Job Discussion Forums

[Rooster_2006]

I'm planning to move to Japan next year (from Korea, where I currently am) and study at a language school.

According to my research, there are a ton of language schools in Japan, so I can pretty much locate myself wherever I want in the country. Then I can get a student visa and later, a 20-some hour work permit.

I understand that Japan is extremely saturated with English teachers right now as chains go under, the unwashed masses (like me) escape from Korea, etc. My qualifications are fairly low, and I'm worried about finding part-time work to pay for my studies and living expenses. I can swing a few months with out-of-pocket funds, but at that point, I need to be working enough to rent a walk-in closet and pay for natto and rice!

So where am I most likely to find part-time English teaching work (either at an eikaiwa or private lessons) with my limited qualification set? Where is the competition the least fierce?

My qualifications (as of next year when I move) are pretty low, as I've previously stated: native speaker, associate's degree, CELTA certificate, JLPT Level 4, and a graduate of a Korean language school (Yonsei University KLI, which might be useful because I can snap up the Zainichi Koreans who want lessons).

By the way, does anyone know if Zainichi Koreans are interested in learning English like Koreans in Korea are? Since I speak good Korean, I might have an easier time cutting through the competition for them.

Thanks for your help in advance, and please be polite.

[AgentMulderUK]

Quote "Which part of Japan is the shortest of teachers?"

I used to work with a guy in Tokorozawa who was just over 5 foot tall, so maybe he qualifies

:p

[Glenski]

Coming from outside Japan (with no experience here), you will usually be considered as starting on the bottom rung. For the most potential opportunities, you have to hit the bigger metropolitan areas. That is likely where there will be places you can study, too, anyway. It is moot about looking for places that have the least competition.

Besides, as far as large eikaiwa chains go, even though you can locate yourself anywhere you want, you go where the employers have the vacancies.

You only have an associate's degree? Ok, then you must realize that studying here with a student visa and getting the permission to work part-time is about your only option for work. No work visa for you unless you get a bachelor's degree or 3 years of teaching experience.

Couldn't really answer your question about the zainichi. As you have fathomed, many don't know Korean, but many also hide their identities with Japanese names to avoid discrimination issues. Zainichi are more centrally located in Osaka, Tokyo, Kawasaki, and Kyoto. There are about 200 Korean schools here, but the Japanese government doesn't recognize them as official.

[Brooks]

I would say go to Osaka or Tokyo.

I don't know how it is to get a job at a school for Koreans.
My wife worked at a public school in Osaka with a lot of Koreans, but it wasn't a good school. There were problems with violence, drop outs, delinquints, etc.

[Canuck2112]

I wouldn't say the following markets are undersaturated, but I do seem to see a disproportionate amount of job vacancies for them

Much of Tohoku, especially Iwate, Aomori, Akita
Shonai (Western Yamagata). Not much there though.
Some of Kyushu, especially Miyazaki prefecture

[Brooks]

lots of people don't want to live in rural Japan, so I guess that is why there are jobs there.

[parrothead]

Try perusing gaijinpot.com. I just did a quick search and Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka came up often.

[Canuck2112]

[Rooster_2006]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

In response to Glenski's question, yes, I'll have to get a student visa and work part-time (only teach a maximum of either 20 or 28 hours per week).

It'll be tough to swing language school and teaching at the same time, but I've been doing it in Korea. Why not do it in Japan instead, where it's actually legal?

Thanks, Brooks, for giving me the idea to teach English at a Korean school. I realize you were hinting that it was a bad idea, but I had just been thinking about tutoring Koreans, but you're right, Koreans actually have their own schools in Japan, don't they? Since their standards are low (I assume you're talking about Jochongryeon schools, which are unregulated) maybe they'd hire me since I can at least speak Korean. I'd probably be teaching a bunch of pro-communist Jochongryeon kids, but hey, money is money.

My main conflict with this idea to move to Japan and work on a student visa is this -- after years in Seoul, one of the world's most crowded cities, I really don't want to throw myself into another crowded city. So I'd like to avoid teaching in Tokyo. Yet I'm afraid that if I choose someplace less crowded (like Sapporo), there'll be no jobs. Any comments on that?

[Brooks]

I myself am looking for work for next year and I have yet to receive a job offer.
If you want a job, you have to be flexible. That means you may not get to live where you would prefer.

Just because my wife had a bad experience teaching Koreans does not mean you would.
I have yet to see any job for teaching at a Korean school.
They have to teach English too, so I assume they would want at least one foreign teacher.

Some Korean schools are pro-South as well.

[Rooster_2006]

I appreciate the friendly replies of the posters, but this is what I'm hearing:

Some People:
You're more likely to find a job in the countryside because fewer teachers want to teach there.

Other People:
You're more likely to find a job in the city because more people in an urban area want to learn English.

Who is right?

I can't really shop around the country -- I'll be tied down to one place because I will be attending language school. I have one chance to pick my location/language school, and if I can't find enough work in that area, I'm screwed!

[Apsara]

Then you would be better off in a bigger city where of course there are more jobs, plus more choice of language schools. Not all small towns here will have Japanese language schools.

I disagree that there are more jobs in the country- there are a lot of jobs in rural areas, sure, but not a lot in any one area when compared to Tokyo or Osaka.

Stick with the big cities if you want to be safe- Greater Tokyo is a huge area which includes Yokohama and is very well-connected by trains- provided you interview well it is pretty much unthinkable that you won't find some kind of job. If you set yourself up in Okayama or Akita though there won't be that many jobs to choose from.

The Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe-Nara area also has a large population and good transport links if you prefer to be Kansai-based.

[Rooster_2006]

[Glenski]

Actually, if you combine all the city wards in Tokyo, you get an average population density of over 13,000/sq km. It's a big, spread out place with about the same population (8 - 12 million) as Seoul.

New York City (the most populous city in the USA, with over 8 million people) has a density of about 10,500 if you're interested.

[Apsara]

If that statistic is for Tokyo prefecture then it could be a bit misleading. Tokyo is a long, thin prefecture ranging from very mountainous and rural in the west to very densely populated in the east.

If you find a job/school nearby or don't mind the commute then you can live in the less populated areas of either western Tokyo prefecture, or Saitama, Chiba or Kanagawa prefectures just to the north and south.