Job Discussion Forums

[Xanthos]

Hi

I guess this topic comes up enough here, but I can't find any joy with the search function.

What are the chances of someone without a university degree:

1. Getting a job teaching english in Japan (with EFL certificate and 1 yr TEFL experience)

2. Getting the necessary visa to stay and work in Japan

Many thanks in advance.

[japolak]

it's doable....

[Apsara]

Your nationality and age have a bearing on whether you will be able to get a visa without a degree.

[drifter13]

I know people out there who have done it. The market here is still recovering, but there is work. What it comes down to is how hard are willing to work and how much money do you have? Without a degree it's gonna be pretty hard to find someone to sponsor you from your home country. Your best bet might be to get a working holiday visa and then try and find work here in person. And that's where the money comes in. For a month including initial start up, you wanna have at least $3000 (I always recommend more, probably $5000 just to be safe). Also, you'll have to work out somewhere to live and pay airfare, and probably a lot of other things I'm not thinking of at the moment. I've been saying this a lot, and I'll say it again, keep your options open. Look at other countries in Asia, and see if what they might have to offer.

[Xanthos]

[Glenski]

First of all, this question gets asked regularly, so you must have missed a heckuva lot of posts.

Second, a UK citizen under 30 can be eligible for a working holiday visa, which will last only one year, so that is a starter, but one has to think about long-term goals. Let's assume that person wants to stay here more than a year and teach.

1. They will have to get a proper work visa. The only ways are to have a bachelor's degree (or equivalent), or to have a minimum of three years of teaching experience.

2. They could skip the work visa entirely if they have married right. That means marrying a fellow foreigner who has a job here, so that they can get a dependent visa. With special permission, that allows part-time work, and if you accumulate enough of that, you might get up to those 3 years of experience mentioned in #1. Marry a Japanese, and you get a spouse visa, which permits any sort of work, so long as the employer thinks you are qualified.

3. Student visa and cultural visa allow part-time work on special permission, but your time will mostly be spent studying something, so squeezing in teaching will be necessary and a bit difficult.

4. If one could stay long enough, there is always permanent resident status, but "long enough" means 10 years for a single person.

5. One more thing about visas is self-sponsorship, a nebulous and inaccurate term, but one used a lot by laymen. Work here a year under a work visa (not WHV), and you can then "transfer over" your sponsorship from that one employer to yourself effectively by having more than one part-time employer, as long as you prove to immigration that you make a certain (undefined) guaranteed salary (figure that it must be baseline subsistence wages at least, 189,000 to 200,000). As long as you continue to have the income, you can continue renewing.

6. Start your own school, but there doesn't seem to be much info around about what status people hold when they do that. Spouse visa is common, but just starting a business may also require a business visa.

No degree is usually needed for entry level work, but a degree is often sought by employers, not just for the visa regulations but for other reasons. Many employers feel a degree signifies completion of something important, even if the degree is not related to teaching. That's why you see so many eikaiwa teachers here (and ALTs) with degrees totally unrelated to teaching. The tricky part is moving up.

Long-term, one has to think about what other employers will want. Public high schools are stocked with ALTs usually through the JET programme or dispatch agencies, but a few rare cases will get in as solo FT teachers, and that usually requires contacts and degrees and experience. Private HS usually asks for degrees and experience. Business English schools usually want degrees and experience in a certain business field. Universities usually want a minimum of a master's degree.

[Xanthos]

Thanks so much for the detail, I'm sure I am not the only one benefitting from this, even if it is a 're-post' of sorts. I did have a look through the first few pages of this section and did a search before I posted.

Looks like it's off to China again then

Nothing wrong with making friends with the next Superpower eh

[Schick]

Hi there

My name is Justin. I Do not have a Degree

In 11 days I will be flying in to tokyo and living in Roppongi.

I went and worked my ass off and saved enough money for a plain ticket, 5000$ in my account and everything else. I aquired a Working Holiday visa. I have a friend who has been teaching for 9 years in japan. He started off on a working holiday Visa.

He said getting a job once your in Japan is Easy. Check the monday edition of the news paper. There are many companies who do not want to sponsor visas. Also there is Tutoring. I have much confidence I will succeed in the country without a degree. I do Have Tesol though

if you want, message me in a month and see how i am doing

[Glenski]

Nine years ago is not what it is like now. NOVA just folded, putting thousands of workers on the market. Even G-COM has not rehired all of them.

Getting a job by being in Japan is easier than if you were abroad, simply because of the percentages available, but don't kid yourself. No degree is still tough for some people. Even if you have a WHV, you still have to get past the interviews.

So this answers your (Schick) question on another thread (to some degree anyway).

[drifter13]

[wisie]

[ReedNZ]

As would I.....

[Kilgore Trout]

Why do you people think you should come here and earn the same money as someone who has dedicated their life by spending 4-6 years getting a proper education?

You seem to only want to shortcut your way through life.

As much as you may believe teaching is an innate ability, it is largely learned, and it is supported by an EDUCATION.

Go work at the ski resorts. They need waiters.

[Glenski]

Kilgore,
To answer your question: Why do you people think you should come here and earn the same money as someone who has dedicated their life by spending 4-6 years getting a proper education?

1. Because the system lets them come in without that "proper education".

2. Because they heard it was not necessary and that TEFL is just chatting, so anyone can do it.

[Kilgore Trout]