flintstryker
Banned
I know this is a Asian thread but I just did an interview for a TEFL opportunity in Prague and it went very well!
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Teaching English in Asia |OT| We're back!
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Solid SOAP
Member
Good to know! I'll keep this in mind.
drtomoe123
Member
My fiance and I had our interviews today. We feel confident and hopeful.
flintstryker
Banned
Got contacted by Interac as well recently for an interview next week, So far I have done and Interview for Czech Republic and Colombia both of which were very positive.
flintstryker
Banned
Did my interview with Interac, it was pretty simple and straight forward, my only concern is that as they said most of their placements are in rural Japan when I personally would really like to live in Tokyo lol
Hello ALTs or soon to be ALT hopefuls.
I applied to Interac back in late November or early December last year (2015) and I haven't been getting any feedback whatsoever. I have filled out the application as I should. Including references, past jobs, education. I will be graduating this Spring and would be on board to start working for the company for their August starting term.
However I have not gotten any feedback via email or via my Interac account. I tried to apply for a skype interview as I started to get desperate at the start of the month. I fired them a message in the message center which is the only real way for me to communicate with, well somebody hopefully. No reply to my message at the beginning of the month and no reply so far to the message I sent yesterday.
So far all I have in the "progress update" is CoE application sent to Immigration -> CoE sent to applicant -> Tracking Number. That's it.
And then in the section Placement Status it says "withdrawn". What? What does that mean? I was never ever contacted. Is that standard procedure before getting any feedback. There is nothing for me to even withdraw from?
Is it possible I was sent something by snail mail? Because my permanent residence is not where I live so sure it could have happened, but my folks check up on that place once or twice a month so that mail would have been picked up and given to me. I doubt that there was any actual mail though.
So help me out guys. Waiting for Interac to get back to you after 4 months is normal or not?
Thank you. I'm 100% interested and being hung out to dry like this is very frustrating and unsettling as I may as well start looking for jobs in my country if Interac decided to give me the finger. I just wish they would let me know.
EDIT: I'm located and am a citizen of the Czech Republic but English is my mother tongue which also makes me confused as to why they would not want to even contact a person who speaks English as his 1A language (Czech being my 1B). I'm just confused.
I applied to Interac back in late November or early December last year (2015) and I haven't been getting any feedback whatsoever. I have filled out the application as I should. Including references, past jobs, education. I will be graduating this Spring and would be on board to start working for the company for their August starting term.
However I have not gotten any feedback via email or via my Interac account. I tried to apply for a skype interview as I started to get desperate at the start of the month. I fired them a message in the message center which is the only real way for me to communicate with, well somebody hopefully. No reply to my message at the beginning of the month and no reply so far to the message I sent yesterday.
So far all I have in the "progress update" is CoE application sent to Immigration -> CoE sent to applicant -> Tracking Number. That's it.
And then in the section Placement Status it says "withdrawn". What? What does that mean? I was never ever contacted. Is that standard procedure before getting any feedback. There is nothing for me to even withdraw from?
Is it possible I was sent something by snail mail? Because my permanent residence is not where I live so sure it could have happened, but my folks check up on that place once or twice a month so that mail would have been picked up and given to me. I doubt that there was any actual mail though.
So help me out guys. Waiting for Interac to get back to you after 4 months is normal or not?
Thank you. I'm 100% interested and being hung out to dry like this is very frustrating and unsettling as I may as well start looking for jobs in my country if Interac decided to give me the finger. I just wish they would let me know.
EDIT: I'm located and am a citizen of the Czech Republic but English is my mother tongue which also makes me confused as to why they would not want to even contact a person who speaks English as his 1A language (Czech being my 1B). I'm just confused.
Hmm... so you guys would recommend trying the non-Interac options? JET is a no go for me because they have no Czech presence unfortunately.
EDIT: I just applied to NOVA and ECC. ECC looks like the better option but I'll take anything just to get my foot in the door. Sick of this country and I can't envision myself being here till the end of 2016.
EDIT: I just applied to NOVA and ECC. ECC looks like the better option but I'll take anything just to get my foot in the door. Sick of this country and I can't envision myself being here till the end of 2016.
Jaffaboy
Member
I've been working at ECC for the last year. It's a pretty good intro job to teaching English and living in Japan, and they offer the most time off but to be honest you couldn't have chosen a worse time to apply. The school year starts April 1st, so if you join the company after that date, you end up being a substitute teacher until the following April which means about 20% teaching random classes at random ass schools when the regular teachers are off, and 80% stuffing tissue packets for 6 hours. Pretty sure NOVA, AEON and ECC are all the same bullshit though. The job has been okay, but their main problem is their 'one method fits all' attitude to teaching and having very little room for experimenting with teaching methods as you're 'delivering their product', it just doesn't work and it's incredibly demoralizing as an experienced English teacher. I'd personally stay away from big eikaiwa and go for smaller language schools.
The timing for me is not by choice really. I will be graduating this spring so the summer is the earliest I could join one of these companies. But I'll keep in mind if things don't work out this time.
drtomoe123
Member
Got shortlisted for JET and my girlfriend is an alternate. We're both optimistic and really excited for everything the coming year will bring. 
