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| swilly |
Question for ESL teachers: re Nova Japan or No-vacation japan
Question for ESL teachers: re Nova Japan or No-vacation japan
so I have been accepted to teach with nova group in japan. Intially i was pretty excited to go as it seemed like a big company with alot of benefits and it is the largest ESL school in the whole of japan.
However, these past couple of days I have been doing some research into this company to see how much I will be able to save up over the course of a year and all i have found is website upon website devoted to exposing the horror that is this company.
I guess it has a horrible labor rights record and the Osaka bar association has ruled against several clauses in its teachers contract (of which it has altered parts of it to comply but the principles are the same).
Also apparently the company rents out apartments to its teachers at above 50 percent market value.
The company insurance policy is about double the normal cost of insurance in japan but with half the coverage.
If you are late they dock a full mornings pay.
- all other companys for ESL give thier teachers paid national holidays off. Not nova
- with several other companies you start off with 4 weeks of paid vacation. At nova its 7 days.
From what i have read the whole bussiness model of this company is based on a unending supply of naive teachers who have little knowledge of japans labor laws and other policies. The company essentially makes alot of its profits off the rent and low wages they pay thier teahers and the insurance policy. In a company of some 60,000 teachers if you milk each one just a bit it adds up.
that being said i have also read that alot of this stuff comes from whiny kids on thier first time away from home and who have never really had jobs etc...
So....just wondering if anyone here has any experience or any first hand information on this.
All the research stuff i have read indicates stay away at all costs. But there is also a percentage of the material that says dont believe everything you read and see it for yourself.
Sounds fine and all except that I dont want to spend 1200 on a flight to then realize that I am indebt and with no money and in a crappy job eating ramen noodles to pay off my loans because my jobs sucks so much.
Also I am sure tribe wont appreciate thread upon thread of my new job sucks even more etc...
cheers
swilly |
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| rez |
I also went for the Nova position in japan.
I've had a few friends who've done it, and they loved it. But that being said, their sole purpose wasn't to make money... it was more to see another culture and enjoy a unique new part of the world
I did my research as well, as for charging 50% more than normal rates.. I can't say as I don't live in Japan.
But its a well known fact alot of the general japanese population pay an average rate and all they get is a tiny little 1 room apartment (their used to living like this, us westerners would find it really crampt). From what Nova explains, its a pretty big apartment with everything at your disposal.
The cost of living is pretty high there, if you plan to just go and teach english and only go out occasionally, you'll still come back with a fair bit of money. It all depends on your living standards really...
I personally would love to do it, not for the money but for the experience. Another thing you should note, that the wages vary according to where you wanna teach. You get paid slightly more when u live in popular places (ie. Tokyo) as living expenses would be alot higher (like any major city in the world)
So yeah dude, I mean I have a fascination with Japan so I'd love to do it. If I wasn't working currently I would've accepted the offer. The experience and culture shock would be priceless, and your getting paid to enjoy it.
BTW its not really a job, you just have to attend the classes. You don't really teach english. All your their for, is for the students to have someone to talk English to. You'd just be their practice Westerner :) |
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| Philby |
| one of my mates is leaving this weekend to teach in japan, but his job is with the government or something i think, not an outside company. it is very expensive to live there apparantly so i guess it depends on what you mean with market value and stuff, and i suppose its kinda a risk you take when you sign up for something like this. im sure it will all work out :) good luck with it! |
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| Master_Yoda |
I went to Japan last year and stayed with 3 english teachers that were working there.. all of them were from melb.
It seemed to be an alright deal, but not one that you can make a lot of money out of.
I would have done it if I didn't get my current job, just for the experience of living and working in Japan.
One rule that I did not find very good was that you are not allowed to have ANY kind of relationship with any of your students. You aren't even allowed to go out for drinks after class etc.
So go if you want the experience, not to make lots of money. |
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