Job Discussion Forums

[Red535]

Hi,

I recently accepted a job teaching in Korea. After the position, I have interest in teaching English in Japan. I realize this is way early but I like to be prepared. I was wondering what my choices would be for teaching English in Japan. Primarily my concern was, if I apply to the JET program, would it be ok to do the application process, interviews, etc. from Korea or are there parts in the application process that would require me to be in the US?

If JET is not a viable path, what would be my best choice for attempting to secure a teaching position in Japan after my stint in Korea? I am primarily interested in teaching in a public school. I have a bachelors in English. Perhaps just boarding a plane to Japan and looking for jobs that way?

Thank you for any input.

[fluffyhamster]

For JET I believe you need to be interviewed in your home country, and if accepted, then fly from your home country on a scheduled day along with fellow JETs in order to be at Tokyo orientation on time and en masse (no stragglers or people making their own way allowed lol). There may well also be short orientations in your home country prior to that departure for the big one in Tokyo.

If JET's requirements (and it is a fairly long and involved application process) aren't possible for you to meet that year, or you apply and aren't accepted or grow tired of waiting, then there is the possibility of working for companies that dispatch AETs (i.e. AET dispatch companies) to public schools, but be aware that the conditions are appreciably worse than JET (e.g. no pension, no health insurance, very limited or no leave) and that you may be treated quite badly by some schools, because as a non-JET AET you won't be a guest of the Japanese government, and thus without a reasonably high-ranking supervisor at the Board of Education looking out for you and making sure schools treat you well. (I say this as somebody who has been a JET and then a dispatch AET).

If you do decide to go the dispatch route, do your research on the companies (there are quire a few threads that concern or mention the main players) and choose wisely. You will probably need some savings (a few thousand dollars at least) to subsidize the lowish wages and to cover any shortfall (possible delays in pay, being shortchanged, and so on), plus accommodation may need to be set up at your expense. Obviously these things aren't problems on JET LOL.

Be aware that the school year starts (and thus the majority of openings are) in late March or early April, so you'd need to be looking and applying at least a month or two before then. Applicants who are in Japan to interview in person will be at an advantage, but some dispatchers do recruit from overseas (but that presumably only adds to the application time required). Be aware that these companies try to outbid each other and thus may end up with fewer openings than they were originally anticipating (i.e. not everyone gets a job come crunch time), so you may need to be applying to several at once and waiting a while to see which actually come up with the goods (and again, it surely helps to be in Japan already).

It is possible to get permission to work once within Japan (rather than having to apply through overseas embassies or consulates), but I never fancied that route as you may open yourself to pressure to work illegally while awaiting the paperwork, plus that "What is the purpose of your visit?" question may be harder to answer "Tourist" if you don't have onward tickets and sufficient savings yadda yadda. (It probably isn't wise to say "Work" if you don't have a work visa when going through Immigration is what I mean LOL). Another thing to bear in mind is that as a dispatch AET you might be asked to teach at not only junior high schools but also a few elementary (even if your Japanese isn't up to much).

Oh, and one more thing: as a dispatch AET your contact with western colleagues will be pretty limited (this is less of a potential problem with JET, thanks to there being more structure, groups, get togethers, meetings etc in place). Sure, you might strike up a friendship or two with fellow AETs in the same school district, and go out drinking a few times, but there certainly won't be quite the co-worker experience that eikaiwa may be able to offer. That being said, IME Chinese private language school students are a bit less reserved and more fun than Japanese eikaiwa students.

Anyway, if you have further questions, just ask!

[TokyoLiz]

Ditto what fluffyhamster said, except

[fluffyhamster]

Hi Liz! Heh, I didn't mean to imply that Japanese co-workers can't be fun, or that there aren't associations to be found beyond or in addition to JET, it's just in my experience, those J co-workers may feel under no compunction nor go out of their way to invite you out or along if you are a mere dispatch AET, and even if you are invited to attend enkais, you may need to think twice on dispatch wages. Things may as you say well be different if you can wangle direct hire locally, but there is never any guarantee one will get or be given that usually rare opportunity even after having networked around and tested the water for a year or two. So eikaiwa might (but only might) be a less isolated experience than dispatch AETing for a complete noob. The flip side of the coin however is that eikaiwa are probably harder work (you lose most of your evenings and Saturdays for one thing!).

[currentaffairs]

I would go over to Japan with a job and a work visa. I think it is hard to get a job over there with no visa... It is also an incredibly expensive place to live without a proper job for a few months.

Westgate might be a good option. You only work for three months and yet you have a one year work visa (unless things have changed). I stayed on in Japan after finishing with Westgate. I found some part-time work and by the second year I was teaching at a couple of universities.

Otherwise, look at the usual options like Aeon, whatever Nova is now, and Geos if they are still around. The big chain schools will at least get you into the country with a job.

[TokyoLiz]

Fluffyhamster, I get what you mean about being a dispatched Alien/ALT.

Also, bear in mind that Japanese dispatched workers are held at arm's length in workplaces. I met some other subject teachers who were so forlorn and isolated at schools they were dispatched to.

I don't recommend taking a dispatch ALT job or eikaiwa job without first mapping a clear exit strategy! Like currentaffairs says, eikaiwa/dispatch ALT work gets you in, but figure out some way to extract yourself after a year or two.

To be fair about the "wangling" of direct hired jobs - I was a JET ALT the first time, lasted a few months as a dispatch ALT, and then a direct employee of a contracting company, then direct hire at a school after that.

It took me only three years to get a proper job, but I think the conditions for real employment are worsening. It may take a lot of "wangling", Japanese language skill, and professional development (I have a TESOL diploma, some grad school, decades of experience) to do what I did.