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lanturn_shark
Joined: 24 Oct 2016 Posts: 3 Location: Hikone
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 4:57 pm Post subject: Teaching in Japan Without a Bachelor's (Work Visa Obtained) |
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Hello, and thank you for admitting me to the forum.
I am a 26 year old white male (I noticed race seems to be a kicker in some of the postings here), and will soon be moving to Japan to live with my wife in Hikone. I will have a TESOL/TEFL certification in hand upon arrival, and since my wife is a Japanese national, I have a valid work visa.
From what I see on job postings and forums, many English schools in Japan prefer a bachelor's degree, which I don't possess.
I also read that a major obstacle in teaching English abroad is getting a proper work visa, which I have overcome with the help of my lovely wife.
I understand that my prospects aren't as promising as someone with a degree.
Will my lack of a bachelor's degree be a deal breaker in getting a teaching job? Will the fact that I have a work visa and TESOL/TEFL certification neutralize my shortcoming of not having a bachelor's degree, or is that a deal breaker?
I do have experience teaching private music lessons, and coaching at a music school, but none specifically in English.
Thanks in advance for any insight. |
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Miura Anjin
Joined: 20 Aug 2014 Posts: 40 Location: Japan
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 12:21 am Post subject: |
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hi lanturn_shark,
I had a couple of colleagues at Nova who were in a similar situation to you but they had no problem getting the job, so you probably don't need to worry. You might end up working in the chain eikaiwa, which vary from not great to horrible, but if you're lucky you'll find something good. The fact that you have the TESOL/TEFL certificate might help (my ex-colleagues did not have one). |
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lanturn_shark
Joined: 24 Oct 2016 Posts: 3 Location: Hikone
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 12:33 am Post subject: |
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Thank you Miura Anjin, I am relieved to read that. I will look into those schools and see what they are all about. Basically, I want to have enough work to supplement our income while I try to infiltrate to the music scene in Japan. Eventually, it would be great to transition to teaching private English lessons, but it would probably be best to get some more experience first.
Much appreciated. |
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rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 1003 Location: US
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 2:03 am Post subject: Re: Teaching in Japan Without a Bachelor's (Work Visa Obtain |
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lanturn_shark wrote: |
From what I see on job postings and forums, many English schools in Japan prefer a bachelor's degree, which I don't possess.
I also read that a major obstacle in teaching English abroad is getting a proper work visa, which I have overcome with the help of my lovely wife. |
I've known a few people in very similar situations, and usually they got part-time work at a few different places. For full-time, I think most places will still want you to have at least a bachelor's degree. But, your visa will allow you to work part-time since you don't need sponsorship, and you should be able to get some classes here and there in order to make something close to a full-time schedule. |
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kzjohn
Joined: 30 Apr 2014 Posts: 277
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 5:45 am Post subject: |
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The reason you see a BA being required by schools is that immigration requires it to issue a work visa. Since you don't need that, it is no longer an issue.
Mention early on to any potential employer that you don't need a visa (that you're on a spouse visa), and then that you have a T certification, and the degree question may never come up.
Good luck! |
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victory7
Joined: 22 Mar 2016 Posts: 68
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:13 am Post subject: Re: Teaching in Japan Without a Bachelor's (Work Visa Obtain |
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lanturn_shark wrote: |
Hello, and thank you for admitting me to the forum.
I am a 26 year old white male (I noticed race seems to be a kicker in some of the postings here), and will soon be moving to Japan to live with my wife in Hikone. I will have a TESOL/TEFL certification in hand upon arrival, and since my wife is a Japanese national, I have a valid work visa.
From what I see on job postings and forums, many English schools in Japan prefer a bachelor's degree, which I don't possess.
I also read that a major obstacle in teaching English abroad is getting a proper work visa, which I have overcome with the help of my lovely wife.
I understand that my prospects aren't as promising as someone with a degree.
Will my lack of a bachelor's degree be a deal breaker in getting a teaching job? Will the fact that I have a work visa and TESOL/TEFL certification neutralize my shortcoming of not having a bachelor's degree, or is that a deal breaker?
I do have experience teaching private music lessons, and coaching at a music school, but none specifically in English.
Thanks in advance for any insight. |
Sorry to rain on your parade but I'm going to be a straight shooter here and tell you that you represent a significant problem within the Japanese/Asian English teaching industry. I understand you have a spouse's visa or some other visa that will let you live with your wife and work in Japan.
Good news about being with your wife. Bad news that you are an unqualified person who should not be looking for English teaching work and getting it while people who have gone to university/college and got higher education credentials miss out. They are not missing out personally because of you of course - but you still represent what is wrong with the English teaching industry.
Yep, you've got a certificate, that's good. But I will say again, I don't think you should get any teaching jobs that are teaching English. The wages and conditions for English teachers in Asia are being progressively dragged down by the bargain basement, unqualified people who have come in for more than a decade.
I don't mean everybody should have a teacher's license or an MA/Phd. But when you have a serious prospect of finding an English teaching job in Japan with your high school only education, then the suitability be damned, low wages are what's it about, state of the market will only get worse. |
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timothypfox
Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 492
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 4:18 am Post subject: |
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victory7, perhaps this should not be directed specifically at lanturn_shark, but raised as a separate topic to discuss in the forums. This is a Japanese government problem of education law and oversight, not a job seekers specifically... |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan
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Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2016 12:14 am Post subject: |
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To the OP, as long as you (and your wife) are realistic about and satisfied with the potential hiring conditions--low salaries (200,000-250,000 yen/month) with few perks/benefits and no hope of advancement--then come on over. Assuming you're under 40 and presentable, you'll eventually find work. As you'll be either an eikaiwa teacher or a dispatch ALT, you most likely won't be doing much actual "teaching," so having advanced teaching qualifications would be a bit of a waste. (The better ALT positions that do require good teaching will probably not consider you without a BA, teaching experience/qualifications, and Japanese language ability.) |
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lanturn_shark
Joined: 24 Oct 2016 Posts: 3 Location: Hikone
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 3:58 am Post subject: |
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It's been a long time, but I just wanted to follow up on this and say thanks for the tips. I was able to get work as an eikaiwa teacher in Shiga. Nothing glamorous, but it works for me.
RE: victory7
I can see where you're coming from, it's probably frustrating to put all that time and effort into getting a degree and not get compensated fairly. It wasn't my intention to undercut more experienced teachers, but to simply live and work in Japan for a while.
That being said, I think someone in my same situation with more qualifications would have better opportunities to earn a good salary. So, if anyone is reading this that's in the same situation I was, I would definitely recommend getting at least a bachelor's degree if you're planning on staying long term. |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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Glad it worked out for you! |
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Sudz
Joined: 09 Aug 2004 Posts: 438
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 2:47 am Post subject: |
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Something not known to many people is the fact that you can get a work visa here with 3 years of verifiable full-time teaching experience (without a degree).
I had success with this in the past. |
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