mike
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 3
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Post by mike on Aug 3, 2023 8:30:16 GMT 9
Hi guys,
I understand that the old motto of "every situation is different" applies to CIR work even more so than ALT work, but I was wondering about your experiences as individuals.
I was wondering what the day-to-day work looks like. What does one do as a CIR?
Is there a significant amount of overtime/"black company" culture attached to it?
Do you feel as though you can gain valuable experience from this position, experience that could be beneficial for one's career future? ( I ask this because, as much as I would be thrilled to do ALT work again, it's not the most transferrable skill to someone without a teaching degree.)
I have 3 years' ALT experience and a JLPT N1 certificate, if it matters.
Thanks in advance!
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superalicat
CIRHP admin 
CIRHP's Silver Swiftie
i cry a lot but i am so productive, it's an art
Posts: 7,850
CIR Experience: 3rd year
Location: Toyama
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
CHaos??: CHAOS
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Post by superalicat on Aug 3, 2023 9:48:00 GMT 9
the other day i told one of our incoming CIRs that you can think of CIR work as kind of a spectrum: on one end you have relatively freer CIRs with less work or more flexibility, and then on the other you have CIRs with very strict expectations and a lot of things to do
in my prefecture alone, we have CIRs on one end of the spectrum who mostly visit schools (particularly kindergartens and nursery schools) or some who focus more on social media and tourism promotion, and then myself and others in my office who have very defined roles that include a lot of translation, working events, visiting schools to give presentations on my country, some interpreting, and also teaching classes in our various languages. i would say that in my specific position, i do have to do overtime to teach evening classes or work weekend events, but am given daikyuu/comp time and have more freedom to use it and take time off than the ALTs i know. for me and for others, work comes in waves, sometimes you can predict them (like if an important event or delegation is coming up, it's basically going to take up more of your free time) and plan accordingly. sometimes you won't be able to predict when you will or won't have a lot of work
last summer i was so busy with preparing to send a group (that included me) to our sister state, translating a lot of the documents and speeches that the group needed, but was still asked to work weekends to give presentations on the sister state for some of the group attendees, or a different weekend where i helped japanese volunteers practice english translation for disaster situations. i ended up so overwhelmed that i had to start turning down school vists and english camps i was asked to assist at (im the english CIR in my office and get invited as a guest speaker to ALT events sometimes). however, this isn't necessarily the norm and i make it a point to not overtime every single day and go home on time, since CIRs don't get overtime pay. my actual japanese coworkers do stick around and work late, but i make sure to set boundaries and tell the new CIRs to do the same and not to imitate the regular workers around them
also, i'm the CIR PA, so i try to stay on top of issues in the prefecture and had to do some emergency response at one point off-hours. however, i'm less involved in PA work than the ALT PA (now we have a new person and i may take on more responsibility). i would say the PA work i've done thus far has taught me a lot
in terms of actual skills on the job, i mostly do japanese to english translations so i've gotten the hang of that, but also general PR copywriting, copy editing english written by japanese speakers, english speechwriting, and doing medium to long presentations in both japanese and english on my culture (maybe a little interpretation, but i'm not as confident in it). also just having to communicate with my japanese coworkers about work and events has given me a boost, although i think a lot of it is explaining the reasoning for my translations or explaining nuances of english in japanese. also, admittedly, i've learned a bit about teaching english because i have to do two separate english classes for adults and sometimes help ALTs with english workshops...haha. there's no escaping english teaching even as a CIR
but just keep in mind that there is no "typical CIR experience" and some people have had much less fulfilling experiences where they were underutilized or ignored. i've generally had a positive time besides my sister state overwork, but i may not be the norm
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2023 13:38:16 GMT 9
Hello! I am a CIR in Hiroshima Prefecture.
1. As Ali mentioned, the CIR job duties vary from placement to placement. On one side of the spectrum, I have met CIRs who
exclusively do CIR job duties, including (but not limited to) translation, interpretation, social media promotion, tour guiding, event planning
and hosting, etc. However, I have also met some CIRs on a far end of the spectrum who primarily carry out ALT
job tasks and are essentially glorified ALTs. From my interactions and observations, many CIRs fall within that spectrum, so it's
hard to determine how many CIRs mostly have CIR job duties vs. ALT ones.
That said, my day-to-day is similar to what Ali wrote at the end of her spot-on/detailed comment: I am an underutilized CIR
and have a ridiculous amount of desk warming time. hue However! That will change this month as I do more school visits and carry out more
tour-guiding excursions (which should have already been part of my job routine, but anywho). I have been told my CIR situation regarding
an extreme lack of Japanese-speaking opportunities, a stubborn soup, and the rigid 回覧/決済 process I have here is unusually undesirable though, so
I highly doubt my experience is what most CIRs deal with. To fill my time, I translate Wikipedia town articles, tourism webpages, propose social media posts, some
読み聞かせ events, 広報 articles, or just doing Japanese study and learning other things.
2. I don't have any of the stereotypical black company culture facets like overtime and such as I am strictly forbidden from doing
overtime. If for some reason I do overtime one week, I have to take time off another week to make up for the work-hour difference.
However, like Ali said, learn to protect your free time and do NOT take work calls outside of work hours. Take it from me,
don't do it. If you do this once, you will be expected to do it again. Also, if any Japanese coworkers give you a hard time
about your Japanese ability, you being a foreigner, etc., don't take it personally as it is usually a reflection of their lack of
experience dealing with foreign coworkers. This is especially true if you are placed deep in the inaka, like me (in a town of less than 6,000 people).
3. ESID. The translating, interpreting, copywriting, and ad design experience I have accumulated here can probably land
me an entry-level job relating to those same job duties. As someone with zero English-teaching experience before coming to Japan,
even this has helped me learn something new and was not a waste of my time whatsoever. As long as you stay realistic about
what level jobs you can attain following JET (AKA not managerial positions unless you have additional exp. in a field we don't know
about), you will likely find some decent opportunity after JET. Most CIRs I have talked to and have heard about succeeded
in finding something, even with less work as a CIR. Best of luck to you!
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Post by Dee on Aug 3, 2023 14:21:38 GMT 9
Alicat and Hikari already talked about EISD and the spectrum of CIR work, so I will just answer your questions based on my experience as a CIR.
- What does one do as a CIR?
My job was split into 3 job duties: kindergarten, geopark, and BOE. I work every morning at the kindergarten as an assistant teacher and also teach daily English lessons. In the afternoon I go to the geopark office where I do translation/interpretation, social media, and international networking for a UNESCO Global Geopark. For my BOE duties, I assist ALTs with a weekly eikaiwa, help plan cultural exchange events, interpret for the ALTs and assist with any daily-life type issues.
- Is there a significant amount of overtime/"black company" culture attached to it?
Not in my position. I tend to have regular downtime in the afternoons, but occasionally there are crunch times where I am working extra hours to get things done. I always earn comp time when that happens.
- Do you feel as though you can gain valuable experience from this position, experience that could be beneficial for one's career future?
Yes. Maybe not so much from the kindergarten side of things (unless I wanted to go into early childhood education, which I don't) but on the geopark side, I am gaining a lot of valuable experience. I also get to network across the globe with other geoparks and attend international conferences. My JET contract ended recently but my CO hired me on as a direct hire so I plan on staying here long term, but with the experience I've gained I feel like I could get hired at another geopark in Japan or another country.
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