A quick question about Japan

[meat]

Hey guys, I'm planning on leaving for Japan in August/Sptember, and wanted to know people's thoughts or opinions on Nova and Aeon. Reading their websites, it all seems great, but a couple of people that were with them a long time ago (8 years or so) said to be wary. Can anyone tell me more about this? Any good/bad experiences, please let me know.

Also, I'm planning on taking a laptop to Japan, what options have I got as far as internet connection goes? Would it be a better idea to wait and buy a laptop when I get there?

Cheers

[renfield_kuroda]

Nova, Aeon, etc. are the McDonalds of English teaching. You will be screwed as much as possible, and in return the school expects you will screw them.
Be realistic: you'll get a work visa, help w/a place to live, and a reasonable income for really dull, crappy work. Milk it well, and move on to whatever else it is you want ot do.

Your laptop will be just fine in Japan. Keep in mind few plugs are grounded; most are 2prong instead of 3. Once you get here you can get 64meg DSL for 4500yen a month, among other things. This is the Land o' Broadband.

Regards,

r e n

[Troll Basher]

Nova = NO VAction

AEON = Assxxxx English Of Nippon

[Mrose]

You also might want to check just how much help you will be getting with finding housing. It can be quite expensive to start-up. You should go ahead an bring a few thousand dallors for deposit and "key money" which you will probably never see again. Some companies will take care of this for you, but some won't.I don't know about the 2 that you mentioned, but it is best to check beforehand.

[fifthchamber]

Hi there..
I would stay away from both. I have spoken to a few people in the NOVA group and none enjoy the work...It's bad hours, bad work shifts and seems to be made harder to work in your school than it may be otherwise...AEON is a similar group...Neither are particularly bad...But they are certainly not the best way to get work as an English teacher in Japan. The first choice I would say is the JET programme...Or you could try on your own...I know a few people who have done so and managed to do it very well...On their own terms.
Basically its about what you are prepared to put up with here...But the schools you mention are not the best way to stay in Japan.
Regards.

[Troll Basher]

(off topic)

fifthchamber, Mrose, renfield_kuroda,

Since you guys are all in Japan are any of you going to the Budo Seminar in Chiba this March?

[shieldcaster]

I second Ben and Ren on both your questions. I brought a hot new DELL laptop when I got here in AUG and it works just fine. You may have trouble if you get one here and then try to take it back with you. I have NEVER heard anything good about either NOVA or AEON. But that is all secondhand so take it for what it's worth.
If you got some time, try for JET, or find a sugar momma/sugar daddy online and go from there.

Good luck. Keep looking around, someone will be able to help you better than me.

L8R.

[meat]

Wow, thanx guys, it's all a bit disappointing I must say. I suppose companies that do all the stuff like Nova and Aeon, and have good working conditions would be too good to be true.
Ok, back to square one. Can anyone point me in the direction of any good websites and the like, or offer any further advice?
Many thanks guys

[shieldcaster]

Sure. Try bigdaikon.com or type in JET on google, etc. You could also try cruising for yahoo groups or even cruising Japanese cities' websites. If you have some sort of time frame, then proceed accordingly. Otherwise, don't make a jump like this without being pretty damn prepared. If you are interested in a particular budo or ryuha, then start with the hombu , etc., and work out from there.

Good luck, and I'll let you know if I hear anything--not likely in my neck of the woods.

[fifthchamber]

Hello again...
On topic I would say that if you DO decide to choose one of those schools you may be dissapointed...If you choose to come to Tokyo and take pot luck you have the Visa issues that will be a problem...I would go with JET if you can..It's the best start you can get here in this profession...And one that gives you a LOT of time for training...Something NOVA and the others may not afford..Worth thinking about..
(Off topic answer)
Hi Robert
I was thinking quite strongly about the Budo seminar thingie...I was asked by a member of my school whether I would like to go or not..I said yes...I still do..Although I don't hold a dan ranking..She assured me that it wasnt that big an issue with us as we don't "really" use Dan/Kyu...But there is that....
I am also getting married sometime in late March and am flying out to Connecticut for the ceremony...So it may have to wait this year..Cash being reserved as it were....I will keep you updated if things change however!
Take care.
Regards.

