AEON Corporation of Japan Reviews

Pros

Teaching is amazing! Seeing your students improve is the most rewarding part, and I feel like I actually made a difference. You get supported all the way through your time at Aeon. From setting up your apartment and cellphone to training and helping you adjust to Japan. I felt like the company had my back. You get paid well! Also, the apartment is rent capped so I lived pretty comfortably. You will grow as a...

Cons

It's super tough at first. Especially teaching kids, I was tired a lot in my first month. But keep going and you'll get through. If you don't speak Japanese, you lose a lot of independence. I remember that even grocery shopping was exhausting because of the language barrier. You will have to recommend and sell materials. It's part of the job, but a lot of people seem surprised by it. (I actually got my current job...

Advice to Management

I know that managers aren't hired for their English, but please try to translate more office information!

Pros

- Working with the adult and children students. Most of them are very polite and lovely. Enjoyed helping them learn English. - Company training: had little experience teaching prior to the job. The job gave me experience working in the education field. - Traveling in Japan and exploring the culture. - (If I remember correctly) AEON is one of the highest paying company for an English teacher second to the JET program....

Cons

- Had to work on Saturdays (we get Sundays and Mondays off) which a lot of times made us miss out a lot of events and gatherings with friends. - Had to sell English materials to the students. Teacher and salesman position can be conflicting. However, I read this here on glassdoor before the interview, and it was what I signed up for so I cannot really complain. Just a heads up to what the job's duty might entail.

Pros

The company supports you almost completely with getting a visa, air fare, training, transportation to your school, apartment, bank account and more. Lessons are structured in specific ways so you know exactly what you need to teach so you don't need to waste time making lesson plans. Salary is good enough to travel and enjoy yourself while saving some money, as long as you're smart about it.

Cons

Lessons are very structed so you can't really adjust it for students who you think would respond better to a different method. The office is almost completely in Japanese since the management staff doesn't need to know English. So if you need to do stuff on the computer or get information from a student's file you'll need to ask for a lot of translation help, unless you're Japanese literate. There's still quite a bit...

Advice to Management

Communication! So much information is being shared and discussed in Japanese but it's not all getting shared to the Foreign teachers either because of the language barrier or because it's not about them directly but it is going to affect the school. For example, a poster in Japanese was put up in the lobby about a class that another teacher was doing. Even though I'm not teaching that class I also need that information...

Pros

-3 year Humanities visa NOT tied to the company -Apartment setup -National Insurance -Paid commute to work/ training If you want to get to Japan this is a good way to do it. Japan is WORTH it. Aeon is not. Japan is an incredible country and worth every moment of living there.

Cons

-You will be making around 1,400 USD a month. -Traveling in Japan is EXPENSIVE. -If you have loans, bills, and/ or credit cards from your home country find out if the salary is enough to survive on -ZERO cultural immersion/ training -5 days off paid per YEAR. -NO SICK DAYS. You must use your vacation days (you only get 5). -The lessons become autopilot and mundane (you repeat the same cycle of lessons every...

Advice to Management

Learn how to deal with your employees--males are far more privileged than females in this company. Sexual harassment is a common thing from students and fellow teachers and this must be stopped. Have more women and people of color in the head office and in the training centers. Have sick days for your employees. A no-brainer.

Pros

Everyday is a little different, and it's a busy, fast-paced work environment. It's really nice to be allowed to become friends with your adult students, and I'm really close with some of my colleagues too. It's a great way to gain teaching experience and classroom management experience while working with students of all ages. Small class sizes, students are really excited to learn. I've learned a lot about Japan...

Cons

Sometimes the schedules are uneven, with one teacher being very busy and others not having as many classes. Every school is different, but it's hard to not compare your experience with your friends.

Advice to Management

Even if you don't speak English very well, do your best to communicate with the foreign teachers. It's our job to speak with Japanese students all day, so don't be shy or nervous!

Pros

AEON is a mixed bag. I worked at a plethora of branches and experience both ends of polarity. For new teachers, AEON is great since they arrange an apartment for you, help you set up a bank account, give you paid training, plus a small amount of money to offset your plane ticket over there. If you luck out and have great staff at your school, you will have a great two years (if you don’t mind ever getting a raise again).

Cons

Wage cap at 300000 yen per month. Once you cap, you no longer get raises (I recommend only working here about two years. There’s no worthwhile growth after that). In writing, the company requires you to sublet from their apartments. Some of them are very nice, some of them are moldy trash heaps (depends on your manager’s attitude between teachers). If you are unlucky and have a bad manager, life will be no fun....

Advice to Management

PLEASE write a sexual and power harassment clause in your employee and STUDENT codes of conduct!!!! The blanket phrase of “Respect your coworkers,” in your current guide doesn’t work very well! Let teachers file a complaint with head office about their manager without the very real fear of retaliation!

Pros

Great students, easy way to begin a teaching career, get to see Japan, good training, good professional development. Perfect if you like sales and teaching while living in another country.

Cons

There is a heavier sales focus at times than focus on being an educator. The trainers are much more education focused, but your branch school manager may have a heavy focus on your ability to sell company education products.

Pros

I worked at two schools in Kyushu, the southern-most main island. I liked the support I got from my teacher-trainer all throughout my time with AEON. I have to say the contents of our training lead me to be a better, more confident teacher. Also, the independence I had when teaching my classes better prepared me for teaching jobs and all the challenges that come with leading a class. As for location, Kyushu's weather...

Cons

Communication between foreign and Japanese staff could have been better in terms of planning some of the business campaigns. Work/Life balance can be challenging for some people. You can't forget your role in the business side of things which could be plus for some people, though.