Hey guys, first time poster here. よろしくお願いいたします！
Before anything, I'm aware of the compilatory thread that is pinned above, and will make this post a bit more general/informative for other users in similar situations too. With that said:
I'm a 5th year JTE ALT who's contract limit is coming up now in August. My Japanese is at N2 (and growing!), and don't have any teaching degrees/qualifications. To put it very shortly, I've really enjoyed this position for the last 5 years, confirmed I have a passion for teaching, been blessed with wonderful staff/schools/students and T1/project opportunities, and I'm interested in continuing into a higher level position in education in Japan.
My JTEs and me often bring up the idea of me becoming a "main/regular English teacher" in passing, but of course… when it comes to the "how" to do that, no one has a clear answer (including me, of course). With that said, I've done my research on the past few days on this subreddit (and a few of the attached sources/links on the FAQ) and I have a better understanding of potential paths to becoming a main teacher here.
According to sources, there are typically three licenses (Short-Term, Special Teaching, Standard). Short is the easiest to receive (but shortest time of validity), Special Teaching needs to be requested by your school, and Standard seemingly awarded after ~3-4 years of Japanese college. There is also seemingly opportunities to get directly hired by a private school and/or international school.
With that said, I wanted to get some input on the "transitional period", and how someone in my position could/should get there.
For someone that must work full-time to maintain an income/VISA, how should one go about transitioning into being a regular classroom/homeroom teacher?
Thankfully, I've been offered a couple of jobs (in this same ALT/Board of Education field) that would secure me a job and a VISA status to stay… but what would be the recommended path towards the next step? Could one feasibly obtain a license while working full-time? Is it best just to get your experience (and certificates?) up while working, and aim to directly transition into a private school? Shooting for the Standard License seems like a tremendous time/money investment, especially without any transferable credits from back home.
I would like to hear some opinions/experiences from those that know or have gone through the process from other teachers.
Thank you for your time!
by -Kef-