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University job prospects?

 
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Dan123



Joined: 08 Jan 2014
Posts: 112

PostPosted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:58 pm    Post subject: University job prospects? Reply with quote

It's early days right now, but I'm considering working in Japan starting September 2019.

I'm 26, from the UK, will have an MA TESOL in a few months and I currently have 4.5 years teaching experience in China (one year in a training school, the rest is at a university), but that's about it as far as my qualifications go.

From what I've been reading, it seems as though lots of universities like to hire teachers who have published papers. I've never published anything (like I said, I don't even have my MA yet), but would be willing to work on something. I'm not really interested in part time positions, but am also not looking to settle down in Japan permanently either, so short term jobs (1-3 year contracts) are fine with me.

Is it likely/possible that I'll be able to get a job there? If not, what else could I do to improve my chances? Are qualifications like a CELTA/DELTA useful?
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taikibansei



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Given that you're young and not particularly interested in tenured/tenure-track positions, yes, I think you might be able to get a full-time university position even without publications or Japanese language ability. It will most likely be a yearly contract capped at 3-5 years, and it will most likely start on April 1 of 2020. (September starts are rarer and usually go to people already in the country.)

I would start searching the English-language side of JRECIN beginning next summer. Here's the link:

https://jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekTop?ln=1

The Chronicle of Higher Education's job site sometimes has ads for Japanese university positions as well:

https://chroniclevitae.com/job_search/new

Good luck!
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Dan123



Joined: 08 Jan 2014
Posts: 112

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 2:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

taikibansei wrote:
Given that you're young and not particularly interested in tenured/tenure-track positions, yes, I think you might be able to get a full-time university position even without publications or Japanese language ability. It will most likely be a yearly contract capped at 3-5 years, and it will most likely start on April 1 of 2020. (September starts are rarer and usually go to people already in the country.)

I would start searching the English-language side of JRECIN beginning next summer. Here's the link:

https://jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekTop?ln=1

The Chronicle of Higher Education's job site sometimes has ads for Japanese university positions as well:

https://chroniclevitae.com/job_search/new

Good luck!


Definitely some reassuring information there, although I'm a bit surprised about the starting dates! Thanks a lot.
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taikibansei



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 3:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dan123 wrote:


Definitely some reassuring information there, although I'm a bit surprised about the starting dates! Thanks a lot.



Different country, different starting dates to the academic year. (Just so you know, the Japanese school year starts on April 1, with a summer break usually from the end of July until sometime in September.)
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Dan123



Joined: 08 Jan 2014
Posts: 112

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 4:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

taikibansei wrote:

Different country, different starting dates to the academic year. (Just so you know, the Japanese school year starts on April 1, with a summer break usually from the end of July until sometime in September.)


Ah, pretty stupid of me to assume that universities everywhere start in September!
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thomthom



Joined: 20 May 2011
Posts: 125

PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2019 12:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to contribute and somewhat reopen this thread:

What I would say regarding universities is that most now try their hardest, just the same as in all other areas of the ESL industry in Japan, to place teachers on part-time/temporary contracts if possible in order to avoid offering paid vacations and other benefits.

A number of major universities in the Tokyo area now achieve this by having standalone eikaiwa schools built into them - schools owned by the uni, and to be found on-campus or near-campus, but operating as separate commercial entity; as an eikaiwa-within-a-university.

From what I gather, the best chance of getting a university English teacher job with decent salary and benefits would be (a) in some less well-known city outside of Kanto or Kansai or (b) as a proper academic - a professor. Perhaps having an MA in English Literature or Linguistics and doing seminars and junior lectures in that would be the closest thing and fastest route, coming from ESL teaching.
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Vince



Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 559
Location: U.S.

PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2019 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thomthom wrote:
A number of major universities in the Tokyo area now achieve this by having standalone eikaiwa schools built into them - schools owned by the uni, and to be found on-campus or near-campus, but operating as separate commercial entity; as an eikaiwa-within-a-university.

Do university students go to the university's eikaiwa for their required or elective English courses? Or are these universities leveraging their name to get into the eikaiwa business for adults, children, and university students who want to take extra-curricular English?

Quote:
Perhaps having an MA in English Literature or Linguistics and doing seminars and junior lectures in that would be the closest thing and fastest route, coming from ESL teaching.

I've wondered how much clout an MA in English Lit carries in the Japanese TEFL world.
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taikibansei



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2019 5:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On the page at this link, I describe in detail the typical hiring criteria for tenured positions at Japanese universities:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=113291&start=30

I have been hired from overseas twice. Usually, Japanese universities interested in overseas applicants will advertise at The Chronicle of Higher Education:

https://chroniclevitae.com/job_search/new?cid=chenav

However, sometimes you'll find ads open to overseas applicants on the English-language side of JRECIN:

https://jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekTop?ln=1

That said, as I've written before, the number and quality (salaries, workloads, employment status) of jobs offered tend to be far better on the Japanese-language side here.

https://jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekTop

The bottom line is that plenty of good jobs continue to be had, but the qualifications necessary to get these jobs continue to increase as well. Again, see that first link for details.
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CKM



Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 74

PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2019 4:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

taikibansei wrote:
On the page at this link, I describe in detail the typical hiring criteria for tenured positions at Japanese universities:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=113291&start=30

I have been hired from overseas twice. Usually, Japanese universities interested in overseas applicants will advertise at The Chronicle of Higher Education:

https://chroniclevitae.com/job_search/new?cid=chenav

However, sometimes you'll find ads open to overseas applicants on the English-language side of JRECIN:

https://jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekTop?ln=1

That said, as I've written before, the number and quality (salaries, workloads, employment status) of jobs offered tend to be far better on the Japanese-language side here.

https://jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekTop

The bottom line is that plenty of good jobs continue to be had, but the qualifications necessary to get these jobs continue to increase as well. Again, see that first link for details.


I'm interested in university teaching in Japan too. Thanks for sharing this information...very useful.
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taikibansei



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Thu May 16, 2019 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad I could help, CKM. Let me know if you have additional questions.
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