Hi, I am 24 years old, part Japanese and from the UK. I am considering moving to Japan either now or in a few months (via a working holiday visa).
How difficult would it be to find a decent ALT position / direct hire in the city / an urban area (preferably Tokyo, urban Kansai etc.)? Is it close to impossible / do positions like that even exist?
I am not talking about now. In the future, when I have some experience.
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It depends. If you are already living in that city and interview with a local BOE for a direct hire, then it’ll be an advantage of sorts, as they don’t have to worry about your housing etc. But dispatch companies often hire in advance of actually having the contract for any given area next year. So while they may or may not give assurances to “try their best” to place you as requested, it’s really out of their hands if they don’t get the contract from that particular BOE
It’s not impossible but **everybody** ~~or atleast most Japan work-tourist~~ wants those positions. So there is a lot of competition. You just have to play the numbers games and see which company/dispatch/eikaiwa wants you.
Osaka city has been almost all direct hire for many years now
There are a few, but they all hire in March and April. If that doesn’t work out, a few also hire in June and July. A few months from now would be too late. Also, those jobs are at least somewhat competitive, so you’ll need that experience you mentioned.
Positions don’t really depend on experience (even though experience is required), they depend on networking and keeping tabs on which BoEs hire directly. Direct hire jobs will often ask for a MA in TESOL, or say that it’s ‘beneficial to your application’, along with asking for N2 Japanese or sometimes just assuming you have that.
Also, it’d probably be better to do some research before asking multiple questions back to back, especially considering finding these things needs you to dig/ do research on your own, quite a bit of which is readily available online.
Direct hire with zero experience/connections?
I thought working holiday visas only allowed you to work part-time? How’s your Japanese?
You’re not going to get a an ALT job if you can only work part-time. And to be honest? You’ll probably make just as much money and have as much fun if you find a job at a convenience store. In Tokyo the minimum wage is 1,200/hr. and that’s about what you’d make as an ALT.
You also need to have enough cash in the bank to support yourself, so 1,200 an hour part-time is just pocket money.
How much is “part Japanese”? and are you eligible for a Japanese passport? If you were born in the UK and had* dual citizenship (UK / Japan – listed on your family register), then it’s likely that you still have Japanese citizenship even though you were supposed to have declared your nationality by 22.
It was quite easy finding an ALT job in Tokyo when I was actually living there.