Support NeoGAF

[I'm an expert]

I would love to know what a real job is tho lol.

A real job is not defined by hours, but by when the work is done.

And, yes, I do enjoy helping others in life. If I could quote the pms I got last night man.. I won't out of respect, but if others want to chime in, by all means.

 

[Macrotus]

A real job is not defined by hours, but by when the work is done.

That reminded me of how horrible "サビ残” is in this country (Japan).
Wonder how it is in other countries.


BTW guys, be careful. ↓↓
ノロウイルスが変異 免疫持たず大流行のおそれ
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20150828/k10010208101000.html

 

[Hasemo]

That reminded me of how horrible "サビ残” is in this country (Japan).
Wonder how it is in other countries.


BTW guys, be careful. ↓↓
ノロウイルスが変異 免疫持たず大流行のおそれ
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20150828/k10010208101000.html

I fail to see how this is different from any other norovirus, ha ha.

ノロウイルスの本格的な流行は秋以降

Last time I checked, Spring and Summer were also periods with everyone around getting sick.

 

[sprsk]

I've only had noro here and I've had it twice. It's the worst thing ever.

Re: Jobs -- my outlook on this now is like, just do whatever allows you to balance your work and life. If you're happy with a teacher salary then sounds good to me.

It's a weird thing that some gaijin have this thing where they feel the need to express their superiority over other gaijin cause they are in a higher strata work-wise. English teaching is like bottom of the barrel, youd prolly get more respect coming over as a host or worker in a factory. No one wants to be an English teacher. Even English teachers.

Which is weird cause my years as an ALT were super fun. I struggled money-wise, but I got to have all sorts of fun teaching young kids. I got to move my body meet all sorts of people, it was nice. In fact the other day I ran into a student of mine from 8 years ago and she told me she's getting into translation cause of me, that's pretty freaking cool. I was even able to help her out by introducing her to some well connected translators I know. There's nothing to be ashamed of when you're getting results like that.

Anyway, you could make shitloads of money at a 外資系 or some investment bank or whatever, but just like in any country make sure it aint killing you and you get enough time to enjoy life. That's what's most important.

 

[Resilient]

A real job is not defined by hours, but by when the work is done.

And, yes, I do enjoy helping others in life. If I could quote the pms I got last night man.. I won't out of respect, but if others want to chime in, by all means.

I PM'd , but only to ask if he could send me cheap Gatsby when he was abroad next

 

[Valkerionseven]

Soo..... just got called for JET lol. Literally as I clicked on this thread just out of curiousity and browsing cause I was bored I get a call from them. Have no idea how to prep for this... or have any money so.

That happening lol.

 

[Ayumi]

It's a weird thing that some gaijin have this thing where they feel the need to express their superiority over other gaijin cause they are in a higher strata work-wise.

Certain people have a "My Japan, not yours" attitude as well, which seems to involve refusing others to settle for less and be content with their lives.

People need to just do what they want, learn their own way and yolo through it.

 

[aldogoliath]

Since we are on the topic of work, are the hours and work culture in Japan as bad as I hear?

Work for an average of 25 hours of overtime a month.
Being the normal shift from 9 am to 5:30 pm.
We are "allowed" to make overtime in a day as late as 9 pm, no more than that without an special permission.
Wednesday and Friday are NO overtime days though.

 

[matt360]

For teachers, I would recommend looking around for a 常勤講師 gig. It's more or less the same work that ALTs do, except you're not team teaching, the pay is a fair bit better than JET, plus 3 bonuses a year, and you still get weekends off, unlike the full-time Japanese teachers who most likely have club activities on the weekends.

That said, Hiroshima has started hiring foreigners as full-time teachers. Full-time as in exactly the same position as the Japanese teachers. And all you have to do is an interview and a demo lesson. It's a joke how easy it is, as long as you meet the other requirements, which are mostly just having 3 years of prior experience. This is a trial, but two people passed this year and are now full-time regular teachers. I don't know if other prefectures are doing this as well, or if it's just Hiroshima. But it might be something to look into if you're planning on staying long-term.

