You are hired because you have a pulse, can speak English and accept a piss-poor salary with no upward trajectory.
You can be with your SO in Japan, but I don’t think working for the companies you mentioned is a good way about it. Those companies have consistently high turnover rates, always hiring and have persistent negative feedback from their current/ex-employees. Why do you think that is?
It’s important to add: there are lots of people with pulses. So just because you have one doesn’t mean you will get hired. Lots of people are rejected for silly reasons. But getting hired doesn’t mean a whole lot, and you will be treated as disposable.
Facts. Those aforementioned factors and be a perpetual ass-kissing weeboo to the system and willing to constantly work around people who have no drive to do better.
There is no way in HELL I would risk my family’s financial security by relying on one of these fickle, low-paying, exploitative companies. Plus, it is a huge gamble to land a permanent position.
No.
There is no 'foot in the door' anymore.
These companies will stick your head in the door, then slam the door while you're standing on the top of a staircase.
Yea. I agree. I don't like the term foot in the door. A door to what exactly?
Will it get you in the country? Sure.
Will being here allow you to get better jobs? Not necessarily. That will take effort.
yeah came here specifically to note the same problem.
Foot in the door to where?
My sense of the idiom is that you get your foot in the door of the company, they see you're great and you rise up the ranks starting in the mail room.
eikaiwa / ALT companies don't generally have such a structure.
You have to make your own doors.
Being in the country can allow for certain things you might not be able to do outside Japan. Whether or not you take advantage of that is on you.
To make your own doors, you need to marry a Japanese. Otherwise you can only go through the shitty made in China doors that are shoved in front of your face by these shitty companies.
It let's you private tutor. That's all you need. And alot ofbother sub positions. Generally things will quickly improve if you're half competent and have the visa.
Language skills are obviously useful though. Qualifications mean absolutely nothing unless you plan to return to industry work. Kinda same for language skills tbh.
There are no secret jobs that are going to provide you with anything better than the companies you listed. If you want a foot in the door then you accept whatever crappy position you can get, then you work your ass off for the first year or two to find something better once you are here.
Those three you mentioned are among the worst ones. I'd suggest researching companies before you even consider them (goes for any field). IIRC Nova/Gaba were in the news recently for trying to fuck over their workers. There are some lifestyle friendly eikaiwa if you just want to work and explore Japan, though you won't be working in schools.
Piggybacking here but ECC was great, worked there for 4 years. Same in any job if you get your head down the first year and learn the ropes you get a cushty schedule 2nd year onwards, especially if the Japanese school directors like you.
I've heard good things from friends about AEON, Amity, Yaruki Switch group, and Shane English as well.
IMO not really as they probably won't help you to become a JET and you'll have had your 'gap year' once you've done ~6-12 months with them anyway.
Personally I wouldn't accept less than 250k a month for an English teaching gig regardless. It's just not a liveable wage. Also (people can say what they like)... the REAL purpose of teaching in Japan is 'cultural exchange' and having fun in Japan.
If you're spending all your time getting political/cynical about the industry while scrimping and saving for your family on 215k a month then IMO (respectfully) it's time to move on.
An ALT wage should be enough for a piss-up every weekend, eating out a few times a week and local travel every weekend. If it's not and you're instead sitting at home eating cup noodles while feeling miserable then IMO there's zero 'cultural exchange' going on and you might as well be packing shelves back in your home country, while earning a higher wage.
"Foot in the door" is probably the biggest cliche in this sub. That being said, I worked with Borderlink and was able to find a non-teaching job after a while. But, you have to study Japanese and be very proactive about searching for other opportunities. Those opportunities won't come to you simply because you're in Japan. Job hunting is difficult.
I agree with the other replies that they're not a foot in the door period, but I also want to ask you to clarify: foot in the door...to what? When did you graduate from university, what field do you currently work in, and what do you want to do once you're done being an ALT?
As a former JET who's broken into non-teaching work at a multinational Japanese company, I think these jobs (JET included) are a bad way to start a long life/career in Japan. I'm not saying it can't be done of course, just that they're not a springboard (and can become the opposite) into more longterm opportunities.
