I can rent a large house near Tokyo while doing a braindead job for a few hours a day.
Can’t even imagine a studio apartment back in Florida.
Teaching can be a really rewarding job and a lot of people want to live in Japan, for a lot of people teaching English just makes sense as an option to be able to do that
Because a lot of people who move say they’re interested in teaching but really it’s coz of other interests, normally the “culture”. Also you need sod all qualifications apart from a degree.
Also Tokyo is freaking cool.
Edit: Speaking from own experiences.
Some people teach English to be in Japan. Actually, i think a lot of people do.
It’s an easy way to teach if you don’t have a background in it and want to try it out. It’s the easiest job to get if you don’t know Japanese and just want to experience Japan or want to get your foot in the door and make a life there. It’s romanticised af(my opinion). Its easy to get into if you don’t really know what you want to do when you’re fresh out of college and just want to try living there for a short while. Etc etc
Easy-in for English speakers and if you are not worried about money too much it gives you the free time to do other things in Japan and work on your own interests and projects.
That’s odd you feel that way. My five years in Tokyo were the best in my life. Weekends don’t match up back here in America at all. I want to move back for the train system alone ….
I like living in Japan. I like the English language. I have better credentials for teaching the English language than most Japanese teachers of English, and I see how the techniques many of them use make learning more painful and more inefficient than it needs to be. I don’t like seeing Japanese children being made to suffer in learning a language I find so much joy in.
They don’t have any marketable skills and want to get a job where they don’t have to do any real work to get qualified so they use their skin color and nationality as “qualifications”. From there they just have to perform the part as directed and make sure the customer is entertained.
I wanted to try teaching, and like others I saw Japan as a good opportunity to do just that, which it certainly is. Though it’s not the same as getting qualified in your home country, obviously.
But I think some people should be more careful about tarring everyone with the same brush. There are some awful people in jobs like Eikaiwas and ALT positions, and probably most people don’t care enough to improve their skills. But I, like many others, do not fall into either of those categories. I’ve found a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction working somewhere that some people here would be quick to denigrate or ridicule.
Because I’ll probably end up teaching English in my home country anyway, I also want to see Japan for more than just a holiday. I don’t plan on trying to make a career in Japan but having an interesting experience. Plus with everyone saying how terrible the jobs are I figure if I can hack it there than I can hack it back home
Ok buzzfeed
If you grew up on nintendo, Toonami, and Asian food along with being a hype boy for technology, mountains, and the ocean. It’s a natural place to love and want to live. Teaching is just an easy in maybe.
1) I think deep down I wanted to move to Japan, and it was an easy way to see if I could handle it (mentally). I was at a tough spot in life, kinda lost, and didn’t want to work in the states. Japan was an option due to my degree in Japanese and previous study abroad experience, so I went for it.
2) I wanted to be a teacher long term, and thought a short 1-2 years time as an ALT would help me decide if I really wanted to teach or not.
I ended up really liking it, both Japan and teaching, and wish I’d got my teachers license and/or MA back home first. Now I’m looking at how to do that whilst minimizing, if not eliminating, my time away from Japan.
Didn’t move here to teach English but I do. I’m currently in school in Tokyo and I had my picks for バイト because I actually speak Japanese. I found a nice little gig teaching on the weekends that pays way more than a konbini or some store clerk job would. No idea why someone would move here specifically to teach English but whatever, to each their own unless you’re one of those disgusting people that came here to objectify women.
I don’t have any specific desire to teach in Japan per say (that’s just where I’ve secured a position) but teaching English abroad is something I want to do as a part of my larger career aspirations. Travel and broadening my horizons is also a plus, but for me it’s not the location that created the appeal, it’s the whole goal of teaching abroad before hopefully pursuing a PhD and research.
I’m an ESL teacher and have worked in China and the US as a credentialed adult ESL teacher. I looooove grammar and language and get excited about explaining the present perfect. My wife is Hawaiian but speaks Japanese fluently and has always wanted to work as a translator, which is how she found her passion in Japanese. Just made sense that the next step would be Japan. I never wanted to stay in the US and we both want our daughter to experience another culture, speak 2 languages, try new things, etc. we also considered China but her drive for mandarin isn’t as high as Japanese. Ultimately we both ended up wanting to work abroad in Japan. I’ll probably continue to do public school / Eikaiwa till I get into a university or online teaching. Wouldn’t change a thing though!
I don’t know why you get downvotes, legit topic imho.
I think that for one reason or another people are fascinated by Japan and want to live here. Many people come here for unrelated reasons to teaching, but that’s the easiest job to get so they start working in that field. It’s an easy way to get a visa / salary to allow you to stay.
I didn’t. My wife did. We both come from modest backgrounds in Canada and America and neither of us accumulated debt.
