Job hunting. Ear to the ground.

[job]

I'd first finish the round of interviews before taking stock on your options. When you do settle down to choose, I'd consider the things that made your last job stressful or unbearable for you, and think what would suit you better. Certainly, there are no perfect situations (or they are rare) and it might take some adjusting into a new position, but those should be changes you are willing to embrace, at least that is how I reason them.

Personally, commute, the personalities of the supervisors, the company/workplace, schedule (amount of work and days off) and pay/benefits are what I would think of. I like a certain amount of stability, too. Of course, I don't have a family. While it is flattering you take our thoughts as valuable, make sure to discuss this most with your wife. Of course, that might be obvious, but I'm just saying just make sure she and your family feels part of your considerations.

Good work, so far, and Good luck with wrapping up this change.

[Konrad]

I'd first finish the round of interviews before taking stock on your options. When you do settle down to choose, I'd consider the things that made your last job stressful or unbearable for you, and think what would suit you better. Certainly, there are no perfect situations (or they are rare) and it might take some adjusting into a new position, but those should be changes you are willing to embrace, at least that is how I reason them.
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Beggars can't be choosers. But in the happy event that you can choose, ALT IMO. A 3 year contract with pension/insurance contributions? Where do I sign up? If you are thinking about doing Masters/nose to the grindstone 勉強 ALTing will leave you with more time and energy at the end (during) the day than if you are running around a kindergarten or after a full afternoon/evening of, "How was your day?" droning in an eikaiwa.

[Spevna]

Beggars can't be choosers. But in the happy event that you can choose, ALT IMO. A 3 year contract with pension/insurance contributions? Where do I sign up? If you are thinking about doing Masters/nose to the grindstone 勉強 ALTing will leave you with more time and energy at the end (during) the day than if you are running around a kindergarten or after a full afternoon/evening of, "How was your day?" droning in an eikaiwa.

I agree.

I think that if you really are serious about studying, then do whatever will afford you the time to do it. Even if it paid a little less, I would go with the one that allowed me to study IF I was serious about studying. A masters is an investment in your job future and is worth living frugally for however long it takes to get it done

Personally, I hate sitting down with a text book and cramming so I would go with the one that would let me support my family in the best way possible.

[The Other Dave]

I see people talking about it, so I'll chime in about the Master's - mine is, hands down, the single best investment I have ever made. It is a game changer in terms of job options and earning power. There are a lot of very good 100% correspondence MAs around as well. Birmingham is very well-regarded.

[Spevna]

I see people talking about it, so I'll chime in about the Master's - mine is, hands down, the single best investment I have ever made. It is a game changer in terms of job options and earning power. There are a lot of very good 100% correspondence MAs around as well. Birmingham is very well-regarded.

I'm assuming it wasn't exactly a walk in the park though. How many hours were you putting in during an average week?

I agree with you that it is a very sound investment, but I have also heard that they can be quite tough too.

[ashmie]

Thanks Gentlemen. Luckliy both the alt job and the international kindergarten finish around 5 or 6 each day so there is the evening for family stuff and/or study. I'm going to do this. International kindergarten will be busy but that's what I'm craving right now. A bit more responsibility with work. The level of the students in that place was amazing and they were only 2 and 4 years old. All subjects are studied in English so it's kind of a day care school and I can see actual evidence of learning going on. It might be cheesy but I do care about doing a good job with teaching and it's not just a job or money for me. I want the kids to progress with their learning.
MA course in the evenings long distance. Probably have to visit the UK a few times to get it done. I have a Media Communications degree and Performace Art so this will tie in well with education. I'd like to do a PHD eventually. I know teachers who have landed jobs in Universities and been sponsered with their PHD. So the aim is to get paid more for doing less in the long term. Put in the graft now I reckon as it will be worth it later. And if it doesn't work out as planned there was no harm in trying.
I'm going to aim for a masters, a driving license and some form of Japanese language proficiency test in the next 3 to 5 years. This boot up the ass losing my job may well be the best thing to have happened.
If I put as much time and effort into family and work as I did into gaming and podcasting I'd do well I reckon.
Back of the net, smell my cheese!
Seriously though thanks for all the support and advice on this. Consider me a happy camper.
Here's to leveling up.

