have become unceartain. I have Japanese girlfriend who told me that if I become an English teacher, due to a diffence in working hours and holidays, even if we live together, we would hardly get any time to see each other. She said that working hours is the reason why most English teachers usually hang out with fellow foreigners. I always thought that this had more to do with the language barrier than anything else. I know teachers mostly work evnings, but is it really that bad? And if it is, would it be hard for someone starting out to get a day-time job as an English teacher?

The other option I have is trying to get a job at a company in Japan, but I have no business skills whatosever, so I guess it is kind of far fetched. But my biggest problem with working for a Japanese company would be, again, working hours. Japanese work etiquette doesn't allow for much free time, and since free time is necessary for true passion � which is music � I don't really know what to do. I only really have two things I want to do in life, which to stay in Japan and playing music, and I don't want to choose.

So, to sum it all up: Does becoming an English teacher make it difficult to associate with Japanese people?

southofreality · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 579 Location: Tokyo

User N. Ame · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 222 Location: Kanto

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

JET ALTs or dispatch ALTs have work hours from about 8am to 5pm. Roughly. Pretty normal for what you're used to back home, and plenty of evening time to spend with the gf.

Lots of entry level eikaiwa jobs have hours from noonish to 9pm, so you'd get home at 9:30 or later. Some places permit you to swap shifts/hours with other teachers, though. Look into which ones do. Also, some entry level jobs don't give Sat and Sun as weekends; you might get split days like Sunday and Tuesday. Again, ask.

Foreigners hang out with foreigners for many reasons.
Probably the most logical is that it is easier to communicate (which often means complaining about their jobs). Some employers don't want their teachers hanging out with students (and put illegal clauses in their contracts to forbid such meetings), but it's only because they don't want the students to get free language lessons. Associate with whom you please to.

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:16 pm Post subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHv9_5T3zTE

Sorry, all I want to post right now.

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Thanks for the link furiousmilksheikali, the Smiths' song was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the OP's name as well, but I've never seen the video before.

ripslyme · Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 481 Location: Japan

Great song, by one of the greatest bands of all time!

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

We pretty much live for the weekends, and the many holidays. My husband was gone from the house from 7ish to 9ish, but when the owners complained about him not having a lesson planned everytime we told them that he didnt have time to shave much less plan a lesson. So this time we both work to or past 9 two nights a week and the rest about 7 or earlier. But we have a lot of breaks in between, just not much time to actually do anything of substance. But weekends and holidays are many...that is what gets us by, that and the fact that the job itself is not so bad, sometimes it is actually enjoyable. But if my husband and I didnt have weekends off and holidays I wouldn't
see him much...

This Charming Man · Joined: 07 Mar 2007 Posts: 6

Thanks for the replies.

Seems to me like it varies a lot how much a teacher actually works. How many hours do the average teacher work each week? Are there a lot of breaks inbetween classes?

Nice to see there's a few The Smiths fans around here too by the way Very Happy

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

I think the average is 25 hours a week..so yes, that is a good bit of breaks between classes...but you usually have to travel somewhere so sometimes your breaks are spent on trains..or bicycles.. Smile

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

Quibby is new here, so I'll add a few remarks about work hours.

Some places will average 25-30 hours per week in the classroom only. This is key, as you can imagine. Some employers prohibit you from leaving the building even in your non-teaching time (lunch break excluded by law), so you could wind up in your office for a whole 8 hours and teach for only a few hours.

ALTs from dispatch companies are often required to stay in their schools if they are assigned to just one school for that day. If you want to leave, you must call the home office and ask/tell them.

The other rub is that you are legally not considered a full-time employee until you work more than 29.5 hours per week. So, some employers trim the hours and count only certain periods so that you look like a full-timer to yourself, but you look like a part-timer to the government (and thereby give the employer the loophole he needs to avoid making the legal copayments into health insurance).