'THINKING OF TEACHING IN JAPAN? DON'T BOTHER' (Amen!)

[Jack]

I AGREE WITH THAT
you Jack only like Japan cause its THE ONLY place you can get root, and brag about how your banging all sorts of girls as a married man!

Ive met tons of cocksukers like you in Japan JACK.

BTW hows your wife getting on with the "local" fellas in canada ay!

wanker

Blackcat, that's very low. I'm fair game you can call me cocksuker or whatever you want because I'm the one writing. But dragging my wife into this is very low. But then again, it's consistent with the loser FG theory that I've got.

[blackcat]

Jack
Its low very true, but not personal..its the internet man! just having fun and letting off steam.

trouble with your theory is you were a FG too...and being a FG is temporary as we travel OS and back home.

only the Japanese tend to think being a FG in permanent.

[kamome]

Blackcat, that's very low. I'm fair game you can call me cocksuker or whatever you want because I'm the one writing. But dragging my wife into this is very low. But then again, it's consistent with the loser FG theory that I've got.

It's to be expected. Weren't you the one who initiated an entire thread about your marriage, your wife, and the tons of poontang you're able to get?

If you put that kind of information out there on FG, it's fair game for discussion.

[Jack]

It's to be expected. Weren't you the one who initiated an entire thread about your marriage, your wife, and the tons of poontang you're able to get?

If you put that kind of information out there on FG, it's fair game for discussion.

By the way, just so you know, the intensity has not diminished. The older one gets the more girls are attracted...

[Greji]

By the way, just so you know, the intensity has not diminished. The older one gets the more girls are attracted...

Hmmm. Food for thought. BTW how old is your wife?

[aljones15]

I like how they don't reveal the writer's identity, but a musiciain living in Osaka? Nick Currie maybe? Anyway, this is true almost anywhere. When I was in Hong Kong (which is booming ten times compared to Japan's minor recovery) it was hard to find a job there's so many expats living there. I'm in Taipei now and everyone talks about how hard it is to find a job and how low the salaries are and of course Taiwan is relatively pretty fucked up economically compared to Korea, Japan, or China (it's basically never recovered from 97 plus China is fucking it daily economically while using their money to train para-troopers they've already declared will be used to take down separtists). What strikes me the most though is the difference in culture between people who do this shit and the dudes I used to know that used to go to Japan for work. Many of the people who come here now seem to be obsessed with the idea that Asia is pulling ahead etc and are here for that cultural impact of bringing back some element of Asian-ness to their country of residence or b. there here to collect a check while paying back student loans. There doesn't seem to be as engaged a culture of interesting people who actually communicate with the people in the culture as a whole, it just seems to be folks who are panicking that their country is lossing out to Asia, Asia-o-philes, or folks that cluster in foreign groups and then catch their check to graduate school and a full time job. The market is hardly flooded to capacity yet, but it is getting more selective, it just means you have to work in a rural area for awhile before you can move to Osaka and live the high life of designer everything with your bohemianite friends.

[AssKissinger]

Very solid post al.

When I got to Japan I think the party was over in Tokyo but since I was in the rural north it was just starting to rock. All my gaijin buddies were about partying down, getting laid, hanging out with locals and just generally having a blast. I had so much fucking fun. But you know, good things just don't last forever. But then again I don't think it's totally dead. There's still lots of 250,000 yen jobs about. And JET is still a picnic if you can get on it. It's not dead. It's still there, and it's still an incredible breeze. You read novels all day, and there's no excuse for not having a proper J-honey in your bed at night (even in inaka). Compared to most people's life, it's a fucking year round vacation! Look, even a crap eikaiwa job like Aeon can still be the time of some guy's life. Right out of college, maybe it's not much money but still you can keep 20,000 yen for the weekends if you want. I can have a wicked good time on that. Then the classes, even with crap kids classes thrown in, still the night classes are going to include hot chicks who are paying to talk with you. If you think about it, it's unbelievable.

[Currawong]

Has it really died or just lost its amusement value?

[American Oyaji]

Maybe both.

