I just received a job offer from Tree House English located in Saitama and Tokyo. Everything seemed to go very smoothly and easily, but in the interview I wasn’t really asked about myself. They basically were trying to show me what they were offering instead.
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The pay is $250,000 yen per month plus a coverage of 70% rent on a company provided place. The reason they cover the rent is because some of the lessons are conducted in your living room space. The students are almost all children and I will have no fewer than 6 students per class.
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I couldn’t find any bad information on them, which is usually easy to find with sketchy companies, but I couldn’t find any good info either. No reviews on Glassdoor jobs.
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I am worried about its legitimacy because I have never worked abroad so I don’t want to be trapped in a bad situation. It all sounds great, but I am just a bit nervous and wanted to know if anyone knew anything about them! Thanks
21 comments
Small and startup eikaiwas are a roll of the dice. You can get something really cushy in terms of salary and benefits, or wage slave labor. Do you feel lucky?
>in the interview I wasn’t really asked about myself. They basically were trying to show me what they were offering instead.
Well, you have to understand that eikaiwa, particularly kids eikaiwa, have very low requirements. All they really want is someone who is going to be smiley, happy, fun, and able to follow orders from management. They don’t care about qualifications or past work experience, since none of this is relevent.
However, when a school recruits from overseas, and the interviewer doesn’t at least try to suss out your character, or find out much about your background, that’s a red flag. It means they are desperate because they are having trouble finding anyone already in Japan. After all, it costs a lot to hire from abroad, and there are a lot of people already in-country with a visa and at least a little experience who are looking for work. You should wonder why the school can’t seem to hire any of them.
I would not come here without a backup plan in case the job goes south. Also be aware of other red flags, such as asking you to pay for your own airfare, own visa processing, and requests to work before receiving your work visa. Also look over the labor contract itself, to make sure exact hours are in writing along with pay, and that they are providing health insurance and paying into your pension. That is the law.
Just noticed this:
>$250,000 yen per month plus a coverage of 70% rent on a company provided place. The reason they cover the rent is because some of the lessons are conducted in your living room space.
I think you mean 250,000 YEN per month, yes? That’s about average. 70% on the rent is also normal when they provide housing; just keep in mind it’s probably going to be small and old.
But asking you to use your living space for lessons is just plain weird – you should not be obligated to allow strangers into your apartment. If you are female, this should be particularly worrying since crimes against women aren’t that uncommon. I would not accept these terms, if I were you.
Doing lessons in the living space = you live in a side room adjacent to your workplace.
That pay is way too low for having to live where you work. You really don’t want that
well the good news is that rent would be your biggest expense, especially in that area so 70 percent is good. Your commute will be 0 minutes.
the bad news is that your job and housing are tied to the whims of your employer. If you quit, you are homeless.
Other things to consider
Employer probably has a key to your house and could be very snoopy. If you tried to call in sick they would probably come over.
Any damage the kids could do to your work area is damage to your living space.
Is the apartment AT LEAST 2k, 2dk or 2ldk? Do you sleep in the room where your teach?
All your clients know where you live. Including lonely single mothers/fathers.
You could do this business without giving them a cut if you knew how to get clients.
IMO, they’ve shown a card in the respect they didn’t want to ask you about yourself, and they just showed you what they were offering.
It isn’t necessary for an employer to know your plans and personality…on paper. BUT what you’re looking at here is a very simplistic thought process, and a dictactorial one at that, it is highly unlikely there will be any flexibilty in scheduling, lesson content or anything else. You have no personal space, and if you’re ill they could easily ignore a request for a day off, “forget” to tell the students and boom, you’ve got no choice as you live at your workplace.
The easiest way to suss this out is ask if you need to enroll on the public pension (Nenkin) or if you will be enrolled in Shakai Hoken. I doubt you will be on SH, which should be a red flag.
You should also ask if you’re city tax deductions are going to be taken from your salary, which is becoming standard for specialist visa employers.