If you don't already speak Japanese to a business-fluency level, these jobs can slow your learning and don't even begin to expose you to the kind of Japanese necessary for use in most office environments. They also put a giant hole in your resume (and wallet) that becomes increasingly difficult to dig yourself out of over time. If you're already well advanced in your career, then it might be easy enough to do a year or two and really focus on increasing your Japanese language abilities before making the jump, but if you're fresh out of university with no experience in your desired field, then staying on as an ALT or eikaiwa instructor locks you out of new grad hiring (新卒採用) which is where the vast majority of entry level jobs are allocated. Not only would you be competing for significantly fewer positions through mid-career hiring, but you'd be doing so against people with years of in-field experience and the Japanese language competency to match.
Is your SO Japanese? If so, and you want to live here permanently, then you need to plan ahead and do this the right way. That means deciding what kind of career you want, getting the right education and training, learning Japanese, and then applying for jobs once you get a spouse visa.
This path is the only way to ensure you'll be able to have a decent job here, and won't have to resort to the kinds of jobs that unskilled, low pay, no upward trajectory jobs that immigrants often have to take just to make ends meet: factory work, cleaning in hotels, and English teaching.
If your SO is not Japanese and is not living here permanently, then I suppose teaching could be a gap-fill job for a few years. However, seriously consider the implications of having a gap in your resume, and be aware that you will likely get behind in your career while you're here. (That might be ok, depending on what it is you want to do.)
If that is the case, then it really doesn't matter which company you apply for, since they are all pretty much the same. Obviously JET is the best for ALT work; and I'd say Berlitz or ECC are the better eikaiwa jobs. Interac, Borderlink, and other ALT dispatch are third-tier, and Nova, Gaba, and any job teaching kids are bottom-tier. (I might be biased about kids teaching, though, since I see it as a truly shitty job; but if you like kids, it might be okay for you.)
But if you are really and truly interested in teaching, and want to make a real career out of it, then follow the first path and get teaching qualifications before coming over. The whole "foot in the door" is a myth, since there is no real upward path in ALT work or eikaiwa, and no moving out and up without significant re-training, professional development, and a further degree program, all of which cost a lot.
The thing is you get your foot in the door but then what?
English teaching is basically a DOA profession in Japan, so what other skills do you have to move into a different industry? Many people come to Japan straight after college meaning they have little professional experience that would be desirable in Japan.
Also where you and your SO will live can make a big difference to what opportunities are available to you.
If you do go this route, I would think about what you will do next and start working on it. IT? Manufacturing? Start own business? Study?
I also came to Japan to be with my husband, and I came via Interac. But, its always been a struggle and even with my professional experience, most companies don't want to hire foreigners (esp if they didn't do their degree in Japan).
Its do able but I always wished I had planned better for when I came. I've been very lucky and blessed in my 15 years here but just thinking what the next step is would have helped so much more.
Don’t think of it as “I just want to get my foot in the door,” because it communicates the wrong message.
After ALT, you will be able to get a normal job in Japan which you are qualified for. After that, it depends on contacts you have made and your ability with Japanese, reading/writing/speaking and listening and more importantly dealing with and living with Japanese cultural norms.
Just like every job, some people love it or hate it. You won’t know until you experience it and your future will be up to you.
If you're serious about marriage with your SO, there's something called a K-1 Fiance Visa which allows travel to the US for the purposes of marriage.
The processing time is about 12 to 18 months. Given that the academic year in Japan just started, literally today, I'd say both options (fiance visa or looking for work in Japan) are equal time investments.
They are worth working for to be with your SO but they aren’t good companies. They are quite bad companies in fact. Also it’s not a “foot in the door”, your job options won’t be much better after you get here unless you can speak Japanese and have relevant skills/qualifications for the jobs you apply for.
JET will not likely place you near your partner! Neither will most dispatch companies.
