Job Discussion Forums

Felix · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 34

What Months are the hiring months for teachers in Japan? Is the middle of September any good? Thank you

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

What kind of teachers are you referring to?

Eikaiwas hire just about any time.
High schools, elementary schools, colleges and universities start their school terms in April, so the best time to look for work is Feb and March, although there is a small surge in September for October hiring.

Some universities post ads 6-12 months in advance.

Felix · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 34

Well, I'm not really sure what kind of teaching job exactly. I'm just going back to the States for a visit after my contract here in Taiwan expires in August, and then going to Japan. I thought if I could fly into Japan at the peak of the hiring season it would be easier to find a job quickly. I'm not looking to hang around for Months on end in the States waiting though.

Actually, I think I'll end up just coming there, and then finding a job. Which leads to my next question - If you were just going to show up looking for a job, which city would you go to? I fear a smaller town might not have jobs, while Tokyo would eat me before I found one. Any suggestions on that?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Well, of course, the larger the city, the more opportunities there are. The more competition, too. It's just too difficult to answer this one without knowing what you are like, or what you are into.

More importantly, what are your qualifications?
Why do you think a place like Tokyo would "eat you"? (I could read several lines of thought into this, so I thought I'd ask.)

Felix · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 34

I was joking around about the the city eating me - like it being such a massive and overwhelming entity that it'd simply swallow me upon my arrival, leaving no trace that I ever existed.

Seriously though, I imagine it would be really stressful, to land in a city like that with the intention of finding a job. You wouldn't know the city, or how to find the locations of the schools (I hear street addresses are difficult to understand), all this compounded by not knowing the language. I mean, you'd really be taking a bull of a city by the horns. A friendly bull maybe, but a big fast one that speaks Japanese.

Anyway, I'll read more of my Lonely Planet Japan, get a few places in mind and then ask which one you'd recommend. Thanks though.