Job Discussion Forums

deherald · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:24 am Post subject: Your opinion?

It is very far away, and I know there schedule is different from ours but I want to spend an American summer teaching abroad. What would my chances be for Japan? Here are my qualification:

MA-school counselor
BA-English/Education
--experience coaching 9th grade basketball
--4 years classroom teaching experience in KY
--still active in teaching

Do you think if I would pay for my own air fair i would be able to have everything else covered?

any links you can give me?

PM etc if you think you can help

I really want to teach abroad. I am going back to school soon to learn a language once my local college offers it in the evenings.

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

Your chances of teaching for just the summer in Japan are pretty much zero unless you get on with Westgate Corporation (and if they even have openings for that time period, not very likely depending on the months), or unless you are willing to break a contract.

Even for FT jobs that are on typical (year-long) contracts, you will not get rent or utilities paid for in 99% of cases.

If you want to teach abroad that badly, you will have to make the commitment for a whole year. In Japan, you don't have to learn the language to get hired (but obviously it helps for daily survival). Please realize just how crowded the teaching market is in Japan right now!

bobbysix · Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Posts: 23

With an MA in counseling and a BA education, you might want to look at the international schools, I often see positions for counselors coming up.
It would require a lot longer commitment wise though (usually 2 years).

G Cthulhu · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:03 pm Post subject: Re: Your opinion?

deherald · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:44 am Post subject: Re: Your opinion?

mc · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Posts: 90 Location: Aichi, Japan

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

You may very well not break even in Japan after only 3 months.

Airfare and rent will be your biggest expenditures. People will not hire you if you tell them in advance that you only plan to work for 3 months, plus you cannot get a visa for that sort of work (except through Westgate).

If you really want to teach abroad, then teach for at least a whole year. Few people are going to see it as worthwhile on a resume if you put only 3 months. Many don't even see a whole year (in Japan anyway) as worth counting.

spidr245 · Joined: 26 Nov 2008 Posts: 60

I don't know about him, but I've found "teaching" in Japan really painful for the first year. It's not really teaching at all. That's why the first year (and for some people, the next few years as well) isn't really worth counting.

If he says he really wants to teach and add to the resume, then an international school is the way to go. Otherwise, just come for a 2-3 vacation and go home.

G Cthulhu · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:20 pm Post subject:

rxk22 · Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 1629

Mr. Kalgukshi · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:07 am Post subject:

My opinion is this thread needed to be locked after some contentious postings were deleted.

Posting about how easy it is to bait people on this board will absolutely get you banned here.

Baiting other members is not what this board is about. There are boards that welcome and openly recruit such members.

Those sites are where you belong if you like baiting other members, as you will definitely not last long here.