Hi everyone,
I'm going to be ending my teaching job of 7 years fairly soon, and a few of my coworkers have asked if I would please apply to be an Eiken examiner. One even officially recommended me and brought by some paperwork to submit. I've expressed that I might be busy over the next year, but despite that everyone really would like me to apply ASAP.
This isn't known to my coworkers of course, but one reason I am leaving teaching is in order to have another child. In my previous pregnancies, I was extremely ill in the first few months and the days I would be "out of commision" were unpredictable.
I have no idea what this examiner role entails. Is it the sort of thing where once I am certified, I just get added to a contact directory from which they'll call up potentional examiners before each exam? That is sort of the picture my coworkers were painting. They told me there is no pressure to actually be able to say yes to the tests and that it's important just to get me certified for the future.
I'm not sure to what extent this is accurate and was wondering if any of you could give me a little more insight.
If it's the kind of thing where I will be expected to be available for the next 2-3 exam dates after applying, I would prefer to apply after having my next child. Though I'm unsure of how to express that to my coworkers without delving into personal business.
Another aspect that seems a little uncertain to me is that my current visa has less than 1 year remaining on it (nearly 100% sure it will be renewed due to husband's job however). My coworkers say this is no issue, but the application asks the applicant to affirm: "I will reside in Japan for a minimum of 1 year form the date of the application." Well although I'm nearly certain that our visas will be renewed, I can't be sure. How strict is this all? I read mention of huge fines and whatnot on other parts of the application so would like to get an idea of what is expected.
Sorry for the huge post. Thanks a lot!
by MamaHasQuestions