I’ve felt immense freedom because of the public transportation – I can go anywhere I want. The head English teacher at my high school is super friendly, the other JTEs always are helpful, and the English level of the students is well above average. I speak somewhere around N3 Japanese, which is good enough to speak with the teachers, but still novice enough to where the teachers can teach me basic things about Japanese that are interesting. People buy drinks for me at the bar. My girlfriend is always so caring after a tiring day.
Even the downsides don’t take away the positives – I feel like I’m super clumsy in the classroom, and the students in grades 2 and 3 are really shy compared to first year students. But even then, they can open up sometimes. Honestly, I even love the human tape recorder aspect of the job. I love reading and narrating things – I’d read audiobooks for a living if I could. I see enough negative posts, but what about positive ones?
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A common point many people make is that happy people normally don’t post. I love my job and my manager position. It is a lot of fun. I teach in the IB and any manage both Japanese and foreign teachers. I wake up and enjoy going to work. I think that most people are happy.
It’s what you make of it.
The people who have the hardest time came In with the idea they’d be serious educators.
Been here for over 10 years teaching. Have moments of extreme happiness almost everyday. It can just be me driving and feeling the vibe of the town or throwing back a beer at the izakaya nearby, it all just works. Love it.
Seconding the comment that most people come to vent. Still, nowhere as bad as most teaching subs esp r/teachers .
I enjoy my job but then again I’m a subject teacher, not English, and at an international school. Only gripe I’d have is that admin are Japanese so they often have a hard time getting their heads around decisions we (the school side) make, but they don’t really have the power to say no so it’s whatever.
I’ve heard at least half of my colleagues say that this is the strongest work group they’ve ever had in their careers, and I’d agree. Everyone gets along, collaborates, is supportive, and is passionate and knowledgeable about their subject. Kids are great and it’s nice to see them embrace each other’s cultures in different ways (including teaching each other swear words from their home language lmao).
I’m having a better time here than I would be getting shot at or dying from lack of health insurance in the US.
Nothing drives upvotes like a commonly felt complaint. Where as something positive or wholesome in a Japan teaching related subreddit will either be ignored or downvoted for not seeing the truth.
There are plenty of happy people, but nobody wants to hear about happy people and make themselves miserable. They want to hear about upset people so they can rage together.
I’m happy about all the little things that happen, getting the moments where I see kids learn something, and enjoying the walk-ability of my area despite the constant car traffic.
At the same time though, I miss all the perks of having space where I can be a little louder. I’ve been wanting to try trumpet again but I’m not super stoked about playing with a mute in constantly. My company put me in a Leo Palace so I’m probably already loud enough for my neighbors watching YouTube without headphones.
I absolutely love teaching!
It’s a stimulating, rewarding job for me.
I do research and present at conferences every year, so I feel like I’m always learning new skills to improve my teaching.
I get a decent salary, and plenty of time off for travelling, and doing hobbies.
I come from a working class family, so working in a cushy office/classroom for a living is an absolute joke to me. I genuinely feel really lucky to have found this profession.
At the end of the day its a job. Generally people hate their jobs not matter what they do.
Been here for a while now, with the same school since arriving as a dispatch and a direct hire. Loving every single day I get to spend with the kids and my amazing JTE and other school teachers.
As everyone mentioned, the people who come to vent are the most vocal compared to those who are happy with their jobs.
Going on 4 years almost and I’m having a blast. The positives outweigh the negatives by a long shot. My friends at home are breaking their goddamn backs in a warehouse 10 hours a day with no insurance while I study Japanese half the day and reap the positives you describe in your post. Don’t let negative people doing negative things ruin your stride.
My experience has been amazing. All the issues I have had come from the masses of people that aren’t teachers trying to get into actual teaching jobs. Like come on, being a honkey from freedom land doesn’t mean you automatically know more than the rest of the world’s population. Refusing to get qualifications because you believe being Native will make up for it. All their bullshit over the years leads to stereotypes and false assumptions that sometimes hold the rest of us back because we all sometimes get lumped in the foreigner category with the super smart guy with a BA in studying asians like animals.
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As long as you can make more than 5.5 million and keep your class count low, the job is amazing. Problem is, most people refuse to do what they need to get those jobs and then complain about how it isn’t fair giving all foreigners a bad name.
It’s all about attitude and how you perceive things.
