Korean Job Discussion Forums

[TECO]

Kenny,

It gets even better.

I didn't really speak Japanese.
I only had a non-related B.A. degree (Criminology)
I didn't even have a CELTA or teaching qualification!

I was meeting sexy Jap girls left, right and centre and making the most money I'll ever make in my life in Tokyo. On my days off I was racing bikes.

Nowhere on this EFL planet will you ever find such a deal!

[just because]

I gotta weigh here having lived in japan for about a year, but it wasn't in the ESL field, I was teaching businessmen western marketing strategies in Tokyo(thats another story).

Tokyo is easily 5 times better to live in than anywhere in Korea.....
However i really did have a lot of trouble saving any money like I can here as you really can get swept up in the lifestyle. Living 5 minutes walk from Shinjuku doesn't help i suppose

In saying that Japan isn't this fantastic place that a lot of expats here(most who have only been there on a one-day visa run) make it out to be. Some days can be hard, just like they are here.

You have cultural problems just like you do here so if you adjusted in Japan you should be to make it OK ion Korea.


..and talking about JETs
There gross pay is about 3.7 million won however after all deductions(and if you are unlucky a housing one as some prefectures will only go halves in the housing) you would be lucky to be taking home in your hand about 2.5 million.
More than here yes but when comparing cost of living not so good..

and some JET programs are a disgrace...make the hagwons here look good. The majority of JETs are run well though. It depends on the ptrefecture.

I saw a lot of people Japan who didn't adjust very well at all, just like people didn't adjust here. I think if you can't really make a good go of it here, than your chances in japan are even less as they do look down on unprofessionalism 10 times more in Japan than they do here in Korea. It is usually the unprepared, unprofessional ones that don't adjust.

To be honest I would rather live here than in japan in the medium-term. Long term though and Japan would be better for ones sanity.

[Mosley]

I have to join the chorus here and call BS on TECO. I spent 5 years in Japan(3 w/JET) and met precious few who made the kind of dough that TECO claims he did-precious few. Way easier to save money in S. Korea, but Japan was a far more pleasant place to live, IMHO.

Just Because: There's only one JET Programme but many different employers within the programme. In my prefecture there were very few complaints about postings and those who did complain seemed to be whiners who would bitch about something even if they got a Canadian Senate seat.

[TECO]

Mosley,

I took home Y618,000 one month.

When my 2 part time high school jobs weren't in session I obviously earned less.

[Goro-chan]

I've been trying to keep out of this, but I have to agree with Mosley.
I worked in Japan for 4 years all up - including 3 years at public schools but on a private contract - not as part of JET.

I was paid 320,000 yen a month with a large 3-bedroom apartment 5 minutes walk from the shinkansen (bullet train) station provided for free. Although I lived in the "countryside" it was still only a 50 minute train ride into Tokyo. I also taught private classes 2 or 3 evenings a week and got paid between 10,000 and 30,000 yen an hour for each class, plus free dinner as an extra perk. I usually saved around 300,000 yen a month as I don't live particularly extravagantly. And seeing as I worked at a public school I also got great holidays each year - 5 weeks in summer, and several other 2 or 3 week breaks between semesters, so I was able to travel overseas 3 times a year easily.

I have never heard of many people with such a good deal as I had that haven't either had to work their butts off or spend years in Japan making all the right contacts. I was just really lucky as I happened to be in the right place at the right time, but I know that the conditions changed after I left the job (partly my fault, as I kept complaining to my employers that I was being over-paid and under-worked~~!!!).

But deals like mine in Japan are RARE and especially so in Tokyo. So TECO, stop giving everyone the wrong idea about how wonderful life in Japan is. Sure, some people get good deals there, but in general it is easier to save money in Korea without having to skimp. Personally I prefer the way of life in Japan, but I know that Japan can be quite stifling on people.

[TECO]