Nova, Geos and JET

I've already started reapplying for jobs in Japan. I haven't made up my mind to return yet, but I want to at least know what my options are.

I wrote the following email to NOVA's Boston office on July 24th:

Dear Boston Recruiting Staff,

My name is Benjamin Egan and I taught in Japan with Nova for a year. I applied through the Boston office in July of 2005 and was accepted for the February start date, 2006. I finished my contract in late January of 2007 and traveled around Asia afterwards. Now that I've completed my traveling, I am interested in returning to Japan. I was wondering if an additional contract is something I could pursue with Nova and if so, when would be the next available start date? I appreciated the opportunity to teach in Japan and look forward to a good working relationship with Nova in the future.

Thank you very much,

Benjamin Egan

They sent me this reply:

Benjamin,

If you would like to be considered for re-employment, please submit the online application. Once we receive this we will forward it to our personnel office in Japan for approval. Their decision will be based on your past employment record. Thank you.

Regards,

The Recruiting Team
Nova Group Boston
535 Boylston St, Ste 204
Boston, MA 02116
617-437-7977 or 800-551-6682

So I did. I filled out their stupid online application like they've never heard of me and I'm waiting to hear back from someone. If the only way for me to return to Japan is through NOVA, that's fine. I'm not crazy about working for them again, but I could quit as soon as I land (after getting my Visa and cheap flight naturally) and find another job. I don't think it would be hard with a year's experience under my belt.

I filled out Geos' online application on the 26th. Geos, as far as I can tell, is a NOVA clone.

Big disappointment in the past few days came from JET. This is a government program that puts native speakers in classrooms to teach alongside certified Japanese instructors. It's the preferred way to teach in Japan (for reasons I'll address in a moment) and it looks like it might not be an option for me. If I return to Japan, I want to do it relatively quickly and not next spring like the JET program requires for American applicants. They only do one hiring period per year and applications are filled out in September, interviews are conducted in February, and new teachers are informed in April. I'm not willing to wait that long. I emailed someone at the Japanese consulate in Boston and they said that its possible to apply to the JET program while living in Japan, but interviews are only conducted on US soil. Which means it'll cost me $800 to fly to Los Angeles just for the interview if I leave before next spring. I emailed the Boston consulate yesterday and asked if it was possible to do the interview anywhere closer, and the prompt reply I got suggested flying to Guam. I took a quick look online today and found flights from Osaka to Guam for about $560 next February. At least there are options.

JET is far superior to NOVA for a number of reasons. According to this website, JET instructors get paid 3,600,000 yen a year. Working for NOVA I made about 2,760,000 yen a year. That's roughly a 30% pay increase from NOVA to JET. According to my friend Bruce, you don't have to pay for health insurance at JET, but I definitely had to through NOVA. Lastly and most importantly, JET employees work about 200 days each year, whereas NOVA employees work about 250. That includes all vacation time, national holidays, etc;

The only thing going for NOVA is that if I get rehired, I can leave for Japan by October. I'd have to wait at least until April through JET.