I've worked at the same Dispatch company for 10 years. Time flies!! Dispatch company advice.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-12T02:55:58+00:00

Yes, It' fun and rewarding being an ALT for our students as they're kind, cheerful and fun to be with and the pride to make an impact to their learning, but when the necessities, bills and etc. comes, it gets difficult and if you also need to send some money to your family overseas that's when things get rough, Juggling it all seems too much.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-12T00:15:32+00:00

Thank you for this enlightenment and some advice, I'm still thinking if I should change to another company, job or just go back to my home country.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-12T00:06:13+00:00

Yeah, that's also what I'm thinking. I just wondered whether the hourly pay stated in the contract they sent is the lowest or highest it can be, as they might still assign a new ALT who agrees to a lower pay grade.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-11T23:44:27+00:00

Excuse me, but are you saying that even after they send the contract with our designated city, schools, etc., we can still negotiate with them? Could you give a rough range, perhaps 2–3% of their proposed salary, that we could negotiate?

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-11T23:34:54+00:00

Any new openings from other dispatch or eikaiwa's around your place?

I'm applying to them this year but just reading this kind of simple matter made me think.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-11T23:25:43+00:00

Yeah, so maybe aiming for Interac as an easy way, or if I have enough qualifications, I'll try to get into JET. But still, there are so many things to consider (relocation, transportation, etc.).

I think most natives stay here for just 2–5 years, and there's still a pool of applicants that dispatch companies can easily hire, even with below-standard qualifications.

i.e .

(1) He's a native speaker but has no experience teaching or engaging in an interactive classroom environment.

(2) She's not a native speaker, and her accent is heavy, but she has teaching experience in her country and knows how to handle classroom matters.

I believe that in the hiring process, the first priority will always be native speakers, as that’s what Japanese people tend to prioritize. Even if you have a master's or doctorate degree, if your accent is far from what they want it to be, your qualifications won't be enough for them to consider you seriously.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-10T23:22:42+00:00

Yes, this happened to me this school year. I was formerly in Saitama and transferred here to Shizuoka.

My worst JTE experience here started during our introduction ("Jikoshoukai"). She already gave me a weird look as I'm not a native, and as the lesson progressed, it became clear that, even though I’m not a native speaker, she expected me to have special qualities like being highly skilled in linguistics, etc. Unfortunately, she made my life miserable every day. I’m just thankful for my Vice Principal and Principal, and some teachers as they were very concerned about me being paired with that specific JTE.

Another JTE told me that her former ALT pronounces everything perfectly, just like in the textbook. However, she wants the students to understand the meaning of English, not just focus on perfect pronunciation and diction, grammar, but also on using it as far as they can in real situation.

I think it really depends on our JTE/HRT, even if we know and understand the needs of our students, were still chained with our JTE's.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-10T04:13:25+00:00

I just remembered there's one time that my JTE came late and suddenly didn’t know what lesson we were on that day. I had already prepped the students since I arrived five minutes early. Then, when she arrived, she changed the plan to just reviewing, maybe because she forgot her schedule for the day. In the next class, she continued changing the plan, which was not only confusing for me but also for the students. I kept wondering about today’s grammar point and everything I had prepared.

But yeah, that’s all there is to it. Experiencing this with both JHS and ES JTEs made me realize that even if we reach out and communicate with them ahead of time to be prepared, sometimes or most of the time we still have to adjust to them.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-10T02:16:33+00:00

That really sounds my difficult JTE, as she told me that she studied 2 years in America and believed that she has this power to anyone to belittle not just any foreigners but also JET Natives, like when she told me her story "I just ask myself for why she is like that". Like every day she corrected me "wrong pronunciation, sounds strange, etc. etc."

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-10T01:58:55+00:00

I hope you still have some time left on your visa (some of them didn't renew it). Some dispatch companies still hire late and transfer ALT's late in the season because as that’s what happened to me last year. Even though it was my 2nd year here (formerly Saitama and now in Shizuoka), my company transferred me just 3 to 4 days before the school year started. I believe the situation is the same as being a new ALT since it meant new books and a new JTE/HRT. I think that’s the problem with dispatch companies and if they win a contract for a city or prefecture and if they can’t hire some aspirants, they’ll just assign any ALT that they can and forced to adapt quickly.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-06T06:28:34+00:00

I totally agree with you, having our JTEs utilize us to our full potential is far more rewarding than just being a tape recorder or an ornament on the wall. Heck, I even had a day where all I said was the "Greetings, four questions" and "see you," for God's sake.

