I am finishing up my contract in Korea and want to continue to explore Asia a little bit. I’m a social person but also used to living abroad/alone at times. I am very interested in Japan’s scenery and culture.
Also will be applying to JET, very familiar with the program and have friends that went through it. Can anyone tell me about a company you went with for eikawa that you enjoyed working for?
Trying to get a full picture before applying to japan and other countries.
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I loved how easy it was to get in when I was young, but hate how hard it is to get out now that I’m old.
I love being able to travel Japan in my off time.
I hate that I’m not very fulfilled professionally. This “job” is a joke.
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Looking back…
– I loved the energy of the classes and the culture. People can get cynical but as a qualified teacher (who got top grades at uni – bookish type), I found that most of the kids eikaiwa stuff had a pretty solid theoretical foundation. Whereas, a lot of what I was doing in Australia beforehand was just crowd control because there were so many broken kids with ‘adult’ problems to deal with, making it a less fun/innocent experience. Whereas Japan’s got the raw energy about its teaching style, which is awesome (particularly in your first few months).
– Dislikes? Look the pay and work culture. Assistants were on less than me (not much in the first place), became VERY stubborn (our owner told me basically ‘yeah they get like that’ when I complained about one trying to micro-manage me) and the lack of opportunities for career progression can wear people out. It’s really awkward when you’re earning ~300k a month (plus having to live overseas) and assistants are jealous of this to the point where they sabotage your work/enjoyment. I had so many childish squabbles (often during class while I was struggling to control a stack of genki kids) that detracted from the work, burned me out and simply weren’t necessary.
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Summary: IMO if you treat it as a gap year then the genki vibes outweigh the negative vibe. To me the negative vibe is almost a positive as it forces you to think ‘what next’ and get out instead of getting too comfortable (that’s what eikaiwa was for me… a ‘gap year’ where I decided ‘what next’, which resulted in me going to law school back in Australia… something I wouldn’t have otherwise fathomed). IMO it’s important to understand that the goal is to cycle through new grads with recent western experience rather than searching for lifers who already ‘know Japan’ (so are utterly bored rather than all genki about experiencing a Japanese school & yearly cultural festivals…etc). Once you learn to embrace this, life becomes a lot simpler and more enjoyable.
i love teaching students. i hate everything else
I’m teaching JHS, absolutely love the kids.
The pay is a joke.
Perhaps I am an outlier, but I leave when my work for the day is finished.
The school Principal stamps my time sheet as if I am her every day until 3:30, but unless my class ended at 3:20 and I stayed, it has been very rare for me to stay past 2:30. Periodically leaving as early at 12:40, but have to 100% sure that I won’t be needed.
All my preparation I do in my free periods and average being a week early with worksheets and presentations.
Again, they pay is dismal.
I love most things about it. In particular, the students, though frustratingly shy at times, are usually very respectful (which sadly is not the case in most countries).
I hate the fact that almost every job I find has a contract limit. I don’t want to keep bouncing around from job to job every 3-5 years.
I love how it’s the only place where cute girls pay to talk to me.
For the short period I was an ALT, I enjoyed the long holidays, but the pay was terrible and the job wasn’t challenging.
JET pays a lot better than other ALT companies. If you’re just coming over for something like being an ALT or Ekaiwa, then you won’t make much. A lot of will be eaten up by living costs.
Love: getting a better understanding (sometimes small, sometimes mind-blowing) of language and people almost every lesson
Hate: low bar to entry meaning the industry is awash with people who really shouldn’t be anywhere near the profession
I love my students and my work environment overall (teaching at a university)… I hate that my job has an expiration date (limited number of contracts) 😓
loved the green tea and onsens, hated the actual job
Honestly I love the life in Japan compare to America. I don’t feel obligated to drive (although it would definitely be nice at times). The overall cost of living in a city twice the size of my birthplace in America (an actual city as well) is quite a bit less and I can save a bit for travel if I live frugally.
The worst thing is probably the pay in comparison to the U.S. dollar. I could be making double my salary in the U.S. easily, but I wouldn’t have as relaxed a life doing something that feels better than working in sales somewhere.
Tbh, the worst part for me has always been my coworkers. 😂 Native English speakers that tend to come here just are not my type of people. 🤷🤣
I love the students because they’re awesome and always impress me with what they’re capable of.
I hate the incompetent teachers I have to work with. Not all, but a depressingly high % can’t tell their ass from their elbow. The high-performing teachers I work with agree that they suck, it’s not just me saying this.
Japan will not have a chance at being good at English until the old guard retire in 20 years.
I love teaching. I just don’t love teaching in Japan.
If you are a teacher, this is a shite place to do it. But if you just want to travel, and are not at all interested in being an actual teacher (as in, you have qualifications) then this would be a great place for you. You’ll fit right in!
I loved working with the school staff, students, and being able to not bring my work home with me (like some teachers do unfortunately) and actually having time off.
My dislike would be the fact that my company expects so much out of its ALTs, yet gives little to no training, pays fairly low wages, and even increased the working time by 45 minutes each day but not the pay because of “monthly salary” BS.
I love chit chatting with students outside of class.
I hate hot water being unavailable in the winter.
Love: the kids. They’re a genuine joy. I adore being around them <3
Hate: The immersion fad and the expectations it gives parents. Your kids will not become fluent in English by coming to school alone. They just won’t. You have to continue it at home. As a teacher, I often wish I could use the Japanese word for something, even just one time, to help the kids connect the two words in their minds, but everywhere I’ve worked it’s explicitly forbidden, and so I don’t feel comfortable to break that rule. I currently teach IB, which is SO surprising, the kids really can learn and come to understand complex things, but it just makes me wish they were doing it in Japanese, with English as the second language. They could do so much more.
Love – lot of free time to play video games, low stress
Cons – low pay, no career potential, people look down on me
Love working with kids. Like others said it’s extremely difficult to find a job that pays more than survival wages lol. But JET pays really well and sometimes even your accommodations are covered.
What I love: students (only worked with adults) respect you, it’s the best job for someone who can’t speak Japanese and it’s fulfilling to see your pupils progressing.
What I hate: Low wages (but for me they’re still way higher than wages in my home country) and actually wanting to work with other things
Love; everything, so far.
Hate; maybe the old Japanese men on the ‘board of directors’ related to the school who come only for special occasions and make lots of ‘ehhh?’ -like comments because they’d never dream a Japanese-style school to do what we do as an international school lol. Doesn’t really bother me though since they’re basically just figureheads and never really bother to fight with our principal.
Tbf YMMV since you seem to be asking specifically about ESL / ALT jobs, which is different.
Love the funding for furniture and resources. My school is always generous when there is something important that needs changing.
Hate the expense and long flight to visit family back home.
The paid 6 weeks off in the summer is golden. The pay never being increased in the ten years I’ve worked for a dispatch company is a definite negative-hello-inflation/tax increases?!!?
Background: Early 30’s man living in super deep snow countryside town of almost 4,000 people.
Love: Ability to pursue my hobbies at a high level. Continuing golf and skiing has opened many doors into the professional sports world in Japan. It’s part because I’m foreigner, part because I speak Japanese, and part because I’m experienced, but I would have never had these chances in my home country.
Hate: The relative ceiling of the job. No matter how much I struggle to learn and grow, I will always be at the whim of the assigned English teacher. More likely than not, I will become a freelancer and also help my father-in-laws business. He has foreign customers coming more and more and doesn’t quite know how to help them besides Google Translate.