[Taro Toporific]

Hard lessons in broken English
A working holiday teaching English in Japan is a dream that can become a nightmare, writes Deborah Cameron.
World - smh.com.au, March 15, 2006
DAVID Dormon, a former department store salesman from Sydney, signed up to teach English in Japan and look where it got him: fighting a lawsuit against a powerful company, in a battle of wills with a supervisor who kept a shame file and grasping at an insecure visa. The lawsuit - over demotion, a pay cut and intimidation - concluded with a win and compensation for Dormon.
But he resigned anyway, ending the humiliation of dealing with Japan's leviathan language school, Nova, the country's biggest employer of foreigners. "I felt very stressed, alone and unappreciated and I was very happy to get out because I was hating every moment," he says....
...advice to new hands is to think about going to China, South Korea or elsewhere in Asia. But for anyone set on working in Japan, the Nova language school should be the last option, he says. "If you come over with Nova then stay for six or seven months and start looking for another job." Once you find one, resign, and leave before the visa expires.New teachers should also bring at least $2000 in savings because it is almost impossible to settle in and survive on the 200,000 yen ($2200) monthly starting wage, Richards said....
...Nova does not provide medical and health insurance for foreign workers ...The company advised all recruits to bring 120,000 yen because it took up to six weeks, for the Japanese salary cycle to kick in....more....

[FG Lurker]

Japan's first (modern) party started after WW2 and ended when the bubble burst. Since then the entire country has been idling in neutral at best, sliding backwards at worst. The next party is just beginning... Personally I can't wait!

[Hanakuso]

Thats the spirit Lurker

[Mulboyne]

The next party is just beginning...

It's already starting to get harder to get a table at some Tokyo restaurants without a reservation. Generally, there aren't problems getting taxis but occasionally, such as payday in January, there is a drought akin to the bubble days. A friend of mine at a wedding planning company indicated that the average price of their events has been on the rise after years of falling. This is still only a metropolitan area phenomenom]Shane Language Services has opened the first ever Shane Academy in the heart of Roppongi. Situated a stone's throw from Almond Cafe, the Shane Academy is an up-market training center focusing on adults, business executives and company employees.[/QUOTE]
That could just be Shane trying to expand their market share rather than the whole market expanding. And it doesn't mean that Shane is a great employer.

[Mulboyne]

Link will require registration later so whole article included:

Japan Times: The rock star teaching days are well and truly over
English teaching in Japan is not what it used to be. Conditions are changing; the work is harder to come by, wages are falling, and staff are increasingly taking their employers to court. It wasn't always like this; for many that arrived in the bubble era, Japan was heaven. Phoenix Associates vice president Peter Owans is one industry figure still around from the glory days and remembers the so-called "rock star" teachers well. "In the train someone would just walk up to them, a dentist say, and ask 'do you want to teach me English,' and pay them 10,000 yen an hour," Owans says. "When they say rock stars making big money it wasn't really the schools paying them big money. It was the privates, you know, people they met on the street. Or the companies would hire them directly . . . and that is where the money was."

But certain stereotypes prevailed. "If the rock star was blond, blue eyes, and regardless of whether they spoke English very well, then basically they got hired," says Owans. "From a black person's point of view I would say it was depressing. English teaching wasn't really for us because it wasn't your intelligence or how much English you could speak." If you did fit the bill however, you were likely to be paid in star proportions, especially the girls, as many also held hostess jobs. "The female instructors benefited more than the others," according to Owans. "Teaching in the day time, night time in Ginza. They could make 100,000 yen a night."

So have the teachers and clients lost out over the years? For the corporate instruction sector, Owans doesn't think so. "I think the teaching conditions have improved a lot over the years. Simply because after the bubble, especially for us in corporate instruction, it wasn't a benefit anymore it was a need," he explains. "That means you have to have the right trainers and need to retain them." Simul Academy's David Yenches is another veteran of the corporate instruction sector who experienced the boom years and agrees with Peter. "In the 1980s, I don't remember many teachers hurting for lack of work," says Yenches. "I think in many cases today, client expectations and the quality of service are both higher than in the 1980s. "From the end of the bubble days through the first half of the 1990s, a lot of business dried up and schools started to go under," he explains. "Some teachers left Japan, and some decided to stay but do distance master's degrees to get into universities or to upgrade their qualifications, which more and more schools became choosier about."

