Job Discussion Forums

[db2006]

Hello,
I am an English teacher currently working in Thailand. I am considering a move to Japan next year, and am looking for any help or information on these questions:

1. I am an older teacher (49, soon to be 50!). Will my age be any sort of barrier to finding work in Japan? i.e. are companies looking for younger teachers, or are they happy to hire us old guys? (I will likely be looking for a work teaching business english)

2. re: Business English. Does anyone have any advice about finding BE work in Japan? i.e. how to find jobs, good places to work for, places to avoid, pitfalls, etc.?

3. Is it possible to arrange a Business English job from outside Japan before I arrive? Or would I need to look for a job once I get to Japan?


Again, thanks for any advice you can give. Sorry if I'm being wordy, but this is my first post on eslcafe.

Background:
- 49 yo English teacher currently working at a Thai university
- native speaker, Canadian nationality, with BA and CELTA
- 5 years ESL experience in UK, France, and Thailand
- business background in IT

[Glenski]

Age will play a factor in some cases, yes.

Some eikaiwas prefer a younger group. Even if they don't care, you will likely be working for a boss half your age. Think about that.

Some places deal in teaching only younger kids, and for that reason they often want younger (more energetic?) teachers. It's up to you, depending on your career goals, whether you want to apply there in the first place.

Please look in the last FAQ sticky (or third one, I can't recall) for links to business English outfits.

Finding work from outside Japan may prove difficult at best. That's as concrete an answer as I can give. You might find someone willing to do a phone interview, but I seriously doubt that anyone in Japan will be recruiting in Thailand for the type of job you seek.

[markle]

One blessing is that the Thai and Japanese academic years are concurrent so you can finish up your contract in Thailand and be able to start one here.

One other option you might want to consider is coming over on a break and take a look around, organise a few interviews, see how you like the place.

[Symphany]

Db 2006

I taught English for a year in Japan, and the last few months of it I lived in a guesthouse where I got to meet a lot of other people. My guesthouse had a few people living in it who are 40+. Of this group the majority had regular English-teaching jobs. One place you might want to look into is Gaba -- noting that they don't offer any guaranteed salary --- your wages are based solely on the number of students you can attract and keep.
Their web page is

www.gaba.co.jp

You can try the big four with the exception of Nova --they are on the verge of bankruptcy, ECC, GEOS and Aeon are the others.

There are alot more jobs than the typical eikawa but they often want you to already be on Japanese soil. Try www.gaijinpot.com or www.ohayosensei.com for some listings.

[jgmodlin]

I tend to agree that it will be difficult to land a job while not in Japan. I taught primarily business English for seven years until I returned to the US this year (at age 42). I think the schools that provide business English to their clients don't care much about age (I worked with folks well into their 50s). AEON has a pretty decent corporate department, as does Berlitz, JAL Academy, GEOS, and a lot of small mama-san type operations. The key I found was to land one gig, and then start networking through the other teachers to find others. I also purposefully avoided putting all of my eggs in one basket working for just one agency. Keep three at a minimum, that way if one goes bad you have the others to see you through till you build back up. Also, by not working too many hours at one single place, I found that you could pretty much plan vacations whenever you wanted. Just announce, as opposed to having to ask for, that you will be out of town from x date to y date. Not very much trouble for a company to line up a sub or just postpone the class. Evening and morning contracts combined with some misc. private students kept me at a comfortable 300,000 - 400,000 yen take home for most of the time I was in Tokyo.
I never could understand some of my whiner acquaintances who used to complain about beign stuck at an eikaiwa working 30 hours at 250,000. Whenever I used to offer to hook them up with freelance work they would always say, "but I won't get any paid vacation". Well do the math and decide..
Lastly, check the Japan Times Monday paper and line up an interview before coming if you can. Good luck and don't worry about the age thing in business English!

[markle]

What visa did you have while you were doing this freelance work? Did you self-sponsor? I'm not saying it can't be done it's just not as straight forward as you are implying.

[db2006]

Hi, thanks for the information about teaching BE at different places, and the company names, that is very useful.

However I am also wondering about the visa, like the last poster.

I assume your suggestion would involve working part-time at several places, as opposed to a full-time job.

I don't know about the visa situation in Japan, but I know alot of teachers here in Thailand who do exactly that. And yes, it does give you a lot of freedom, but also gives you alot of headaches about your visa and work permit. Here in Thailand, working part time at many places means you cannot get a work permit, and you are probably working on a tourist visa, which is technically illegal.

Is that the same situation in Japan? i.e. can you work at several part time jobs and still get a proper visa/ work permit, etc. ??

[J.]

Yes it is more trouble to get the "multi-sponsored" visa. You have to get contracts signed from all your companies, but that in itself is not too difficult, once you are hired and explain that you need them for your visa. You simply type up the contract yourself with your name and address and your job title, duties and rate of pay and the company's information with the signature of both of you ( official seal for the company) plus the dates the contract covers (1 year is standard but could be up to 3 years if you want a longer visa).

But probably you are going to want to get a regular company-sponsored visa when you first come, until you can make contacts and find some students. A good bet would be going with a company and then after a year, trying to get them to allow you to go part-time while you hook up with some other part-time situations.You will be able to pursue Business English teaching situations.

You really just need to get contracts totalling up to around the standard 250, 000 yen per month to satisfy Immigration, but you must make sure they are companies able to "properly" sponsor you, which means they are reputable or bigger companies or Private schools, or government entities, like town governments. If they have ever sponsored anyone, they are likely okay. You also have to keep your tax records (receipts) to submit each year, as they will ask for them.

Though it's more trouble, it is a way out of the stultifying (for many) eikaiwa teaching and gives you more freedom with your timetable and earnings and the ability to choose your clients,and be your own "boss' which many feel is worth the hassle once a year.