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

What kind of help do you need? Do you want translation help, or a random stranger to pay for your shoes and hope for the best?

If you just wanna shop, you could try a deputy service.

Yeah just translation help, to see if its even possible to do with my US card or if ill have to go through a proxy like you suggest

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Just over a week now before my move to Shinjuku
Going to make the most of my Waseda study and aim for N2 this December and N1 next summer. I can do this!!

 

[I'm an expert]

Soo..... just got called for JET lol. Literally as I clicked on this thread just out of curiousity and browsing cause I was bored I get a call from them. Have no idea how to prep for this... or have any money so.

That happening lol.

i'll add you to my list

 

[Aizo]

Awhh. He likes you.

 

[Ayumi]

Yeah just translation help, to see if its even possible to do with my US card or if ill have to go through a proxy like you suggest

Shopping from Japanese websites require a Japanese address 99% of the time, so you would need a deputy/proxy regardless if they accept your card or not. (I checked your shop link and it does too.)

 

[Jintor]

dunno if this is new but the NHK man caught sight of my smartphone when I was trying to translate and it turns out they have jurisdiction over all devices capable of receiving a tv signal including tuner apps

which are preinstalled on smartphones bought in japan

smh

 

[matt360]

dunno if this is new but the NHK man caught sight of my smartphone when I was trying to translate and it turns out they have jurisdiction over all devices capable of receiving a tv signal including tuner apps

which are preinstalled on smartphones bought in japan

smh

OneSeg? My iPhone didn't have that pre-installed. Either way, just don't pay if you don't want to.

 

[sprsk]

Never let the NHK man get past the intercom.

 

[Ayumi]

Never let the NHK man get past the intercom.

lol. Please tell me you signed a contract.

 

[Hasemo]

Never let the NHK man get past the intercom.

One good "trick" which I've heard about is telling the NHK person that you must consult your Japanese friends (if you're a foreigner) or family (works for university students) and ask them to leave the mail form.

I don't mind paying them that much, since I'm used to it - Poland has a obligatory radio/TV tax.

What really bothered me was a second NHK guy who appeared after a few months, check out my TV signal outlets (I had 2 and thought that it was normal) just to inform me that since I can watch free versions of BS1 or whatever that is, I must pay twice as much.
Enough to say, that I told him what I think about that idea and he apologized and left.

My girlfriend who was at my place at the time was laughing for quite a while and said that I was so harsh on the guy that she felt sorry for him, ha ha.

 

[Jintor]

yo if i get bothered again i'm just going to revert to english.

australia folds television fees into general taxes iirc :<

i'm just annoyed because if i was going to get charged for smartphone access which I don't use I may as well have actually bought a bloody television

 

[DeliciousDoc]

Weird because when a nhk lady came to my apartment she said I had a tv (&#12391;&#12377;&#12424;&#12397 and I said actually no I don't&#12290; She then said oh you have a smartphone? I said yes and she left me alone. Made me wonder if they can detect if you have a receiver in your home.

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

Shopping from Japanese websites require a Japanese address 99% of the time, so you would need a deputy/proxy regardless if they accept your card or not. (I checked your shop link and it does too.)

Is treasure Japan a good bet?

 

[Ayumi]

Is treasure Japan a good bet?

Sorry, I don't know because I live in Japan. Most of us do.

Perhaps someone else can help you recommend one?

 

[sprsk]

lol. Please tell me you signed a contract.

My wife is staunch anti-nhk. Shed rather die than pay, lol.

 

[urfe]

A real job is not defined by hours, but by when the work is done.

And, yes, I do enjoy helping others in life. If I could quote the pms I got last night man.. I won't out of respect, but if others want to chime in, by all means.

Helping others in life is indeed awesome. I guess people notice you like helping people, and PM you questions?