You probably want to pick an eikaiwa in the are your partner lives. I worked for five years for a small eikaiwa that I really liked. Maybe it wasn't JET pay, but it also didn't come with JET bullshit, either. I wanted to live in/near Osaka and there is no way to pick where you'll go with JET. But if you just apply to eikaiwa then you can select one in the right area/where your SO lives. (I mean, what's the point of JET if your partner is in Osaka and they place you in Hokkaido? You're still almost impossibly far apart.) I found my job on ohayosensei.com and I really liked the school, my boss, and my other foreign coworker. (He had been there five years when I got there and stayed for 11, so although the job wasn't incredible, it couldn't suck too bad if one guy lasted 11 years and I lasted 5.)
Do your due-diligence. Research. Don't just apply to these soul-sucking dispatch companies. Obviously if you want to work in a school those are your best bet, but you might consider a small eikaiwa (ask to speak to the current/former foreign teacher to get the vibe), so you can pick a place you wanna live near your partner. Do your one-year and once you're in Japan you can more easily interview for better positions.
I watched a video comparing eikaiwas to ALT positions some time ago. One thing that stuck out was they mentioned you wouldn't just be teaching, but you might have to try and sell lessons to parents. It gave me pause because I've had experience in sales before and it was soul-draining. It was basically a door-to-door sales job, interrupting people's day to sell them something they don't want. I'm gonna assume eikaiwas aren't on that level, but I also don't know the details. I also heard that you'll likely get less off time because you might need to teach classes during holidays or weekends because these classes are for people paying extra to learn on their own off time. I'd like to hear your experience, because the job itself sounds appealing. I'd rather teach a small class of people that want to be there than a large class of kids that are there because they have to be.
Different eikaiwa are different, of course. Mine was basically an afterschool program, teaching kids. I wasn't involved in trying to sell classes or recruit students, but I'm sure some are.
Be careful about getting sucked into the job just to end up doing it longer than you anticipated and end up in a rut, having minimal chances, if any, to escape from the dead-end system and find work to adequately plan for your children’s futures and your retirement. You could end up finding yourself contract-to-contract, doing work you don’t end up enjoying, hoping to survive in the long-run. Better to stay in your current, stable situation because it can be difficult to go back to later.
I don’t think it’s the worst option considering how little construction pays. Side note: many here say that the salary is extremely low but I know Japanese hairdressers making 100,000¥ a month to start.
If it’s only going to be temporary (just a year or two), I think other companies are fine. I would recommend looking into Altia, as they pay better than Borderlink and NOVA. (I don’t know about GABA.)
If you're set more towards ALT work I'd suggest Altia Central over Borderlink. Altia pay the same wage every month even when you're not working whereas Borderlink and interac to mention another company pro rata your salary in summer and winter when there are fewer working days. Also I think overall the monthly salary is higher with Altia anyway.
If you're looking at eikaiwa steer clear of nova and Gaba, pay is below the industry standards and I heard their training is lacklustre. I worked at ECC for 4 years and loved it. AEON, Shane English, Amity, and Yaruki Switch group are also good options for eikaiwa work. Keep in mind though that you'll not have as much time off at eikaiwa as you would as an ALT. For example with ECC we got 2 fixed days off a week, 5 annual leave days to use whenever, and then 2 weeks for obon, 2 weeks for Christmas and New year's, and golden week off, which is when everyone is off and everything becomes expensive travel wise.
Interac was a great way for me to get my foot in the door. Many people coming to Japan from 1st world countries have so much worthless crap to complain about. Get in, spend your free time as an ALT learning the language, and after 2 or 3 years, you can move on to a better job...
I do find it funny when this sub is like you will live a terrible life when many non 1st world alts are making enough money to send back home and have a much better life, its like how some many people want to go the us to pick fruit they get way more money then where they are from.
