Suddenly, Japan?!

I graduated from Seton Hall University in 2013 with a BA in Art History. For the past two years, I’ve worked multiple part-time jobs all while applying for full-time positions in my field. The closest I’ve gotten is one of my two current jobs: being an administrative assistant in a small, non-profit history museum between 10-15 hours per week. My other job right now is retail.

Now, I’ve been applying for more and more teaching English abroad positions and the number of interviews I’ve been asked to do is astounding. Why doesn’t anyone want to interview me in the field I have a degree in? *sigh*

Anyway. In addition to EPIK, I am being asked to interview with AEON, Amity, and ECC. I already knew about AEON and Amity when I started this blog. However, I just got the e-mail from ECC, and this is the interview that will make the biggest difference on my final decision (if I’m offered a position, that is).

In one of my older posts (click here), I talked about wanting to be in Japan, but feeing like South Korea would be the best option, financially. Now, I’m rethinking Japan because it seems a little more tangible.

ECC only hires around Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. I would like to be in Nagoya or Osaka. Monthly salary is good (252,000 yen/month) and the work week is only 29.5 hours, which would leave lots of time for conducting private lessons to make some extra cash. Additionally, ECC offers 7 weeks paid vacation, which is more than any other program I’ve seen. Traveling is super high on my list if I teach abroad, so this is a sweet deal. Teachers do have to pay for rent, but ECC helps find you an apartment and you are not responsible for key money or deposit money.

Oh goodness. The struggle is so real.

Has anyone worked with ECC before? Any feedback to add to my pro/con list would be greatly appreciated!

120 hours. And then some.

I have officially completed the first 120 hours of my TEFL certificate! When I signed up, I was also allowed to pick a supplemental course to take (I chose one-on-one teaching) which I have completed as well. Yay!

This is super exciting and I’ve already gotten the PDF version of my certificate. The next step is taking the remaining 20 hours of my program at a two day in-classroom course in New York City.

I can’t believe that this is becoming a real thing right now.

Also, my application for EPIK has been officially submitted so now I’m waiting to see if I get an interview.

Fingers crossed!

Document Prep for EPIK (A Guide)

So, I didn’t realize how rigorous it would be to prepare all of my documents for EPIK.

But here’s a list of everything I need to submit and hopefully this will be helpful for anyone else applying:

1. Hard copy of application

– Not a problem. Printed it out, signed, check.

2. Photocopy of BA diploma (apostilled)

– First of all, I had never heard of the word “apostilled” in my life. Is it just me? After doing a bit of research, I figured it was like a notary. So I went to the bank. The guy I spoke to there looked at me like I had rocks in my head and proceeded to call over a co-worker. She had never heard of it either.

He then gave me the number of the county clerk. I called and the county clerk repeated the word back to me several times before transferring me. Whoever I spoke to on the other end told me I had to get in touch with the NJ Department of the Treasury located in Trenton. Oh yeah, and it also costs $25/document to get “apostilled” and several weeks to send it back to me. Yippee.

3. National level criminal background check (apostilled)

– Your EPIK recruiter will send you a list of acceptable background check companies through the FBI. They cost between $45 and $50 to get done and delivery times vary. Look at them all and decide what’s best for you. In addition to getting this thing “apostilled,” most require you to get two sets of fingerprints. You can get them at you local police department and they should only cost about $3/set.

4. 2 sets of SEALED university transcripts

– Check with your college or university. Most charge a small fee.

5. Photocopy of TEFL certificate

– Check with your accrediting TEFL program.

6. 2 passport-sized photos

– You can usually get these done at the Post Office or a local drug store. I got my photos done at Walmart for less than $8.

7. Photocopy of passport info page

If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try to help you to the best of my ability! It can be a little overwhelming, but that’s totally ok.