Job Discussion Forums

Temujin · Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 90 Location: Osaka

I've reached that point where I figure I'll have to make a move soon. I've been at an Eikaiwa for about a year and a half, been promoted and mostly enjoyed every moment of it.

But it can't last.

I have a good non-teaching degree, but any more time spent out here is going to hurt me if I start a career back home, whereas if I'm going to stay in Japan in the longer term it's about time I started working my way up the teaching ladder. I love living here, I love teaching and I don't want to leave my girlfriend and friends behind. And I have no particular enthusiasm about going home.

So I know the next logical step would be ALT. I'm not going anywhere near a dispatch company, but I know getting a job through a Board of Education is not going to be easy.

I have a few tenuous contacts that might be able to help me out, but I'm basically at a loss as to where to start. So I'm looking for advice about finding good work as an ALT. I know people aren't going to be too forthcoming about revealing their secrets and increasing the competition, but I'd really appreciate any words of wisdom you could give me.

I have a TESOL and about 18 months of experience teaching kids at my Eikaiwa. I can read and write fairly well in Japanese, though my conversational ability is a bit weaker. I'm pretty attached to the Kansai area.

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

Speed · Joined: 04 Jul 2003 Posts: 152 Location: Shikoku Land

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

'ski
I think the OP means a direct hire ALT they are around but few and far between.

Temujin
I have to echo 'ski's point that ALT (even direct hire) is not necessarily logical the way to go, hsi other paths are much better. Also as an ALT you would be taking a step back, responsibility wise and I don't see it going anywhere forward, you may get a solo gig but you're not likely to become head of the English Department.

Just a comment on your long term goals. There is not a particularly long career path in ESL in Japan. Perhaps the best is tenured University lecturer, and the tertiary sectors future is looking pretty gloomy. So if it is a choice between staying and making a fist of it in ESL here or going home and pursuing a career in whatever it is you can do, I would really think hard about it. Much better than making the same decision in ten years when your options are limited.

southofreality · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 579 Location: Tokyo

If your ultimate desire is to make a life here in Japan, and you're not married to the idea of teaching English forever, have an EFL exit plan before, or soon after you get here. Network and research available opportunities. After the initial excitement of being here winds down a little bit, spend quite a bit of your free time doing this. There are tons of opportunities here for people who are motivated. As Glenski mentioned, starting your own business is not a bad idea if you have some good ideas about what kind to start. I'd stay away from the gaijin bar idea unless it's your dream to open one.

Don't sell yourself short here. If you want a life outside EFL in Japan, you can make one. Just do your homework and you'll be fine.

KCorv100 · Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 14

After Convo-schools? well there is certainly life in the sense life begins at 40.

A university job would seem a good next step: An Ad hoc checklist -

Do you have a masters in a relevant discipline?
Do you know the right people or are you going to be in the right place at the right time?

OK all things being so, then you have the job...

Do you care that you have a large class of uninterested students who babble in Japanese at every opp?
Do you care that, (if you don't speak Japanese) you may have no idea what is going on, particularly with regard to the irritating sub-routines that make a total nonsense of everthing that you believe to be true?
Are you prepared to accept that Japanese universities are blatantly mis-managed business entities
Are you prepared to work to your fullest, because that is all your conscience allows you to do, only to discover that your contract isn't being renewed due to low enrollment numbers in the Department as a whole?

If so, then you are da' Man!!

(an adaptation from Rudyard Kipling's supper time kippers)

Delicious.

Chris21 · Joined: 30 Apr 2006 Posts: 366 Location: Japan

KCorv100,

I feel really sorry for your students,

Gypsy Rose Kim · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 151

I'd like to add one more bit of advice. While you are sorting all this out, save your money! I mean, buckle down hard and really save. You'll have far more options that way. You're going to need more education and training if you stick with EFL. It's inevitable.

I do wonder, if you've already been promoted at your current eikawa, why wouldn't you consider staying with the company and working your way up to a corporate job there? Not my thing, but for certain types it is ideal.

