How much$$ should I bring, consensus?

[jamurai77]

Hello, I am trying to plan my foray into teaching Engllish in Japan next Spring and in researching different forums and articles I have come up against a conundrum of sorts.

If I am coming without securing a contract in advance, how much money should I come with in reserve? Some say $2000 USD and others say $5000, I even had a couple posts saying $10k or more....can we come together and find some consensus on this?

Let's say that I am fine with living/working in Tokyo/another big city, what is a smart, practical amount to have with me when I arrive(maybe not "with me" for all you literalists out there, perhaps in a bank account somewhere where I have access to it)

Appreciate your assistancehttp://www.japanforum.com/forum/images/smilies/v.gif

P.S. I am a single male. Not interested in living at all extravagantly/partying constantly.

[MMM]

I guess it depends how long you are willing to look. I would think you will need at least $2000 a month, maybe more depending on where you are looking.

Why are you not trying to secure a teaching job before you go? This is actually the way most people do it, and there is a lot more security this way.

[jamurai77]

Well, many say you have less control over where you end up living/working if you secure employment beforehand. Basically, you are in a better position to sniff out the best situation for yourself if you go to Japan. Also, I'm not sure how easy it is to secure a job from the country I am currently residing in. It seems that many companies offering to hire outside of Japan still require an interview with staff in the country you reside in before securing the contract. I have a friend(albeit not a close friend) who is currently teaching English in Japan who when I asked him said "just come here!" I have also read several articles at sites like Transitions Abroad that said similar things.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by jamurai77

Well, many say you have less control over where you end up living/working if you secure employment beforehand. Basically, you are in a better position to sniff out the best situation for yourself if you go to Japan. Also, I'm not sure how easy it is to secure a job from the country I am currently residing in. It seems that many companies offering to hire outside of Japan still require an interview with staff in the country you reside in before securing the contract. I have a friend(albeit not a close friend) who is currently teaching English in Japan who when I asked him said "just come here!" I have also read several articles at sites like Transitions Abroad that said similar things.

What sort of control are you looking for?

Are you a college graduate and native speaker? If so take a number among the hundreds and thousands trying to do the exact same thing in Tokyo and Osaka.

Yes, you are right. They usually don't fly people into Japan for an interview. You would have to interview in your home country. Why would this be a problem?

If spending several thousands of dollars with the risk that you may not find employment is OK, then I say go for it. It is far from guaranteed that you will find employment.

[RickOShay]

Hmmmm.. if you are on your own I can imagine it would be tough... I would imagine $2000 a month to live off of would be safe. Including the cost of your capsule hotel (or I imagine there are cheaper places than that.. never researched it though) Plan on at LEAST $300 month for food since I imagine you will not be cooking, rather you will be living off conbini stuff and eating out. Plus add in all your visits to public baths, internet cafes, prepaid cell phone etc.. I would imagine you may be able to find a part time gig pretty easily but your salary, maybe even just hourly pay, will be pretty low and not enough to support you.

But I think people are getting the $5000 plus number from the fact that once you get a job (if you can find one) you will probably need to have a spare $2000-5000 cash to pay for key money, and a deposit (I would expect this amount especially if you live in Tokyo.. or another big city) not to mention to get your visa status changed I believe you will have to leave Japan for a day (probably fly to Korea). So you will need to have money set aside for that little trip. So.. to bum around Japan and look for a job for a month (ie not traveling very much though) you will probably need about $2000, but once you try to get set up especially in a big city... I would have at least an extra $3000 set aside on top of the $2000, which means $5000 mininum would be my recommendation just to be safe.

[jamurai77]

@MMM
by actually meeting the people who will hire you, you can be a bit more sure that they are trustworthy and that you might enjoy(or at leat not detest) working for/with them. You can visit the proposed workplace, get a feel for the comany/school that you can't get from e-mails. You don't think this is valuable?
As far as the interview goes, I currently live on the island of Trinidad. Most of the companies I've seen basically seem to recruit from US, Canada, or UK. If I have to travel to one of these to interview it's an extra expense and hassle.
the cost is worth it if I am convinced that the extra security is worth it but I have heard alot of contradictory opinions on how tough it is to secure a job in Japan. Many make it sound easy(like my friend and aforementioned articles read) and then others like yourself make it sound as if it's quite difficult. Yes I am college educated and a native English speaker. Also I was planning on e-mailing applications/resumes for a couple of weeks before arriving to set up interviews in advance.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by jamurai77

@MMM
by actually meeting the people who will hire you, you can be a bit more sure that they are trustworthy and that you might enjoy(or at leat not detest) working for/with them. You can visit the proposed workplace, get a feel for the comany/school that you can't get from e-mails. You don't think this is valuable?
As far as the interview goes, I currently live on the island of Trinidad. Most of the companies I've seen basically seem to recruit from US, Canada, or UK. If I have to travel to one of these to interview it's an extra expense and hassle.
the cost is worth it if I am convinced that the extra security is worth it but I have heard alot of contradictory opinions on how tough it is to secure a job in Japan. Many make it sound easy(like my friend and aforementioned articles read) and then others like yourself make it sound as if it's quite difficult. Yes I am college educated and a native English speaker. Also I was planning on e-mailing applications/resumes for a couple of weeks before arriving to set up interviews in advance.