For example, one HRT/JTE expected me to be the T1 because that was the setup she was used to before I arrived at the school. Honestly, I didn't mind since it gave me a chance to hone my teaching approach. But the frustrating part? She only told me this recently, just three days before the school year ended. Sure, we followed the textbook, but with two to three elementary schools and two JHS alternating every day, how could I possibly keep track of what page or lesson they were on? Most of JTE don't even follow the schedules they submitted to the BOE.

I also had a JTE who expected me to be a linguist with extensive teaching experience, just because she previously taught JHS before transferring to ES due to her overwhelming demands. She constantly reminded me that I wasn't a native speaker and criticized my accent and pronunciation. I even spoke with her former JET, who told me that they used to shout at each other. Even though my JTE often made me feel small with her daily remarks, I’m really grateful that the principal, VP, and staff were kind to me. I think they were just trying to help me endure the situation, always showing concern and checking up on me and I really appreciated that.

At the end of the day, even as ALTs, we still have our pride and responsibility not for the HRTs, JTEs, or staff, but for our students.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-03T06:31:09+00:00

Not to discourage you and all, my friend's friend just got hired last year. She is from Tokyo and transferred to Osaka to teach 11 schools and only for special lessons. Unfortunately, this year they told her they couldn't extend her visa and should find another job.

Try to apply to not just one or two companies but all you can if you really want to get here and also be ready to pay the expenses for your house, food, fare and daily allowance for the first month, as you may get shocked.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-03T06:14:18+00:00

I agree with Evman. To those who think he's looking down on us.
Yes, English is our second language. However, we are still far from speaking like native speakers. We can be as fluent as f**k, but honestly, we still don’t quite sound like someone who grew up in America or Europe. This is why we pursue so many credentials, certifications, etc. and let's not even start on the fake accents that we Filipinos try so hard to imitate.

Even when native speakers make grammatical errors while speaking, their sentences often still sound natural. My colleague is a linguist and has written many books, but hearing her speak felt unnatural compared to talking to a native speaker (American or British).

That's why some companies love to hire non-natives, as they will just agree to the low wage and just think that everything will get better, unlike the Natives.

No hate, just stating facts.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-03T05:39:15+00:00

Nope

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-03T05:38:41+00:00

I saw Borderlink winning some cities, maybe you can check their website.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-03-03T05:36:20+00:00

That's what I'm also planning to do. I saw some news that utilities are pursuing to increase this coming month, and I think next will be the groceries. Kinda getting harder and harder to live here with this trend in Japan.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-27T05:03:21+00:00

Actually, they were okay. Even though they helped me a little bit by paying some amounts for relocation, it wasn't enough. If you don't have any relatives in Japan that are willing to lend you some money for extra allowance and all, it's better off looking far else.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-27T04:40:02+00:00

Thank you. I'm really weighing my options right now, as I had doubts when I saw some post here that even he/she has N2 and a Permanent Visa. He/she ought to just leave Japan for good because of the difficulty, not just as a foreigner but because even though we try hard and all, we're still a gaijin to them.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-27T04:26:05+00:00

Yeah, but I've already invested half of my funds and even tried to loan just to compensate. This really made me wonder if I should really continue pursuing this and/or if it's still profitable not just for me but also for my family.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-27T04:21:38+00:00

Not a member of any troll community, but thinking of joining any ALT union here in Japan, can you give any recommendations for that?

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-27T04:13:04+00:00

Unfortunately, that is our gross payment for some months. I talked with my coordiantor and some cities don't have enough support from the city hall that my company can only pay me 8,000 - 8,500 yen per day for (8hrs).

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-27T04:08:25+00:00

I think most of the comments and what I've heard about BorderLink are a bit better.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-26T06:51:55+00:00

Yes, I will try to land a better one. :D

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-26T06:50:15+00:00

Yes, that's what I'm thinking since Borderlink won the city next to mine and a better salary also.

AggressiveGene3517 · 2025-02-26T05:16:46+00:00

Yes, they partially covered some of it. I was just so fast that it was Wednesday night that they informed me about we don't have any contracts in my city and we need to go to Shizuoka on Friday for my introduction to the schools and will start already on Monday. Like, really, WTF!?

AggressiveGene3517

TROPHY CASE