In light of hundreds of people being laid off from Interac in Tokyo recently, plus other similar stories in recent years all across the English teaching industry, I felt this would be a good time for some reminders to be prepared
**Keep your resume updated -** This is actually advice for any job, in any industry, in any country. Try to read through, update and modify your resume at least twice a year. (Even if you think you are safe in your job for the time being)
**Keep an eye on other jobs in Japan -** It doesn’t hurt to just keep an eye on the other jobs, both to be aware of what is going on in the industry and just in case something good comes along that would suit you. Just because you have a job doesn’t mean you should just zone out for other possibilities.
**Keep an eye on jobs in your home country -** Yes, you’re in Japan but that doesn’t mean you should ignore any prospects in your home country. Keep an eye on the job market in your home country. You never know what you may see or what opportunities you might have. If you can make double the salary back in your home country, obviously you jump on that. Don’t just limit yourself to “teaching English” and “Japan”.
**Be realistic about the future of the industry -** Whether you are an ALT, Eikawa, university instructor or something else, no matter how you slice it, the future is bleak for the industry. This doesn’t mean you can’t find a good job or enjoy your work here teaching but the reality of the situation needs to be considered when you are thinking about what next steps you want to take. Don’t be delusional or naïve. On the other hand, no need to be despondent or depressed either. Just realistic.
Along these same lines, please don’t think your job is “secure”. Even if you have been an ALT in a rural town for 10 years and think you are set for life, you never know if the BoE decides to quash the position or hire another dispatch company. Even if you’ve been at an Eikawa for 10 years, you never know if it will go under and everyone will need to be laid off. A company could “restructure” at any time and that “restructuring” often won’t benefit the English teacher.
**Always try to improve yourself -** Finally, always be trying to improve yourself. This can be getting a Master’s, getting published, getting a teaching certificate, improving Japanese or getting certified in other industries (like IT). If you make no effort to improve yourself, you will suffer later on. 10 years “English teaching” experience with no signs of development or credentials earned will be a negative on your resume, not a positive.
Along the same lines, it’s easy to get depressed from time to time with low wages, low respect, low prospects etc. However, if you’re making an effort to improve yourself (studying for MA, law school, CELTA etc) you will feel a lot better.
9 comments
Most teaching jobs in Japan require that you use their specific format when applying, so you will have to copy/paste a lot. Also, if you are updating your resume, best to do that at home rather than at work. It could lead to uncomfortable conversations otherwise.
Best Way to update it?
If you’re on yearly contracts, you should be aiming for an unlimited term contract at the earliest possibility. While it is always possible to be laid off, the unlimited term contract will protect you from non-renewal of your contract.
Work on your finances too!
Emergency fund -> investments -> FU money.
You never know when you are going to need 3-6 months of living expenses, or even 3-6 decades 😉
(RetireJapan for info/support)
Solid advice! Thanks!
I’m not as hateful on ALT or eikaiwa work as some toxic folks can, but you should be planning a way out from the day you set foot on the job. I’m still teaching, I like it and I’m doing fine, but I never want to be at the mercy of a dispatch, an eikaiwa company (specifically the big national ones), nor a BOE. All have very little interest in education beyond profit margins or budgets.
If you want to teach, strive toward working independently or at a university or international school. If you want to be a programmer or writer or something else, keep working toward that. My own regret is I spent years floating around before deciding to make my own situation better. It wasn’t the garbage pay or anything that made it so bad, it was really understanding how these places work and the sourness that comes from it. I’m still pissy when I talk about my past employment and I’ve been self-employed for a few years now. I wish I had half the experience with these companies that I do, but I couldn’t leave that work environment until I’d built something better for myself. The sooner you start planning a way out, the sooner you’ll be out.
I was wondering, how is the future bleak for the industry?
> Keep an eye on jobs in your home country
To me this is the big one… IMO the pit lotsa people fall into is that all they can picture is a single career life, where getting paid more to teach is their goal.
In a way I’m glad that I came over as an Australian-qualified/registered teacher with a masters degree (they’re not that hard) as I didn’t get stuck in the loop of asking whether getting more teaching quals would help me to tutor at a uni or get a gig at an international school. Neither interested me (I wanted out of teaching) so I found jobs in IT and then (after retraining) as a lawyer in Australia.
To me people should be using their gap year/s in Japan to think about this kinda stuff rather than assuming there’s a teaching ladder to climb. While I totally don’t wanna attack people’s salaries (we’re all just trying our best), I see a lot of posts in Japan-centric forums where people get ~350-500k yen a month at a uni and are like ‘I am the big man now… my wife wants to work but she shouldn’t work, she should look after the kids because she’d have to pay too much tax/childcare money and my income’s so big that [blah blah blah]’. Personally I think that’s some pretty backwards thinking and couples can do MUCH better through proper career planning, rather than waiting around for a slightly higher paying English teaching gig.
Don’t use kimiwillbe for your resume. It’s public and your current employer can find it, and that’s not going to look too good for you.
Happened to me, they found a replacement because they thought I was quitting then I had to leave. I forgot I even had that resume, it was a year old at least.