Megabyte117
Member
Also got shortlisted for JET, but ultimately I think I decided to go with the local sister cities program because of better benefits. I have a friend applying and likely accepting a position with Interac, should I advise her to accept? These last few posts in the thread haven't been too encouraging.
Porcile
Member
Interac is fine. They sponsor your visa for a year, they find you an apartment and they put you in a school or multiple schools with minimal effort on your part. That's what she wants right? Everything else is pot luck, like pretty much any programme. At least with Interac you actually have a bit of say of about where you want to end up. I wouldn't take a driving position or be willing to take one with them though. You also need a a fair amount cash.
You couldn't make a career out of working for them, but the majority of people who sign up don't want a career. If there's anyone looking to make a career or making a career off un-qualified ALT-ing then you can just ignore their crap anyway.
Megabyte117
Member
Yeah, she's just wanting a teaching job in Asia for a year before going to grad school. Thanks for the reply and input!
shanshan310
Member
Jet results are coming out! I'll be joining y'all in japan as a cir this year!
Valkerionseven
Member
High chance one of you new JETs will get Kagoshima, if you chose it or want the south. We got a ton of people leaving, mix of 5 years and 1 year and done people.
wait
fuck
we've been in the same fucking prefecture this whole time?
...have we met?
I may have asked you before, but how long have you been in Vietnam and how's teaching there?
Scarecrow
Member
I've been in Hanoi since August. Teaching here is ok. I'm working for a language center, and they assigned me high schools to teach at. There's a pretty high workload compared to China (which didn't care what I did anyway). But I'm not too upset with working hard. Seeing the way some of the students and locals live, I feel like I have the easiest job in the world.
timetokill
Banned
Man, I want to do this so bad. Wonder if I can swing it with my huge debt.
That's cool. I spent a month traveling in Vietnam last year and thought it was pretty nice. It is pretty damn easy, I get that white man's guilt sometimes.
Many people do it for exactly that reason. It's pretty easy to write your own paychecks if you're ambitious enough. I prefer the chill life and have no debts.
timetokill
Banned
Really? Can you elaborate?
I was looking at JET stuff and it looked like the pay was around $30k, which isn't much... and also that it doesn't necessarily include rent.
If it is a decent way to make cash I would love to go and just teach and pay down some of my student loans.
Really depends on salary and conditions...on JET it is going to vary because you're randomly assigned and each position will have different benefits, each area will have different costs of living, etc. I was a CIR on JET, and I had half paid rent, lived in a small town with very low cost of living...but on the flip side, getting out was insanely expensive (3-4000 yen round trip to the nearest big city), which cut into my savings/debt payments quite a bit.
Something like interac? Forget it, you probably won't be saving anything. Also some longer term teachers hustle/teach a lot of privates/open their own school etc which if you work hard enough *can* bring in some serious cash. I've met people married to Japanese who lived entirely off of privates and made decent money doing so.
ESL isn't a way to get rich...but there are benefits/other factors that make it easy to save or pay down debts.
Porcile
Member
Yeah, I don't see any point of saving money if you're working for Interac. Why essentially force yourself to live on the poverty line and save money when you're still always going to be on the lower end of the wage spectrum? The amount you save just isn't going to be worth it, and better spent making connections and at least having a half-decent time in an interesting place.
Obviously don't be dumb with your money, I have already encountered people down to their last 10,000 yen and they wont be paid until the end of next month... I guess they couldn't resist the allure of being a gaijin and taking random girls out for expensive dinners and getting drunk every night.
Some JETs do have more money than they know what to do it with it though.
Obviously don't be dumb with your money, I have already encountered people down to their last 10,000 yen and they wont be paid until the end of next month... I guess they couldn't resist the allure of being a gaijin and taking random girls out for expensive dinners and getting drunk every night.
Some JETs do have more money than they know what to do it with it though.
timetokill
Banned
Yeah, to be clear, I'm not expecting to get rich, just live somewhat comfortably while making enough to pay loan payments in the meantime.
Definitely wouldn't be against teaching privately either.
I'm in China where the market might be a bit different. For example, at my uni we typically teach 2-3 days a week. Many of my coworkers teach private classes, and/or work part time for a training center. People can make 15-25k RMB per month with a very low cost of living, and a rent-free apartment.
Or you could go work full time at a training center or international school (if you have the credentials) and earn that much as your salary. Those are typically 40-hour a week jobs.
Bubble Metropolis
Member
I think I make $36k+ on the JET Programme with gas and lodging allowances. I make $500 transfers back to the US every month for student loans, my rent is $500, I live on a separate island so gas and foods are more expensive than 99% of Japan, it costs $30 round-trip to get off the island, and even with all of that I still have at least $500 to play with at the end of every month. There's not shit to do here and I cook all of my own meals, though.
