Okay, I have many questions, and this will be a lengthy post. So for anyone who gets back to me, I really appreciate you.
To preface, I am not seeking judgement or snarky comments regarding the way I approached this or made some of my decisions like I’ve seen some people do on this forum. While it may be easy to say, “shoulda, coulda, woulda”, the past can’t be changed so I’m just looking for advice on how to proceed from here.
In February I (23F) decided to pursue my dream/ambition of teaching English in Japan. After googling and searching different companies, I came across Global Work and Travel. Now, I’ve heard a lot of good things about Global Work and Travel (and a lot of bad things depending on the program selected). In this case, I am someone who works A LOT of hours (40-60 a week) on top of being a full-time student. Therefore I knew that I would rather be guided and walked through this process especially considering I have never been to Japan before, and for my first time teaching abroad I wanted to feel extra safe. Therefore I didn’t mind paying a little extra money to have them handle all the paperwork and stuff for me to keep me organized. My experience with Global Work and Travel has been quite good, however they are paired with a company called Xplore Asia. This is where I ran into some dilemmas.
On the Global Work and Travel site when you apply for the program, you are given an option to select your month of departure. I chose September for a number of reasons: this experience is intended to be a gap year in between my BA and and after-graduate Education program, which starts in September, and *only* in September as the terms are a full year (lasting 2 years) with your cohort. So my plan was/is to leave in September of this year (2022) and commit to the required 1-year rule in Japan, and return in September 2023 to resume my schooling.
Yesterday I had my introductory call on Skype with my assigned worker from Xplore Asia, and while her service was great, I got off the call feeling hopeless and anxious. When I told her I intended to leave in September, she became surprised and basically told me that it wasn’t gonna happen as they are hiring positions for March of 2023. 7 months is a *very* significant delay. She said Eikaiwa’s are a little more flexible with start dates but even then I most likely wouldn’t get a position until October or even November. And she said to be an ALT in the public school system, they are only hiring for March of 2023 due to that being the start of their school year and they tend to welcome a lot of teachers at once with an orientation program. Looking into this, I did also see that the JET program offered by the Canadian government is is also only accepting applications for that time frame. I’ve already committed and decided that this is something I want to do. But after looking on forums seeing many people getting positions in the fall, and knowing of one of my own friends who recently managed to get a job and is leaving to teach in June, I feel very confused about the information given to me on that call.
Now that the context has been given, here are my questions to those of you who have taught in Japan either as an ALT in a public school or in an ELT in an Eikaiwa:
1. What month did you depart for your experience? Were you able to get a position during an off-month in the middle of the school year? If so, which site did you go through to find it?
2. For those who have done both, did you prefer teaching at an Eikaiwa or in a public school as an ALT and why? I’ve read mixed things from both sides, however my agent spoke more so in favour of being an ALT.
3. I looked into Teach Away and am looking into applying for some position openings on my own, though I do not have access to the departure details so for all I know they are also in March of 2023. If you could direct me to other channels aside from these that would help.
4. What other options or routes could I take to ensure I depart in the month of September like I had originally planned? Or is there nothing and this delay is just something I’ll have to accept?
5. What would you do if you found yourself in my position/how would you proceed from here?
Thank you in advance for your help, any information and kindness is appreciated.
9 comments
To be honest everything is so backed up for companies that I think you may have to just accept the delay. I got an employment offer from ECC (eikaiwa) in June of 2021 and only just received my placement offer for early September, so an entire year later. Sadly COVID made it so companies could not bring people over to Japan so the people who applied before you will be getting priority to go over first.
From what I have seen during my research is that September and March are the typical months that companies bring people over. I know some companies hire year round, but it all depends on their need for employees.
If this is something you really want to do I would not give up and keep applying to other companies as you never know what could happen!
You are applying when all these companies have a literal two year backlog of young people who applied to experience Japan. They have only been able to start bringing them in the last six months or so.
So you have to apply to any and all recent job posts that are looking for people for a September start, and that don’t mind hiring abroad. I’m sure there at last a few subpar Eikaiwa or ALT dispatch that can’t get enough candidates.
Just depends on how desperate you are like everyone else.
5. Apply directly to as many places as possible that match what you’re willing to do for work. You’re not going to get as much hand holding, but they’re going to do their best to get you in as early as they can if they have room. Granted, this company you’re paying is going to want to get you in, too, but you don’t know how many companies they actually have “ins” with.
