Would like some advice about going towards Japan

[wasabijuice]

Originally Posted by ACW

Thanks for the sticky MMM.

I was looking through a website recently and found that most businesses offer at least 29 hours. Maybe I can give private lessons on the side. But thats probably after I get a feel for teaching of course and had some experience.

I have a question. When you get close to completing a one year contract, is it possible to renew another one for a set amount of time if the government or business allow it?

29 class hours is a lot! Remember that does not include prep time and transportation time, that will become 50 hours real quick. You'll be knackered.
Also classes may not be consecutive or in the same location. You may be killing hours between classes. The Geos type will have you doing 8 classes per day with 5 mins between classes, it beats construction work but it will wear you down.

If the school likes you, they may offer a renewal contract. Be wary of schools that want a 2 year contract up front. They want to pressure you to stay, it's easier for them. But you can also break a contract, they're not ironclad, but you won't get a reference letter and may lose your visa.

I'd go with the Jet program if poss, or a big company school, do it for a year wherever. Then switch to a small school in an area you like if you want to stay longer.

[Sangetsu]

Your work visa will more or less require that you work part-time, and earn a minimum of about 200,000 yen per month. To get the visa you need a few things, such as a college diploma, a valid passport, and a sponsorship form filled out by a company willing to hire you.

The level of pay offered by the chain schools (and Interac) is about 250,000 per month. All will offer housing subsidies/assistance of one form or another. If you are interviewed/hired, you will be responsible for airfare to wherever it is you will be trained, as well as airfare to Japan. You should budget at least $2000 to get you by in Japan after paying for airfare, etc.

If you have to rent your own apartment, you'll probably be looking spending that $2000 in rent and deposits (assuming your rent is between $400 and $700 a month). The more money you can save before you move, the better.

Once you arrive, it doesn't take long to settle in. Once the paychecks start arriving you should have no problems.

As for language study, the more you know before you arrive, the easier time you will have adjusting. Regardless of how much you know when you get here, you'll probably find that the people don't speak in the polite/correct forms you learned in textbooks. But you'll pick up on spoken Japanese quickly enough.

I'm in my second year here in Japan, and I'm loving it.

[ACW]

Originally Posted by wasabijuice

29 class hours is a lot! Remember that does not include prep time and transportation time, that will become 50 hours real quick. You'll be knackered.
Also classes may not be consecutive or in the same location. You may be killing hours between classes. The Geos type will have you doing 8 classes per day with 5 mins between classes, it beats construction work but it will wear you down.

If the school likes you, they may offer a renewal contract. Be wary of schools that want a 2 year contract up front. They want to pressure you to stay, it's easier for them. But you can also break a contract, they're not ironclad, but you won't get a reference letter and may lose your visa.

I'd go with the Jet program if poss, or a big company school, do it for a year wherever. Then switch to a small school in an area you like if you want to stay longer.

I didn't even think about prep time and transportation time. Thank you for pointing that out. Alright so now I have a grasp of what kind of hours I should be looking for. Can you negotiate your hours with a company or is it a situation of either taking it or leave?

I was thinking of doing a one year contract to get a knack for teaching and with the experience from that try applying to owner run schools. Of course that depends if I do well.

Are most english teaching companies easy to negotiate with?

[ACW]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

Your work visa will more or less require that you work part-time, and earn a minimum of about 200,000 yen per month. To get the visa you need a few things, such as a college diploma, a valid passport, and a sponsorship form filled out by a company willing to hire you.

The level of pay offered by the chain schools (and Interac) is about 250,000 per month. All will offer housing subsidies/assistance of one form or another. If you are interviewed/hired, you will be responsible for airfare to wherever it is you will be trained, as well as airfare to Japan. You should budget at least $2000 to get you by in Japan after paying for airfare, etc.

If you have to rent your own apartment, you'll probably be looking spending that $2000 in rent and deposits (assuming your rent is between $400 and $700 a month). The more money you can save before you move, the better.

