being a student vs teacher in japan

[moochachip]

have received my associates degree in Baking & Patisserie and am working towards getting my bachelor's in Visual Arts. The college I am going to offers a semester to learn to Japan.. But I also know of this program that allows one to teach in Japan after you are done with college. I have visited Japan once and fell in love. I would like to go again

Comments

[sabishii_kirito]

I was a student for a year and am in my first year as a teacher here. Being a student was more fun because I had tons of free time (three day weekends, easy classes, almost no homework, classes were only 3-4 hours total each day, most classes only met once a week, for language classes I was able to choose from several days/times that I wanted to go to), and it was a lot easier to meet people that were my age. It was also nice because my school was very international, so I was able to meet people from dozens of countries.

Working is alright, and while I get paid a lot more, I have much less time (I leave for work by 7:30 and don't get back until 5 most days), vacations suck because I have to request days off (only 20 a year) even when students aren't at school, etc. I'm still enjoying myself, and I'm glad that I have such an easy first job, but I do miss a lot of the freedom I had during study abroad. That said, I think I actually study more now than I did then... Rather than going by a curriculum, I get to focus on what I have trouble with and what I like, which is really nice.

Overall I'd say you should do study abroad. It's a once in a lifetime chance, and you can always apply to work here after you get done with school. I can only assume it would be harder to graduate, get a job here, and then decide you want to study here for a year... Not to mention that classes at Japanese universities are SO much easier than American classes (assuming you're from America?). There are plenty of job opportunities here if you take the initiative, but doing a study abroad program would probably be the cheapest way for you to get over here to study since there are tons of scholarships (look into JASSO!--150000 yen starting stipend and 80000 yen a month for a year) that can really help you take advantage of your stay. Plus, a lot of students do eikaiwa stuff, so you can try out working without having a year long contract that you may not like.

Sorry that this is kind of all over the place. Bad coffee buzz and my brain is skipping around all over the place. You'll love it regardless of which choice you make (as long as you take advantage of it), so do whichever you think sounds more interesting :)

[moochachip]

Wow. That's a pretty big difference, work wise between being a student and being a teacher.

Thanks for the information on scholarships. I'll have to check into it.

[love_monster]

Sorry just had to pop in. You are so lucky...
I would love to finish at 5.
Working for an Eikaiwa is much worse.
I get home around 10pm at night. I work starting from 12 but really 11:30. I don't get to be out and about when the rest of the town is. I get 10 days off a year plus national holidays (which are usually on a Monday so I get screwed out of those). Also the company can decline your holidays and you're not allowed more than two consecutive days (example two tuesdays) even if you combine your holidays with national holidays.