Before I start, I want to reaffirm that I do not mean any disrespect in this post as a good friend of mine works as a direct hire ALT and have met good people during my short stint in it way back in the day.
I browse this sub from time to time as I was an eikaiwa worker for 2 years before leaving for another industry. That was over 10 years ago when I was in my 20s and still single, around 2012. Back then, I felt that my compensation was fair for the work I was doing (290,000 monthly before deductions) – but could also see little to no changes down the road whether I stayed for the next 2 years or 20.
After reading some posts here and talking to acquaintances who stayed in the industry after I left, I strongly feel that doing ALT or eikaiwa (both adult and children) work is becoming a dangerous financial dead end. The acquaintances I know are struggling to keep up with rent, rising costs of living, putting their kids through school, and so on. Most of the people in this situation seem to be in their late 20s to mid 40s – arguably a prime time to build on your career and potential earnings to support yourself (or a family if you have one) for the rest of your life.
I understand that some people don't care about having money or climbing the career ladder and that is fine – but the choice to stay in this industry seems to a surefire way to set up a disaster for future finances. For current workers, do you feel the industry has a sustainable future and what are your plans going forward?
by Froyo_Muted