Job Discussion Forums

[chica88]

I know this is kind of general...


I want to teach in Japan so badly.
Is there a school I should talk to who takes beginners?
I have a TESOL and a BA.


I never seem to get much of a response from Japan schools.

[fluffyhamster]

It's not so much your lack of teaching experience, but that you apparently aren't in Japan and available for interview, that is counting against you. That is, there are more than enough inexperienced (and let's not forget, experienced!) people already there in the country, available in person and chasing the jobs, for you to stand much chance.

All I can advise is that you try to gain some experience in your home country, and save up the funds necessary to come and visit Japan as a tourist in the few months prior to peak hiring periods (principally, Mar-April, the start of the new academic year). You'll have or will get a good idea of who the main employers are and when they hire from reading this forum's sticky threads, and by scouring various online jobs ads. From the qualifications you've stated, you'd be able to work in private language schools (eikaiwa), or as a JET or dispatch AET (Assistant English Teacher) in Japanese public schools.

Of course, you don't tell immigration that you are entering Japan as a tourist in order to seek work, even though it is nowadays perfectly possible to apply for permission to work and thus a work visa from within Japan.

That being said, I myself have always preferred to have the necessary paperwork in hand before flying in. That may however as I've said not be an option for you (unless you are prepared to take years applying from overseas for umpteen jobs). Just bear in mind that there have been horror stories on this forum about unscrupulous employers stringing workers along with false assurances (that the visa application is in the works, when in fact it isn't and never was!) before stiffing them of pay and leaving them with little recourse. (Although it may be fine to work if one has actually applied for a visa and has official permission to work in the interim, it's obviously illegal to work without permission and any application filed). Legit companies will tend to have their act together and be able to get these things done relatively speedily (not months and months), especially if you are applying from within Japan (as there should be less time lost in communicating, exchanging info, posting documents back and forth etc).

[Glenski]

What do you mean by "school"? Eikaiwa or public/private mainstream school, or international school?

Eikaiwas are very flooded with teachers, and many want people here when they apply. Plus, January is not quite a time to be asking. If you were asking in Dec, that's even worse.

Mainstream schools.
Private ones usually don't advertise widely.
Public ones usually don't hire directly. So you have to go through JET program or a (shudder!) dispatch agency.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your recent job hunting techniques? Maybe you aren't qualified. Maybe you are doing something wrong when applying.

[Pitarou]

Excellent advice, fluffyhamster! There's something you said that got my attention:

[fluffyhamster]

Hi Pitarou. It's just something I recall reading about a few times on this very forum - either that people had done it, or that it could be done. I don't have personal experience of it though, because as I say I've always ensured that I'd got my visa in hand before flying into the country to start working.

[thomthom]

If you're fresh out of university, have no teaching experience, and you've never really been to Asia before, I'd recommend doing a year in South Korea first. It's not as culturally interesting as Japan but if you're new to the whole thing you'll get most of the same buzz, especially if you're in (or within an hour of) Seoul. You'll get paid well for an ESL teacher, with flights, and then you'll be able to hop over to Japan with your savings after you finish the contract. You may not have experience but time and money (intimately linked) are more pressing issues when finding work in Japan. You'll need $5000 plus an airplane ticket. It's easy to save $10k in Korea, and the airplane ticket from there to Japan will only be $150 or so.

[Pitarou]

[thomthom]

[chica88]

I agree with what everyone has said about Korea.

I was leaning more towards Japan because from what I understand Korea has age limitations.
But - I will still try.
I got my BA a little late in life.