I know what you mean by "real job", but seeing people without "real jobs" being able to live their passions in their downtime makes me more than a little jealous sometimes. I need to try and make my "real job" my passion I guess.

My wife is staunch anti-nhk. Shed rather die than pay, lol.

Jealous, my wife is not good at confrontation, so it's was up to me avoiding it... until they heard her voice in the background and asked to talk to her (I was doing my &#26085;&#26412;&#35486;&#39135;&#12409;&#12414;&#12379;&#12435; routine). I lasted 9 years at least. Should call them soon to say we sold our TV.

 

[I'm an expert]

Helping others in life is indeed awesome. I guess people notice you like helping people, and PM you questions?

I know what you mean by "real job", but seeing people without "real jobs" being able to live their passions in their downtime makes me more than a little jealous sometimes. I need to try and make my "real job" my passion I guess.

Jealous, my wife is not good at confrontation, so it's was up to me avoiding it... until they heard her voice in the background and asked to talk to her (I was doing my &#26085;&#26412;&#35486;&#39135;&#12409;&#12414;&#12379;&#12435; routine). I lasted 9 years at least. Should call them soon to say we sold our TV.

People always pm me because I think they don't want others to know they associate with me lol.

No, you do not make your real job your passion. My real job is most definitely not my passion, it's what I needed to do in order to fulfill all my other passions. The insane money I make from there guarantees I can choose any passion I want for the rest of my life. Making your real job be about business and business only is the best thing. The real key is retiring in your mid 30s-early 40s. That's the goal.

 

[Aizo]

I had a conversation with expert once through pms. It was pretty interesting.

He sent my smiley faces once, too.

 

[DCharlie]

Re: Jobs -- my outlook on this now is like, just do whatever allows you to balance your work and life. If you're happy with a teacher salary then sounds good to me.

It's a weird thing that some gaijin have this thing where they feel the need to express their superiority over other gaijin cause they are in a higher strata work-wise. English teaching is like bottom of the barrel, youd prolly get more respect coming over as a host or worker in a factory. No one wants to be an English teacher. Even English teachers.

Which is weird cause my years as an ALT were super fun. I struggled money-wise, but I got to have all sorts of fun teaching young kids. I got to move my body meet all sorts of people, it was nice. In fact the other day I ran into a student of mine from 8 years ago and she told me she's getting into translation cause of me, that's pretty freaking cool. I was even able to help her out by introducing her to some well connected translators I know. There's nothing to be ashamed of when you're getting results like that.

Anyway, you could make shitloads of money at a &#22806;&#36039;&#31995; or some investment bank or whatever, but just like in any country make sure it aint killing you and you get enough time to enjoy life. That's what's most important.

well, i've been dickish in the past on other things but if i've ever been dickish on this i truly apologise.

It's none of my business what anyone else does and, if anything, my opinion of teachers of any ilk is that they're worth their weight in gold (and i do know English Teachers here do carry a stigma - hell, just had GG goons saying i was one so i assume that was some sort of negative)

QoL is key - there is a huge massive horrific trade off with some jobs and i can certainly attest that life in IB is going to seriously alter your ability to do things. Ultimately, you are selling your time - and if you are going to sell ALMOST ALL OF IT, be aware that you need to get a very very very very good price for it. Not just "GREAT" but a "i am not doing this beyond 40" price....

as someone once said "no one lies on their death bed moaning about how they'd wished they'd put more hours in at work or made more money"

 

[DCharlie]

Hours are bad in any country. It's 10:27 in NYC right now. I just got home. Nothing to do with Japan. Everything to do with having a real job.

This is certainly something i don't agree with - Japan has a problem with hours at work. Case in point - it's Sunday - actually no it isn't... it's Monday... 0:10 - and i'm in the office.

I'm in the office to keep ahead of the work i have in the coming week - this is not overtime.

this is not unique to where i work - i can see it happening everywhere.

from XX years experience, i do -not- see people elsewhere working anywhere near the hours people in Japan have to work. And that's for many many reasons.

