Hello, lately I’ve been reading up on folks’ experiences of finding work at Japanese universities. I know the current landscape can be quite competitive, so I’m wondering which cities/prefectures are typically considered most/least competitive for these positions. Thanks in advance!
4 comments
Generally anywhere outside of the biggest 10-20 cities is less desirable, but competition everywhere is increasing as the number of teachers increases and the number of students decreases. Best bet is find somewhere you like living and look for work there, the smaller universities may not even exist in ten years time.
It’s not really location that makes a university less desirable; it’s the ranking. Generally speaking, universities are ranked (high to low) SA, A, B, C, D, E and F. The lower the rank the less desirable it is for both students ***and*** faculty.
I spent a few years at a ‘F’ ranked university in Kansai. The location was very desirable. Nice campus, easy to get to, in the middle of major urban area, but it regularly turned over faculty — both Japanese and Foreign. I was there for three years and they turned over around 10% to 12% of the faculty ***every year***. They were constantly hiring and it was easy to get hired there. All you had to do was promise not to quit and they’d hire you. (That is, of course, provided that you were qualified to work at a university in the first place.)
Conversely, there are some great universities that are in really bad locations. For example, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University is in a small, out-of-the way town (Beppu) with nothing to do except bath in the hot springs, but because it’s a good university (B ranked) hiring is competitive. Lots of people want to work there.
It doesn’t work like that. Location means nothing, ranking is everything.
​
You are going to have to teach at somewhere between 4 to 12 schools before anyone offers you tenure. Be prepared to move around Japan a bit before you are able to settle down. It will take about five years or so to make the connections you need.
I work at a university that’s really low and in a remote difficult to get to location.. and the teachers have a high turnover rate but the pay is ok…