Working for Interac as an Assistant Language Teacher
After coming to the 2002 World Cup I made up my mind that I was going to live in Japan. A limiting belief I held at that time was that coming to Japan meant that I would have to be an English teacher. The thought never seriously crossed my mind that I could have worked towards a transfer within the company I was with at the time. I had considered becoming a teacher in the UK and thought that ALTing would give me a taste of the teaching lifestyle while achieving my goal of moving to Japan. I wanted to find a way of getting a job and visa so I could start moving towards my ideal lifestyle. And then...
A friend of mine who was also dreaming of Japan because he wanted to come out here to be with his girlfriend he met while traveling (they're now married!) told me about Interac. Towards the end of 2002 we met in London and went to an Interac seminar where we were given a sales pitch about the wonderful world of ALTing. There were about 30 people there and it was suggested that only the most highly qualified of us would make the cut. I was genuinely worried because we met some people who did actually have some English teaching (EFL) experience.
My fear turned out to be somewhat unfounded as when I arrived in Tokyo to attend the Interac training I noticed that at least half the people from the London seminar had also made the Interac grade! If my memory serves me correctly, I spent three nights at the Tokyo Yoyogi Youth Hostel with a bunch of other new recruits as we went through our Interac bootcamp. Overall I found the experience enjoyable. It was great to be in Japan with a bunch of gaijin who were all as excited as me. Some of the training was fun, some boring and some a little bit "crazy". I think as some kind of trust exercise although I wasn't too sure, I was blind folded and had my finger guided into something wet and sticky then told to put it in my mouth...finding out that my finger had been in a jar of Marmite (or Vegemite if the Aussies supplied it).
As I was based in a country town, a friendly although somewhat overworked Interac salesman took me on a three hour local train journey from Tokyo to a town called Susono at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture. When we arrived we went to the city hall and met some people from the Board of Educaiton (BoE) and some of the teachers that I would be working with. I had only been in Japan for a short while but I was endevouring to elevate my bow count to that of a Japanese man my age. This wasn't a conscious decision but I found myself bowing when I met someone new, then when I met them for the second time and the third time, when I entered a room, left a room, before sitting down, while sitting (didn't know about the sitting bow before arriving in Japan), after standing up, when someone did me a favour, when I'd just been told that, no the bank couldn't cash more than $1000 dollars of Amex traveler's cheques per day and almost every other social situation I found myself in. Now-a-days I have my compulsive bow syndrome under control, maybe.
After the meeting at city hall, I was given a young Japanese dude to help me with my needs, or perhaps he was given a foreign dude to educate in all matters Japanese. He spoke less English than I spoke Japanese but he obviously knew exactly what we had to do so we got started renting my apartment, opening my bank account, applying for my gaijin card and finding good places to eat! Interac had sorted out a hanko (or inkan), a Japanese seal used when you complete official documents. This was helpful as it was one less thing to sort out myself and it meant I could get on with applying for things straight away.
And that was that. For the next six weeks I never heard from nor contacted Interac. Personally I thought it was great. They just allowed me to get on with things myself. Each month even though I only went to one junior high school I had to complete time sheets and get them stamped by a teacher to verify that I was turning up for work. Interac lived up to the contract that we agreed upon although I did have to make a few phone calls to them on that matter.
My contract stated my work was from 8.30 to 16.30 however the school wanted me to work 8.00 to 16.45 which was fine with me as it meant I was in line for 45 minutes overtime payment a day. Whenever I had an issue I would always speak to a man called Kevin Salthouse. I believe he was the most senior foreigner who worked for Interac at that time. While he did try to fob me off and suggested I take a 45 minute break sometime during the day, once he realized that I was serious about wanting my rightful overtime payment and wouldn't back down he ensured that everything went through.
A few months into the contract, Interac offered me some evening classes at a nearby Toyota establishment twice a week. So along with my overtime payment this took me over 300,000 yen/month on the months where my standard pay wasn't reduced. This is one of Interac's weak points. While it is in the contract, I didn't understand the significance of it. They talk about months where you don't work a full month being pro-rata-ed. Because they started my contract after the 1st of April and ended it before the 31st of March, both my first month and last month payments were reduced. As well as a big reduction for the summer vacation and a smaller reduction for the winter vacation. Admittedly I did get long holidays, I just didn't have the finances to go crazy. They really only gave me 8 months out of 12 on the full 250,000 yen/month that they say they pay. Getting an extra 20,000 yen/month for my daily overtime at least made me feel a little better.
Something else to be aware of if you are considering Interac is that they pay one month in arrears (e.g. I started at the beginning of April but didn't get my first pay check until the end of May! This did irritate me a little when I started but it has the benefit of the pay still rolling in long after you quit).
I only worked for Interac for one year. The company treated me fairly, eventually. But it did frustrate me having to call them repeatedly to sort things out if they "forgot" to include my overtime payments. I probably would have stayed with them longer if the basic pay was closer to 300,000 yen per month and they didn't shaft you so much with pro rata payments and reduced holiday payments. In particular, the spring vacation is pretty much unpaid leave.
That said, if you are not yet in Japan and are keen to move here and try out a bit of ALTing, coming over with Interac is a good way to begin one's ALT career.
Pros
- Easy to get job (native E speaker, degree, smart, smile)
- Arrange visa to come to Japan
- Help with setting yourself up in Japan, e.g. Inkan, moving in.
- Let you get on with your "job"
- Did what my contract stated
- May offer you additional work
- Native English speaking staff
- Decent holidays
Cons
- Not high wages
- Reduced wage during holiday periods
- First and last month pay is also reduced. (4 months out of 12 are reduced)
22.03.2009. 22:48
Comments
Interesting post. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this. I\'ve applied to Interac myself and have heard a few horror stories. This sems like a balanced account of things.
So, what was the final sum for the year that you received? Was there some sort of completion bonus?
Also, there was no mention of any sort of accomodation subsidy. For low pay of this sort, I would have thought that Interac would at least subsidize the apartment somewhat.
Funny that you mention Susono, as there is a "language services" company in Susono, with nearly 50 foreign employees. They start your pay at just over 250,000 yen BUT add for overtime, qualifications, Japanese ability, etc. That company provides you with your apartment, your own office with computer, and subsidizes the apartment down to 40,000 per month. In the second year of your employment, the apartment becomes free. You also get a raise. So, by 2nd year, you could be making as much as 280,000 (or more) AND a free apartment. No money is ever deducted for holidays. Two friends are currently working there and are now making well over 350,000 a month with free accomodation.
So, there are much better deals out there, and Interac generally has a bad reputation. You have provided a balanced look at Interac, but I think another model needs to be added so that readers understand that Interac is on the low end of companies in Japan.
Bob,
Thanks for the feedback. FIA is pretty good financially although it's a different vibe from ALTing. Definitely agree that there are plenty of better deals out there than Interac. I do have fond memories though as my first year in Japan was pretty special and Interac played their part.
Andrew,
Did you work for FIA? I'm really curious about the program and would like to know more details from an insider's perspective. Do you teach with a Japanese-English teacher? Or are you flying solo? Also, are there any placements within the city? I have worked in a rural town on the island of Shikoku for the past three years so I think it's time to give the urban side of Japan a go.
Any help would be great! Thanks!
Hi Amy,
Thanks for stopping by. I've never worked for FIA myself although I know some people who have. As far as I know it's mostly man-to-man teaching. Some of the placements are in Susono while they send you away for others.
Susono itself may be more built up than where you are now but I certainly wouldn't class it as "urban". Definitely a country vibe here too.
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