Job Discussion Forums

[SRC]

I've lived all of my 36 years here in Alberta, Canada and worked in the computer field. With the downturn in the computer industry I'm seriously considering teaching English in Japan. (My sister spent four years in Japan but I've never been there.) From what I've read here that's not an option for me as my training is in computers not education, but I wanted to confirm a few things:

1. If I'm over 30, do I need a 4yr BA in education from a University or does the degree people refer to mean the one I could easily get in a few weeks from a TESOL school?

2. If so, is this something that only applies to Japan? I wasn't aware of age being a factor and/or needing an actual BA - I went basically the opposite direction - Engineering.

3. When postings refer to "native" English teacher, is that someone who is native to Japan or someone who's native tongue is English? I'm the latter and would presume that it refers to the latter but wanted to confirm.

Thanx
SRC

[Sherri]

I'll try to answer your questions:

1. To work in Japan you need a BA or BS in any subject--engineering is OK. The month-long TEFL course does not count--sorry. This is a requirement made by immigration.

2. Age is not a factor, I am not sure what you mean by this unless it is a reference to the fact that you are too old for a working holiday visa. I can't say what you need to teach in other countries around the world.

3. "Native" English teacher means someone who speaks English as their native language--like you!
Hope this helps

[nakanoalien2]

Hiya - why not consider a tech job in Japan then? I haven't looked for a job recently, but my impression is that certain areas of IT are quite sought after.

I'm pretty sure you don't speak Japanese right? Well, I'm sure that will narrow down your options, but will not necessarily stop you from finding an IT job here (like the guy sitting behind me).

If you are interested, look into info about the IT job market, look into recruiters, monster, other avenues. Careerwise, paywise, and possibly (depending on your feelings) fulfillment-wise this could be a much better match.

Of course, if you are looking to break from IT then fine. I found it fun, fulfilling, interesting and a great way to introduce myself to a new culture.

Bob

[SRC]

[PAULH]

If you are 36, dont have a Canadian University degree, you will not be able to get a sponsored work visa nor can you apply for the working holiday visa, whcih is only avilable to people under the age of 30.

Tech jobs require FLUENCY in Japanese and there are even people with Level 1 in the proficiency test who are having trouble finding work.


There are a number of Forums on the Web where prospective English teachers ask specific questions related to aquiring teaching employment in Japan. Below you will find a number of the most commonly asked questions with specific answers that are based on the experiences of a number of teachers who are currently working in Japan.

1. What do I need to get a Work Visa for teaching in Japan?
In order to get a Work Visa to teach in Japan, one needs to have a BA or BS degree from a US; UK; Australian; NZ; or other western post-secondary institution. One must submit an ORIGINAL degree to Japanese Immigration in order to get the required Certificate of Eligibility.

2. What do I need to DO to get my Work Visa?
There are basically two ways to get a work Visa to teach in Japan:

a) The first option is to arrange employment from your home country. The Japanese employer will then handle the arrangements for you. The new teacher will send their ORIGINAL college degree to the Japanese employer who will, in turn, take it to the local Immigration Office in Japan. A Certificate of Eligibility will then be sent to the foreign recruit in her home country; she then presents (either in-person or by certified delivery)her Passport and this Certificate to the Japanese Embassy or Consulate in her home country. The Work Visa will be stamped in the new teacher's Passport. This writer has undertaken this process twice and each time it has taken about four or five weeks to complete though I have been told by reputable sources that this period can be considerably shorter as well as somewhat longer.

b) The second option is to come to Japan on a Tourist Visa in order to search for employment. If a teacher secures a job offer while in Japan on a Tourist Visa, the new teacher MUST leave the country in order to secure a Work Visa. Most teachers go to Korea as this is usually the cheapest and quickest option. Obviously, if one has a Working Holiday, Spouse, or Student Visa, there are other issues involved; this page is intended for teachers who are thinking about coming to teach in Japan full-time over a longer term. Coming to Japan to search for employment is obviously a much more expensive option than securing employment from abroad. Living in Japan as a "job-hunting" tourist can be a very expensive undertaking, and this writer would not come over here to look for a job with much less than 4-5,000 US dollars and a valid credit card, but, of course, there are others who've arrived in Japan with less. For more information, check out the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Online Visa Section

3. Where can I find the companies that recruit foreign teachers from abroad?
Like the answer given to the question above, there are basically two options concerning the TYPES of employers who hire English teachers from abroad.

a) The private language schools: The big three in this arena are AEON; GEOS; and NOVA though there are hundreds of smaller operations in Japan. These organizations are FOR-PROFIT businesses, and, as such, they operate from the same premise that literally millions of other businesses operate from: Decisions in these businesses are made with an eye on the bottom line, so if you decide to work in this arena, just be aware that the institutional culture will reflect the fact that these "schools" are, in fact, large for-profit Japanese corporations. This answer is in no means meant to criticize these organizations one way or another but hopes to inform young teachers about the reality of the EFL work environment in Japan.

b) The Japanese Public School System: This option also has a large player: The JET Program-- though there are similar, smaller programs operated by individual cities and prefectures in Japan. When a teacher is accepted into the JET Program, she is assigned to work as an "Assistant English Teacher" in the Japanese Public School System. These teachers work the same schedules and at the same schools as Japanese teachers; therefore; one is placed within the education bureaucracy which has its own set of unique issues that are different in kind from the "business-related" issues mentioned above. The JET Program recruits a large number of teachers, and I have been told that the lead time is longer for JET than for the private language schools, but I can not state this with certainty. JET teachers do observe national holidays as they work the school calander. I have personally spoken with JET teachers who have been placed away from the urban centers, so this is a real possiblity.

