Advice...I can’t take it anymore!

I'll take you up on that bet, John, because I was sponsored by Gaba when I used to teach more lessons there, and I know plenty of other people who have been recently. They went ahead and sponsored quite a lot of Nova teachers who had to jump ship when Nova was going down.
Again I say Gaba are not the best thing going, but as a stop gap they are not a bad idea.

You got me on that, but as contract workers their "contract" is borderline if not borderline illegal, Gaba instructors aren't contractors when you look at the job they do and the contract they are on.

Which brings up a point to the OP, just because the contract says something, doesn't make it legal, even if you signed it.

I was reading they sponsor visas for those who start working more hours (as you mentioned like yourself) well scheduling flexibility goes out the window, not withstanding even during the Gaba orientation it is said that the best hours are hours you'd rather not be working, evenings and weekends, since thats when Most Japanese are off. Daytimes at some branches can be deader then a doorknob if you're not popular enough. Even as a stop gap Gaba should be one's last resort.

I'm sure many would agree with you, but I know plenty of people who work there either part-time or full time and are quite happy with it. It is a no-stress job with motivated students and a pleasant environment to work in, which many (most?) people can't say about their jobs. I can't tell you how much of an improvement it is on Nova, which I worked at about 8 years ago.

I work at a suburban branch where weekday mornings and afternoons are actually the busier times although that does depend on the branch. The flexibility is still there because you can take days off whenever you want, take a long lunch break, go home when you like, take a month off to travel if you want to. You go in, do your lessons, and go home, you only do sales and demo lessons if you want to, unlike many eikaiwas. 1500 yen per 40 minute lesson (about 2200 yen an hour) is only the base rate, it isn't hard to move up the pay scale if you want to.

Anyway, people will always disagree over things like this and it is probably a bit off-topic. I just see a lot of misinformation like "Gaba can't sponsor visas" and Gaba pays 1400 yen per hour" on various sites, so I correct it when I see it.

what is a ALT

Now I work for the government in England so I dont know hardly anything about certain things work in JPN

BUT why the hell is a teacher is cleaning toilets ?

Mna so you do 50 hours at work and then more work realted stuff at home, so how much time in total ? and what time you have to be there.

I mean whay time you get up and get home as to be honest you got to factor that into it as well.

Easy your in the Tokyo area right? Quit your job and set your own schedule with privates. I have a lot of freinds that make 400000 or more a month on just privates. As for the vias sponsor yourself. Just delcare 20000 a month. In the past it was very difficult to sposor yourself now very easy. I also have several friends that do this. As for your apt if you can transfer the place into your name do it, if not times will be tight for a while if you have to relocate but it wont be the end of the world. Everyone gets srewed on the shikikin and rekin. There are several sites you can register at for privates. By doing this you will most likely make more $$ and have more free time for art. Might be tough for a month or two but take the jump!!

It can take quite a while to set up enough privates to make a living off- I doubt anyone has ever found themselves with 400,000 worth of students overnight.

Even then they often have a tendency to quit, take long breaks, move away etc. so you constantly have to keep looking for more.

It's great if you can set it up but it's not necessarily something to rely on.

Yeah its not going to happen overnight but I know several who have achived that level withing 2 or 3 months. Thats just a number you can most likey find enough students make engouh to get by and find within the first month. You will probably need enough cash to float yourself for a month. Start looking for privates now and quit in a month.

Well I spoke straight with my boss today since my supervisor was sick. He basically told me they are looking for some place else for me. I do not live in Tokyo, I live in Northern Saitama, so it is hard for them to find me a replacement job right away. They tend to get new offers every 2 weeks or so, but it could be in any of their branches (and they have them all over Kanto...yes even Gunma and Ibaraki). Basically he told me, he will get me out, but it can take a month or two, but besides waiting for offers, he will check with other offers through other companies to see if they want me. Shachou is really worried about my health, and I'm happy that he took that more seriously than my other supervisors who just told me to suck it up...well in a nicer fashion though...but either way, my supervisors were just saying to deal with it.

In the mean time, they have people coming this week in work to help me out (which I appreciate this soooo much). I will still teach my English class on my own, but the rest of the classes I will be with another teacher (Yes!). Besides that, shachou also told me, if I need I can take days off to recharge my batteries if I really need it (without pay of course). So...things are starting to look up. I have his e-mail, so if you find any schools in Northern Saitama around the Takasaki line or Chichibu, like Kumagaya, Honjo, Fukaya, etc, please let me know.

Thank You.