Popular online information portal GaijinPot.com's Percy Humphrey agrees. "We have noticed more employers are now looking for teachers with past experience or teaching qualifications, such as TESOL or TEFL certificates, instead of just native English speakers," says Humphrey. "Although there are hundreds of teaching jobs that do not require extensive experience or qualifications currently on GaijinPot, when compared to when we first started, the number of positions requesting it have grown astoundingly." Not such good news for the numerous unqualified teachers that used to come to Japan. But is it any better for career teachers who have the qualifications?

For those in the larger eikaiwa and ALT sector, where most teachers work, it doesn't seem so. Comparing the average wages of the eikaiwa and ALT sectors to past years and also the corporate sector paints a grim picture. In corporate instruction teachers can earn on average around 4,000 yen an hour -- a good wage but it hasn't increased in many years. But in some eikaiwa the wages have fallen from an average of about 2,500-3,000 yen per hour during the bubble years to as low as under 2,000 yen per hour (some report 1,400 yen for 40 minutes). The contrast is striking: higher qualifications are needed, but lower wages given.

Brett Fennessy is one long-term Japan-based English teacher who has ample experience with the industry changes. After working for one company and being paid well for 20 years Brett is now working for one of the ubiquitous eikaiwa at a lower wage. He believes that form has won out over content. "It is well known . . . that 'genki' is prized far above competence or knowledge," he says. Fennessy is not alone with this opinion. Talk to many long-term teachers and it seems large and small eikaiwa alike are making things tougher. There are increasing instances of teachers taking their employers to court. The recent case of Kara Harris who after having disputes with her manager over several issues sued Nova for wrongful dismissal and won a little under 7 million yen is indicative of the extent to which many teachers are willing to now fight. But why is this happening now? Peter Owans explains that in the bubble era employment benefits and compliance with labor laws basically didn't exist. "There was no protection at all, you could just hire and fire how you pleased basically," he says. "I guess people did not complain because you could fire me today and I could walk next door and start another job."

Things are not so easy now. And, unlike the bubble era days there are now more and more foreign English teachers looking to make Japan their home who are seeking greater job security and benefits. It is to this increase of long-termers that some attribute a rise in union activity and awareness of conditions in the industry. NUGW Tokyo Nambu deputy general secretary Louis Carlet believes that because Japan is now more familiar to Westerners it has become a more attractive place to settle. "Many people now actually come here, specifically just to find good work. Which I think is very different from the bubble economy when people came because it was interesting," says Carlet. "The honeymoon is over and now it's down to reality for both sides." Carlet says there are currently two main trouble areas. The first is the alleged attempts by many English-teaching companies at skirting their responsibilities for enrolling their full-time teachers in the NHI scheme. The union claims the companies are acting illegally and teachers' job security will suffer.

They allege many companies are revising teachers' job descriptions to categorize them as nonfull-time workers, which would mean they do not have to enroll them in the NHI and pay the contributions. Thus the teachers miss out on the benefits of insurance and the security of a full-time contract. The second issue, that of the increase in the amount of Assistant Language Teachers, is one that according to Carlet has caused the industry conditions to go way down. Since the government announced its push to increase the nation's English language ability, schools around the country have been employing ALTs, mostly through dispatching companies, in a highly competitive environment.

"It's (the ALT industry) getting bigger and bigger, but as it gets bigger there is a race to the bottom in wages," says Carlet. "In the bidding process the schools are desperate to decrease their bid and so of course they squeeze wages and take away all benefits and increase work hours." So the teachers, and eventually the students, are the ones that suffer. "More teachers take it because there is nothing else available. The reality is they are terrible jobs, with no job security." Not exactly the rock 'n' roll material of former years.

[Caustic Saint]

Hard lessons in broken English
A working holiday teaching English in Japan is a dream that can become a nightmare, writes Deborah Cameron.
World - smh.com.au, March 15, 2006
...advice to new hands is to think about going to China, South Korea or elsewhere in Asia.

I can't speak to China or other Asian countries, but you can make a lot more in Korea these days than you can in Japan. The Won just keeps getting stronger, you don't have to pay for your own housing and the cost of living is considerably lower.

That said, I've got a good gig here (more vacation time that I'd ever have gotten in Korea, and I just got a nice raise! ) so I don't see myself leaving anytime soon. Plus, not doing the Eikaiwa thing and having a gaijin boss helps a lot.