4. Where should I work?
First, make sure to read the answers to the questions above before reading the answer to this question. There are as many opinions about NOVA, GEOS, AEON, and JET as there are English teachers who have passed through the revolving doors in Japan over the last two decades or so. This writer had a bad first experience in Japan because he did not ASK APPROPRIATE questions PRIOR to taking a job. I was excited to get abroad and start working, so I allowed myself to take a job too hastily. (I have since worked in three countries, and I am now happily employed in Japan, so I hope that I have learned a lesson in here somewhere). Many teachers, especially young ones, say the same things over and over again--if only I had realized. . . . . . . . Hence, there is a HUGE turnover in foreign teachers here--in some companies I've been told that the average "new" teacher stays on the job for about six months. Obviously, there are some issues with both employers and employees if this is indeed the case. Some simple advice (what I wish someone had told me). Make a simple list of things that are important to you in your everyday life--maybe put them in order of importance--and find out EXACTLY how these issues will be affected by your prospective job BEFORE you relocate 10-15,000 miles/km around the world. For example, I would have placed "vacation time"; the ability to see cultural things in Japan; the ability to meet Japanese people and many other things on my list (many put $ close to the top). Now, once you have written your list , TAKE THE TIME to carefully prepare questions for the recruiter so that you will know how issues that you find important in your life will fit in with your new job. DO NOT MOVE half-way around the world unless you feel that you've been given some satisfactory answers to questions which YOU DEEM IMPORTANT!

[PAULH]

There are NO Japanese native speakers of English in japan. Japanese is the first and native language spoken here and English is taught as a FOREIGN language, not a second language.

"Native" refers to native speakers of English from United States, Canada etc. who learnt the language from birth and those who have at least 12 years schooling in English.

A three-year degree is required by immigration as a visa requirement, NOT by your employer. It is possible to get jobs if you dont have a degree but you must satisfy their other requirements e.g spouse visa, working holiday, dependents visa etc. (these are mostly part time anyway- to work full time you need a working visa, except for the (Japanese) spouse visa).

[nakanoalien2]

Tech jobs require FLUENCY in Japanese and there are even people with Level 1 in the proficiency test who are having trouble finding work.

PaulH - simply not true. The type of IT job and employer determines what level of Japanese is needed. If the candidate is a programmer in a foreign company, absolutely no fluency whatsoever may be required. If it is a programmer in a Japanese company, then level 1 may be required. Same could go for a network admin person or DBA. Does the candidate need to work with Japanese vendors? Clients? These are the things that will determine the need. Now as to the availability of jobs, I cannot say. I have not been looking. As I mentioned, lack of Japanese language will reduce your pool, but not exclude one from eligibility.

I'm not Canadian, so I admittedly have no idea about JP-CA visa arrangements, however, is it possible that an IT job candidate may have different visa requirements? There are various visa types (Humanities, Entertainer, etc). Could there be different requirements? I would check it out.

[ryuro]

Howdy!

I�m a N. American who�s worked for almost every type of English teaching organization (conversation schools, high schools, colleges, universities, etc�) in Japan not only as a teacher but for the last few years primarily as a recruiter. Basically I�m hired to find and train teachers- usually from abroad and thought I might be able to add something to this topic.

Most everything here is correct; however, what most people don't know is that Immigration has changed many of it's visa requirements in the last year or so. This is not rumour or hearsay, both myself and my Japanese co-worker have spoken to Immigration DIRECTLY to clear up this matter. The government has made these changes in order to attract more people/workers to Japan. I don't think immigration was too thrilled, because they certainly don't advertise this and, in fact, as of a month ago they hadn't changed their website. But here are the two big changes they've made...

1. It is no longer necessary to leave the country to change a tourist visa to a working visa. The sponsor must still go through the process of obtaining the Certificate of Eligibility. Once the company has that, the teacher simply takes it to their local immigration office and completes the process/paperwork- THEY NO LONGER HAVE TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.

2. The B.A./B.S./four year degree requirement is no longer set in stone. Sometimes a TESOL/TEFL degree is sufficient to obtain the working visa. This became abundantly evident when the flood of applicants possessing only TESOL/TEFL degrees started inundating my inbox. However, before anyone out there rushes out to do a quickie, two-week internet TESOL/TEFL correspondence course; be warned that immigration evaluates these on a case-by-case basis. Immigration will be far more likely to approve a work visa for a candidate that has completed a more in-depth course that has included a practicum and one from which you can obtain some kind of transcript (not just the nice, color laser-printed certificate) than they would from one of those "intensive" courses.

Oh, one final change- the government no longer requires a sponsor to garantee a minimum yearly salary- explains a lot of the plunging salaries in the last year.

I hope you find this information useful, but I would again caution those without a 4 year degree you may still find it difficult to get the proper working visa, but at least it's not "impossible" anymore.

Cheers,

ryuro

PS. We have two "test-cases" pending with immigration as I write this. These were teachers we recruited who possess only a TESOL/TEFL degree and we're waiting to see what decision immigration hands down regarding their visas. When I know anything I'll post it.

[G Cthulhu]

Don't read this if a minor flame offends you. BUt the post was just too bad to let it go by:

[drakis]

[PAULH]

[junajuna]

look on www.mofa.com (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) then click on Japan, then on to visas and you'll get details on visa requirements. (You'll have to sort through a whole heap of them, but it's helpful)