Job Discussion Forums

[canadiangirlsrock]

Hi all. Just a quick question. What are the minimum creditials that the japanese look for in hiring their English Teachers? I have a two year dipolma and the TESOL course. Is that enough or should I be looking elsewhere?
Thanks to all in advance for your replies.

[Celeste]

You must have a bachelor's degree. Without it you cannot get a regular work visa. If you have no BA and are still under 30 (I am assuming from your user name you are Canadian) then you can come for 1 year on a non-renewable working holiday visa. Check out the FAQ post. It will answer your questions more fully.

[Glenski]

canadiangirl,

First of all, you have to specify what type of school where you want to work, and your nationality.

Universities want people with a minimum of a master's degree in a teaching-related field and several publications.
Eikaiwas hire practically anyone. You don't need a degree in education, and depending on the type of visa you have, you may not even need a degree at all.
Places like high schools, elementary schools, international schools, etc. fall somewhere in between. Some prefer people with teaching related degrees, while others want people with teaching experience (in Japan usually), even with an eikaiwa.

TEFL or TESOL (or any other related ) certificates are not considered degrees here. For some eikaiwas that may give you a measly increase in pay, for others nothing. For some eikaiwas, it may be a negative point because some places have their own teaching format and don't want you to bring in anything new. For other places, it seems to be a benefit to get people with training. In my experience, more often than not, such certificates really don't help in getting a job; they are more useful in how you are able to perform your job. (That is, they can help you to plan lessons and present them properly.)

So, what about these visas?
A work visa requires a 3- or 4-year bachelor's degree (any subject will do), or several years of directly related work experience. You can renew this type of visa endlessly.

A working holiday visa doesn't require a degree at all, but you must fulfill age, nationality, and financial requirements. This visa is good only for a limited time and it is not available to Americans.

A spouse visa gives you the eligibility to work at any kind of job, but you must still fulfill the requirements of the employer. So, if he wants a bachelor's degree in linguistics, and you don't have one, you won't get hired. This type of visa is for people married to Japanese.

A dependent visa is for people who are married to non-Japanese that have FT jobs in Japan. With additional paperwork, you can get permission to work PT. No degree needed for this type of visa, but you still have to meet the employer's requirments to get hired.

A student visa is for people who are attending a Japanese school, so they obviously don't have degrees. You can work PT on this.