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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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 Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:39 am Post subject: Dream job |
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Haven't posted here in a bit because I've been so busy. Above and beyond my teaching and research responsibilities, I've been conducting a limited job search in Japan--as I've mentioned here before, while I'm lucky to have a very secure job in the States, my Japanese wife has been, shall we say, not so subtle in her desire for us to move back to Japan.
So, being the dutiful (read "easily intimidated") husband, I've been applying for any so-called "tenured" positions that I could find in Japan. Now, as Paul, Abufletcher, myself, and numerous others have noted here, these positions are few and far between for foreigners. Still, I found more than a few advertised on both JREC-IN and the Chronicle's job page. Interestingly, while I received campus interviews for all three positions I found listed on the Chronicle, eight applications to places listed on JREC-IN resulted in nary a nibble--despite the fact that the Chronicle positions were at much more prestigious universities and for much higher salaries. (My recommendation: if you are applying for university positions from overseas, use the Chronicle and THES job listings).
Well, to make a long story short, I got an offer recently that I just couldn't refuse. I don't want to give out too many details (my anonymity is important to me), but instead just wanted to say that it is still possible to find good, university-level positions in Japan, even when applying from overseas. So, keep your hearts and heads up and get those applications out!
See some of you around very soon...and the first round will be on me!  |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:46 am Post subject: |
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| Congratulations! I take it you will be coming this spring. What part of the country will you be coming to? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 2:49 am Post subject: |
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Congratulations. Now, I'd just like to add something that I know will sound totally negative. Heads up.
Applying from abroad worked for you, probably in my estimation, because you had already worked here, right, taikibansei? And, wasn't it university work in your past, as well? Those are huge factors that many (most?) people don't have working for them. |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:09 am Post subject: |
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| Abufletcher and I both got hired from abroad to teach in universities without either of us ever stepping foot in Japan. Not a representative sample, but not an impossibility either. |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 4:10 am Post subject: |
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| Gordon wrote: |
| Abufletcher and I both got hired from abroad to teach in universities without either of us ever stepping foot in Japan. Not a representative sample, but not an impossibility either. |
Exactly right, though I do acknowledge Glenski's point as well that it is not easy. Still, there are a number of posts each week or so here which ask about long-term positions with livable salaries and nice working conditions. I think the very difficult job market (both in Japan and in most people's home countries) leads to a large number of negative responses--my intent was merely to remind people that "good" jobs still do exist, and that getting them is possible.
Hiring trends I noted in this latest search:
1) You need the proper degrees, supplemented if necessary with certification. I found that a PhD was necessary for all jobs advertised on the Chronicle. JREC-IN positions generally required only the MA, but I never got even an acknowledgment from any of the positions advertised there. (I'd be interested in hearing success stories from people who applied through JREC-IN--my theory is that most advertisers there are only looking for domestic hires.) There were a large variety of majors in demand--from Comp/Rhet to Western Poetry to the more common requests (80% of total) for TESOL-related degrees.
2) Teaching experience (usually three years) in your home country and/or in Japan was required by all the ads. ALT (including JET) experience helps, though university-level (including part-time) experience is best.
3) Japanese language fluency was required in half of the ads for these "good" positions, and preferred in all the rest. As a side note, my fluency in Japanese has helped me get every single position I've found, including this new position.
4) Proficiency in CALL/WebCT/Blackboard was at least preferred in about 50% of the ads.
5) Publishing--minimum of three articles in your field, though some places asked for up to ten. |
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abufletcher
Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 779
Location: Shikoku Japan (for now)
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:34 am Post subject: |
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That's great news! Now let's just hope the wife will be happy with the new neighbors, the schools, the weather... 
My own subjective impression has always been that the chances of getting hired for one of the plum tenure-like positions are probably enhanced by applying from outside of Japan (obviously with the right credentials and experience). |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 7:02 am Post subject: |
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My own experiences:
I've used JRECIN, JALT's TNT web page, and JACET since June. Have seen countless ads, but only one has been for a tenured slot. Very few have required a PhD, and 99% have required the degree major to be in an EFL related field, as taikibansei mentioned.