Two people bringing home about 40k USD from relatively better assignments in the eigo no sensei world just makes sense. What we do is easy, we’re liked by our community, and we have alot of agency/autonomy with our teaching because we’re trusted. I just did three classes alone on my Friday. It was cake. Why would I trade my current work/life balance for debt in a specialized field or something different? Compete with a different job market I don’t understand the nuances of? I”m in kind of a comfy middle class slot.
As a side note: Unfortunately, a portion of reddit kind of has an exhausting slant against it and how much people can thrive doing it.
By the way, for each foreigner that likes teaching there are at least 10 who hate it who eventually find another job or return home.
I’ve been teaching for nine years and love it. I want to move to japan because I have friends there, but I haven’t because the pay is pretty creepy, so trying, hoping, and praying that my writing career picks up enough not to have to work myself to death before then. Where I am now has been the only place I can’t seem to get on well out of the six countries in which I’ve lived.
Two reasons.
One, because they are weaboos, or else just want to travel anywhere, everywhere – and Japan happens to be a place where it’s fairly simple for English speakers to get a job and a visa. They will come to Japan no matter what they are told about the ESL industry, since they aren’t professional teachers, don’t care about being professional, and it makes no difference to them if they aren’t treated like a professional. They will not stay long, anyway – they play around and go home.
Two, because they have some connection to the country (such as a Japanese spouse) and needed to come here.
There is no “because Japan has a such a great international reputation for language learning and teachers all want to come here to teach” – because it’s actually a *terrible* destination for anyone who takes teaching seriously.
I’m number two, in case you’re wondering.
They don’t really want to teach. The whole arrangement is basically a working holiday for em. Most people who do it only do so for a year or two!
I’ve always been a natural teacher and helping people improve upon their English has always brought me satisfaction. I did English teaching in China and got some certifications there but because I love karate, I eventually moved to Japan since I thought I could receive better training without changing too much job wise. I’ve made the right decision on both fronts since my job is pretty chill and fun and I’ve even won a national championship in sparring here too! Not everyone hates their life as an ESL teacher here despite what people on here bitch about.
I’ve got a B.A. and no job prospects. I literally could not get hired anywhere in the U.S. because I didn’t have job experience, but I couldn’t get job experience because no one would hire me.
Also, I have anxiety and during interviews I either talk to much or not enough.
Because they want to live in Japan and the easiest job foreigners are accepted in its the english teacher. Any other job you have to be super special to get a working visa.
I moved to Japan because I worked for Nissan in the UK. I thought I would move to Japan for a year or two, learn Japanese and then go back to my old job but then have the ability to talk with my Japanese colleagues.
When I got here I found that the job I had got in Japan had a better salary and working conditions and also that the quality of life generally was much better. Because of this and the progressively better jobs I have found since coming 6 years ago. I have decided to stay in Japan permanently.
You can save money easily with an easy job right out of college where you get to live in a safe and clean foreign country and get something good for your resume, all while having really cheap and good health insurance and a pretty easy life in a country where most locals are very open to you and want to meet you.
I wanted to be a teacher since I was very young, I was also interested in Japan. Worked hard, got my qualifications + some teaching experience in my country, came to Japan for the challenge and decided I really liked it here. Once I managed to find a good position that sealed the deal.
I only intended to come here for two years (this was in 2000), and certainly didn’t intend to teach English for longer than that.
Met my wife, liked the place, ended up with a pretty decent career teaching English here.
Go figure.
Because it’s a fun couple of years, the pay is OK and it’s a great alternative to pulling pints in a pub in London, or whatever the other working holiday kids are doing these days.
I really like teaching English and would not trade my current situation for another. I have time to do the things I want- like taking online courses, writing, and blogging. I work only part-time and, at times, make as much as a low-paid full-time teacher here. I am happy and have good health insurance. The downside is that it’s quite expensive to live in the city and the taxes are killing me. But, I looked around for other jobs and was able to find some, just not in Japan. I am from the USA and can tell you if given a choice between the two: I choose Japan. I did not come here as a weeaboo. I came here because I have roots here. Despite this, I will always be a foreigner here as long as I talk and act like an American although I do read and talk Japanese moderately and have passed the level N1 of the JLPT. Overall, I love it here and am doing what I love best- teaching.
Why does anyone work? Money obviously. What a dumbass question. Trying to be all high and mighty against teachers. How pathetic lol
Some of us actually liked our English classes- i know fucking mind blowing. Its almost like…. a lot of people actually go to college and major in english….and education??? Even weirder… some people…. Like … working with kids?!?! And not for the repulsive reasons jcj project. Though maybe this is actual news due to the personality of a lot of the (white) men in high positions of english education in japan
34 comments
Easy money.
