I’m in my third year working as an ALT. There’s been an increase in our schedules this year as my company has changed to Shakai, so now after a month and a half of 45-hour work weeks, I’m only left with about ¥45,000 in discretionary income.
I’ve talked to my company about working side jobs (ideally, I want to send writing to magazines and websites and such), but now I’m being told that immigration has become more strict on working for other parties, that you can only do work that’s related to the main visa, in my case teaching English (is that true? I take everything that my company says with the biggest grain of salt).
I’m not ready to quit or leave Japan yet, at least not until I find something else — if I stick with being an ALT then it feels like a “pick your poison” situation, but going back to the States means going back to being jobless and having no insurance. But despite it all, I do actually enjoy this job, for the most part.
So my question: what opportunities are there really for working a second job while as an ALT? Or what alternative is there?
18 comments
When I was an ALT in the early 2000s I picked up some business English classes and managed to make an extra 70000 a month.
If I remember correctly this is related to the key difference between the Instructor visa and the Specialist of Humanities visa.
Instructor visa is what ALTs fall under and the only jobs you can get have to relate to English teaching and instruction.
Eikaiwa teachers, they have a Humanities visa that is much more broad in what they are allowed to work.
You just need to apply for permission to do a side gig at the immigration office.
https://www.isa.go.jp/en/applications/guide/nyuukokukanri07_00045.html
You can do other work if you go to immigration and ask to get permission to work in an area not related do your visa category.
The Japanese government has always been strict on what kind of work you can do based on your visa. It’s the quickest way baring commit a crime to have your visa revoked and get kicked out of the country.
There are lots of options related to teaching that are open to you. But I would be suspicious of advice given by your company, they have a vested interest in keeping you from doing so. Unless your contract specifically stipulates that you can’t do other work, It. Is. None. Of. Their. Business. And they have zero power, absolutely zero power to influence a government bureaucracy. The bureaucracy doesn’t give two shits what a business thinks about their rules, and what their rule book alone determines what constitutes as acceptable or unacceptable work for foreigners to perform in Japan.
Companies will act like they are your advocates and that they can and will help you in any issues related to your visa, but they can’t do shit. They have no more power over the rules of the visa office than they would be able to go into a police office and make it legal for you to steal or vandalize. The only thing that they can do by knowing your personal business is get you in trouble by reporting that you are breaking the rules. So in every way, whatever you do outside of work that is not covered in your contract is in your best interest to not discuss with them.
The first thing you should do is never mention anything to your company that you are not contractually obligated to tell them from this point forward.
Second thing you need to do is find out from reliable sources what the rules are, find a source of income that is legal and make sure you don’t break the rules stipulated by your visa. Your company is for many reasons the opposite of a reliable source on this issue. But in all honesty, an open forum such as reddit can point you in a direction that may help you, but is far from reliable if taken at face value.
I work as an ALT and the salary has always been about 70% of what I want to make. For about 10 years I have worked side jobs, Eikawa, to make the money I want to make. I like jobs that pay cash if possible. The extra money allows me to save and have money to do things. That’s my two cents.
They aren’t wrong about immigration being strict. I’ve got PR now, and have been hired for a few more jobs recently by town offices because they can’t hire ALTs.
家庭教習(private tutoring) is the way to go. You can post an advertisement on Jimoty and other platforms for free. I was able to make some bucks and I think it’s not illegal considering you are doing what your visa status allows you to do.
What shit dispatch company do you work for where you work 45 hrs a week and only have 45,000 leftover?
Many ALTs have a side gig of teaching. When I was an ALT, I used to teach a group of middle aged people at the local city centre. After tax I got about ¥12000 a month. I really enjoyed it, because after talking to little kids all day long about what colour and food I like, I could actually talk to adults about more interesting things.
Also as others have said, as long as you inform immigration you have a different job outside of teaching, you’ll be fine. No need to tell your dispatch company.
> Or what alternative is there?
Sounds like it’s time to take-on a few privates.
Not sure what your spending’s like too. Find one of those bulk supermarkets and see if you can slice off some of the costs. I remember when I was saving money for my wedding I significantly reduced my spending in order to put away some savings.
It’s absolutely not easy work, and getting it requires some proof of competence, but getting a job as a paper graded for large jukus’ writing classes can be a side job that churns out money, provided you are able to grind like a machine. It also fell within my instructor class visa.
I used to check papers for a major Juku; my pay rate was ¥400 for student paper, consisting typically of two paragraphs and one full-page essay, and I had up to three classes of 30-40 students per week. I was pulling in ¥120,000-160,000 a month, but it was brutal no-sleep work when I simply didn’t keep to my schedule and was suddenly faced with doing all of them in a single go.
It does mean providing corrections and advice to all students, plus a report to the teacher on systematic errors (like misunderstanding the point of the question, or using modal verbs incorrectly) and high frequency but otherwise happenings in the class, like the class seemingly just being crap at certain kinds of figurative language over time.
It’s not a job I sought out, but it and other jobs are there. I got it by first being an assessor for Cambridge speaking exams, which led me to working at Juku offices where such exams took place, and just talking to management about what sort of experiences I’ve had. Next thing I know, I got a flat rate of ¥4000 an hour for three hours of work a week as an “English Fellow,” where I had a table, whiteboard, and needed to respond for anyone who came through the door for up to 20 minutes at a time. It was excellent but again truly challenging work. A month after that, I was approached with grading a few papers on the side – just one class – and after a few months of that, I had unlimited work.
Anyhoot, that’s enough about detail – be prepared to express your competencies quickly. You might be talking to someone who needs a person for high pay work but does not want to sift through a thousand resumes when they offer a high pay position online.
Um, teaching English is about the best part time work you’re going to find anyhow.
Round up some private students. There are plenty of websites for this.
If you’re year 3 at a job, working 45 hour weeks and not saving anything, it’s probably time to go back home. No shame in that, you’ve had your few years of fun
Is that ¥45,000 after food, utilities, rent, phone, internet, fuel (if you drive) and transportation? Because that’s not bad if that’s ¥45k after just rent and utilities, then that’s rough
What’s your experience of project management like? I’m looking for someone fluent in Japanese and English to work in the engineering/manufacturing sector helping to manage projects by tracking tasks and timing. Based in Kumagaya or surrounding areas (Gunma, Gyoda etc)
When I was an ALT I worked on Saturdays in a juku teaching English. Also did some summer holiday lessons. Juku is good and they pay well. Your dispatch company can`t do anything about you doing extra work as long as it fits in with your visa. I`d be asking about the 45 hours a week? Surely it is stipulated in your contract how many hours you have to work. There`s no way an ALT is required for 45 hours a week.
Consult with immigration about side jobs. Have you asked?
About the extra hours, do you mean you end work at 5:15 pm?? (Edit: Wait, how are you getting 45 work hours a week??) I had worked at dispatch and ended around that with all the health insurance/pension benefit….and….
As for health insurance in the States, please don’t automatically think you won’t get it. It is going to be different from private ones, and it is called Medicaid !