I just received a job offer from a small (like, less than 10 teachers) eikaiwa in Yamanashi Prefecture. Work is Tue-Sat, salary is about ¥260k a month. Anybody have any experience with them? Are they on the up-and-up?
Rule of thumb for all these posts is that no one is going to know about the exact mom and pop eikaiwa you’re at, but if it’s not a big chain it will be between the following two extremes:
An innocuous if ineffective after school/daycare that’s English flavored with minimal to zero qualified staff focused on running a business with a decent enough work culture.
To, a really shady profit focused business with controlling managers/barely present owners that will try to bait and switch on classes, pay, and hours all to get the most amount of kids/$$ to “teacher” ratio as possible without getting reported.
If you’re trying to filter for a good one, check the actual contract for red flags in pay, holidays, hours, and responsibilities. More than 17-20 class hours a week is a red flag, more than 15:1 S/T ratio might be a bad sign, students more than 3 years apart in one class is a red flag, and language like “will teach students from 4-14 years old plus adults” is also a red flag. Get a vibe check on the manager you’ll be working with and ideally one of the other staff members.
Kofu is a pretty cool town to live in, and those guys had a good reputation last I knew.
Small eikawas can be a hit or a total disaster.
I work at a small one. Pays well (for an eikawa), freedom to experiment, help with housing (picking your own place is fine) and so on.
I have however also worked at one that was just a nightmare.
one thing smaller ones always have in common tho. it’s usually harder to get time off (at least in my experience)
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Rule of thumb for all these posts is that no one is going to know about the exact mom and pop eikaiwa you’re at, but if it’s not a big chain it will be between the following two extremes:
An innocuous if ineffective after school/daycare that’s English flavored with minimal to zero qualified staff focused on running a business with a decent enough work culture.
To, a really shady profit focused business with controlling managers/barely present owners that will try to bait and switch on classes, pay, and hours all to get the most amount of kids/$$ to “teacher” ratio as possible without getting reported.
If you’re trying to filter for a good one, check the actual contract for red flags in pay, holidays, hours, and responsibilities. More than 17-20 class hours a week is a red flag, more than 15:1 S/T ratio might be a bad sign, students more than 3 years apart in one class is a red flag, and language like “will teach students from 4-14 years old plus adults” is also a red flag. Get a vibe check on the manager you’ll be working with and ideally one of the other staff members.
Kofu is a pretty cool town to live in, and those guys had a good reputation last I knew.
Small eikawas can be a hit or a total disaster.
I work at a small one. Pays well (for an eikawa), freedom to experiment, help with housing (picking your own place is fine) and so on.
I have however also worked at one that was just a nightmare.
one thing smaller ones always have in common tho.
it’s usually harder to get time off (at least in my experience)
Which city?