Hey Guys,
I’m considering quitting my job as an ALT to get more access to time. I’m optimizing for personal, usable time specifically (example, I cannot use a headset at school, I cannot edit videos at school, or have online business meetings etc…)
Because of this I’m considering moving to Peppy Kids club and would realistically like to know what the ‘non-working’ times value is. For example….
If you have a 2 hour train ride each way, that’s 4 usable hours in my eyes as I can use a headset and my laptop to edit videos or work on personal things. But does the Class prep that you’ll have to show up 2 hours in advance for actually take up that much time? That then changes 5.5 hours to 7.5 hours and once you include walking around time to get to the station and get to the school it equals out back to 8 hours of non-free time I have as an ALT. I may have miscalculated something here as well, but I’d love any assistance about what the work week looks like (i’m aware it looks different week by week) as you can have to go far etc, but is it possible to know the amount of actual class room hours you have at PEPPY and should I add 2 hours to that knowing that its all in PREP time?
6 comments
Moving to peppy kids club from ALT work for more free time? Haha, I think you have the order wrong.
I haven’t worked at Peppy Kids Club but usually those sorts of companies will make the most of you during your work hours. If there is nothing to do, they will have you dusting the building.
ALT work is the only teaching job in Japan that typically lets you use your prep time freely.
Hiya, was a full time Peppy teacher for about 2 years and now I do it when I’m needed to cover, but I’m in my eighth year, so I have an idea of how things go.
Your commute heavily depends on your area – mine in Ibaraki was 2 hoursish one way for my furthest school and 45ish minutes one way for my closest school. I had 3 of my own and covered a ton in Chiba and Saitama at the time. If you can use that train time to be productive, I think that’s great! I haven’t often been able to do it, myself.
You are often preparing and teaching by yourself, so there’s no one to tell you to shred paper by hand or anything like that, which is nice. It’s nice to have that time to prepare or relax before class especially if you have a long journey. A lot of the prep work is just knowing what to do and what materials you need to grab off the shelf, so once you have that down your prep time essentially melts away.
I personally prefer ALT work by a large margin because for me Peppy work can be lonely and sometimes overwhelming, but 3-5 hour long classes alone can do that to some people. It’s all in what you enjoy and can handle. Feel free to ask or DM, too, if you have any specific questions. 🙂
I can relate with your desk warming blues. I bought bluetooth earphones that I can easily hide when my hair is down. Then iPad mini to read books. If I want to watch something, I hide it in a book to make it seem like I’m reading. 😌
Get a job as an ALT in extreme inaka. There have been days where I spent the entire day at an onsen reading books while ALTing in Aomori. No class, no work, no one pesters you. It’s amazing if you want a full time paycheck while enjoying almost unlimited free time. I remember the random days where I’d have to suffer through 3 classes instead of 2, 1 or none.
Quiting ALT work to get more time? You are already getting paid to desk warm.
Been at Peppy for over a decade. Your prep time depends on you mostly. Some teachers arrive exactly on time, so minimal prep and are fine. Some turn up 4 hours early and somehow still aren’t ready.
Your work hours will also depend on your area. I’m in a spot where 3 lessons days are normal and 4 lesson days are slowly increasing but it’s not tiring yet. Other areas have 4 lesson days and sometimes 5 lessons on the regular.
I can answer more questions by DM if you’d like.