[Troll Basher]

Originally posted by fifthchamber

(Off topic answer)
Hi Robert
I was thinking quite strongly about the Budo seminar thingie...I was asked by a member of my school whether I would like to go or not..I said yes...I still do..Although I don't hold a dan ranking..She assured me that it wasnt that big an issue with us as we don't "really" use Dan/Kyu...But there is that....
I am also getting married sometime in late March and am flying out to Connecticut for the ceremony...So it may have to wait this year..Cash being reserved as it were....I will keep you updated if things change however!
Take care.
Regards.

Having a dan rank is not important…..in fact they don’t even care. I take my students and some of them are white belts.
The seminar is on March 4th~7th at the Budo Daigaku in Katsuura, Chiba Pref.
It’s 5,000 yen for the whole thing. You have to pay for your train fare and booze, but the room and food are included.

http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29292

[fifthchamber]

Hi again Robert..
5000 yen? Seriously? Wow...Okay...I may think more about this then...I will get in touch with Anna and see what she plans on doing..And go from there..Apart from fares thats ridiculously cheap...I shall see!!
Thanks for the notice!
Regards.

[Troll Basher]

Originally posted by fifthchamber
Hi again Robert..
5000 yen? Seriously? Wow...Okay...I may think more about this then...I will get in touch with Anna and see what she plans on doing..And go from there..Apart from fares thats ridiculously cheap...I shall see!!
Thanks for the notice!
Regards.

There is a link to the seminar info here if you want to check it out.



http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29292

[Mrose]

I was thinking about going, but then realized that it was the same weekend as my Shodan test. So...I guess I will start planning for next year.
On the job issue.If you don't mind being out in the country, there are many small, private jukus (cram schools) that, because they are small and out in the country, sometimes offer pretty good deals to English teachers. Thats how I got here. Spent a year among rice fields, but was forced to learn the language and had my airfair and housing provided by the company. Also try www.gaijipot.com and
www.jobsinjapan.com
they have pretty good listings. Good luck!

[Exorcist_Fist]

As was said here.

I was an Aeon teacher, it sucked. Most companies will completely lie about your contractual obligations. Aeon for example states in their contracts that if you break the contract you must pay damages... This is a violation of Japanese law, but they still do it, or did it 10 years ago.

As for broadband, Yahoo BB or tepco will get you super fast speeds, and as of last time I looked lots of places were still giving a few months free of charge because of the price wars.

Do NOT get Jcom/@Nethome cable broadband. I was the QA manager there. It's not a pretty site.

[Troll Basher]

OCN is also a pretty decent one. Kinda fast…about 100Mbps…and not so expensive….I have yet to have any problems with it.

[Troll Basher]

....

[renfield_kuroda]

The biggest issues are:
1) work visa
2) place to live
Teaching English is a crap job, doesn't matter where/how. But, if they sponsor your visa, and help you w/housing, you can then do whatever you want once you get here.
The work visa is good for at least a year, and once it's in your passport, it's yours. No matter what anyone tells you, even if you quit, your visa is still good until it expires.
JET is the way to go (that's what I did), but good luck getting anywhere near Tokyo. And it's only a once-a-year kind of thing. Great money though, and often free housing.
So, my advice from a dude who's been there/done that? Take whatever crappy job you can get, get a visa and help w/finding housing, come here, and start figuring it out. If your main intention is to train, you'll do whatever crappy job you can to pay the rent. Plenty of my fellow students do just that. If you have any skills whatsoever (IT, etc.) use them to find something better.

And, for the sake of all that is holy and reasonable, as soon as you get here, if not earlier, LEARN JAPANESE. Once you get here, and have nothing more to show for your efforts than a bachelor's from some university and 6 months of English teaching experience, at least your ability to use Japanese will help you get a job. I know SO many people who have been told (and I've interviewed and said to plenty as well) "We'd love to hire you, train you in the skills you need, sponsor your visa, and pay you lots of money...if only you spoke Japanese better than the other guy who applied, who's just like you, but he spent all his free time learning Japanese."

Regards,

r e n

[Alex Dale]

(off-topic)


Man, I love these threads. Definitely helping young novices like me work on what I have to work on before taking the plunge.


(/off-topic)



-Alex Dale

[meat]

Many, many thanks to everyone. You have all been a tremendous help. It seems far more daunting than at first, but you guys have given me some great info and an idea on where to start, cheers

:smilejapa

[shieldcaster]

Peter,

We are all here to help, so if you have any more questions, just let us know. You can get ahold of us here.

That goes for anyone else, with questions, too.

Gambatte.