[me_in_japan]

I'm quite curious myself as to the benefits of having a masters. Further qualification isn't something I'd ever really thought about before, with the exception of a uni course I'm contractually obliged to take in a year or so (I need to get a Japanese teacher's licence. This necessitates taking some credits at uni, starting 2014. Most classes in English, one or two in Japanese. This worries me. A lot. My plan is to take the English-taught credits in my 2014, followed by the J-creds in 2015.)

I'm also curious - do most folks here have a (university) background in education or similar subjects? I've always been a bit concerned that here I am, working in education, but I have hee-haw in the way of relevant qualifications (I have a BSc in immunology/microbiology, and a Masters in IT. While both of these are fairly respectable degrees, neither of em has owt to do with my current (and presumably future) employment.) It's a bit of a worry for me, tbh.

On a more positive note, like Ash I am feeling the need to get my arse in gear and get back on the horse with regards to study. @Ash - I did a bit of reading and was considering the N3 level of the jlpt. Much as it galls me to do N3 when I already have the old L3, from what I can see of the proficiency required, N3 seems to match my short term capabilities. What level are you thinking to take, and when? Maybe we could organise a once-a-week study session? I dunno about you, but I defo study better in company. Less likely to get bored and start staring into space...

[ashmie]

@ MiJ
I have no proficiency grade whatsoever and my starting level is conversational Kambe farmer or talking in pigeon Japanese with gamers so Ill be starting from the beginning level with 100 kanji or whatever it is. I'm also going to attend Kumon and study mathematically as the kids do. We could combine this with a conversation class in Tsu of course. Sundays I think it runs.
As to education degrees. Don't sweat it, whatever your BA was in you can usually transfer that to education in your masters but even if you don't, a masters degree and a phd is exactly what it says on the tin and unless you want to stay in work that specifically requires education degrees it shouldn't be an issue. I know a chap who had English and French as a BA and he went to a masters long distance and now he's studying for a PHD while teaching at a Uni in Kyoto. He gave me a lot of good advice about using the time now to get more bits of paper.
I've always been more set on hard work myself but I've learnt the hard way just recently it doesn't matter how hard I work in the day to day, I need to improve my chances for job prospects in the long term as jobs are never set in stone these days.
Anyway it's a big step but worth it I reckon. Not going to give up just yet. It's been very easy to become cynical in the last few years doing the same old work without promotion or improvement of skills. It's time I got my brain working again.
So yeah long answer but yes I'll be sorting out some study for Japanese from April. Lets enjoy as they say.

[The Other Dave]

I took a break from work and got my own Master's full time back in the States, so my own experience probably doesn't count for much there, but I have four or five friends who went the correspondence route. No, it's not easy - you'll probably be need to put aside something like 8 to 12 hours a week on average, so at the very least understanding and support from your family will be needed. But I don't know anyone who's done it who wishes they hadn't.

Most people here get a degree in Linguistics or Applied Linguistics (that's what mine's in) and yeah, it does inform language teaching quite strongly. I have a colleague now who doesn't have any educational background in linguistics or TESOL, and while he has 10 years teaching experience, there are some pretty obvious gaps in his knowledge of language learning and teaching as compared to those of us with such qualifications, so he has to spend time and energy discovering stuff from square one. (Er. I hope that doesn't sound snooty.)

Really, what it comes down to is that if you want a university job (and they tend to have better pay for fewer hours, with lots more input into how and what you teach than ALT jobs) you basically need a Master's. If you want a permanent university job you need more, but that's another story.

[ashmie]

Thanks ToD. That's very helpful and good to know. 8 to 12 hours of work a week sounds very possible. Considering I was doing 3-5 hours of painting a day on average during my imperial gaming years 2009-11. 6 Prussians a night etc. I reckon that's very manageable. I enjoy studying when I'm interested in the goal and topic.
I've got a CELTA so could I do a language or linguistic MA?
My boss has been on the phone asking me to prepare materials on the UK tomorrow so he can show his supervisor. They are letting me go and trying to get as much out of me as they can. Hmmm. The mind reels with the robtics and procedure of civil servants.
I'll be taking a different job to alt work from April to give myself a break from stress and travel in order to study and spend time closer to home. Looking forward to the change.