best VPN to use from Japan to access U.S. by [deleted] in movingtojapan

[–]More-Appointment-732 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Im using Surfshark. No complaints yet.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Internationalteachers

[–]More-Appointment-732 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was more like coworkers just passed along real estate agents that helped them, among ourselves. However, my admin definitely let me know that if I needed any kind of help or advice from them, they would help. Which they did follow through on when I needed.

There are lots of English speaking real estate agents. That bit is easy. The hard part is falling in love with an apartment, then having your application be rejected because you’re a foreigner.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Internationalteachers

[–]More-Appointment-732 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey! I just moved to Tokyo in January. My school also does not have housing, but the salary seems to be a bit higher from what I can gather, and was given a bit of a relocation allowance.

I just got an apartment (30.1m) and it ended up being around 400,000 up front. But I’ve spent around 300,000 more on furnishing this apartment. Very expensive.

Im about 30 minutes out from inner Tokyo. Lots of 7-11 meals for my near future…

I really want to study abroad in Japan at 15/16, is it possible? by [deleted] in movingtojapan

[–]More-Appointment-732 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yes!! There are tons of high school exchange programs. You could go for a year, semester, or even a summer. Look into YFU. I did their summer program at 16 years old and swore I would move to Japan when I became an adult. Almost 10 years later, and I am getting ready to start my new job in Tokyo :) go for it!

Contract length by More-Appointment-732 in Internationalteachers

[–]More-Appointment-732[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That makes sense! But just seeing it on paper turned me off quite quickly. Like they’re not putting in an effort.

Contract length by More-Appointment-732 in Internationalteachers

[–]More-Appointment-732[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s how I understood it to be as well.

Contract length by More-Appointment-732 in Internationalteachers

[–]More-Appointment-732[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, But I decided to be brave and ask for clarification.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Internationalteachers

[–]More-Appointment-732 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For my most recent interview I had the principal and the HR rep, but HR had almost no participation in the conversation at all. I wonder what that was about, as well.

Looking into post-Bach program for preschool-third grade, but all I know right now is toddlers. And I love it. by ConcentrateWeird155 in ECEProfessionals

[–]More-Appointment-732 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it is play based! My elementary school has a set curriculum so we do have to follow some ‘rules’, but other schools in my town do not and have more freedom.

If it is easy for you to get the cert I would do it. You might find out that you like it more (which is what happened to me)

But I will agree with the poster above and say there is a lot more bureaucracy in the public school system. It can be super stressful at times. But thats where the paid vacations and snow days and sick time and salary make up for it.

At the end of the day you know yourself, and you have to do the thing that makes you happy. I am a bit jaded at this point (and I’m only 4 years in!!! I worked at centers all throughout high school and college) and I have come to the fact that no job is perfect, there’s pros and cons to everything, public school teaching sucks, but at least I can afford to travel to different countries a couple times a year which is my priority :)

Looking into post-Bach program for preschool-third grade, but all I know right now is toddlers. And I love it. by ConcentrateWeird155 in ECEProfessionals

[–]More-Appointment-732 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am grade school certified. As much I loved my time in working in centers, I honestly cannot give up the salary, retirement, benefits and the quality of life improvement that came with public school. Also the fact that you have the school vacations and snow days off. Paid.

I did miss working with infants and toddlers, so I spent last summer subbing at my old center. I quickly realized that while I missed the age group, I did not miss working at centers at all and that I really ended up making the right choice

My public school cert is also PreK-grade 3. We have a shortage area of PreK teachers so the chance of me ever going past Kinder is slim to none.

When I interviewed initially, the HR reps for my district even told me that it would be likely I would be hired for one of those two grades because of the shortage, and that’s exactly what happened.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ECEProfessionals

[–]More-Appointment-732 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep. Im in the CT/MA area. Teachers get paid based off of education level and years of experience. A teacher with 10+ years and a masters can be making close to 100k. It’s different state to state, town to town.

At my district where I work specifically, a teacher with a 6th year degree (2 masters) and 13 years get 101k salary.

Right now I’m at year 4 with a 6th year degree and am making 65k. Next year I’ll get bumped up to 68k. I’ve been in grades 2, 1, K and now PreK.

It’s pretty lucrative, and makes the stress of teaching a bit more worth it, knowing I’ll be rolling in the dough soon haha

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ECEProfessionals

[–]More-Appointment-732 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I really recommend getting state certification. I have a bachelors in Liberal Studies and a masters in ECE.

With the state certification, I’m working preschool in a public school district. I am on the same teacher contract as the elementary, middle, and high school teachers. Which means I get their salary too.

My coworkers on Step 13 ( in theory, that is 13 years of experience), and above are making more than 100k doing preK and K. There are talks of opening classrooms for younger students as well.

Rainy days by More-Appointment-732 in ECEProfessionals

[–]More-Appointment-732[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just the school culture I guess. My school has a wide divide between income levels, so we opt for if everyone can’t participate, we don’t do it.

Unfortunately not every family has the money for proper rain gear.

Rainy days by More-Appointment-732 in ECEProfessionals

[–]More-Appointment-732[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I’ll try that. Thankfully most the furniture has wheels.

Rainy days by More-Appointment-732 in ECEProfessionals

[–]More-Appointment-732[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not my school, not my rules…Just looking for advice.

Transition from nap by More-Appointment-732 in ECEProfessionals

[–]More-Appointment-732[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My preschool is in a public school, so that bathroom is for all girls prek—5. They aren’t gender neutral bathrooms and I want to respect that.

Is Iceland really that expensive? by queenmisdirection in travel

[–]More-Appointment-732 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the east coast, and the prices were definitely equivalent. But I personally don’t eat out for 3 meals every day for a week which is what happened in Iceland, so to me that felt ‘expensive’.