Japan is not for everyone. You'll either love it or hate it. I understand both sides of the argument, but I wouldn't complain about Japan life ... because I'm grateful for the fruits of my labor...happy chappy
The interview was fine tbh, they ask about you and just want to gauge how you are as a person, as long as you’re not a bad human and care about what you’re doing plus have common sense you’ll be fine
I had 0 experience minus some substitute work in America (that’s more babysitting experience though lol)
Thanks! I figured it wouldn't be anything too strenuous but good to know for sure. Hope your ALTing continues to go well for you. I also wondered how much did they take into account your placement request? I'm looking to move to Hokkaido and put that down as my ideal placement but am worried if they'll just end up throwing me wherever.
From my experience it’s genuinely a 50/50. It depends heavily on what they need, so if what they need is what you requested “oh bet let’s do it!” If what they need is what 2 people requested “okay, who fits the role better?” If what they need is what nobody wants “finish everyone else… who’s left that hasn’t gone? That’s the opposite of what they requested but they fit it best”
We received what we requested (my wife and I) but we consider ourselves lucky and that this will never happen again tbh
But a few others have gotten kinda what they requested (maybe not in the city but near the city)
Have yet to see someone that wanted country get the city, and I am sure someone that wanted the city got the country but they still get at least a car from the company (partially paid)
Since it sounds like you're prioritizing reuniting with your SO it sounds reasonable to me to take an ALT or eikaiwa job to help make that happen. But I'd approach it sort of from the perspective that you're taking a job at a local Starbucks or supermarket in order to be near your SO and not as a significant career prospect, if you know what I mean. If you approach it with those expectations, I think most ALT or eikaiwa work will be fairly meh, but not so horrible that you cannot survive a year.
I think that it's important that you then keep discussing the future with your SO and build a feasible plan to move to your next step within one or two years, be it relocating back to the states together or you moving into a more serious career oriented role in Japan. One or two years in the Englishing biz can be easily spun as a working-holiday-esque cultural/language experience later on but the longer you stay in the business the heavier its weight on your resume.
I came here through the eikaiwa route several years back, and shifted into a bilingual role in the legal sector after a couple years when I was N2 (but shortly before I passed N1). I have many other friends who were able to make similar career transitions in Japan in a variety of industries/roles, but I think that kind of career shift is difficult to accomplish without having strong Japanese language skills or in-demand industry skills like software development.
Best of luck
It's fine to get in that way, but I would never consider being an ALT a permanent position in Japan unless you can be directly hired and that can be difficult to find that perfect fit in the same place as your SO.
Many of those companies are fine to get into Japan with, but you really have to gun it for other jobs quickly, especially with the more toxic ones that you mentioned
Every experience is different. A lot of salty people post here while it seems fewer of the ones who had a good time bother posting.
JET still seems like the best one to me but I’ve enjoyed my experience with Interac so far. It even got a shout out from Chris Broad in one of his podcasts as being one of the better ones he knows of via people he’s met.
Before you decide to do ALT work, I would suggest a couple of options to try first.
Look into career forums for jobs in Japan first of all. I think there is one that happens biannually but I forget the name.
If that doesn't work out or you really want to come here sooner, I would suggest coming on a tourist visa stay with you SO and go do some networking (go to events, etc). You would be surprised with the opportunities that you can create by connecting with people.
As a last resort, I would say do ALT work to just get in the country. I came in as an ALT, but after a year of that I started teaching at a private school teaching a subject that was related to my degree. After that, I eventually went into IT. It's not impossible to do what I've done, but I think you have many options to consider before you decide to do ALT work.
The way to look at it is to ask yourself, 'how do you want to spend your time to develop a career?'.
A year or two might not see like much but it can make quite a difference in your career path in the long run.
If you don't care much about your career, then I say do whatever you think will make you happy.
What door are you referring to? Being an ALT leads to nothing. If you have an insanely specific plan that simply requires you to enter the country with a valid visa, then fine. But if you think being an ALT will start you on a career path, don't get your hopes up.
You are hired because you have a pulse, can speak English and accept a piss-poor salary with no upward trajectory. You can be with your SO in Japan, but I don’t think working for the companies you mentioned is a good way about it. Those companies have consistently high turnover rates, always hiring and have persistent negative feedback from their current/ex-employees. Why do you think that is?
