Job Discussion Forums

Klemintyne · Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:37 am Post subject: What is my best chance in Japan?

Hi all I'm an A/A Male 23 year old recent college grad with a major in International Studies and a minor in French .

Other than Summer jobs and summer volunteer work, my only real work experience has been for my school. I have done some informal tutoring. However,I'm not sure I'm the ideal candidate for many of these language schools. What would be my best bet for finding work in Japan ? From everything I have read and seen , it sounds as though Nova would be the least difficult of which to garner acceptance . However, I have one freind who is in Japan right now working for the JET program who was rejected from Nova.

What is the best avenue to pursue?

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

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

In my opinion, either places like the Big Four (including NOVA, in case you don't know) or the JET Program should suffice.

Depends on a few things.

How soon do you want to be here? (JET only hires once a year, with a rather lengthy application process.)

What do you want to teach? (JET has you posted in public schools, usually JHS or SHS, in fairly rural areas as an assistant to the Japanese teacher of English. Conversation schools simply require you to teach conversational English, and you are the only person in the room.)

What do you feel comfortable teaching? (Do you want the comfort of a Japanese co-teacher, or can you swing it alone? In public schools, you'll have to deal with 30-40 kids per class, and you may not even see some more than once a month depending on your schedule. With conversation schools, you'll have 5-10 students per class, and you'll see them once a week. With JET, you might have to help with homework and exams and maybe just be a human tape recorder, but as a conversation school teacher, you rarely give out homework and exams. With JET, you'll teach regular 9am to 4pm hours, but with conversation schools, you'll probably teach noon to 9pm and maybe not get 2 consecutive days off.)

What's your financial situation? You'll have to pay your own airfare for 99% of conversation school jobs, but with JET, they pay your way. JET sometimes even pays for part or all of your housing, but not conversation schools.

To answer your fairly general question more directly with only the information at hand, I'd say you stand an equal chance of landing either position.