Job Discussion Forums

[Glenski]

I get the same types of inquiries.

For people with no bachelor's degree, a lot depends on what country they are from, what their ages are, and how much time they think they want to spend in Japan, because all of these are factors in the working holiday visa. Americans, as you may know, are not eligible for these. As I have cited dozens of times, and will reiterate here, no degree is needed for a spouse visa, a dependent visa, or a student visa, and these all offer means to teach (although rather extreme in some cases if someone's goal is just to teach!). Degree-less people are going to be limited to eikaiwas and/or part-time work.

People with bachelor's degrees and little/no experience will also have to start with eikaiwas, or perhaps the JET program. Places like high schools, elementary schools, kindergartens, etc. will also consider these degreed people, but the competition will be just as fierce. In my opinion, this is where having experience and/or certification in TEFL pays off. They can get work visas or working holiday visas.

People with master's degrees plus experience (presumably that also means publications) can apply to any of the jobs I've mentioned above, as well as to colleges/universities. However, they should know that such jobs aren't that easy to find because many are advertised through word of mouth, and/or they depend a lot on who you know.

As for whether people should just come over and look, or try looking from abroad, I have a whole file of advantages and disadvantages of both aspects, which is too long to post here. However, a bare bones bottom line might read: if you have the money, determination, and a very nice looking resume/cover letter, come over. Money is often the deciding factor for most. I've read posts about people who have come here and blown their entire 3 months tourist visa without finding a single job. Of course, I don't know anything about those people's resume, background, interviewing skills, etc., but it shows that some people will come here and fail, so it's extremely important to have the money in hand to survive at least that long.

[PAULH]

I also ought to mention that when seeking university jobs most of the positions are advertised within a 2-3 month window as the university Spring term will begin in April , so the schools will advertise in November or december, or as late as February. Positions are advertised year round (I have seen full-time posts for 2004 advertised. Many teaching posts are also advertised only in Japanese e.g on the JRECIN website (Japanese website which advertises college positions in all disciplines).

Many university job advertisements are also very specific about what candidates need before they apply, and you will be automatically eliminated if you come up short e.g. 2 referees, a resume in Japanese, a teaching philosophy statement, copies of at least 3 publications, college teaching experience, some Japanese ability are some of the requirements I have seen.

Contacts are important when schools are seeking teachers through 'back-door channels such as current teaching staff introductions etc.

Make sure you apply at the right time of year, have what they are asking for, start networking for jobs (cold-calls usually dont work for university jobs)
build up some college teaching experience by working part-time at a few places, is how you get your foot in the door.