Pros
- Clear and detailed interview/hiring process - Assistance with bank, cell phone, apartment setup (if needed) - Benefits, including health insurance* (more on this later in the cons) - Decent pay compared to other entry-level instructor jobs in Japan - 5 year visa
Cons
There's a reason why the company makes you sign a NDA upon leaving. HR is afraid they cannot hire more people to replace the teachers they've lost. There are very, very shady business practices and a lot of dishonesty about how things are conducted. If you work for this company long enough like I did, you'll meet a lot of people who have both good and bad experiences with KD. But I promise you that 90% if not more have left the company after being so exhausted physically, mentally - anxiety attacks become the norm. Plenty of my comrades (friends met through training) and I have informed head trainers and HR corporate individuals about the kinds of things that take place at each of our schools - but literally NOTHING is being done to improve working conditions. The teacher turnover rate is quite ridiculous. I met people who came here with a passion to teach and eagerness to learn Japanese, some have left after a mere 7 months because of the overcharge on rent through shared housing, overtime requirements, commuting distance from their company apartment to their school, etc. -Make sure to ask HR about the one weird deduction from your pay for "medical supplies" (not to be confused with health insurance). Never got a clear explanation. - Training is brutal. Trainers are vicious. The other teachers at the training schools seem sick and tired of the trainees and will be annoyed if you ask them any questions. Three people from my training batch broke down crying at least once. - This isn’t necessarily a con, but something to keep in mind: this is not a formal teaching position. The first thing we were told at training is this, honest to God: “You are not a teacher. We only let the kids call you teacher because there isn’t anything else that would be appropriate.” You are just a worker for an afterschool/daycare. You carry out lessons in an entertaining fashion. You sing, dance. You are not supposed to try and make the school your own or to be wildly creative. The KD brand sustains itself with the image that each school should be the same, follow the same curriculum, have the same annual events. You are not there to make a difference, unfortunately. Just to make them big guys more money. - Be aware that there is a “chain of command” once you are assigned to a school. If you break this chain of command, you get a ton of sh*t for it (phone call, angry email). - You will be “teaching” for hours (literally) straight w/ limited restroom breaks. Even this is not typical in a public elementary school. - Each school has a limit to the number of kids that can be accepted because of building/classroom size. Watch in horror as your school director continues to add another student… and then another… and then another, even after you’ve reached this “limit”. Soon you’re over capacity and there’s barely enough space. You run out of floor space, chairs, breathing room. But the money is what really matters here. - Twice a year, the whole organization (Yaruki Switch Group) holds a conference where they can give all the higher ups random awards for random things. They pump themselves up and congratulate themselves while you and your co-workers sit there exhausted, dazed, on the brink of sanity. It’s terrifying. - There are so many people in the company who should NOT be working with children. Please please please don't work with kids if you're just going to verbally and physically abuse them!!!