Long story short, I’m a current JET who screwed up my opportunity to stay another year by being hospitalised & depressed so that when the time came to give my answer less than 2 weeks after the accident and I having to answer right then and there, I declined. I tried to see if my decision could be reverse some weeks later after I’d recovered, but it was too late by then. So now basically the only way for me to remain in Japan is Eikaiwa work.
I’ve done some research, and the Aeon Eikaiwa in particular sounds good at first: the monthly salary is superior to JET by some ¥30,000, subsidised accomodation is available, they can offer visa sponsorship and most of all the opportunity to live & work in Tokyo. But 3 things are making me hesitant about it:
1. The hours are from *12 to 9pm*, which leaves me with functionally no free time after work every day.
2. The step up from being an ALT classroom assistant to a full-on teacher seems particularly daunting, with the preparation & delivery of lessons and marking work on every lesson of every day far in excess of what I’ve experienced so far.
3. Tokyo is the place in Japan that I feel I would enjoy the most to stay in. But doing so would mean losing my entire support/friend group & worsen the intermittent feelings of homesickness & culture shock I’ve been having for my entire time here.
I should say that remaining in Japan is not my long-term plan – it’s a stepping stone to accrue foreign work experience for my desired career path. But this path won’t open until November this year with a year-long application and selection process for my chosen graduate scheme, hence my need to ‘find something to do for a year’, as it were. I could return to my home country, relieve my homesickness and attempt to find interrim work there, but the markedly inferior economic situation (10%+ inflation), likely having to take a more menial and poorer-paying job and giving up the great things in Japan by leaving is not a great advertisement for coming home.
With all that said, what have been your experiences with Eikaiwa work in Japan? Are the different working hours a good thing? Is the workload managable? Are there ample opportunities for spending your free time, or are you continually bogged down with work? Any comments would be greatly appreciated!
8 comments
Yes you might actually have to work now. The hours will be worse. And you’ll likely get less pay. Sounds like you go home now, or suck it up until the time comes.
Assuming you’ll just get a job with aeon is also a mistake. If you plan on staying in Japan you should be applying to many different Eikawa.
Eikaiwa work is business, not so much teaching. Companies and managers make huge differences. AEON is known for SALES, so you’re more a salesman than an educator. Other companies differ, and smaller mom+pop shops that have decent managers and students can often barely stay afloat.
Anyways, apply to everything, be flexible in placement, weigh your offers.
There are tons of eikawa out there, and the days/hours vary wildly. There are probably some in your area not big names so you don’t have to move and lose your friends. I like my eikawa, been there for years and yes I still have a life/free time.
You’re more of an entertainer than a teacher when you work at Aeon but if that’s your only option it’s probably not so bad. The kind of experience you have will depend a lot on the quality of the Japanese staff at the particular school you get assigned to. Go for it if that’s the only opportunity you have.
AEON is frustrating as a company. The upper management treats foreign staff like children they have to look after instead of the glue that holds the company together. You’re treated like a mix between a child/sideshow act/robot. You don’t have to worry about the pressure of being the main teacher because the students you teach you only see once or twice a week. Plus, AEON gives you the entire structure for every lesson aside from a few special private lessons you might teach. You could still have a decent experience depending on the staff at your school. It’s especially dependent on the manager and head teachers. If even one of them is hard to work with they’re gonna make your life a living hell. Personally, my cowoworkers were great and I met some of my best friends. But I’ve also heard way too many horror stories of managers and head teachers.
About the working hours, the hours suck balls. Even if you’re technically working the same amount of hours you can’t really do anything after work because everything closes within a couple hours along with the last train. The only positive I’d say was being able to go do things on Mondays when attractions are less busy. Although now that the tourists are back I’m not so sure how much different it is. If you’re determined to stay in Japan, then AEON is probably your best bet among the eikaiwa. The other posts say to apply to a bunch of different schools, but honestly if you’re a native English speaker already in Japan with a college degree and teaching experience I’d say your likelihood of getting the job is at like 95%
ALT now, worked in eikaiwa before.
No free time and weird schedules gave me the feeling all I did was work. Imagine teaching from 9-11, 1-2, 4-6 and lastly from 8-9. There are 6 hours in between the 6 actual teaching hours. So it feels like you are working 12 but only being paid for half of it.
On the other hand, I loved my eikaiwa students and they loved me. Its real teaching and you feel you do improve peoples lives. Being an alt though… So its different, could be better. Give it a try!
” the monthly salary is superior to JET by some ¥30,000 ”
Were you not a JET, or has Aeon suddenly started offering a huge increase to new starters? JET is notoriously significantly better paid than most eikaiwa work.
Honestly, once you get used to the work, it’s fine. Not fun or interesting or stimulating in any way, but bearable.
You’ll be treated like a child (or worse) by staff, so if you can’t tolerate being disrespected and condescended on a daily basis then it’s not for you. I’m a woman though, so maybe if you’re a guy it’ll be different, but I had to deal with comments like, “Oh wooow! You did that all by yourself?” for very completing very basic tasks all the time (like printing a document lmao I wish I was joking).
Also the schedule sucks. The 12p-9p never gets better and Saturday work is the worst.