Job Discussion Forums

[M1K1]

Hello everyone,

I was hoping for some insight into teaching business English in Japan.

Are there any particular certifications I would need?

What is the going rate?

Should I apply directly to Japanese companies? If so, what are the most popular ones?

Thanks for any advice.

[kathrynoh]

I taught Business English for a year in Tokyo but was on a student visa so was happy to do part-time/dispatch work.

The main requirement, I found was to have had business experience in your home country. I had no teaching experience but emphasised my related experience - providing on the job training etc in my applications.

I would think for a full time job, companies would be looking for both business experience and teaching experience. The positions can be more competitive and have higher standards than your normal English teaching jobs but then you do tend to get paid more.

The dispatch work is a great way to get your foot in the door but it's definitely not full time and won't get you a visa. You pretty much build up your schedule one class at a time - if you do a good job with your first class, you'll keep getting offered more (and I found the hourly rate went up with each class). That doesn't give you a visa or a steady pay cheque to start with though.

Depending on your background, it might be worth looking for work with a company like GABA that offers flexible work arrangements then transitioning into Business English.

I can't imagine that approaching Japanese companies directly would be the way to go. You'd need to have some kind of relationship with the companies first and be able to communicate at a business level in Japanese.