I can rent a large house near Tokyo while doing a braindead job for a few hours a day.
Can’t even imagine a studio apartment back in Florida.
Teaching can be a really rewarding job and a lot of people want to live in Japan, for a lot of people teaching English just makes sense as an option to be able to do that
Because a lot of people who move say they’re interested in teaching but really it’s coz of other interests, normally the “culture”. Also you need sod all qualifications apart from a degree.
Also Tokyo is freaking cool.
Edit: Speaking from own experiences.
Some people teach English to be in Japan. Actually, i think a lot of people do.
It’s an easy way to teach if you don’t have a background in it and want to try it out.
It’s the easiest job to get if you don’t know Japanese and just want to experience Japan or want to get your foot in the door and make a life there.
It’s romanticised af(my opinion).
Its easy to get into if you don’t really know what you want to do when you’re fresh out of college and just want to try living there for a short while.
Etc etc
Easy-in for English speakers and if you are not worried about money too much it gives you the free time to do other things in Japan and work on your own interests and projects.
That’s odd you feel that way. My five years in Tokyo were the best in my life. Weekends don’t match up back here in America at all. I want to move back for the train system alone ….
I like living in Japan. I like the English language. I have better credentials for teaching the English language than most Japanese teachers of English, and I see how the techniques many of them use make learning more painful and more inefficient than it needs to be. I don’t like seeing Japanese children being made to suffer in learning a language I find so much joy in.
They don’t have any marketable skills and want to get a job where they don’t have to do any real work to get qualified so they use their skin color and nationality as “qualifications”. From there they just have to perform the part as directed and make sure the customer is entertained.
I wanted to try teaching, and like others I saw Japan as a good opportunity to do just that, which it certainly is. Though it’s not the same as getting qualified in your home country, obviously.
But I think some people should be more careful about tarring everyone with the same brush. There are some awful people in jobs like Eikaiwas and ALT positions, and probably most people don’t care enough to improve their skills.
But I, like many others, do not fall into either of those categories. I’ve found a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction working somewhere that some people here would be quick to denigrate or ridicule.
Because I’ll probably end up teaching English in my home country anyway, I also want to see Japan for more than just a holiday. I don’t plan on trying to make a career in Japan but having an interesting experience. Plus with everyone saying how terrible the jobs are I figure if I can hack it there than I can hack it back home
Ok buzzfeed
If you grew up on nintendo, Toonami, and Asian food along with being a hype boy for technology, mountains, and the ocean. It’s a natural place to love and want to live. Teaching is just an easy in maybe.
1) I think deep down I wanted to move to Japan, and it was an easy way to see if I could handle it (mentally). I was at a tough spot in life, kinda lost, and didn’t want to work in the states. Japan was an option due to my degree in Japanese and previous study abroad experience, so I went for it.
2) I wanted to be a teacher long term, and thought a short 1-2 years time as an ALT would help me decide if I really wanted to teach or not.
I ended up really liking it, both Japan and teaching, and wish I’d got my teachers license and/or MA back home first. Now I’m looking at how to do that whilst minimizing, if not eliminating, my time away from Japan.
Didn’t move here to teach English but I do. I’m currently in school in Tokyo and I had my picks for バイト because I actually speak Japanese. I found a nice little gig teaching on the weekends that pays way more than a konbini or some store clerk job would. No idea why someone would move here specifically to teach English but whatever, to each their own unless you’re one of those disgusting people that came here to objectify women.
I don’t have any specific desire to teach in Japan per say (that’s just where I’ve secured a position) but teaching English abroad is something I want to do as a part of my larger career aspirations. Travel and broadening my horizons is also a plus, but for me it’s not the location that created the appeal, it’s the whole goal of teaching abroad before hopefully pursuing a PhD and research.
I’m an ESL teacher and have worked in China and the US as a credentialed adult ESL teacher. I looooove grammar and language and get excited about explaining the present perfect. My wife is Hawaiian but speaks Japanese fluently and has always wanted to work as a translator, which is how she found her passion in Japanese. Just made sense that the next step would be Japan. I never wanted to stay in the US and we both want our daughter to experience another culture, speak 2 languages, try new things, etc. we also considered China but her drive for mandarin isn’t as high as Japanese. Ultimately we both ended up wanting to work abroad in Japan. I’ll probably continue to do public school / Eikaiwa till I get into a university or online teaching. Wouldn’t change a thing though!
I don’t know why you get downvotes, legit topic imho.
I think that for one reason or another people are fascinated by Japan and want to live here. Many people come here for unrelated reasons to teaching, but that’s the easiest job to get so they start working in that field. It’s an easy way to get a visa / salary to allow you to stay.
I didn’t. My wife did. We both come from modest backgrounds in Canada and America and neither of us accumulated debt.