If you interview with a reputable company, there is no need to worry about being scammed. I worked for JET, and they set up housing, pay for the plane ticket, etc.

But you are right, being from Trinidad is not helpful for landing an English speaking job. Are you from Trinidad or just live there?

If you visit Japan for 90 days as a tourist, technically you cannot be hired for work. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but it just makes things tricky.

I am not going to say it is easy or it is hard to find a job this way...if you find one in a week then it wasn't hard, right? But what I am saying is that it is risky, and it not the way the majority of teachers go out there and do it.

[jamurai77]

Duly noted MMM, your input is much appreciated I absolutely hear where you're coming from.
I would love to hear from more people though, as it is a consensus I was looking for. Anyone out there who didn't secure a contract in advance have an opinion?

[Sangetsu]

Moving to Japan to teach is a big step. Work is not all that hard to find for experienced/qualified teachers, but there is less "entry-level" work available than there used to be.

Unless you are coming from a country with a working holiday visa agreement with Japan, you will have to come with a tourist visa, which is only good for 90 days. You would need to bring enough money to last you for that time. You can probably find an temporary apartment for $600-$700 per month, and then you'll need to add food and transportation expenses to that, which would be approximately $15 per day.

Remember that the application/interview/hiring/sponsorship process takes time, if you don't find a job within the first 4 to 6 after you arrive, you may be forced to leave the country and return with a fresh visa.

There are many schools who are willing to hire fresh people, but some of these schools are not the best places to work for. There are plenty of horror stories about schools which fail to pay overtime (generally anything over 29.5 hours per week), and ripping you off out of vacation time (you are entitled to 10 days vacation after your first 6 months), etc. If you are offered an interview at a school, do a Google search and make sure that they are reputable.

And, of course, you must meet the basics required to get a work visa as a teacher, which means you are a native English speaker who has a 4 year college degree, or 3 consecutive and verifiable years of teaching experience.

I didn't come to Japan until I had received a firm offer of employment. Traveling across the US for interviews was expensive and time-consuming, but it was still less expensive than the cost of a round-trip ticket to Japan.

[Tsuwabuki]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

Moving to Japan to teach is a big step. Work is not all that hard to find for experienced/qualified teachers, but there is less "entry-level" work available than there used to be.

Unless you are coming from a country with a working holiday visa agreement with Japan, you will have to come with a tourist visa, which is only good for 90 days. You would need to bring enough money to last you for that time. You can probably find an temporary apartment for $600-$700 per month, and then you'll need to add food and transportation expenses to that, which would be approximately $15 per day.

Remember that the application/interview/hiring/sponsorship process takes time, if you don't find a job within the first 4 to 6 after you arrive, you may be forced to leave the country and return with a fresh visa.

There are many schools who are willing to hire fresh people, but some of these schools are not the best places to work for. There are plenty of horror stories about schools which fail to pay overtime (generally anything over 29.5 hours per week), and ripping you off out of vacation time (you are entitled to 10 days vacation after your first 6 months), etc. If you are offered an interview at a school, do a Google search and make sure that they are reputable.

And, of course, you must meet the basics required to get a work visa as a teacher, which means you are a native English speaker who has a 4 year college degree, or 3 consecutive and verifiable years of teaching experience.

I didn't come to Japan until I had received a firm offer of employment. Traveling across the US for interviews was expensive and time-consuming, but it was still less expensive than the cost of a round-trip ticket to Japan.

+1

I was going to say everything Sangetsu already did. I will add, that even if you do come, job in hand, you still need money until you're paid after your first month! I had a job, and I came with $2000. I was already experienced, which made getting offers much easier, and now that I know more about the system in Japan, I could have probably gotten one anywhere I wanted, but it would have taken more time and more money. I'd say $5000 is probably a good number given three months of tourist visa status. That's just under what you'd be making salary wise, and will allow you to stay in a guest house, get food, travel, and NETWORK (yes, this involves socialising, and likely alcohol/food/etc). If you just bring enough for rent and food, but none for play, you'll actually not only be driving yourself insane with cabin fever, you will also miss many possible opportunities to learn about employment because you're stuck at home trying to send a dozen resumes off to faceless hiring managers all day.