Q: How do you set up a job with a new school? |
A: Easy actually, in my situation the school actually found me through the site : www.findateacher.net another good site is www.gaijinpot.com and yet another good idea is to thumb through the local yellow pages and look under english schools in your area and let your fingers do the walking. This is especially good because it would minimize any commute you might have.
There are a lot of mom and pop schools and USUALLY they will treat you better than the big chain schools, IF you show them the respect and be a stand up teacher: show up for work on time, prepare a bit for your lessons, look presentable etc. The school I ended up working for after Nova was a small school based in a house and the woman who owned it was absolutely great, she was hands down my best boss ever. Made it hard to leave.
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| Q: How should I prepare for my interview with Nova? |
A: Ha that's a good one, I think as long as you have a degree, dress smart and don't come across as a whiner (ie want to go home in two months) then 90% chance your a shoe in. I remember before the interview I was starving and I ran across the street to get a sewer dog and the local 7-11 and while eating I dropped mustard on my shirt. I was so pissed off but I managed to hide the stain behind my tie (a trick that later became useful). So I guess the point being if I can get a job there just about anyone can.
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| Q: How's the surf in Japan? |
A: Ahhhhhh......it's ok...nothing great really IMHO.....you depend on Typhoon swells which come about 4 months of the year. The rest of the time you kind of surf wind swell and do a lot of grovelling. I lived by the beach (shonan) for about half my stay, the waves are better in Chiba but it's pretty remote. If you wan't to surf there are certainly a lot better places to live.
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| Q: What happens if I break my contract? |
A: Legally nothing, but if your a prick about it, just calling in dead, then they can make it hard getting your last check or if your in their accomodations they might charge you for "damages" to the apartment. When I split I gave them a month notice and cleaned my place really nice and had no problems.
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| Q: I really want to teach in Japan but I don't have a degree can I find work? |
A: Well it's not that you can't find work - because that's pretty easy. The problem is immigration. You need (as far as I know) to have a college degree to get a working visa. Without the visa your doing visa runs every 3 months....I am sure there are some other types of visas: student, extended tourist or whatever that might get you in for longer than 3 months but I just don't know anything about them.
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| Q: If I don't have a job, how much money should I have to setup in Japan? |
A: I would say if you want to live like a monk you could PROBABLY get by with 1500 USD your first month. Japan is expensive you will be sharing a room until you get setup at one of the local gaijin houses. You here people complain about Nova accomodations - wait till you get a look at a gaijin dorm room. |
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