What course are you a full-time student in and is it education related?
Enquiry BTW, sensei 😉
My advice would be to spend a year or more teaching in Canada before trying to get in to Japan. As several commenters have noted, COVID-19 problems mean that people who have already secured jobs are still waiting to enter the country, which means that the better or easier to secure jobs are mostly already gone.
As a fresh graduate, you’ll have nothing to distinguish you from the mass of other people who want to teach here; with experience teaching in Canada, you’ll be far more desirable to any organizations looking to hire and will have a chance at the better ones. I’ve done hiring for *eikaiwa*, and experience trumped certificates always.
I’ve taught both in *eikaiwa* and (as a direct hire) in a private high school (though not as an ALT). The *eikaiwa* job was both more enjoyable and more challenging and rewarding than the high school job.
It is possible to be hired in the fall. Most companies hire mainly for April which is when schools start. The thing though is many companies have teachers leave in summer and not come back or get new contracts that begin in September. It’s probably best to look at Gaijinpot rather than go through the services. You’ll find the people hiring in September there. Also most companies will take care of the necessary documentation for visa and also help with housing. So you won’t need to worry too much about that.
That being said there is a backlog due to people not being able to enter Japan for the past year. Though it is questionable how many of those people actually are still waiting.
Hi. I have been teaching here for over 10 years, both as an ALT and in the Eikaiwa world. I also had my own English school and now I have a cafe and just do private lessons.
ALT recruiting is in Feb and Sept. The mid year intake is after summer holidays and usually for staff shortages, or people who got fired/quit. This intake is usually for ppl who already live here. Feb is the main intake time as this coincides with the new school year and most ALT dispatch companies do training for all teachers. If you really want to come in Sept, Eikaiwa is the way to go, unless you wanna take a chance and come on a holiday visa and try and look for a job when you`re here. Due to corona there are plenty of vacancies at the moment.
ALT v`s Eikaiwa. Just writing stuff as I think of it.
ALT salary is lower than in an Eikaiwa. No weekend work, usually. ALT job stress is a little less, except if you have classes of 40, 15 year old students who hate English. Life can be boring, no-one else wants to talk to you or can`t because they are too busy. Marking! Lots of marking. Report writing for the company you work for is laborious. Just another ALT attitude from the other teachers. They will be nice, but that`s about it. No input doing the lesson plans etc. For me, this was frustrating as I am a teacher. Some teachers will parade you as a novelty prize, others will ignore you and just ask you to read while you twiddle your thumbs for 50 minutes. Some companies will expect you to travel far from where you live, especially in the cities. 2 Hours sitting on public transport is not fun. Countryside teaching is better. You really get to know the staff and students. For 2 years I taught at 3 different schools, which equalled to about 400 students. Didn`t know any of the students names. Positives, less stress, some kids do enjoy English, weekends free. Nice holidays, but usually unpaid.
Eikaiwa. Pay is better than ALT. Longer hours including weekends. These school are usually privately owned, so if you have a falling out with the boss, then you`re stuffed. Students are more demanding because they pay money for you to teach them. If you don`t know what you`re doing they will complain. Stress is higher. Eikaiwa schools are hit and miss, some are good most aren`t and you are used as a consumable item. Once 1pm comes it is a grind until 9pm. 6 or 7 lessons a day. Positives. You basically make your own lesson plans (except for the big chain companies). Nice feeling of accomplishment when you help a student improve their English.
Actually the best teaching job I had was in a Juku (cram school). Preparation English for students entering foreign universities. Good salary, motivated students.
Popular ALT recruiters are Owls, Interac, Altia. Eikaiwa, Gaba, ECC, Nova.
If you`re only here for a year I`d take the Eikaiwa path. Better money, smaller class sizes, better job satisfaction. If you get a good owner it is great. Flexible contract times.
Sorry, just read back through my post. Rambling a bit LOL. Anyway I hope you enjoy your year here. Japan is great.
I searched for jobs in December of 2021 and got a position for March 31st, 2022.
I made it a point to apply for job postings at the very bottom of the list (especially on the Gaijinpot section). Remember, there are a lot of good employers that are simply terrible/or don’t care much about marketing. Nonetheless, they can be solid opportunities.