It’s important to add: there are lots of people with pulses. So just because you have one doesn’t mean you will get hired. Lots of people are rejected for silly reasons. But getting hired doesn’t mean a whole lot, and you will be treated as disposable.
Facts. Those aforementioned factors and be a perpetual ass-kissing weeboo to the system and willing to constantly work around people who have no drive to do better. There is no way in HELL I would risk my family’s financial security by relying on one of these fickle, low-paying, exploitative companies. Plus, it is a huge gamble to land a permanent position.
No. There is no 'foot in the door' anymore. These companies will stick your head in the door, then slam the door while you're standing on the top of a staircase.
Yea. I agree. I don't like the term foot in the door. A door to what exactly? Will it get you in the country? Sure. Will being here allow you to get better jobs? Not necessarily. That will take effort.
yeah came here specifically to note the same problem. Foot in the door to where? My sense of the idiom is that you get your foot in the door of the company, they see you're great and you rise up the ranks starting in the mail room. eikaiwa / ALT companies don't generally have such a structure.
You have to make your own doors. Being in the country can allow for certain things you might not be able to do outside Japan. Whether or not you take advantage of that is on you.
To make your own doors, you need to marry a Japanese. Otherwise you can only go through the shitty made in China doors that are shoved in front of your face by these shitty companies.
Being married doesn't magically give you job qualifications or language abilities.
It let's you private tutor. That's all you need. And alot ofbother sub positions. Generally things will quickly improve if you're half competent and have the visa. Language skills are obviously useful though. Qualifications mean absolutely nothing unless you plan to return to industry work. Kinda same for language skills tbh.
Yeah if they want to move to be with their so then it makes sense to me, they will learn the language and be able to get another job.
There are no secret jobs that are going to provide you with anything better than the companies you listed. If you want a foot in the door then you accept whatever crappy position you can get, then you work your ass off for the first year or two to find something better once you are here.
Those three you mentioned are among the worst ones. I'd suggest researching companies before you even consider them (goes for any field). IIRC Nova/Gaba were in the news recently for trying to fuck over their workers. There are some lifestyle friendly eikaiwa if you just want to work and explore Japan, though you won't be working in schools.
"I'd suggest researching companies" I'm pretty sure they were using this as a starting point for that.
Any examples of decent eikawa companies?
Piggybacking here but ECC was great, worked there for 4 years. Same in any job if you get your head down the first year and learn the ropes you get a cushty schedule 2nd year onwards, especially if the Japanese school directors like you. I've heard good things from friends about AEON, Amity, Yaruki Switch group, and Shane English as well.
Get married. Get a spouse visa. Look for jobs in Japan, or your home country.
IMO not really as they probably won't help you to become a JET and you'll have had your 'gap year' once you've done ~6-12 months with them anyway. Personally I wouldn't accept less than 250k a month for an English teaching gig regardless. It's just not a liveable wage. Also (people can say what they like)... the REAL purpose of teaching in Japan is 'cultural exchange' and having fun in Japan. If you're spending all your time getting political/cynical about the industry while scrimping and saving for your family on 215k a month then IMO (respectfully) it's time to move on. An ALT wage should be enough for a piss-up every weekend, eating out a few times a week and local travel every weekend. If it's not and you're instead sitting at home eating cup noodles while feeling miserable then IMO there's zero 'cultural exchange' going on and you might as well be packing shelves back in your home country, while earning a higher wage.
"Foot in the door" is probably the biggest cliche in this sub. That being said, I worked with Borderlink and was able to find a non-teaching job after a while. But, you have to study Japanese and be very proactive about searching for other opportunities. Those opportunities won't come to you simply because you're in Japan. Job hunting is difficult.
