Quote:
Originally Posted by Stacmon
Great thanks,
What I meant by "favourable" was more like "generous." I heard from someone that one person that participated in the program got a far higher salary (he was apparently placed in a private school) which surprised me because I thought that the 3.6 million Yen salary was standardized for all JET participants.
The reason I'm wondering about preferences is because I'm not sure how many people would actually choose Hokkaido. I can't imagine that as many people are interested in going somewhere there as Tokyo, Kyoto, etc. so if I select it, I may be much more likely to be placed there than others.
By the way, did you have any TEFL/formal ESL training before you went?
And lastly, in your experience, how likely is it for someone's contract to be renewed if they want it to be and did a decent job.
Thanks for the great and valuable insights so far  ! |
More people select Hokkaido than you would think. It's the people that choose Aomori, Saga, Ehime, Gifu and places like that who get thier first choices.
I had no formal training (or interest, for that sake) in English teaching when I applied.
Once you get there, the boss is the Ministry of Education of your prefecture. I have heard of RARE cases of salary bonuses. In fact, two weeks ago the mayor of a certain small town in Hokkaido came to its sister-city near where I live. They brought along a local JET as an assistant. This would probably be unheard of in most places, but, like I said, every situation is different. The salary SHOULD be the same across the board, so those cases are the rare exception.
In my situation I taught at a high school 4 days a week, at a local factory one hour a week, and at a night school one night a week. I probably was in the classroom 2-3 hours a day. Some people I knew did 5 classes a day. Some did as little as 8 classes a week. It just depends.
As long as you don't do anything indecent, you will get rehired for subsequent years (up to three total). I actually didn't get along with the vice-pricipal very well (no one did), but it was easier to keep me on then deal with the training and hassle of getting someone new. I have never heard of a JET who didn't date another teacher (or students!) not get rehired, though I am sure it has happened somewhere. What you can't do easily is transfer.
I majored in Japanese in college, but a lot of people didn't who go. Most don't speak any Japanese. I would learn as much as I could before you plan on going. There were no organized Japanese language classes offered to me, but I didn't need it, so I didn't look for them.