Two people bringing home about 40k USD from relatively better assignments in the eigo no sensei world just makes sense. What we do is easy, we’re liked by our community, and we have alot of agency/autonomy with our teaching because we’re trusted. I just did three classes alone on my Friday. It was cake.
Why would I trade my current work/life balance for debt in a specialized field or something different? Compete with a different job market I don’t understand the nuances of? I”m in kind of a comfy middle class slot.
As a side note: Unfortunately, a portion of reddit kind of has an exhausting slant against it and how much people can thrive doing it.
By the way, for each foreigner that likes teaching there are at least 10 who hate it who eventually find another job or return home.
I’ve been teaching for nine years and love it. I want to move to japan because I have friends there, but I haven’t because the pay is pretty creepy, so trying, hoping, and praying that my writing career picks up enough not to have to work myself to death before then. Where I am now has been the only place I can’t seem to get on well out of the six countries in which I’ve lived.
Two reasons.
One, because they are weaboos, or else just want to travel anywhere, everywhere – and Japan happens to be a place where it’s fairly simple for English speakers to get a job and a visa. They will come to Japan no matter what they are told about the ESL industry, since they aren’t professional teachers, don’t care about being professional, and it makes no difference to them if they aren’t treated like a professional.
They will not stay long, anyway – they play around and go home.
Two, because they have some connection to the country (such as a Japanese spouse) and needed to come here.
There is no “because Japan has a such a great international reputation for language learning and teachers all want to come here to teach” – because it’s actually a *terrible* destination for anyone who takes teaching seriously.
I’m number two, in case you’re wondering.
They don’t really want to teach. The whole arrangement is basically a working holiday for em. Most people who do it only do so for a year or two!
I’ve always been a natural teacher and helping people improve upon their English has always brought me satisfaction. I did English teaching in China and got some certifications there but because I love karate, I eventually moved to Japan since I thought I could receive better training without changing too much job wise. I’ve made the right decision on both fronts since my job is pretty chill and fun and I’ve even won a national championship in sparring here too! Not everyone hates their life as an ESL teacher here despite what people on here bitch about.
I’ve got a B.A. and no job prospects. I literally could not get hired anywhere in the U.S. because I didn’t have job experience, but I couldn’t get job experience because no one would hire me.
Also, I have anxiety and during interviews I either talk to much or not enough.
Because they want to live in Japan and the easiest job foreigners are accepted in its the english teacher. Any other job you have to be super special to get a working visa.
I moved to Japan because I worked for Nissan in the UK. I thought I would move to Japan for a year or two, learn Japanese and then go back to my old job but then have the ability to talk with my Japanese colleagues.
When I got here I found that the job I had got in Japan had a better salary and working conditions and also that the quality of life generally was much better. Because of this and the progressively better jobs I have found since coming 6 years ago. I have decided to stay in Japan permanently.
You can save money easily with an easy job right out of college where you get to live in a safe and clean foreign country and get something good for your resume, all while having really cheap and good health insurance and a pretty easy life in a country where most locals are very open to you and want to meet you.
I wanted to be a teacher since I was very young, I was also interested in Japan.
Worked hard, got my qualifications + some teaching experience in my country, came to Japan for the challenge and decided I really liked it here. Once I managed to find a good position that sealed the deal.
I only intended to come here for two years (this was in 2000), and certainly didn’t intend to teach English for longer than that.
Met my wife, liked the place, ended up with a pretty decent career teaching English here.
Go figure.
Because it’s a fun couple of years, the pay is OK and it’s a great alternative to pulling pints in a pub in London, or whatever the other working holiday kids are doing these days.
I really like teaching English and would not trade my current situation for another. I have time to do the things I want- like taking online courses, writing, and blogging. I work only part-time and, at times, make as much as a low-paid full-time teacher here. I am happy and have good health insurance. The downside is that it’s quite expensive to live in the city and the taxes are killing me. But, I looked around for other jobs and was able to find some, just not in Japan. I am from the USA and can tell you if given a choice between the two: I choose Japan. I did not come here as a weeaboo. I came here because I have roots here. Despite this, I will always be a foreigner here as long as I talk and act like an American although I do read and talk Japanese moderately and have passed the level N1 of the JLPT. Overall, I love it here and am doing what I love best- teaching.
Why does anyone work? Money obviously. What a dumbass question. Trying to be all high and mighty against teachers. How pathetic lol
Some of us actually liked our English classes- i know fucking mind blowing. Its almost like…. a lot of people actually go to college and major in english….and education???
Even weirder… some people…. Like … working with kids?!?! And not for the repulsive reasons jcj project.
Though maybe this is actual news due to the personality of a lot of the (white) men in high positions of english education in japan