This isn't meant to be dick waving, it's ultimately horrifically sad that my reaction was "10:27.... is not late" - that's not a LOOK AT ME I WORK LATER! ROAAARRR. It's a sign that after many years people become conditions to look at horrendous working hours as a normality and when even clearly very late hours (which what you state obviously are) are seen as

<montyphythonyorkshiremen> Ah... LUXURY!</montyphythonyorkshiremen>

in the end - Sprks has it all nailed down - some of us have allowed ourselves into this situation - and we've largely just gotten so far down the hamster track we've lost sight of important things.

 

[Jothel]

Anyone here had any luck getting a credit card? Been living here for a year and have been rejected by everyone that I've applied to. If anyone managed to get one, which one did you get?

 

[Dingens]

if working a "real job" means doing something I don't enjoy just so I can retire between 30 and 40 than I'd rather waste my time with a fun not-real job till I die...
*shrug*

oh yeah, also working in Japan, fine by me, but only for a European company under European labour law. I need my 5+ weeks of vacation, unlimited sickdays and paid overtime. I won't settle for less.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Anyone here had any luck getting a credit card? Been living here for a year and have been rejected by everyone that I've applied to. If anyone managed to get one, which one did you get?

Are you employed? What do you do? Have you filed your income taxes at least once?

if working a "real job" means doing something I don't enjoy just so I can retire between 30 and 40 than I'd rather waste my time with a fun not-real job till I die...
*shrug*

You're under 25, aren't you? Not saying this will happen to you, but I find a lot of people change their minds about not wanting to amount to anything big professionally by the time their 35 or so. It's usually too late to do anything about it by then, though.

 

[Jothel]

Are you employed? What do you do? Have you filed your income taxes at least once?

Yeah I'm a teacher and no not yet - is the tax thing the killer?

 

[I'm an expert]

if working a "real job" means doing something I don't enjoy just so I can retire between 30 and 40 than I'd rather waste my time with a fun not-real job till I die...
*shrug*

oh yeah, also working in Japan, fine by me, but only for a European company under European labour law. I need my 5+ weeks of vacation, unlimited sickdays and paid overtime. I won't settle for less.

It's nice to be young and naive. To quote a wise man:

99% of the people on gaf are completely the same person. Mediocre and happy to be coasting through life with the least amount of effort.

Yeah I'm a teacher and no not yet - is the tax thing the killer?

Was just about to ask if you had a real job or not. I had a business card approved immediately in my first week and have never been denied for any card in 10 years. Also financed my first 3 cars. Also have a mortgage.. But I guess a real job is a waste of time..

edit: Charlie, you're one of the few people on here who over the years I've respected since you're an actual adult. Don't know how we haven't crossed paths yet, I'll check you out next time I fly in. But, again, working late isn't something exclusive to Japan. You may be looking at it through your European eyes. Since I'm both European and American I can see it from both sides, it's /shrug either way.

Now to try and stay away from the Japanese study thread.. must.. call.. weebs.. lazy..

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Yeah I'm a teacher and no not yet - is the tax thing the killer?

I don't think it is necessarily. I was approved for a credit card (only 100,000 Yen maximum) as an international student back in 2006 (after having my gaijin card for only 3 months) when I only held a part time job and had some scholarship money coming in every month.

Honestly, it's a bit strange that you're getting denied with that in mind. You don't have any other significant debt (either in or outside of Japan) do you?

 

[I'm an expert]

Honestly that surprises me too. What school? That might have swayed them.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Honestly that surprises me too. What school? That might have swayed them.

Possibly... was in the &#26089;&#24950;&#19978;&#29702; group, so fairly prestigious by Japanese private school standards.

 

[Mailenstein]

A real job is not defined by hours, but by when the work is done.

And, yes, I do enjoy helping others in life. If I could quote the pms I got last night man.. I won't out of respect, but if others want to chime in, by all means.

