Job Discussion Forums

Valaki · Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 85 Location: Japan

Dear seklarwia,

Thank you for all your advice.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Valaki · Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 85 Location: Japan

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

globalcitizen · Joined: 14 Aug 2004 Posts: 23

Valaki, I am Hungarian, hold a BA in English from a Hungarian university, left the country before the changes and have dual Hungarian/Canadian citizenship. I worked in Japan 2x, first with Westgate, later with the JET Porgram. Your schooling is not the problem, your passport is. I applied from Canada as a Canadian citizen and nobody ever asked why my degree is from Hungary. pm me if you have any questions.

Valaki · Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 85 Location: Japan

cat mother · Joined: 22 Sep 2009 Posts: 62

Why are you so dead set on Japan? Even as a Hungarian national, with your credentials, you can still get a work visa to teach English in Thailand.

I really don't understand your obsession with Japan.

And this sentence "Please realize that if you don't have a PhD in nuclear physics, being exploited by a Japanese employer is 1000x better than doing ANYTHING in Europe." is just pure nonsense.
Please. Stop. Being. So. Desperate. You're not doing yourself any favors with this kind of attitude.

Valaki · Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 85 Location: Japan

Dear catmother,

Thanks for being concerned about my state of mind. Yes, it is a hyperbole about the PhD in physics but I can tell you the situation is not good.

My obsession comes from several sources. I've lived there for 4 years and also I practice martial arts so I am connected in several ways.

And of course the salaries are huge.

I am not having success with getting offers from Thailand.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

If you are not physically present, I can easily understand why you don't get offers from any country, including Thailand. What do the posters here have to tell you about such a method to get a job in Thailand anyway?

Regarding your martial arts interest, you could try to get a cultural activities visa to continue studying that here. You'd need to find a master/sensei willing to sponsor you for it, of course. With special permission from immigration, you could even work PT, perhaps beginning to build up a teaching experience. But, to land a FT teaching job, you're going to find a lot of problems because of your nationality, as has already been explained.

cat mother · Joined: 22 Sep 2009 Posts: 62

Valaki, you have to understand that there are thousands of non-natives here already and many of them teach English. However, most of them hold spouse visas and that's why potential employers are willing to hire them.

I'm a non-native passport holder myself but I grew up and was educated in the US. And yes, I am here on a spouse visa.

Having done a fair bit of hiring in Japan, I can tell you that your chances of finding a willing sponsor are nil. The market is flooded with teachers, both native and non-native, with valid visas and without.

If, as a non-native passport holder, you were not educated in an English speaking country, I highly doubt your visa application will be approved. We've tried it with a friend of mine, also from Eastern Europe and were denied.

If by some chance you do secure a work visa, please realize that in all likelihood you will not be paid the "huge salary" you're referring to (which, by the way, is not all that huge by local standards), but non-native rates instead.

And since say you've lived in Japan for 4 years, you really should know all this.

Get yourself a ticket to Thailand and start knocking on doors. You should have no problem getting a job and a work visa once you're there. There are plenty of Poles, Germans, Slovaks, etc that work there legally as English teachers.