Once you arrive, it doesn't take long to settle in. Once the paychecks start arriving you should have no problems.

As for language study, the more you know before you arrive, the easier time you will have adjusting. Regardless of how much you know when you get here, you'll probably find that the people don't speak in the polite/correct forms you learned in textbooks. But you'll pick up on spoken Japanese quickly enough.

I'm in my second year here in Japan, and I'm loving it.

Well I'm still working on my college degree. I'm taking summer classes so I can graduate in the fall of '10. So that's in the works. As for my passport all I need to do is just renew so that isn't a problem. So the only thing I need to worry about is the sponsorship from the company.

It kind of stinks though that the work visa will only let you work part-time. But I think I'll try and manage. 250,000 per month isn't that bad for a single person. Although I might want to save money for the future of course. At least the companies help out with apartments. I heard that landlords would rather not deal with foreigners due to the language barrier. Airfare is no problem either. I have enough air miles to go to Japan and back without paying the airlines.

Does the rent include ultilities as well?

My Japanese teacher mostly taught the class about informal Japanese. Like "suru" instead of "shimasu" and stuff like that. But I understand what you mean. I'm sure if I go that I will learn so much more than what the textbook shows.

What was it like for you when you came to Japan? Did you adjust easily over time?

[MMM]

Originally Posted by ACW

I didn't even think about prep time and transportation time. Thank you for pointing that out. Alright so now I have a grasp of what kind of hours I should be looking for. Can you negotiate your hours with a company or is it a situation of either taking it or leave?

I was thinking of doing a one year contract to get a knack for teaching and with the experience from that try applying to owner run schools. Of course that depends if I do well.

Are most english teaching companies easy to negotiate with?

The problem with negotiation is there are 1000 people sitting behind you that will take a smaller pay to get your job. Also the problem with chain schools is it doesn't really matter if you are a good teacher or a bad teacher, so you have little to negotiate with in that respect.

This is less true of privately owned schools, but also, naturally the competition for openings there is much higher.

[ACW]

Originally Posted by MMM

Bicycle or motorcycle?

It is difficult to go to Japan and search for work without a visa, as technically it is illegal to be hired this way, as far as I know.

The best bet is to find a job, and have them deal with the visa business...it should cost you nothing, really.

Gaijinpot.com is one place to look for openings.

Bicycle

Alright, so I don't have to worry too much about visa paperwork. Thats good.

[ACW]

Originally Posted by MMM

The problem with negotiation is there are 1000 people sitting behind you that will take a smaller pay to get your job. Also the problem with chain schools is it doesn't really matter if you are a good teacher or a bad teacher, so you have little to negotiate with in that respect.

This is less true of privately owned schools, but also, naturally the competition for openings there is much higher.

That is true. So basically I should be happy with what they give me and just live with it until the contract ends.

As for private schools I should basically try to come up with something that can be both beneficial for me as well as the school. I understand that now.

This helps out a lot. It gives me some perspective and helps make me build a better action plan.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by ACW

Bicycle

I had two bicycles in Japan. One was about 70 dollars and the second was about 100 dollars. They were pretty low-end affairs and both were bought used.

[ACW]

Originally Posted by MMM

I had two bicycles in Japan. One was about 70 dollars and the second was about 100 dollars. They were pretty low-end affairs and both were bought used.

That's affordable.

When I was in Niigata, right next to a train station was an area where I assumed that you can park your bicycles for as long as you want. Have you ever used it before and if you did how much does it cost to park your bicycle?

[MMM]

Originally Posted by ACW

That's affordable.

When I was in Niigata, right next to a train station was an area where I assumed that you can park your bicycles for as long as you want. Have you ever used it before and if you did how much does it cost to park your bicycle?

Different places have different rules. Where I lived you could park your bike in front of the train station in a certain area, but only until the trains stopped running at midnight. Any bicycles remaining were impounded.

Some places have safe pay bike parking, but the ones I have seen were only about 200yen per day.