Please elaborate "work" and "done". It might be a shocker for you, but some people actually enjoy what they do for a living. No offense, but your view on life seems really flat to me. It's something you would 110% expect to hear from someone who represents the corporate world and it's system. That's at least the vibe I'm getting, which is a bit sad imho.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Did he ever say he doesn't enjoy what he does for a living? Even if that is the case, I'm sure he enjoys making a lot of money!

 

[Mailenstein]

Did he ever say he doesn't enjoy what he does for a living? Even if that is the case, I'm sure he enjoys making a lot of money!

It's not his passion, that's what he said. You say that as if it's one or the other.

The bolded part is the actual problem here. If that is your goal in life, you've failed life imho.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

If that is your goal in life, you've failed life imho.

Why? Not that it's my goal in life, but why is it any less legitimate than other goals someone might have?

 

[Mailenstein]

Why? Not that it's my goal in life, but why is it any less legitimate than other goals someone might have?

That's basically the same question I've asked him and to answer your question, it isn't. Making lots of money isn't the problem here. I just feel really sorry for all the people listening to what he says about life itself.

 

[sprsk]

You gotta do what works for you.

 

[Mailenstein]

You gotta do what works for you.

Yeah and I really liked your above post. That's something people should read and really think about. (Very nice Insta btw ;])

 

[I'm an expert]

I wrote a big thing but fuck it. Whatever. If you were quick enough to quote it, by all means, reply to it. But I'm too tired to discuss it.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

For what it's worth, I totally agree. Aggressively pushing to succeed in your professional life so that you can have an easier and more care-free social/outside-of-work life is perfectly legitimate. It's also a far more likely strategy for success than hoping that you can make enough money doing things you're passionate about for a living.

By prioritizing your hobbies and passions above all else, you run a great risk of not being financially stable enough to enjoy them as much as if you prioritized professional success. You also have no guarantee that your interests and tastes won't change over the years. Seems like a better idea to set yourself up for being able to fully enjoy whatever you may be interested in.

 

[Mailenstein]

I wrote a big thing but fuck it. Whatever. If you were quick enough to quote it, by all means, reply to it. But I'm too tired to discuss it.

I've read the whole thing before you edited it, but no worries, we don't have to discuss it. Yes, it was simply explained but the core remains the same. It's a very flat view on life either way. But then again, if what you wrote works for you, more power to you.

For what it's worth, I totally agree. Aggressively pushing to succeed in your professional life so that you can have an easier and more care-free social/outside-of-work life is perfectly legitimate. It's also a far more likely strategy for success than hoping that you can make enough money doing things you're passionate about for a living.

Too many people are too worried about their financial status. And by that I don't mean to "sell yourself for any price".

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Too many people are too worried about their financial status. And by that I don't mean to "sell yourself for any price".

Most people are too worried because their heads are underwater, which is because they don't make enough money. Yes, I realize this is a gross oversimplification and there are a wide variety of social factors, etc. at play that cause people to not make enough money. Either way, people who make a good wage, and have a nice security buffer are probably stressing out about money for their hobbies a lot less than people who are living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[Dingens]

You're under 25, aren't you? Not saying this will happen to you, but I find a lot of people change their minds about not wanting to amount to anything big professionally by the time their 35 or so. It's usually too late to do anything about it by then, though.

no, I'm not under 25
@ the rest, see below

It's nice to be young and naive. To quote a wise man:

[...]Since I'm both European and American I can see it from both sides, it's /shrug either way.
8...]

that's the problem with your bizarre world view. You seem completely unable to understand that prioritizing a well rounded work-live balance over earning as much money as possible has nothing to do with being unambitious. It's quite the opposite. Looking for a job you actually enjoy doing takes a lot more effort than looking for one with just a nice pay check.

also let me assure you, you're 100% American

 

[Aizo]

it's /shrug either way.

How many kids do you have? Do you feel like your job leaves you with ample time to spend with your wife and kids?