[AssKissinger]

I saved 10,000 USD in one year in Pusan back in '95 or so but I couldn't get laid.

http://www.letsjapan.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1251

I call BS on this article. It looks like the reporter went fishing for quotes and tried to string them together into something coherent. The article is held together by:

1. Phoenix Associates: Corporate eikaiwa is looking good.
2. A teacher who's been in eikaiwa since the 80s and is still in eikaiwa, but with a large school. He also seems to double as a comedian with this statement: "In the 1980s, I don't remember many teachers hurting for lack of work." (You mean there was tons of work during a massive economic expansion?! Unpossible!)
3. A reference to gaijinpot. Not a bad website, but people here love to quote the low, low salaries of the jobs posted there.
4. A veteran teacher who realizes that "genki" trumps qualifications.
5. The NUGW secretary who says people emigrate to Japan looking for good work. (he's not talking about jobs in eikaiwa, is he?)

So, eikaiwa is prettygoodsosonotallthattoobaditwasbetterbackinthedayandsucksbigtime?

[FG Lurker]

Link will require registration later so whole article included:

Japan Times:
[...]
Brett Fennessy is one long-term Japan-based English teacher who has ample experience with the industry changes. After working for one company and being paid well for 20 years Brett is now working for one of the ubiquitous eikaiwa at a lower wage.
[...]

I don't want to sound condescending, but how the hell does someone end up working in eikaiwa for TWENTY YEARS?? Holy shit! If he owned his own school(s) I could understand, but not twenty years working for someone else.

[Taro Toporific]

The Sensei Blues: Teaching English in Japan
Bootsnall.com
....a "Day in the Life" of an average teacher at an English conversation school.
Firstly, he or she will wake late. Weekly teaching schedules consist mainly of afternoon and evening shifts as most students come after school or work. Quite possibly our subject will be nursing a hangover..more....

[Buraku]

U.S. professor singing praises of Sapporo
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070217TDY03001.htm

[Taro Toporific]

U.S. professor singing praises of Sapporo
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070217TDY03001.htm

Hey, Sapporo doesn't count as Japan: It's really Siberia.

[momotobananaoishii]

ok so I'm not new to Japan but I'm new to living in Japan for an extended period.

I have always had many Japanese friends being from Vancouver, Canada where there is a nice Japanese community and many students. I maintained those friendships and since I already had a strong base of friends who returned home to Japan I thought about living here. I love Japanese culture and I am very serious about becoming fluent in Japanese. I've only been here three months but I can pretty much understand about 60% of all my conversations. That's also due to the fact that I had a lot of time to practice in Vancouver with my Japanese friends.

I am not finished university yet. I am completing my degree online (at a real established university), via distance ed while living in Japan.

My Japanese friend and I decided to get married because we are super good friends and now we reap the benefits from each country. Such as employment and immigration. I can work anywhere and do anything I want in Japan which is cool.

I did not come to Japan to teach but I do need work and I will be looking for a teaching job soon since it is the easiest route in the beginning. I'm a native English speaker so why not. I also do not want a career as a ESL/EAL teacher. It's not my bag even though I love kids and have taught group lessons for kids in Japan.

My goal is to get get working as a teacher right now so I can make an income while becoming fluent in Japanese within 2 years and then get a job in my particular field. I'm also currently in training in my particular field in Japan and they are training me in Japanese too so sometimes it's quite the challenge. But when I'm done I'll be able to pull in a pretty salary with pretty much my own hours and choice of city to work in.

Ideally I want to open my own business in that same industry and rake in the cash although some people in my industry say it's better to just work as a contractor for different companies than own my own business here because of the high cost of rent and overhead. Although that advice might be coming from someone who is not business savy. Who knows.

So to make a long story short, sorry , I open the local employment rag here in Kansai and there are pages upon pages of jobs for native English speakers both with degrees and without. Loads of them. I don't even know where to begin. Plus I've never made a resume tailored towards teaching. I've simply had friends refer friends to me. But that was in Tokyo and now I'm in Kansai so I need to pound the pavement with a resume.

I'm realistic. I know I'm not the ultimate experienced ESL/EAL teacher with the best degree but I'm pretty sure I can get a job paying $2500-$3000 per month judging by what I see in the paper.

Remember my goal is to live and have some fun while becoming fluent and then get a job in my field when my training and degree is finished. In the end I can take my Japanese language asset and training and live and work in Hawaii, Japan or Vancouver and possibly open my own business.

