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sideways_gun
Joined: 28 Apr 2010
Posts: 49
Location: Tokyo
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 Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:50 am Post subject: Please help me evaluate these job offers! |
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<This issue has been resolved. Thank you for your kind attention>
One option is a single elementary school about 1hr of train-hopping away from home.
The other is a combination of juku, kindergarten and daycare centres but closer to home at an average 30mins commute.
If we talk money, the far away position pays a daily rate (12,000yen/day actually worked) and the scattered role pays a flat 250,000/month with 18 paid vacation days per year.
Either way, I'll be teaching the little'uns......
In the grand scheme of things, is it better career-wise to teach at one public school or a range of different institutions?
Which would YOU choose?
Thank you for your input 
Last edited by sideways_gun on Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:46 am; edited 1 time in total |
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mitsui
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
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| Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:59 am Post subject: |
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Kindergarten is a joke. That isn`t teaching. Daycare is just glorified babysitting.
I guess I would take the one job. One hour commute is long enough. Longer than that and it gets tiring.
Elementary teaching is not for everybody but if you like it, go for it.
Also, if you want to stay longer in Japan, having a full time job looks better on your resume. |
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sideways_gun
Joined: 28 Apr 2010
Posts: 49
Location: Tokyo
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| Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:03 am Post subject: |
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| mitsui wrote: |
Kindergarten is a joke. That isn`t teaching. Daycare is just glorified babysitting.
I guess I would take the one job. One hour commute is long enough. Longer than that and it gets tiring.
Elementary teaching is not for everybody but if you like it, go for it.
Also, if you want to stay longer in Japan, having a full time job looks better on your resume. |
Woooo I have never experienced kindergarten/day care. Sounds like it would be fun if not trying to attack them with English lol Elementary school 1-3rd graders are difficult enough and they HAVE to listen to me.
Curiouser and curiouser...... |
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mitsui
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
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| Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:07 am Post subject: |
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| In elementary classes you have to plan a lot since they have short attention spans. It is not my cup of tea. I have just observed elementary classes in Tokyo, but I have taught at a junior high school. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:24 am Post subject: |
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I don't have enough to go on. Sorry.
12,000 per day, ok, but can you give an estimate on how many days per month you expect to work? Otherwise, there is no way to compare the salary with 250K/month.
You say the one elem ed school is an hour away (train hopping means what? How many transfers?). Closer to you are several schools, but will you be expected to travel a lot to reach each one in a day? Logistical description needs more here.
As for elem ed vs the younger kiddies, are you solely in charge or not, and which type of teaching do you prefer?
The scattered job seems like it has just one employer, so you are wise to ask about how it would look on a resume. Well, how about it? What are your long-term goals? Intrinsically, more is better, but if you don't plan to get into younger kiddies long-term, why bother now unless there is some great short-term benefit? |
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sideways_gun
Joined: 28 Apr 2010
Posts: 49
Location: Tokyo
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| Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Glenski. Thank you for replying. I'll try to address your points in more detail.
| Glenski wrote: |
12,000 per day, ok, but can you give an estimate on how many days per month you expect to work? Otherwise, there is no way to compare the salary with 250K/month. |
I would work 5 days a week (Monday to Friday). As long as I show up at work I would get paid.... Of course, national holidays and the like would result in a loss of 12,000yen that week but they don't occur often enough to hurt me that badly, I think. As for school closures due to bad weather and illness, I've only been in Japan for 1 year so I don't know how much of a concern that should be. Do you have any insight into that point?
Annually, I can't be certain how many guaranteed working days there are but, basically, Monday to Friday, whenever the elementary school is in session.
| Glenski wrote: |
You say the one elem ed school is an hour away (train hopping means what? How many transfers?). Closer to you are several schools, but will you be expected to travel a lot to reach each one in a day? Logistical description needs more here. |
I was told that each location is no more than 35mins from where I live... now, about how close they are to each other, I have not been given those details yet. That company has contracts with kindergartens and provides juku facilities and materials. About the ALT work at the one elemerntary school, to get there I need to change once or twice depending on which route my company will pay for. "Train hopping" was not a good phrase to use as, indeed, the scattered position is the one that would require a lot of riding around between multiple sites e in one day! Transport is compensated for in both roles, though.
| Glenski wrote: |
As for elem ed vs the younger kiddies, are you solely in charge or not, and which type of teaching do you prefer? |
I am the sole teacher at the job with multiple roles. At elementary school, well, every school is different. I can assume the homeroom teacher at least will be there. I do not know about the existence of a JTE at this point. Personally, I prefer eikaiwa over public school. This is because I don't have to bring my work home with me when I work eikaiwa. As an ALT in the past I had to do a lot in my spare time on top of having a commute of 1hr30mins door-to-door. That's why I am reluctant to accept a position that takes me an hour away from my home. That being said, the dispatch company said THEY will provide the materials. This is atypical, isn't it? That company is Minerva in Chiba and the internet is not yielding much in inside information. I have never taught any kids younger than elementary school age and, frankly, I don't want to! I would like to teach adults too but that's not on the table here. If teaching kids, I'd definitely prefer to them to be of elementary school age and above. Just, I must be having post-traumatic stress disorder about commuting. Am I being unreasonable?
| Glenski wrote: |
The scattered job seems like it has just one employer, so you are wise to ask about how it would look on a resume. Well, how about it? What are your long-term goals? Intrinsically, more is better, but if you don't plan to get into younger kiddies long-term, why bother now unless there is some great short-term benefit? |
The scattered job is under one employer but several locations. The ALT role is just one school. I would like the added experience of dealing with younger kids. And doing so under an eikaiwa means I don't stand to lose my job at the end of the contract period for any reason other than poor performance. I do fear the lack of job security as an ALT. Then again, the longer I work as an ALT, the easier it will be to secure the NEXT ALT position. I would like to work in a high school some day. But I do not know if it is the age of your students or the fact of just having worked within the public school system that has greater bearing on future employment options as an ALT.
I have until, well, tomorrow to decide if I'm going to take the ALT role or not. Otherwise I'll be getting more information on the scattered role next Monday. I ALSO have another interview with the new NOVA (Jibun Mirai Associe) next week that would be the holy grail for me as I'd get to teach both adults AND kids, the school will definitely be less than an hour away from home AND there are all these little salary bonuses. The base salary is also higher than that as an ALT, after tax. But that's just an interview. I wonder if I should just take the ALT role because it's there. Or if I can disregard it right now. Nothing is set in stone other than that, if I want that ALT position, I have to accept it by the end of this week.
I apologise if I have given too much information!! Thank you for taking the time to consider my situation and give advice.
= edited for completeness = |
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