Job Discussion Forums

[ivory]

I've been reading as much as I can on this site, but I do have a couple specific questions.
I'm currently considering teaching in a few different places, so please understand a similar post from me will show up on a few country forms.
I am a 38 year old single male. I am most interested in teaching overseas because it would be a new adventure and the potential for savings.
I have been a Catholic high school teacher for roughly the past fourteen years. Because of the American private school system, no law compelled me to get a teaching credential, hence I never got one. I taught primarily World Religions.
In addition, to supplement my income I have tutored grammar school kids (Grades 3- in all subject areas for the past decade. Also, I began a program that specifically trained 8th graders to prepare for their High School Entrance Exam.
My general questions are these:
Will my teaching experience count for much in regards to my salary? In job ads posted, does the "experience" they refer to only mean TEFL experience? Will the religious nature of my teaching help or harm me in any way?
My Japan specific questions are these:
If I wished to teach in Japan for this coming semester (i.e. mid-August to September), am I too late?
Will my age vastly hurt my chances for employment in Japan?
Is it possible to save money in Japan? (I imagine it greatly depends on the region in which one teaches. Therefore, I'd appreciate any suggestions as to where to look or avoid.)
Has teaching in Japan vastly changed in the last decade? I only ask this because I have two friends who taught English in Japan, but for both of them, it was over a decade ago.
Thanks for reading. I'd appreciate your response.
P.S. I don't understand why it is showing an emoticon above, I mean to say grades three through eight.

[fluffyhamster]

No teaching credentials means you probably won't be able to get a job in an International school in Japan; then, your lack of TEFL experience and qualifications pretty much rules out any of the better "TEFL proper" jobs in universities. The question then is whether you have a degree of any kind (necessary for securing a work visa (though those with three or more years of TEFL experience are also apparently eligible, not that this is relevant in your case)) - if you have a degree (but note, more than a two-year one), you can try applying for eikaiwa (chain) language schools (which recruit year round), though your age might be a bit against you; then there is dispatch AET work (but I wouldn't really recommend it, especially nowadays, and again, there is ageism in this sector too). You could of course then also scour sites such as this, Gaijinpot and Ohayo-sensei and apply directly for jobs in small non-chain language schools, or private schools (which range from elementary to senior high school), but again, your relative inexperience in TEFL, and not being in Japan and available for interview in person, would probably count against you, especially for the better-paid, often highly sought-after private school positions. (NB: Start for state and private AET jobs is April, so best time to apply is the months prior to that. There are some jobs available (or rather, re-available) from September, but these need to be approached with caution - why did the last AET leave? - and again will mainly be offered to or won by applicants already in Japan). Lastly, there is the JET Program, or the Earlham College M-ALT/TEIJ (Morioka Assistant Language Teacher/Teaching English in Japan) Program, but I'm not entirely sure what the age cut-off is for them nowadays, and the application process for each will be quite involved (but I'm sure there's still time to apply this year).
http://search.virginmedia.com/results/?channel=search&vml=ntl&vmt=&f=0&q=jet+program&cr=
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=JET+Program&meta=
http://www.earlham.edu/~aet/

I'd ultimately suggest if possible at least volunteering to teach some ESL, or doing some sort of certificate in TEFL (or the CELTA, or Trinity cert etc), and perhaps looking into work in less competitive (but probably also somewhat lower-paid) destinations...in Asia, Taiwan, perhaps?

[Glenski]

Being 38 is not a disadvantage for eikaiwa work. Go for it. The trick is whether you apply only to places that recruit from abroad or whether you come here to look around.

If you have not been teaching EFL or ESL, don't expect more than entry level work, IMO. ALT for JET or a dispatch agency, or instructor for an eikaiwa.

The coming semester doesn't start in August. It is the second semester of the mainstream school year and may begin in September or October, depending on location and type of school. For eikaiwa, there is no official "semester" system, so you take what you can get. Remember that there is roughly a week in mid-August for Obon national holiday.

Get a year of teaching here under your belt, then apply for direct hires to private high schools (public ones are taken up by ALTs), junior colleges, senmongakko, and universities. String together PT work to maximize your income.

Is it possible to save money in Japan?
Yes, of course. But how you do it and how much you save depends on you. How much did you want to save per month?

Teaching in Japan has not changed in more than 2 decades, IMO. At least not in a pedagogical sense. Eikaiwa are still edutainment centers, and mainstream schools still have the JTEs doing the grammar lessons while native English speakers do the oral communication stuff, so kids are unmotivated to do anything except study for the college entrance exams, and once they get in, it's a free ride to boredom city for them until they graduate 4 years later. Can't do more than that to compare to your friends' experiences without knowing what they did.

[ivory]

thanks so much for the great info. I have a BA in Religious Studies/Comparative Religions from a California State System University (4 year).