Job Discussion Forums

rickman · Joined: 17 Jun 2003 Posts: 28

Does anyone work for Gaba? How does the job compare with the other big schools and how much do they pay?

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

They have deserved bad reputation!

Gaba, gaba, don't do it!

You'd be much better off just about anywhere else.

Post on Gaijinpot for more info.

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

To give you an idea how bad GABA is:

they are no longer allowed to sponsor work visas issued by immigration because they were caught issuing fake degrees to their teachers so they could get a work visa.

Lots of other stuff to bad to mention- have a look on the Japan Information Journal as well.

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

Shocking, a Japanese government agency actually took action! :shock:

They did their job! :P

GABA must be the worst!

Thanks for that info Paul H!

Be sure to spread it around!

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

Shocking, a Japanese government agency actually took action! :shock:

They did their job! :P

GABA must be the worst!

Thanks for that info Paul H!

Be sure to spread it around!

ruggedtoast · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 81 Location: tokyo

It seems they can sponsor again these days. Actually I have friends who work for GABA, some of them say its not that bad, theyre very flexible anyway.

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

I interviewed for GABA. I worked for them back when they were a sort of "introduction service" to part time students. That was fine - for me. The interview I had with GABA was so bad that it was one of the factors that drove me into China.

A full time, visa sponsored contract with them is only about 32-33 hours of teaching per week. But CLASSES are 40 minutes, so that's something like 44 LESSONS per week. You can end up teaching up to 14 lessons PER DAY in some cases.

Classes are one on one and they use a series of textbooks and computer materials that were developed in-house, and nowhere near complete as of a year ago anyway.

Breaks between classes are only 5 minutes. The school, well the one in Shibuya anyway, opens at 7:15am and closes at 10:40 pm.

They had two part time schemes (which involved a lot of classes to teach for not enough to live on in Tokyo happily), and a sort of "free lesson" system where you get paid 1 400 yen per lesson, and ONLY get paid on a per lesson basis.

They only offered me a full time position when I forced them to (I pulled out the latest copy of The Japan Times's classifieds and showed them their own add.) Even then all their contracts were only for four months, not a year. They also have the strictest dress code I've ever heard of in an eikaiwa. Black suits all around (for women too.) Finally, last year they had these lovely, classy adds of a Beckam-clone "teacher" HANDCUFFED to a Japanese businesswoman.

Instead of working for them I took a job at a university in rural China - INTERIOR CHINA. And I don't regret my decision for a second.

I cannot recommend GABA. I don't think most human beings could endure GABA for long. None of the people in my interveiw group were impressed at all - even the desparate or the newbies to Japan.