"Japanese fluency", I'll concede, is probably very highly desired if not preferred in most cases, but to what degree they rarely say. About the best I can tell you is that they either say "conversation level" for day to day office work, or they merely imply a higher level because of statements like "You will attend all staff meetings..." Seriously, folks, just how much Japanese have you university professors needed, and where do you use it the most?
I've only seen requirements for CALL or related stuff in a handful of ads myself.
Most places I saw wanted 2 or 3 articles. One place wanted two copies of every publication on your publications list!! |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 7:33 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| I've used JRECIN, JALT's TNT web page, and JACET since June. Have seen countless ads, but only one has been for a tenured slot. |
JALT's TNT web page always has a disappointing selection. On JREC-IN, the best jobs are advertised only in Japanese--the positions offered in English (or with an English translation) tend to be horrible. In addition, the positions offered on the Chronicle tend to be either tenured or tenure-track as well. I personally saw about 20 total, and applied to eleven.
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| Seriously, folks, just how much Japanese have you university professors needed, and where do you use it the most? |
For those "permanent" positions with heavy committee responsibilities (and often continual translation requirements for the university), you'll really need Japanese. In my experience, what had gotten me jobs has been the fact that I can read, write, and speak Japanese--hiring committees like the idea that they can dump extra responsibilities on me in a pinch. I do know of people, however, who have managed to find permanent positions without advanced Japanese skills, so your mileage may vary.
For most contract positions, however, you'll almost never use it--indeed, I think the requirement for "Japanese fluency" for many of those positions is absurd. Of course, that some of these contract positions now require a PhD is a joke as well.... 
| Quote: |
| One place wanted two copies of every publication on your publications list!! |
I remember this ad...wonder if they got any applicants?  |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 7:34 am Post subject: |
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| abufletcher wrote: |
| Now let's just hope the wife will be happy with the new neighbors, the schools, the weather... |
Don't even go there....  |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 7:38 am Post subject: |
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| taikibansei wrote: |
| abufletcher wrote: |
| Now let's just hope the wife will be happy with the new neighbors, the schools, the weather... |
Don't even go there.... |
She should be worshipping the ground you walk on for going back to Japan. As I say this 8,000 km away. 
My wife doesn't want to leave Japan either and she isn't even Japanese. Can't imagine what it is like for you guys with J-wives. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 8:59 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
My own experiences:
"Japanese fluency", I'll concede, is probably very highly desired if not preferred in most cases, but to what degree they rarely say. About the best I can tell you is that they either say "conversation level" for day to day office work, or they merely imply a higher level because of statements like "You will attend all staff meetings..." Seriously, folks, just how much Japanese have you university professors needed, and where do you use it the most?
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Glenski, as you know Im a tokunin full timer, which is the first ones hired at our university. I work with 2 other foreigners, 2 japanese and 1 chinese national. the rest of the English staff are native japanese. All department meetings, memos, documentation even about our courses and schedules, textbook lists is in Japanese. Meetings are conducted in Japanese though most of the Japanese staff speak English. No interpretation or translation is provided.
I have Level 2 JLPT and can keep up with most of the discussion but will add my input where its needed
I use Japanese when dealing with the student office staff, department administration, personnel, department heads etc. Talking with students during office hours and during make-up tests etc. |
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guest of Japan
Joined: 28 Feb 2003
Posts: 1601
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:07 am Post subject: |
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Congratulations Taikibansei!! It seems well deserved.
As for Gordon's latest comment, my wife is Japanese and she can't wait to leave. Of course she works in a finance company in Tokyo and is real stressed out.
