Job Discussion Forums

nihon · Joined: 04 Jan 2010 Posts: 4

I lived in Japan for about six years -- I'm not fluent but I can get by. I taught some free Eikaiwa classes, but I've never officially taught ESL or taken a Celta/tefl course. I have a degree in Education.
So a few questions:
Because the market's so saturated, are my qualifications enough, or do I need to take a CELTA course?
Is this a good time to be looking for a teaching job? Or am I too late?
Will I be able to save lots of money? Or would Korea be better?
Where is the best place to start looking for a job?

I feel pressed for time, and I'd really like to go back to Japan, but I don't want to rush and end up doing things the wrong way.
Please help out with any advice! Thanks.

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

If you have a degree, you are minimally qualified for teaching jobs here. If you want to teach EFL long-term (here or elsewhere), I'd strongly recommend the certification, if not a master's degree, too.

nihon · Joined: 04 Jan 2010 Posts: 4

Thanks for the response!
I was living on a military base with my family for most of the time, to answer your question.
I've just applied with HEART, since I had a Japanese friend who worked at one of their schools, and it seems to have a good reputation.
I'm just trying to decide if I really want to do this. It might not be worth all the hassle and one-year committment (money-wise). If I won't be able to save a decent amount of money, I'd rather do a shorter program somewhere else.

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

womblingfree · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 826

Nihon, if your degree in Education qualifies you as a teacher you could skip conversation schools altogether and go to work for an international school. Here you can teach whatever your specialism is and not EFL.

There are several agencies that will place you in a school from overseas and set you up. Through an agency the pay's not as good, but it's still better than the an eikaiwa salary usually between 280,000 and 350,000 yen a month. You can always look for other jobs once you're here.

If your degree in education doesn't qualify you as a teacher then you're still qualified for a job at one of the big language schools. And no, you don't need a CELTA for Japan, and if you want to teach as a career, EFL or anything else, then there are better qualifications you should do.

nihon · Joined: 04 Jan 2010 Posts: 4

womblingfree,

Could you give me more information about this? What kind of agencies could I go through? Would I need to have experience as a teacher? I've only been a sub at public schools. I haven't finished certification yet because I've been busy with unrelated jobs (still searching for my dream career).

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

http://www.tokyowithkids.com/fyi/international_schools.html
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/%7Etc9w-ball/useful/schools.htm
These are just lists of links to international schools. Individual sites may or may not have ads and may or may not be in English.

Otherwise look up these job fairs or related sites.
The 3 biggest ones are:

Search Associates, ISS (International School Services) and CIS (Council of International Schools).

And, yes, to get a job in a real international school, you will usually need a couple of years of experience teaching in your home country on your license. No license, and you are not qualified. BTW, international schools begin their academic year in fall, not April, so timing is different from most other places. I don't think you're qualified for int'l school work, but that's the lowdown.