If they are not clear in any case, or seem reticent about answering the questions you have the answer you need. I wouldn’t be surprised if by asking this question the don’t give you any offer, because you’ve just demonstrated an awareness of basic obligations. I’m amazed how this frequently gets people’s back up, but it does.
Typically when I’ve looked into small eikaiwas, I ask to be able to email the person I’m replacing, so I can get an idea of the job. It’s not something everyone will do, but I’ve found it very helpful when I’ve been able to do it in the past.
I feel deja vu reading this.
Someone else posted a while back complaining about the other worker showing up early and leaving late, vacuuming loudly etc in the “classroom area” that was also the OP’s living space while OP was still sleeping and not leaving even when OP was done for the day trying to cook dinner. Might have been on JLife?
So, imagine that.
If you look at it as a way to get in the country and get a visa (and then GTFO and get another job), you’ll be fine.
Definitely ask about the apartment size, though. Talking about Saitama and Tokyo, it could definitely be a shoebox you’re talking about.
A foreigner, alone, with 6+ young Japanese children in his “home”. This will not end well.
Yes, it is a legitimate English conversation school. I won’t go enter the debate about small independent language schools vs chains, teaching wages, etc. Anyway, the subsidized rent will make things much easier. (This is not unusual and the concept is called “Shataku”. Not only is a benefit for the employee and employer due to tax benefits and increased employee retention.)
The school sometimes posts their openings on [JobsinJapan.com](https://JobsinJapan.com), and we have never received a negative comment about this school.
Several local Eikawas do offer free/subsidized housing where you basically live on site.
Small eikawas are hit and miss.
Worked at one that was absolute murder. No curriculums, people quitting all the f-ing time which is a huge problem when you’re a small school. Salary payments? Always late. Shitty deal with the transportation as well. Pension and all that was also a mess. Don’t remember the details. But it was mad
Currently working at a small one with a pretty good pay (about 3,8 million a year after taxes) and they helped me find an apartment and are paying a part of the rent as well. So it really is a hit and miss situation.
To me it sounds pretty good but having classes in your private space… no way I would agree to that. I need my private space. There is no way I’m letting any of my students into my apartment.
But tbh, if you remove the living thing, it sounds okay.
No comment about the specific company, but I would be extremely wary if you were teaching children in your living space without Japanese staff on hand. If you are not reasonably fluent in Japanese, how are you going to handle any issues without a Japanese person on site? For 250k I wouldn’t want to be totally alone and liable for any issues that come up.
If you are not alone and there is Japanese staff…. does that mean that your coworkers come over to your house every day to work? That’s a hell no from me.
>… I wasn’t really asked about myself. They basically were trying to show me what they were offering instead.
You did good to spot this red flag. Companies and people who gloat/talk about themselves but don’t want to hear about you always suck.
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> …some of the lessons are conducted in your living room space.
Aw hell no. Don’t take a job like that. Do you really want to be told what you can and can’t have in your house because the kids will see it? Do you really want kids in your house all day? For the low-end of the pay scale in this career field?
I would never share my living space and work space. The main reason I don’t like doing online lessons. But maybe that’s just me.
Why do they want you to do lessons in your apartment? That is just weird and unacceptable. I wouldn’t accept that. The other commenters who brought up communication issues and privacy concerns have very valid points.
I’d keep looking if I was you.
Why do they want you to do lessons in your apartment? That is just weird and unacceptable. I wouldn’t accept that. The other commenters who brought up communication issues and privacy concerns have very valid points.
I’d keep looking if I was you.
Why do they want you to do lessons in your apartment? That is just weird and unacceptable. I wouldn’t accept that. The other commenters who brought up communication issues and privacy concerns have very valid points.
I’d keep looking if I was you.
Anything is worth it for 3 million dollars a year? Ha.
“no fewer than 6 students per class” sounds like legalese for “up to 30+ kids in your class” lol