Job Discussion Forums

[DarkMagus]

I'm probably going to be looking for a job in an entirely different field (NOT related to teaching) after returning from Japan. I'm also considering applying to graduate schools/law schools.

Would a job teaching English in Japan for an eikiawa (NOVA in my case) be a boost to my resume? Would it help me get into graduate school/law school? Does it count for anything?

Please give me your take on this. Accounts of personal experiences would be awesome, too.

[PAULH]

[DarkMagus]

Thanks, Paul. That's about what I was thinking--its more about the experience/goal-setting/etc. than the "teaching". I'm currently a Special Education teacher at a high school in the US (so I do have some "real" teaching experience, not just relying on NOVA for that)!

I'm probably going to be applying to graduate schools/law schools (in the US) while in Japan. I'm asking this question because I'm determined to get into graduate school in some capacity, but I've got a pretty bad GPA (2.0), but from a notoriously tough school. I'm hoping that my (two years) experience as a Special Education teacher and experience working and living in Japan will sort of "make up for" by poor GPA. Maybe that will "prove" that I'm worthy of getting into a graduate program of some sort.

In case that doesn't work out, its good to know that folks who teach in Japan go on to do other things in other (non-teaching) fields.

[PAULH]

For what its worth, I know someone on another forum who spent four years in the eikaiwas (language schools) and went back to Australia and is now working in banking. he picked up a bit of Japanese and uses it to deal with japanese customers in Australia.

Not sure about law school, maybe a bit of international relations will rev up your resume as you did something other than Spring break in cancun but while you are here you may as well make the most of your experience. Dont just work at NOVA and go out drinking but see the country a bit, learn the language. Think outside the box, as it were.

In case you dont know, Temple University offers a LLM at its campus in Tokyo. May be worth picking up credits while you are here.

http://www.tuj.ac.jp

[Temujin]

I'd more or less agree with PaulH. I've seen some say that teaching in Japan is worthless as far as non-teaching career prospects go, but there are a bunch of transferable skills that we can demonstrate.

I'm a Physics graduate so being able to demonstrate communications skills is a big plus and I intend to work internationally so I can also demonstrate an ability to cope in this context.

There's also the not insignificant factor of arousing the interest of potential employers. Sometimes this might count for nothing, but other times it might be the thing that gets you through the door.

It might not be as much as you'd like, and, purely in terms of your career prospects, it would certainly be more beneficial to be working in your future field already, but teaching in Japan is certainly not worthless.

[shuize]

Here are the hard facts about law school and legal study in general. Admission to U.S. law schools is usually based on two main factors: Grades and LSAT scores. Your experience abroad will run a distant third, if considered at all.

Time spent teaching English will not hurt you -- nor will it help you. If your LSAT scores don't make up for poor grades, don't waste your money applying.

Finally, the only "Masters" program in law worth doing is an LL.M. Unfortunately, however, you not be able to get in to any legitimate LL.M. program without prior legal study. For an American, that means a J.D. (3 years of graduate law school). For everyone else, at least an undergraduate degree in law (not possible in the U.S. as there are no undergraduate law programs). Other "law" related courses, like "criminal justice" or "comparative legal studies" might be useful for you to see if you are actually interested in the field, but will make no difference toward law school admission and carry zero weight in the profession. You may as well study Piano.

[seanmcginty]

Hey DarkMagus

I'm actually just finishing first year Law school in Canada. I spent 5 years teaching English in Japan, saving up money, and thats what I'm spending it on.

My Japanese experience didn't count for anything in getting accepted to Law school. It was all GPA / LSAT, though some schools take into consideration factors like life experience.

My GPA wasn't so great so I didn't think I would get accepted. But I took the LSAT in Tokyo just to see how I would do and I ended up with a very high score, which was enough to compensate for my GPA.

Law school seems to be a popular choice for ex English teachers in Japan. There are three other ex-Eikaiwa teachers (2 NOVA, 1 ECC) in first year out of about 100 students.

Once piece of advice: Get your applications in early. I left mine to the last minute and I didn't get accepted at my top two choices. I think if I had applied earlier I would have had a better chance with them.

Good luck.

[Jazz1975]

[bornslippy1981]

I'm not sure about law school or graduate school, but for a job outside the teaching world, it's a big boost to have lived abroad and worked for a foreign company.

This information comes from a friend who is HR director for a large US company, which owns a few casinos, two professional sports teams, a pizza chain, and a food distribution company, amongst others.

Oh, and before the Peanut Gallery chimes in that a company can't own casinos and sports clubs, the casinos are in the wife's name, and the sports clubs are in the husband's.

[Jazz1975]