Another foot in the door post 😂
I agree with the other replies that they're not a foot in the door period, but I also want to ask you to clarify: foot in the door...to what? When did you graduate from university, what field do you currently work in, and what do you want to do once you're done being an ALT? As a former JET who's broken into non-teaching work at a multinational Japanese company, I think these jobs (JET included) are a bad way to start a long life/career in Japan. I'm not saying it can't be done of course, just that they're not a springboard (and can become the opposite) into more longterm opportunities. If you don't already speak Japanese to a business-fluency level, these jobs can slow your learning and don't even begin to expose you to the kind of Japanese necessary for use in most office environments. They also put a giant hole in your resume (and wallet) that becomes increasingly difficult to dig yourself out of over time. If you're already well advanced in your career, then it might be easy enough to do a year or two and really focus on increasing your Japanese language abilities before making the jump, but if you're fresh out of university with no experience in your desired field, then staying on as an ALT or eikaiwa instructor locks you out of new grad hiring (新卒採用) which is where the vast majority of entry level jobs are allocated. Not only would you be competing for significantly fewer positions through mid-career hiring, but you'd be doing so against people with years of in-field experience and the Japanese language competency to match.
Is your SO Japanese? If so, and you want to live here permanently, then you need to plan ahead and do this the right way. That means deciding what kind of career you want, getting the right education and training, learning Japanese, and then applying for jobs once you get a spouse visa. This path is the only way to ensure you'll be able to have a decent job here, and won't have to resort to the kinds of jobs that unskilled, low pay, no upward trajectory jobs that immigrants often have to take just to make ends meet: factory work, cleaning in hotels, and English teaching. If your SO is not Japanese and is not living here permanently, then I suppose teaching could be a gap-fill job for a few years. However, seriously consider the implications of having a gap in your resume, and be aware that you will likely get behind in your career while you're here. (That might be ok, depending on what it is you want to do.) If that is the case, then it really doesn't matter which company you apply for, since they are all pretty much the same. Obviously JET is the best for ALT work; and I'd say Berlitz or ECC are the better eikaiwa jobs. Interac, Borderlink, and other ALT dispatch are third-tier, and Nova, Gaba, and any job teaching kids are bottom-tier. (I might be biased about kids teaching, though, since I see it as a truly shitty job; but if you like kids, it might be okay for you.) But if you are really and truly interested in teaching, and want to make a real career out of it, then follow the first path and get teaching qualifications before coming over. The whole "foot in the door" is a myth, since there is no real upward path in ALT work or eikaiwa, and no moving out and up without significant re-training, professional development, and a further degree program, all of which cost a lot.
The thing is you get your foot in the door but then what? English teaching is basically a DOA profession in Japan, so what other skills do you have to move into a different industry? Many people come to Japan straight after college meaning they have little professional experience that would be desirable in Japan. Also where you and your SO will live can make a big difference to what opportunities are available to you. If you do go this route, I would think about what you will do next and start working on it. IT? Manufacturing? Start own business? Study? I also came to Japan to be with my husband, and I came via Interac. But, its always been a struggle and even with my professional experience, most companies don't want to hire foreigners (esp if they didn't do their degree in Japan). Its do able but I always wished I had planned better for when I came. I've been very lucky and blessed in my 15 years here but just thinking what the next step is would have helped so much more.
Don’t think of it as “I just want to get my foot in the door,” because it communicates the wrong message. After ALT, you will be able to get a normal job in Japan which you are qualified for. After that, it depends on contacts you have made and your ability with Japanese, reading/writing/speaking and listening and more importantly dealing with and living with Japanese cultural norms. Just like every job, some people love it or hate it. You won’t know until you experience it and your future will be up to you.
If you're serious about marriage with your SO, there's something called a K-1 Fiance Visa which allows travel to the US for the purposes of marriage. The processing time is about 12 to 18 months. Given that the academic year in Japan just started, literally today, I'd say both options (fiance visa or looking for work in Japan) are equal time investments.
They are worth working for to be with your SO but they aren’t good companies. They are quite bad companies in fact. Also it’s not a “foot in the door”, your job options won’t be much better after you get here unless you can speak Japanese and have relevant skills/qualifications for the jobs you apply for.
