Job Discussion Forums

[james_tesol]

Having continually taken courses and qualifications over my 7 year teaching career i am aiming to fulfill my original dream of teaching in Japan. Japan was the reason i got into TEFL but never made it there for various reasons.

I have continued to deveop myself professionally in the hope of landing a good job in Japan. I know i could quite easily find a bog standard TEFL language school job but i do not like working in language schools. Instead i want to work in a university or college or my least preferred choice of high school.

I was wondering if the forum could tell me what is the best job i could get with my qualifications ?

I have a BA, and MSc in Business, PGCE from UK, MA TESOL,CELTA Grade A, 7 Years experience - 3 years in universities

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

[Glenski]

On the plus side, you might land a job in a university here. On the negative side, many unis prefer to hire people only if they have had teaching experience in Japan.

I have written extensively about getting hired in a university. Essentially, you need a master's in the proper field (which you do), publications (do you?), and some Japanese language ability (do you?). Physically being in Japan is also a plus, but not necessarily a hard requirement. Institutions will vary, and you should look at the FAQ sticky for sites to check out for ads, because they will tell you more about qualifications. Another site (a wiki) has been dismantled, but the article I wrote there was published in The Language Teacher (a JALT publication), so look that up for more advice. Just bear in mind the hiring season (roughly July to November) and the fact that for every uni job you may see 20-100 applicants. The vast majority of positions are not tenured, but instead offer one or two 3-year contacts.

Listen to taikibansei here if he adds more.

You could also probably land a job, permanent or stopgap to university, in a business English agency. See the FAQ sticky for sites.

[james_tesol]

I dont have any publications. I also have no Japanese language ability. I could study Japanese here in Korea if it woudl really help me to get a foot in the door.

Being in Korea would be quite useful as i could fly in for an interview but i guess a lot of unis want you in country?

[Glenski]

Get published. It's a major concern, perhaps more so than Japanese ability.

And, yes, perhaps the majority of unis want you in country. Not all, but most IMO.