Anyone working for Nova Group?
 

Hello all,
Just wondering if anyone else on here was currently or has in the past worked for Nova Group? I'm moving to Japan in September to begin working there. I'm in the process of getting my visa right now, and I'll know what city I'll end up in in the next 3-4 days, so I'm getting really excited. :ywave:

Ya, I've heard a lot of the good and bad about Nova. They have recently ran into trouble with the Japanese government also because of their refund policies for customers. Nova works for me because it is the easiest way to get into Japan with a work visa and get things up and running. I'm planning on doing some privates on the side as well. But, as far as working conditions go, I'm really not too worried truthfully.

You should be fine. Think about it this way, they employ thousands of teachers throughout Japan and out of those only around ten to twenty have trouble and complain about them. Those ten to twenty get a lot of attention simply because the other thousand or more have no trouble and simply don't feel the need to post their experiences on the web for everyone to see. Of the reported "problems" I have read about, most of them sound as though they were the result of the teacher being unprofessional and not the company being unfair.

After you begin working for Nova, please stay on JF and post in the Teaching in the JP 2.0. A lot of people have questions about eikaiwa teaching and it would be great to have someone with first hand experience to answer them.

Thanks for your reply. I just found your Teacing in JP 2.0 - great resource, thanks for that. I'll be posting more about my situation when I find out what city I'll be in.

I thought about working for NOVA but I know that they do NOT pay much ...I work for Dallas Schools and I easily get paid at least $1000 more than MOVA pays..Good luck with teaching..I have been teaching for 15.5 years and only have 4.5 to go to get my 20 years and then I will get the heck out..Teaching is not what it used to be when I got my certification in 1988..After that,,who knows..But I will go Japan in 3 weeks to visit..I can afford it...:cool:

The largest reason I ended up working for Nova is because they were at a career fair at the University of Oregon. Truthfully, I knew almost nothing about teaching English in Japan before I applied. After researching it more, I think I could have ended up working for a better company. But, the truth is, I am going into this experience for the cultural experience instead of the money. I'm pretty sure I'll have enough money to live comfortably, although I know I will not have a lot of the perks I have in my home country. Thanks for your opinion though; I really enjoy hearing of other people's experiences, especially those who have been there teaching for 15+ years.

That may be why you get paid so much more. From Nova's point of view, why bother hiring a more experienced teacher when they have a program already set in stone. They can save a lot by hiring new people every year instead of retaining teachers for a long time. Most people that do stay on move into management.

I have some friends I met drinking one night who work for Nova and they are really enjoying themselves...

I think drinking is the operative word when it comes to nova teachers lol.

I'd be especially wary of Nova now, inside sources say they're gonna go bust after that over company backed out of buying some of the company since the refund thing.

If they go bust, they go bust. The good thing is I'll have a work visa. Also, they've been rumored to be "going bust" many, many times in the last 15 years. They haven't gone bust yet. In actuality, the Japense government would probably work hard to make sure Nova doesn't go under.