Change can be a scary thing at times. Other times it can be
en extremely good thing. Sometimes change is a very necessary thing.
I have been through many changes so far this year. Some have
been wonderful; the birth of my second child; some have not been o wonderful.
Employment-wise, this has been a rocky year for me. I have been
in Japan, living and working as an international school teacher since 2008. Earlier
this year I completed my final contract with the only employer I knew since coming
to Japan. They wanted me to stay on and continue working there, but I felt it
was time for a change. I needed a change and wanted to break away from the secure
and somewhat predictable existence that had become my work life there.
I searched for jobs online and realized a few things (things
I had actually realized long before). The two things I learned:
1. There are not so many jobs for teachers in Japan.
2. The pay schools offer teachers really sucks!
The standard par for a language school teacher or international
kindergarten teacher in Japan is only about 250,000Yen per month. With current
exchange rates, that adds up to about $31,000 per year. By Canadian standards,
with a family my size living in a city as large as the one I do, that’s about
$6000.00 below the poverty line according to Statistic’s Canada. Some teaching
jobs in Japan pay even less than that. If I were teaching in Canada right now (with
my years experience), I’d be making more than double that salary.
I was able to find a new job quickly (benefit of having a teaching
credential) and was promised a lot. The pay was to be decent and there were to
be other perks. Once I began working at my new company I quickly realized that
many of the things promised to me during the interview and contract signing process
were fabrications. I also quickly learned that things weren’t going to change for
me.
I suppose I really only had two options. I could do things the
Japanese way and just suck it up and complete my year contract or I could doing
something bolder and make a change. I decided to do the latter. There’s no point
in putting your blood, sweat and tears into a job when you’re not receiving the
things promised; even more so, when you have a family to support.
My wife and I searched for another opportunity. I focused on
jobs in Canada (really hard to get one when you are not in Canada I discovered)
and she looked for ones in Japan. She came across what looked to be a good opportunity
for me.
I pursued it and…SUCCESS!
I found a new job and then gave my notice at the company that
had “promised” me so much.
Today is my last day of work at my old company and tomorrow I
start a new and exciting challenge. Things will be very different. I will have
more pay, shorter working hours, less responsibility and more time to work on
improving my Japanese.
Today is a good day.
Tomorrow will be an even better day I think.
Someday, when I am no longer living in Japan, I will tell
you about this in more detail.
Follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev
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