Study abroad in Japan dilemma!

[pixisticks]

Okay, here's the deal. I'm planning to study abroad in Japan sometime in this upcoming school year. I only have enough money for one term over there (I'm about $4000 short for the whole year), and I'm trying to decide if I should go in the fall term, or if I should go in the spring/summer term.

With the fall term, I'd be going from September 10th to December 3rd. My visa would probably last longer than that, so if I could stay with a friend, I could bum around for a little longer, but not studying. From the people I've talked to over there, it probably wouldn't be too terribly hard to find a job over there (be it teaching English or whatnot), even with my limited credentials as a student. The thing is, I'm only allowed to work part-time (I think it's like 26 hours or something), and I'd probably have to wait at least a month to get a job in the first place. So unless I could find a job that would pay me at least $100 a day for over a month, I wouldn't be able to make enough money to cover the difference. I'd make SOME money, but not enough.

If I stay here in the U.S. during fall, I could take classes at my local university and online ones at my regular one (I'm out of state, home for the summer), and continue searching for a job here to make some money. I would go in the spring, and since the program is three terms, I could stay through summer (from March to July). The only problem is, I've been home for two months and I have had absolutely no luck in finding a job at all. If I stay here during fall, I'm writing away the chance of staying for the entire year, even if it's an unreasonable chance. I COULD stay longer than the fall term because the spring and summer terms are combined under one payment, but I don't know if I'd be able to find a job at ALL, which would kind of make staying behind... pointless.

It's basically "do I go over and risk not staying very long in the hopes that I can make some money, even if it might not be enough" or "do I take the opportunity to stay longer than a few months, but lose the chance of making any money at all?". And the catch is that I only have four days to decide, because my fall tuition payment is due, and I'm not sure if I want to drop all my classes or not yet.

And no, it wouldn't be cheaper to stay in the U.S.. The dorming costs at my university are about a thousand bucks more expensive than the program in Japan.

So... what should I do? I'm leaning towards going in fall just to try my possible chances at getting the money to work for the year, I just... don't know if my mindset is too caught up in dreamland.

[Skuu]

Maybe someone else can suggest reasons why you'll wanna go to Japan at certain times but I'd just say make a decision based on your long term benefit/goals, not on your itchy feeling of wanting to go ASAP (not suggesting that you definitely have this). It's expensive so you wanna get the most out of it, so you wanna make sure you plan it well.

[samurai007]

You might also consider weather... the fall is usually very nice, and winters can be cold in the north but not bad in the southern part of Japan. Spring is also nice but rainy, and summers tend to be incredibly hot and humid, except in northern Japan. So, depending upon where you'll be going, you might find a lot of your time restricted by either hot or cold temperatures...

[trunker]

seems like you need to check out this teaching thing a bit more as it seems to be the major factor that will determine how long you stay.

here's a couple of things to bear in mind:

there are loads of english teachers here all after the same jobs, many are qualified, and many have work experience. many dont of course, but thats what youre up against.

officially youre only allowed to work certain hours, but unoffically you can work longer, ie private classes etc. if you have friends that can set up a few private classes a week then you might be ok. also, if you happen to be very popular, you might get more and more students by word of mouth. that is however a very slow process, and youve got to have something that will make them come to you as opposed to going elsewhere.

i was in a similar situation as yourself, where i was there was nothing happening, but atleast here i could teach private classes while i got my shit together.

if you have friends out there, get intouch with them, tell them that you really do need to teach part time if youre going to survive, maybe they can introduce a couple of students to you. and if you dont have anyone out here, you can still do it, but it will be harder and it would largely depend on your drive to secure students. bear in mind, it will be slow going at first.

which ever way you go, good luck.

[pixisticks]

Originally Posted by samurai007

You might also consider weather... the fall is usually very nice, and winters can be cold in the north but not bad in the southern part of Japan. Spring is also nice but rainy, and summers tend to be incredibly hot and humid, except in northern Japan. So, depending upon where you'll be going, you might find a lot of your time restricted by either hot or cold temperatures...

Ah, good point, I didn't think about that! I'll be in Tokyo at Nihon Daigaku, and I've already been in Japan during spring... well, granted, I was only there for two weeks. But still. xD Thanks for bringing that up!

Also, @Skuu: Thank you--I really do need to keep that in mind. XD I'm just kind of annoyed because I only have enough for one semester no matter where I go, so... I'd rather spend that money on going to Japan than going back to my regular university.

[pixisticks]

Originally Posted by trunker

seems like you need to check out this teaching thing a bit more as it seems to be the major factor that will determine how long you stay.

here's a couple of things to bear in mind:

there are loads of english teachers here all after the same jobs, many are qualified, and many have work experience. many dont of course, but thats what youre up against.

officially youre only allowed to work certain hours, but unoffically you can work longer, ie private classes etc. if you have friends that can set up a few private classes a week then you might be ok. also, if you happen to be very popular, you might get more and more students by word of mouth. that is however a very slow process, and youve got to have something that will make them come to you as opposed to going elsewhere.

i was in a similar situation as yourself, where i was there was nothing happening, but atleast here i could teach private classes while i got my shit together.

if you have friends out there, get intouch with them, tell them that you really do need to teach part time if youre going to survive, maybe they can introduce a couple of students to you. and if you dont have anyone out here, you can still do it, but it will be harder and it would largely depend on your drive to secure students. bear in mind, it will be slow going at first.

which ever way you go, good luck.

Maybe I should clarify--I'm just under the impression that teaching English seems to be the most commonly available job in Japan at the moment. But I'm totally willing to do whatever job I can--if there are other jobs that pay more part-time in Japan, I'll gladly do those! I'm not too good with waitress jobs because of health problems, but any job I can sit down at (even just for brief breaks) would be fine.

And thank you!

[trunker]

well it depends on your level of japanese then.

then again, an american friend of mine married to a japanese girl was down at the hello work job center the other day and said there was loads of people there. he didnt even bother cos his japanese wasnt good enough.

the economy being what it is, alot of locals are out of work. on the other hand, as i said if your japanese is good enough then yeah you could take jobs that the locals might not want. i'm sure there are quite a few out there.

and yes, english is the easiest job to do for a native speaker whose japanese is not that good. its a piss easy job, the pay is pretty decent an the hours are not bad, it is probably the best bet for you. i'm not saying dont go for it, or its impossible, just know what the market is like right now and come with appropriate expectations.

it also depends very much on where you go in japan. tokyo might be easier, but you have alot more competition. the more country you go the less competition, but also the less likely you'll be swamped with students.

pros and cons as with everything really.

at the end of the day, it really comes down to the kind of person you are, i reckon if youre tough and opportunistic enough, you'll do just fine.

( i say go, but thats just based on my experience and your mileage may vary of course )