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Ratio of applicants per university position?

 
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thesportinglife



Joined: 21 Jun 2010
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:43 pm    Post subject: Ratio of applicants per university position? Reply with quote

While I'm waiting to see if I'm offered an interview, I thought I'd ask: does anyone know what the ratio of applicants per university position in Japan is nowadays?
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Depending on the size and reputation of the school, probably somewhere between 20 and 100. Why?
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thesportinglife



Joined: 21 Jun 2010
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glenski wrote:
Depending on the size and reputation of the school, probably somewhere between 20 and 100. Why?


Just wondering what my chances are. 20 is not too bad--100? Not so great. I hope universities like Ph.D.s.
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fujisan



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thesportinglife wrote:
Just wondering what my chances are. 20 is not too bad--100? Not so great. I hope universities like Ph.D.s.


They like real Ph.D.s. even from Ph.D.s. that are teaching eikaiwa. Which is what most foreign university teachers are doing with their Ph.D.s. here, eikaiwa on a professor visa.
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rascalking



Joined: 02 Nov 2009
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I highly highly doubt there are any people with real Phd's working at an Eikaiwa. No one is that stupid.
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fujisan



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rascalking wrote:
I highly highly doubt there are any people with real Phd's working at an Eikaiwa. No one is that stupid.


There are people with real Phds working at Japanese universities doing what's pretty much the same as eikaiwa with much better salary and vacations. That's not as stupid as eikawa.
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GambateBingBangBOOM



Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And there are people working with real masters degrees in Applied Linguistics or TESOL at real eikaiwas as well.

There are also people with real PhDs working as ALTs in high schools, so it's not that much of a leap to think that there may be someone out there with a PhD working at an eikaiwa.
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starteacher



Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 237

PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are PhDs with no job at all. No need to knock what titles people have if they are working for a living, every reason has its own.
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Drizzt



Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 229
Location: Kyuushuu, Japan

PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The possible silver lining to the 20 - 100 applicants is that I've seen some universities with English centers which hire several English lecturers at a time. I don't know if that means they get more applicants or not, but the fact that they might hire as many as 5 or more teachers at a time is encouraging. (Plus the fact that most of those positions allow contract renewals only up to a certain number of years ensures that new positions are always opening up.)
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Drizzt



Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 229
Location: Kyuushuu, Japan

PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also, I remember reading a post about a study which looked at the qualifications of those submitting an application for university work. At least in that one case, like 40% of those who applied didn't even meet the minimum requirements, so those numbers probably aren't as scary as they might seem at first glance, as long as you meet the minimum requirements.
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thesportinglife



Joined: 21 Jun 2010
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 3:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Drizzt wrote:
Also, I remember reading a post about a study which looked at the qualifications of those submitting an application for university work. At least in that one case, like 40% of those who applied didn't even meet the minimum requirements, so those numbers probably aren't as scary as they might seem at first glance, as long as you meet the minimum requirements.


That's very encouraging--thanks!
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Solar Strength



Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 557
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rascalking wrote:
I highly highly doubt there are any people with real Phd's working at an Eikaiwa. No one is that stupid.


No one is stupid enough to think that there aren't teachers with PhD degrees teaching eikaiwa or other schools in Japan, are they?
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Solar Strength



Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 557
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Drizzt wrote:
The possible silver lining to the 20 - 100 applicants is that I've seen some universities with English centers which hire several English lecturers at a time. I don't know if that means they get more applicants or not, but the fact that they might hire as many as 5 or more teachers at a time is encouraging. (Plus the fact that most of those positions allow contract renewals only up to a certain number of years ensures that new positions are always opening up.)


Drizzt,

There are different kinds of jobs at Japanese universities for foreign English teachers. Not all are permanent, faculty positions. Most are temporary jobs that do not offer any level of long term security or benefits that a bona fide faculty instructor would get. Most of the university EFL jobs advertised in Japanese these days are for these kinds of positions.

Applicants do not need a Ph.D for these kinds of jobs and, in fact, Ph.D applicants who do apply for these positions often do not get them. These schools are looking for teachers with nothing more than a Master's in a relevant area - Education, Applied Linguistics, etc.
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rascalking wrote:
I highly highly doubt there are any people with real Phd's working at an Eikaiwa. No one is that stupid.
It may not be "stupid" as much as "desperate".

Just having a PhD does not make one eligible to apply for university jobs. Far more is required. Read the FAQ links.

Drizzzt wrote:
Also, I remember reading a post about a study which looked at the qualifications of those submitting an application for university work. At least in that one case, like 40% of those who applied didn't even meet the minimum requirements,
Here's one article to support that:
In total, we received 72 applications, 62 of which were in electronic form. The male-female ratio was 10:1. In the initial screening of resumes, I checked to see whether candidates met the minimum educational requirements of a master's degree in applied linguistics or a related field. This, in itself, was a revealing exercise. Roughly 40% of all the applicants did not have the minimum requirements as listed in the job announcement. Shortcomings came in two areas: either the applicants did not have a masters or doctorate, or their graduate qualifications were in a field too distant from that required. Among those whose degree-level was sufficient, but whose area of specialty was not close enough to applied linguistics, a wide range of majors were received. Some specialties such as Chinese and Japanese literature appeared borderline, while many others were, shall we say, overly optimistic, e.g., a lawyer whose specialty was property rights on the moon.
http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/articles/2004/10/stapleton

From the FAQs, here is another link with related information:
http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/articles/2004/10/mccasland
This study looked at the requirements from about 58 university ads that the authors applied to.

Just heard from someone who used to be high up in the ranks of the hiring process at a uni. Of the 100 or so applicants for positions there, 80% were pretty much not eligible yet desperate enough to apply and hope for the best. Some applications (he reported) were very unprofessional.
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