What do you think my prospects are without having completed my degree and do you think I should just get like two or three PT jobs or one FT job or just go for anything I can get? What are some good "resumes in Japan web sites"? Do Japanese require photos on resumes from gaijin and things like that? I know they do from Japanese people.

I don't understand how you couldn't want to teach here. Pussy galore. Actually I get the same amount of pussy back home living in a Japanese influenced city :P The difference being I get to experience the REAL Japaneseness of it all which includes the love hotels and girls who look super Japanese :P

But the food is insane and cheap. Can't beat Kansai izakaya at rock bottom prices. You get to visit Kyoto, Kobe only a train ride away. Surfing in Shikoku which is some of the best in the world for beginners. Close to Nagashima Spa Land which is a must in the hot weather. Everything is fun and amazing. It's a no lose situation!


Thanks

[gomichild]

What do you think my prospects are without having completed my degree and do you think I should just get like two or three PT jobs or one FT job or just go for anything I can get? What are some good "resumes in Japan web sites"? Do Japanese require photos on resumes from gaijin and things like that? I know they do from Japanese people.

You will have difficulty getting a job without a degree as your visa pretty much relies on you having one.

[Mike Oxlong]

You will have difficulty getting a job without a degree as your visa pretty much relies on you having one.

What about this part...?

My Japanese friend and I decided to get married because we are super good friends and now we reap the benefits from each country. Such as employment and immigration. I can work anywhere and do anything I want in Japan which is cool.

Should be able to work as long as he's got mad skillz.

[gomichild]

Ooops missed that bit. Past tense right?

[momotobananaoishii]

haha yes I've got the golden ticket.

Anyway there are butt loads of ads in the paper. Both with and without degrees. Not to mention countless other types of jobs. It's feels pretty cool not being limited to just teaching jobs. Gives me more opportunities to speed up my Japanese learning process. I also have Pilates and Yoga certifications and a Japanese friend who owns such a studio so I might do that part time too. Also I don't mind teaching kids and adult conversation classes for a while until I'm finished my degree. It's all good no matter what the horror stories might be It's all music to my ears.

I'll let you know when I get hired for something.

The more horror stories the better. Gaijin go home. More opportunity for moi


Peace

[FG Lurker]

My Japanese friend and I decided to get married because we are super good friends and now we reap the benefits from each country. Such as employment and immigration. I can work anywhere and do anything I want in Japan which is cool.

This is not something you should talk about. If immigration finds out (either Canadian or Japanese) you won't be reaping any benefits in either country.

[kamome]

This is not something you should talk about. If immigration finds out (either Canadian or Japanese) you won't be reaping any benefits in either country.

EXACTLY what I was going to say. It sounds like this marriage is a sham conceived for the purpose of circumventing immigration laws. Man, that is playing with fire.

Typically, moving from Eikaiwa to another job "in your industry" without having practical experience in your home country is a tough road to hoe. What is your industry? I guess if it's pilates/fitness instructor, you could make that transition, but you may need to pass a licensing exam in Japan before you can open your own shop.

Anyone else here done this kind of thing?

[Greji]

Anyone else here done this kind of thing?

The only ones I know of that might be doing that are my wife, my girl friend and a goat I met the other day from Shyboygan.

[FG Lurker]

Typically, moving from Eikaiwa to another job "in your industry" without having practical experience in your home country is a tough road to hoe.

Even with practical experience from home it can be extremely difficult to escape eikaiwa. Lots of bitter 10 year eikaiwa veterans around -- see blackcat.

Anyone else here done this kind of thing?

I did it. I moved from eikaiwa to running a business in my industry of choice. After a couple of years of that I moved back into the corporate world (same industry) where I have been for the past 7 years. Now I'm getting ready to leave that and go back to running my own show in a completely different industry... Nothing like a big change to keep a mind fresh!

[james]

Anyone else here done this kind of thing?

i am slowly working towards doing likewise, i'm thinking medium term, within the next 3-5 years, max. it helps that i enjoy what i do for the most part, but i am ready for a change. doing what, i have no clue, but hopefully i'll find it or it'll find me. after 8 years of this, it's almost time.

i have a second school i'm trying to grow, and at some point the objective will be to hire a couple of full time teachers, likely someone who hasn't seen this thread - one for each location, freeing myself up to do whatever the new thing ends up being. hopefully this is achievable and i'm not living in some fantasy world.