Hey everyone,
I’m interested in teaching English in Tokyo next year and would like your opinions on where and how I should apply.
I have CELTA, a degree, and 11 years experience in ESL working at language centers in NZ and Canada. I have also taught as a sub while I was in Vietnam a few years back to kids but mostly have taught adults.
I’m wondering what kind of pay I can expect to get in Japan with my experience. Would I be starting out on a low salary or would my experience be able to get me a better paid job?
I have seen something about ALT work or working at an eikaiwa – I’m not completely familiar but my understanding is that an ALT is just a teachers assistant and only gets a few hours work a day, low pay, no benefits and that an eikaiwa is a language center but you have teach up to 10 hours a day (I’m used to 5 teaching hours a day so 10 sounds like burnout to me).
I guess what I would be looking for is a job that can sponsor my visa and one where I could save a bit each month, be based in Tokyo, and teach around 80-100hours a month. Would be awesome to have health insurance included or other bonuses.
What companies would you recommend? I have seen postings for AEON, NOVA, Interac but are there other places I should be investigating?
TIA
=====
Forgot to mention that I’m just looking for a 1 year experience in Japan. I was hoping there might be potential to do a year and leave with some savings but by the sound of the replies Japan may not be that type of place. I will look at it instead as a way to experience the country for a year and hopefully the job can cover my expenses.
8 comments
Your experience is not likely to get you higher pay at places like Aeon, Nova, and the like. It’s a buyer’s market now. It’s possible you could find a smaller place that might offer a higher salary and more benefits (in the broader sense) and that might choose someone with experience, but the qualifications and experience you detail don’t seem to make you an attractive candidate for most positions in which you’re likely to be able to make a reasonable living and save, unless you’re willing to forego, say, having a social life and living alone.
If you have supervisory experience, an advanced degree, or a teaching license or are able to speak (or, better, speak and read) Japanese, it’s a different story.
The British Council exclusively hires people with a CELTA/DELTA, and their pay is much better than most other places. If they end up hiring for a full time position, you should definitely apply.
To get a visa it would be easiest to come over as an ALT or a big eikaiwa teacher. Salary probably ranges between 220000-270000yen/mo depending on location. not great for saving.
Once you are here, start attending your local JALT meetings, and check university and private school job postings on JALT jobs, and JREC-IN. Network as much as possible, and if you are serious about working as an EFL teacher in Japan think about doing an online masters degree, so tht you can work full-time at a university. You have a lot of experience which looks good, but to be considered for a fulltime university position you need an MA minimum.
Have you read through the other posts here at all? You really should, because you’ll get a good sense of what other teachers are going through right now in this market.
In general, Japan isn’t the place for serious professional-minded teachers. The exception is if you have teaching experience at the high school or university level along with the requisite qualifications. Even then, many people are stuck doing part-time work at several different schools since the market is saturated and very competitive.
ALTs are just assistants, and usually don’t have any control over what is taught or how, which would be very frustrating if you got stuck at a school with a supervising teacher who only sees you as a human tape recorder.
As for eikaiwa, I have doubts you’d be hired. They don’t like to hire experienced qualified teachers because each school has their own set lesson structure (usually grammar-based PPP) and a qualified teacher would upset the apple cart because they would want to teach much more eclectically. You’ll also teach from 8-10 lessons a day, with 5-10 minutes in between classes. And of course, you’ll likely teach evenings and weekends.
Finally, pay will be the same regardless of your experience and qualifications. Why would schools pay you more when they can just import someone who is willing to work for peanuts? They don’t care about lesson quality – hiring standards are “Can you breathe? Do you have a pulse? Do you have minimal social skills? You’re hired.”
But I don’t know what it may have been like where you taught before; so this may sound perfectly normal to you. You ought to ask more specific questions if such things concern you, and read more posts here to get a better idea of the issues involved in teaching in Japan.
ALT – stand to the side of the Japanese teacher until they poke you to say, “This is an apple”
Eikaiwa – work 50 hours a week for awful pay and deterioration of your mental health just to have grandma’s tell you how exhausted THEY are from practicing tea ceremony.
[deleted]
All young people want to work in Tokyo. You’re choosing the most crowded job market to try and shoehorn your way into. Best of luck…
It’s very unlikely you can come for a year and then leave with much money for a few reasons:
1. Entry level salaries are quite low.
2. You will have start up costs which will require you to spend quite a lot up front.
3. You’ll be spending money enjoying being in Japan.
It is possible to make a decent living teaching in Japan, but only after you are well established (ie share rent with a partner, are into your second or third job, don’t feel the need to travel at every opportunity).
I understand that Korea is a good place to go for a year and leave with some savings. I know people who did that before coming to Japan.