Speaking of which, my wife's green card interview will be early in January. Everything else has gone smoothly and from what I understand the interview is mostly a formality. We're about to sign a lease for a small apartment in Boston for a March move. |
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abufletcher
Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 779
Location: Shikoku Japan (for now)
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| taikibansei wrote: |
For those "permanent" positions with heavy committee responsibilities (and often continual translation requirements for the university), you'll really need Japanese. In my experience, what had gotten me jobs has been the fact that I can read, write, and speak Japanese--hiring committees like the idea that they can dump extra responsibilities on me in a pinch. |
The reasoning behind wanting/requiring Japanese proficiency is complex and not entirely logical. I think the immediate fear is simply the "fly in the ointment" factor of having a non-Japanese speaker in their midst. This is just a further expression of the xenophobia that has people move away from gaijin on the train. Even conversational Japanese will help alleviate these feelings. There is very little serious Japanese needed on the job and you soon learn how to fill in all the many forms. There is also the fear of having to allow "bilingual" department meetings. Again in practice this is not really a problem but English speakers do need to learn to preface remarks with apologetic phrases like "Excuse me for speaking in English but..." or "You may have already mentioned this in Japanese but..." It is certainly unacceptable to claim ignorance of an issue just because it wasn't specifically announced/discussed in English.
A more serious source of inter-cultural tension is the fact that Japanese members of staff typically feel that they have to do more administrative stuff (primarily attending meetings) than non-Japanese members of staff and get stuck with tedious departmental roles such as "kyomushunin" (tasked with curriculum and scheduling jobs). Seen from the Japanese perspective this is undoubtedly true and faculty members with limited Japanese skills (like me) can be seen as prima donnas.
BTW, if you really want to rile your colleagues' feathers suggest to them (as I did recently)when they bring up this point that you could do the entire job assigned to them just as well in half the time with none of the meetings (or meetings lasting only a quarter as long). When I first arrived at my university it was taking two teams of professors nearly 8 months to prepare the English portion of the university entrance exam. Now that two NS have taken primary responsibility for this, the entire process takes about one month - and the exam is of higher quality.
I see the "Japanese requirement" are primarily a demonstration on the applicant's part that they are willing to play by the same rules -- regardless of how irrational those rules can be.
BTW2, would it be intruding to ask what sorts of courses you will be teaching? |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| abufletcher wrote: |
| A more serious source of inter-cultural tension is the fact that Japanese members of staff typically feel that they have to do more administrative stuff (primarily attending meetings) than non-Japanese members of staff and get stuck with tedious departmental roles such as "kyomushunin" (tasked with curriculum and scheduling jobs). Seen from the Japanese perspective this is undoubtedly true and faculty members with limited Japanese skills (like me) can be seen as prima donnas. |
We all need to be careful about making generalizations based on one or two experiences--as my full post suggested, each school is different, and each position requires different duties and abilities as well. Many of the plum positions prefer "Japanese fluency" but do not require (or really need) it; many do require fluency, however. That I've been hired partly for my Japanese abilities at three university positions necessarily means that Japanese ability was/will be more important for my work, which probably skews my perspective ever so slightly.
That said, the "prima donna" factor at the places I've worked/will work has been huge, the resentments very real. I worked 6 years at a university where Japanese "colleagues" initially would get off the elevator and take the stairs if I (or another foreigner) entered. Foreign staff (I was the only "permanent" employee at the time--all the rest were under short-term contracts) would be talked about in Japanese during the meetings, often very rudely. Indeed, I had to fight to get the contract foreign staff invited to the darn meetings (where their teaching schedules and even fates were often decided) in the first place--the feeling among Japanese staff was that if you could not contribute in Japanese, you were not contributing--moreover, had nothing to contribute at all.
Certainly, this is all bs, with often xenophobic underpinnings. However, if you want to work in Japan long-term, you need to be prepared to deal with at least the possibility of encountering this mentality. Learning the language is one thing you can do to help yourself--by the time I left, foreign-Japanese relationships had improved significantly, in large part due to my efforts in the language (not to mention the committee work, translations, exam work, etc.).
Of course, one unfortunate result of acquiring greater fluency is that you actually understand the sheer banality of most discussion in those meetings. E.g., I vividly remember a kyoujukai where, for four long hours, we debated the proper color of the new parking decals....  |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Gordon wrote: |
| As I say this 8,000 km away. |
Which, quite frankly, is the minimum safe distance.....  |
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