I had $10 in my bank account in late January due to going back to the US, having a business trip that left me stranded on the mainland for 3-4 days due to snow and having to pay for hotels those days on my own, etc. But even considering that $10 starting point 2 months ago (haven't got paid in April yet), I've afforded a new $600 graduation suit, a $1700 car inspection, and living nearly identically to how I always do. Money's a little tight now, but in general the JET Programme salary is never a problem for me personally.
I had $10 in my bank account in late January due to going back to the US, having a business trip that left me stranded on the mainland for 3-4 days due to snow and having to pay for hotels those days on my own, etc. But even considering that $10 starting point 2 months ago (haven't got paid in April yet), I've afforded a new $600 graduation suit, a $1700 car inspection, and living nearly identically to how I always do. Money's a little tight now, but in general the JET Programme salary is never a problem for me personally.
Porcile
Member
You're still there? How's it going for you? I remember speaking to you ages back. I got a lucky location placement with Interac.
timetokill
Banned
Yeah, issue is I'd probably need to send like $2000/mo back, so unless rent is totally covered or I make good money on the side, I'd really be hurting.
Business trip? Are you a CIR?
JET salary is no problem whatsoever especially if you're single (and I know married JETs who are getting by too). Anyone on JET (or other programs where it's easy to save) would do well to take care of their financial situation (saving money, paying down debts, etc) as much as possible before moving on, especially if you want to stay in Japan because salaries on average are lower. Teaching jobs don't pay much, and for career jobs you'll definitely take a hit at first before working your way back up. I'm lucky in that I'm making a bit more than JET salary now, but it was rough finding my current job (and even then, the salary boost is just due to a bit of overtime/night classes I do every week).
Though if you're in Japan you can get unemployment insurance for a few months (as long as you have time left on your visa) which also helps.
Bubble Metropolis
Member
I'm a second-year ALT. My prefecture has an annual two-day conference for teachers to attend seminars, exchange teaching materials, etc. It's required that you go. One girl from my city didn't go this year and was forced to write a two page, formal apology to the prefectural BoE and submit an essay on the art of teaching or some junk.
Porcile
Member
Pay off your debts yeesh. Teaching is not the answer you are looking for.
timetokill
Banned
I'm trying to figure out how to do just that
timetokill
Banned
Yeah, I figured that was the case, but also figured it couldn't hurt to look into it anyway just in case. Thanks for the advice.
I (should) have a job teaching kids how to code here fairly soon, so maybe after a year or two of that I can look into teaching abroad, when hopefully my debt will be paid down a bit.
Supermanisdead
Member
there are though. you just have to look into china instead of japan or korea. u can easily make bank in a big city and cost of living is very low, with an apartment included in your contract. do tutoring or a language centre on weekends/evenings and u can easily clear 20k RMB a month which is roughly 3200 USD. living costs can be as low as 500-1000RMB (less than 200 dollars USD) if you eat right and dont party.
timetokill
Banned
Yeah, China just seems so much less attractive than Korea or Japan unfortunately.
They all have their benefits and drawbacks, Japan and Korea are both great places for sure. I'm not a teacher (though I have taught) but I've lived in China for about 4 years now. I whole-heartedly recommend it, China is awesome if you have an open mind and like adventure. It's a lot rougher around the edges than the other two but you'd have a ton of fun here and there are tons of opportunities as mentioned either for teaching side gigs or any other kind of work you can imagine from acting to attending events to office work...sucks to say it but if you are white especially you have the world at your fingertips in China.
English Japanese bilinguals are apparently in demand in Shanghai, something I've always been curious about.
Yeah if you wanna get out of teaching come to Shanghai, you can find all kinds of jobs once you are here. My friend was a teacher and now he does content marketing online for a major brand. He didn't have any experience in that industry before he got out here. I know a few people who've moved from teaching to other "professional" type jobs without much or any experience. I've done all kinds of jobs both short and long term. I worked in an office doing immigration stuff for a few years. I've got a photography company now here. I still take odd jobs. I did "consulting" for a european car company despite no experience at all with what they were doing. I have been invited to an event to pose as a "delegate" from a foreign country. Shit I just got backstage at Shanghai Fashion Week last week because I told someone I'm a photographer (and I'm white). You can do anything you really want out here. Teaching is a way to get here and earn some money while you figure out what you really wanna do if teaching isn't it. I teach a two people English on WeChat and that's super easy. I could probably find more students and online and you never even have to meet them. It's good out here. To the guy that doesn't find China as appealing as other countries I'd say you should at least consider it.
How are work environments in China in general and Shanghai in particular? I know it depends on the workplace/region/other factors but just a general idea. I was pretty excited to work in a non-teaching position for my last job in Japan - until I encountered the lack of communication, harassment, ignoring important issues, etc etc. I dont expect Chinese workplaces to be paradises or anything, just curious.
ShadowKingpin
Member
I have read that to teach in Korea public schools, you need to have done 20 hours of TEFL in-person? So, if I took the University of Tornto TEFL 150-hour courses (I don't have any local school near me that teach TEFL), I am screwed out of Korea? Also, for late bloomers that are getting our Bachelor's degree, do you think English Teacher's will still be in high demand four years from now? If we are selected for JET or EPIK, how much money would you suggest saving up? Around $2.5K?
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