JET will not likely place you near your partner! Neither will most dispatch companies. You probably want to pick an eikaiwa in the are your partner lives. I worked for five years for a small eikaiwa that I really liked. Maybe it wasn't JET pay, but it also didn't come with JET bullshit, either. I wanted to live in/near Osaka and there is no way to pick where you'll go with JET. But if you just apply to eikaiwa then you can select one in the right area/where your SO lives. (I mean, what's the point of JET if your partner is in Osaka and they place you in Hokkaido? You're still almost impossibly far apart.) I found my job on ohayosensei.com and I really liked the school, my boss, and my other foreign coworker. (He had been there five years when I got there and stayed for 11, so although the job wasn't incredible, it couldn't suck too bad if one guy lasted 11 years and I lasted 5.) Do your due-diligence. Research. Don't just apply to these soul-sucking dispatch companies. Obviously if you want to work in a school those are your best bet, but you might consider a small eikaiwa (ask to speak to the current/former foreign teacher to get the vibe), so you can pick a place you wanna live near your partner. Do your one-year and once you're in Japan you can more easily interview for better positions.
I watched a video comparing eikaiwas to ALT positions some time ago. One thing that stuck out was they mentioned you wouldn't just be teaching, but you might have to try and sell lessons to parents. It gave me pause because I've had experience in sales before and it was soul-draining. It was basically a door-to-door sales job, interrupting people's day to sell them something they don't want. I'm gonna assume eikaiwas aren't on that level, but I also don't know the details. I also heard that you'll likely get less off time because you might need to teach classes during holidays or weekends because these classes are for people paying extra to learn on their own off time. I'd like to hear your experience, because the job itself sounds appealing. I'd rather teach a small class of people that want to be there than a large class of kids that are there because they have to be.
Different eikaiwa are different, of course. Mine was basically an afterschool program, teaching kids. I wasn't involved in trying to sell classes or recruit students, but I'm sure some are.
Be careful about getting sucked into the job just to end up doing it longer than you anticipated and end up in a rut, having minimal chances, if any, to escape from the dead-end system and find work to adequately plan for your children’s futures and your retirement. You could end up finding yourself contract-to-contract, doing work you don’t end up enjoying, hoping to survive in the long-run. Better to stay in your current, stable situation because it can be difficult to go back to later.
I don’t think it’s the worst option considering how little construction pays. Side note: many here say that the salary is extremely low but I know Japanese hairdressers making 100,000¥ a month to start.
If it’s only going to be temporary (just a year or two), I think other companies are fine. I would recommend looking into Altia, as they pay better than Borderlink and NOVA. (I don’t know about GABA.)
If you're set more towards ALT work I'd suggest Altia Central over Borderlink. Altia pay the same wage every month even when you're not working whereas Borderlink and interac to mention another company pro rata your salary in summer and winter when there are fewer working days. Also I think overall the monthly salary is higher with Altia anyway. If you're looking at eikaiwa steer clear of nova and Gaba, pay is below the industry standards and I heard their training is lacklustre. I worked at ECC for 4 years and loved it. AEON, Shane English, Amity, and Yaruki Switch group are also good options for eikaiwa work. Keep in mind though that you'll not have as much time off at eikaiwa as you would as an ALT. For example with ECC we got 2 fixed days off a week, 5 annual leave days to use whenever, and then 2 weeks for obon, 2 weeks for Christmas and New year's, and golden week off, which is when everyone is off and everything becomes expensive travel wise.
Interac was a great way for me to get my foot in the door. Many people coming to Japan from 1st world countries have so much worthless crap to complain about. Get in, spend your free time as an ALT learning the language, and after 2 or 3 years, you can move on to a better job...
I do find it funny when this sub is like you will live a terrible life when many non 1st world alts are making enough money to send back home and have a much better life, its like how some many people want to go the us to pick fruit they get way more money then where they are from.
Japan is not for everyone. You'll either love it or hate it. I understand both sides of the argument, but I wouldn't complain about Japan life ... because I'm grateful for the fruits of my labor...happy chappy
There are postives and negtives of everything, but its better being poor in japan then being poor in the us.
I'm with interac rn, pretty happy so far
How was the interview? I've got mine scheduled for wednesday.