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

Temujin · Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 90 Location: Osaka

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'm making one of those life-altering decisions and I could use all the advice I can get.

I guess there are other options besides ALT that I should be on the lookout for. A full-time solo teaching position would be fantastic for me. I'm just concerned about how to start looking. I'm putting out feelers to my very limited contacts, but beyond that I'm not even sure how to find out what schools there are in my area. Japanese is not really a huge barrier to me, but not having given any thought to another job the whole time I've been here is a big one.

JET would also be great. My friend left my Eikaiwa and wound up back in Japan with JET and has an enviable setup now. But, JET isn't really a long-term solution, and I'd worry a lot about location. I'm very attached to Kansai. JET is a fallback solution if I end up back home and feel I have to come back.

Staying at my current job would be the easy solution. I enjoy it, and could reasonably expect to progress up the few remaining rungs of the promotion ladder. But, although I completely agree that being happy at work is THE goal as far as jobs go, I do have higher priorities outside of work that are pushing me away from this ultimately dead-end career. I don't have any spectacular ambitions as far as money goes, but I do want to advance myself professionally in whatever career I end up in, and for ESL that would mean aiming for University work sooner or later. On top of all this I have genuine concerns that my Eikaiwa isn't going to survive in it's current form for much longer.

I really appreciate your comments markle. I know that ultimately, staying here means I'm getting a pretty raw deal career wise. I'm willing to accept that for all that other stuff that I presume is keeping all of us here at the end of the day. But if I can't pull something off by the time my current visa runs out I'm going to call it a day for the exact reasons you mentioned.

Escaping the ESL field, or at least having the option to (I'm fortunate in that I love teaching) would be great. But I don't think my Japanese is quite there yet. I'm somewhere between level 3 and level 2 on the JLPT, but I do take the language seriously, and I know that it will eventually give me the opportunity to bring all of my other skills and qualifications besides teaching to bear on an alternative career. It's a ray of sunshine that I'll keep in mind.

Thanks again.

womblingfree · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 826

Like anyone wanting to stay in Japan long-term and get a proper teaching or lecturing job there is only one practical course of action.

Get professionally qualified and then apply for International schools and universities. Either in your own country or in Japan, your own country is the better option.

Otherwise you are basically viewed as a short-term, unskilled, migrant worker and although you have rights you will most likely be treated about as well as a Mexican gardener in the U.S. by unscrupulous dispatch companies.

The thing is, once you are properly qualified, what's the incentive to go back to Japan when you could make double the salary somewhere else?

If you just want to stay another year or two then JET is the best option by far.

matador · Joined: 07 Mar 2003 Posts: 281

There are a lot of options. I work for two dispatch companies in the biz. English sector and get 5000-6000 per hour. Usually around 23 hrs per week so it works out quite well. Another good option is to get out of Japan and continue teaching English in another country (I went to Hong Kong and Germany). It gives you a broader perspective and looks good on your resume. I would also consider doing an MA in TESOL or similar by distance learning.

Good luck and great days ahead for you no doubt!! If you need any more info pls pm me.

User N. Ame · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 222 Location: Kanto

cornishmuppet · Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Posts: 642 Location: Nagano, Japan

In terms of salary I'd say becoming a BoE ALT is probably a step up, but in terms of experience and skills its more a sideways step. ALT work involves different skills, rather than being a step up or back. In terms of work load, its generally a step down.

If you really want a BoE job (and there are a few around), you need to hound the BoEs for upcoming vacancies (a friend of mine did, about six months in advance at regular intervals, and it worked for him - he had to interview but he came out top of the pile), and keep your nose to the ground. Its important to know other BoE ALTs, because often if a vacancy comes up those ALTs are asked to refer people. Sometimes ads are placed in Japanese job centres, or in International centres, but you're unlikely to see them on ESL Cafe.

I'm not sure if this is helpful or not, but this is pretty much how its been in my experience. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Gypsy Rose Kim · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 151