Job Discussion Forums

[Haleznz]

I'm looking to come to Japan in a few years time. Obviously none of us have a crystal ball but HOPEFULLY the economy will be starting to come right by then.

I'd like to teach corporate English or at a Uni etc, because I'm hoping to make a bit of money rather than just have an experience.

I'll be coming with the following qualifications (all gained in NZ except where in brackets):

Certificate in Business Administration Levels 2,3,4
Diploma in Business Administration L5
Certificate in TESOL with Business (UK co, online)
Certificate in ESL
Certificate in Adult Education Level 4
Diploma in Business Management (Australian co)
BA majoring in Education, minoring in Japanese

And the following experience:

Five years working in adult education, including designing and moderating assessments and assessing candidates at polytechnic/uni level
One year teaching English in Thailand (to children)
Six years voluntary teaching English to recent Asian immigrants to NZ
Can speak Japanese

Also... not sure if it makes any difference but I'm a female in my 30's with good appearance and blonde hair/blue eyes... not sure if it makes any difference in Japan but it was an advantage in Thailand!

If anyone is still reading... any advice would be great

ETA I quite like the idea of Sapporo... if the money is good enough, otherwise happy with Tokyo or other areas.

[Mr_Monkey]

I think you might struggle to find uni work with no master's degree.

In the end, though, it's often who you know rather than what you know when it comes to landing university work, so you might get lucky. I wouldn't count on it however.

The flipside of this is that without local contacts, it can be quite difficult to obtain non-entry work. Depending on how good your Japanese is, you might find that your other diplomas and certs help you to l.and a job teaching business English, for example, at a senmon gakkou (a specialist school) or something, but you'll likely not hear about such jobs from outside Japan.

[Haleznz]

Thanks for your reply.

Any indication on what Business English in Japan pays?

[Inflames]

I agree that it'll be quite difficult to get a direct hire job at a uni without a master's. You can probably get a job with a dispatch company at a uni or senmon gakko fairly easily. The problem is that almost all of those jobs are part-time. With unis there seems to be a 2 tiered system - more academic English courses are handled by directly hired teachers but conversation classes are outsourced.

Business classes usually pay around 3,500 to 4,000 yen an hour plus transport. A lot of places that pay 4,000 don't pay it all up front but rather withhold a portion of it to be paid once the contract has finished.

I work for one dispatch company and the standard for 1st year employees is 3500 per hour plus a 500 yen per hour completion bonus (your pay is under a master contract so you can get pay raises). Intensive courses and sub work just get the 3500 yen, which is a bit annoying. I get sent to a tandai (a junior college) through them and I get the pay (as above), plus a 1,000 yen extra per day I work there.

[Glenski]

In a few years even the senmon gakko are going to be very tight with requirements, perhaps asking for master's degree. Many do already.

You will also need publications for uni jobs, even for PT. Many/Most require them now. "Can speak Japanese" = what? That is, what level can you speak it? Also, can you read and write it at all? Many applications have to be done only in Japanese, and most ads are in Japanese only (see JRECIN site).

Be very careful about dispatching at a uni. Most of the positions like that are illegal.

Look at the links for business English in the FAQs, and look up their salaries.

[rxk22]

[Inflames]