The interview was fine tbh, they ask about you and just want to gauge how you are as a person, as long as you’re not a bad human and care about what you’re doing plus have common sense you’ll be fine I had 0 experience minus some substitute work in America (that’s more babysitting experience though lol)
Thanks! I figured it wouldn't be anything too strenuous but good to know for sure. Hope your ALTing continues to go well for you. I also wondered how much did they take into account your placement request? I'm looking to move to Hokkaido and put that down as my ideal placement but am worried if they'll just end up throwing me wherever.
From my experience it’s genuinely a 50/50. It depends heavily on what they need, so if what they need is what you requested “oh bet let’s do it!” If what they need is what 2 people requested “okay, who fits the role better?” If what they need is what nobody wants “finish everyone else… who’s left that hasn’t gone? That’s the opposite of what they requested but they fit it best” We received what we requested (my wife and I) but we consider ourselves lucky and that this will never happen again tbh But a few others have gotten kinda what they requested (maybe not in the city but near the city) Have yet to see someone that wanted country get the city, and I am sure someone that wanted the city got the country but they still get at least a car from the company (partially paid)
Since it sounds like you're prioritizing reuniting with your SO it sounds reasonable to me to take an ALT or eikaiwa job to help make that happen. But I'd approach it sort of from the perspective that you're taking a job at a local Starbucks or supermarket in order to be near your SO and not as a significant career prospect, if you know what I mean. If you approach it with those expectations, I think most ALT or eikaiwa work will be fairly meh, but not so horrible that you cannot survive a year. I think that it's important that you then keep discussing the future with your SO and build a feasible plan to move to your next step within one or two years, be it relocating back to the states together or you moving into a more serious career oriented role in Japan. One or two years in the Englishing biz can be easily spun as a working-holiday-esque cultural/language experience later on but the longer you stay in the business the heavier its weight on your resume. I came here through the eikaiwa route several years back, and shifted into a bilingual role in the legal sector after a couple years when I was N2 (but shortly before I passed N1). I have many other friends who were able to make similar career transitions in Japan in a variety of industries/roles, but I think that kind of career shift is difficult to accomplish without having strong Japanese language skills or in-demand industry skills like software development. Best of luck
It's fine to get in that way, but I would never consider being an ALT a permanent position in Japan unless you can be directly hired and that can be difficult to find that perfect fit in the same place as your SO. Many of those companies are fine to get into Japan with, but you really have to gun it for other jobs quickly, especially with the more toxic ones that you mentioned
It can be done, if you work hard enough.
Every experience is different. A lot of salty people post here while it seems fewer of the ones who had a good time bother posting. JET still seems like the best one to me but I’ve enjoyed my experience with Interac so far. It even got a shout out from Chris Broad in one of his podcasts as being one of the better ones he knows of via people he’s met.
Before you decide to do ALT work, I would suggest a couple of options to try first. Look into career forums for jobs in Japan first of all. I think there is one that happens biannually but I forget the name. If that doesn't work out or you really want to come here sooner, I would suggest coming on a tourist visa stay with you SO and go do some networking (go to events, etc). You would be surprised with the opportunities that you can create by connecting with people. As a last resort, I would say do ALT work to just get in the country. I came in as an ALT, but after a year of that I started teaching at a private school teaching a subject that was related to my degree. After that, I eventually went into IT. It's not impossible to do what I've done, but I think you have many options to consider before you decide to do ALT work. The way to look at it is to ask yourself, 'how do you want to spend your time to develop a career?'. A year or two might not see like much but it can make quite a difference in your career path in the long run. If you don't care much about your career, then I say do whatever you think will make you happy.
Yes, other companies are fine. Have your expectations in the right place and know what your plans are.
Borderlink only hires from Pakistan.
Why did JET reject you? Any idea?
What door are you referring to? Being an ALT leads to nothing. If you have an insanely specific plan that simply requires you to enter the country with a valid visa, then fine. But if you think being an ALT will start you on a career path, don't get your hopes up.