Teaching ESL in the US

[memcpy]

Japan is a nice country but it also killed me when some months I had to pay National health insurance (18,000 yen) (every month)
State Tax ( 10,000 yen) (pay twice per year)
Insurance ( 1,000 yen) (every month)
National pension (18,000 yen) (every month)
cell (3,000 - 7,000 yen)

Some months killed me having to pay around 70,000 yen (about $681 in todays market) mostly to the Japanese government.
And some other miscellaneous costs starts adding up.

If the company hires you I wouldn't take anything under 230,000 yen a month contract. Anything less, then you might have to work + teach private lessons outside of work.

Long term , being an English teacher in Japan is kind of a dead-end job, unless you shoot for the colleges, private schools, and companies that aren't affiliated with dispatch companies. At the same time, its rewarding and I was happy with the arrangement I had.

ALSO word has it that in 2020, the Japanese government Ministry of Education? I think, is going to change the way English is taught in Japan, not sure what they are going to do but I suspect that dispatch companies are going to start squeezing more pennies out of their ALT's and cash out before it happens.

 

[LeightonBlackstock]

MaleDefined, that's bloody awesome

Well done!

 

[___]

Yeah, I'm a certified teacher in the US. I taught for a number of years in The States before moving abroad. Generally speaking to even obtain a work permit overseas you need to have two years in a US classroom and be fully licensed, if you plan on teaching at a reputable school.

Within the field of international teaching there are generally three or four tiers. Most international teachers will start in the lower rungs and work their way up. It's possible to skip over some or many of the rungs depending on how well you have your shit together and the contacts you've made prior.

I jumped right into a top tier school. One of the top 15-20 international schools in the world actually, with potential to grow. See my post above.

At this point, you're dealing with schools with impressive credentials and the freedom to work outside of a structured system of high stakes education, while still being fully accredited stateside. For example, my school is affiliated with California and accredited by WASC. It gives you the freedom to do basically whatever you deem necessary to help children without adhering to state budgets or programs. If I walked into my principal and said I need XYZ for a program I want to start, I'd probably get funding beyond what I needed. It's really sounds too good to be true, and it is.

Yes, I'm sure there will be rough days and it's not easy to up and go half way around the world, but I'm at the point where I can go anywhere in the world knowing I'll land a job at the top of the heap.

Props.

Glad to see a fellow teaching vet do well. Look forward to you getting the website/blog off the ground.

 

[Flyjin]

Japan is a nice country but it also killed me when some months I had to pay National health insurance (18,000 yen) (every month)
State Tax ( 10,000 yen) (pay twice per year)
Insurance ( 1,000 yen) (every month)
National pension (18,000 yen) (every month)
cell (3,000 - 7,000 yen)

Some months killed me having to pay around 70,000 yen (about $681 in todays market) mostly to the Japanese government.
And some other miscellaneous costs starts adding up.

If the company hires you I wouldn't take anything under 230,000 yen a month contract. Anything less, then you might have to work + teach private lessons outside of work.

Long term , being an English teacher in Japan is kind of a dead-end job, unless you shoot for the colleges, private schools, and companies that aren't affiliated with dispatch companies. At the same time, its rewarding and I was happy with the arrangement I had.

ALSO word has it that in 2020, the Japanese government Ministry of Education? I think, is going to change the way English is taught in Japan, not sure what they are going to do but I suspect that dispatch companies are going to start squeezing more pennies out of their ALT's and cash out before it happens.

This is a great point, very accurate as far as taxes you have to pay in Japan. It adds up.

memcpy what kind of tax returns did you get? I got roughly Y30000 and Y60000 back my first two years of filing taxes, but didn't understand how they calculated it exactly.