Job Discussion Forums

[wintersweet]

Yeah, I think I missed the boat. I'm about to start the final quarter of my MATESOL program. I should be done by mid-March if all goes well. But during the fall and winter quarters, when I should have been sending out job applications to Japanese colleges and universities, I was too busy with classes and various projects, conference presentations and so on. Oops.

I've put in one application and I think I have two left to submit in January, but I'd be surprised if there are many more listings. I'd also be surprised if I actually get any responses to these applications, because I'm in California and I get the impression that most colleges only want to offer interviews to people who are already in Japan. Plus I don't actually have the degree in hand yet.

By mid-March, I will have my MATESOL, 6 months of experience as an assistant teacher in an IEP (with many Japanese students), 8 months of (internship) experience as a TA in academic writing classes, 1.5 years of experience as a writing/English tutor in a university writing center, and 2 years of experience as a research assistant at a well-known university (not the same as my MATESOL school, and undoubtedly irrelevant anyway).

I won't have any TESOL-related publications by March, which I know is a big drawback, but I will have 2-3 conference presentations and a couple of other presentations.

I don't think I'm going to get in any formal Japanese study before then; I have about a year of college Japanese but more kanji than you'd expect due to having studied Chinese previously.

Between classmates, friends, and former students, I have a lot of contacts in various parts of Japan. None of them have turned up any job leads, but I do have some prospective places to stay temporarily.

Time is of the essence for several reasons. I don't want to wait till next year if at all possible. For one thing, I need to make some progress on my OTHER Master's degree (in East Asian Studies at the aforementioned well-known university), because the clock is ticking on that. I've completed all of my coursework for that program and just need to write a thesis, but their standards are very high. If I could gather some data in Japan, it would make my thesis much stronger and more likely to pass muster. In addition, improving my Japanese is a big priority for me due to other plans I have for later on down the road. So Korea, China, and Taiwan aren't really good alternatives for me at this point.

I'm checking JREC-IN every day. Not sure if I should re-subscribe to that Hokkaido-based mailing list, or if JREC-IN covers all the university positions that the ML would have. I found out about JREC-IN after my subscription to the ML lapsed, so I can't compare them myself.

Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do next? Are there any methods I'm neglecting? Should I just keep applying and hoping? If I get nothing by March (which seems likely), should I hop a plane or ...?

Sorry for the long-windedness, and sorry if I make even less sense than usual. I've got a head cold that's making it hard for me to think straight. Feel free to ask questions to clarify things.

Thank you! Happy New Year!

[taikibansei]

[wintersweet]

Oh yes, I have also been checking the Chronicle, but thank you for the reminder about the possible difference in who posts there.

I'm trying not to panic, but it's not easy!

[Glenski]

Look up the ads in the JALT web site http://jalt-publications.org/tlt/jobs/ and the JACET web site http://www.jacet.org/ . They aren't as actively updated and some overlap with the other sites, but they are another source of information. Also, don't discount sites like OhayoSensei www.ohayosensei.com (there's one university ad there now, although a pretty crummy one) and The Japan Times.

[Chris21]

I would be surprised if you're able to get a job for the spring semester since your MA won't be done until mid-March and are applying from out-of-country. From my experience, having a degree officially completed was an important factor in being able to land a full-time job. It might be better to aim for the fall semester.

[wintersweet]

Yes, that was another consideration. It's my impression that US positions are more open to degrees in progress.

Thanks.

Also, thanks for the reminders, Glenski.