And everybody stood up and clapped for you.
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… okay, ignore my jaded response. Honestly, I spend way too much time on Reddit, where it’s all doom and gloom “these aren’t real English teachers, pay is terrible compared to the golden years of the 90’s and early 2000’s, etc, etc, etc.”
I will be the first to admit that the only things I have going for me are the years as an ALT and the fact that I enjoy culture and language sharing in general, so I can’t claim to be a real teacher. I also have no intention to try and get a Master’s, because I would rather make money than pay it and go back into over $10,000 worth of debt for a degree… when I have no intention of ever teaching in University in the first place. Junior High and High school are what I like (though I guess technically a Master’s helps, but the requirements of schools can vary wildly). And my current company isn’t your typical eikaiwa. I’m also making more than I ever have in my life at this point, and I really do enjoy teaching English to the kids- especially since I’m not in public schools now, where students (and often teachers too, for good reason) just don’t give a damn.
I might join the circle jerk of “ALTs and eikaiwa are bad” because I got burned by a certain Supposedly Good ALT company, and I know about the conditions at a typical eikaiwa… but honestly, despite what teaching English is, I still have better prospects here is japan than I ever did in the States… where I was living in Bumfuck Nowhere and unable to escape until I threw everything I had into getting into Japan. Note that I also came over BEFORE Covid.
I’m pretty open about my life/job/academic satisfaction, and have recruited here for more applicants.
I think tomorrow is when the results are released. Retroactive good luck, everyone.
I go through phases living and working here moving between really content, discontent, indifferent and everywhere in between.
For four years, I was having a blast! Now, we lost a lot of staff members, and my new boss sucks. I’d say enjoy it while it lasts. Remember everything can change in the blink of the eye. Always have a backup plan. I like the work. I like my co-workers and students, but the new boss is pushing everyone away. We won the power harassment case, though. That’s a relief. Still, it rubbed too many people the wrong way. All in all, I still love the work, students, and teachers. I just severely dislike this manager we are stuck with. I refuse to let one person ruin everything, but I know I need to start looking for other potential places just in case. I’d hate to lose all the raises I have accumulated, though. So, I might just tolerate this one terrible person to keep the money. I’m so upset that I have to be careful for the first time since coming here since I was really in love with my life for so long. I’m trying to stay positive because I love living here so much. Also, there’s nothing wrong with moving on from one working environment to the next. My favorite age group is the junior high and high school students. That’s why if I do move on, I’d like to teach more students like that. Meanwhile, I am loving the opportunity to teach all ages and engage in higher-level academic conversations with the head teacher, advanced students, and colleagues. There’s a lot to be thankful for, but it’s important to actively fight for your happiness. Take nothing for granted.
This type of post comes up from time to time, you know.
the fact that there are more pessimistic posts than optimistic ones, the fact that there are more people going out of their way and spending time writing pessimistic posts than people who aren’t should tell you enough the chances of you having the blast they are experiencing.
its your life, show us we’re wrong. everyones actually posting them to keep all the fun and love all to themselves. harem is real etc.etc.
I did ALT for 2 years;1 HS, 2 JHSs and 5 ESs. I already knew what I was getting into cos of reddit. I have worked at cafes, a night club, restaurant, host club, and a hotel before I applied for ALTing. The most stress free job I have ever done in my life and it’s even better in JHS and HS cos you literally do nothing compared to the actual teachers. If you treat it as a cultural experience and a short-term gig, ALT is a fun job, minus the low pay.
There’s like a hundred things an actual JHS or HS Japanese teacher can do that an ALT can’t (inside and outside the classroom). There’s nothing a JTE can’t do that an ALT can, except maybe better pronunciation which is to be expected. I realized that JHS and up don’t need foreign ALTs. 90% of teachers don’t even know how to utilize their ALT besides as an exam marking robot, but it’s not exactly their fault either nor the ALTs. Feel like ALT is just an outdated system that would’ve been fine in the 80s to early 2000s.
I’m loving life here in Japan. Working as hard as I can at the language so I can leave the English teaching industry and enjoy life even more lol
My life is a tiny suffocating silent disaster but I’m glad someone isn’t locked into irreversible obligations 🙂 Enjoy
Here!!
7 years in and I love everyday
Two things–actually 3:
1. Gotta remember, most redditors *in general* post on this site to complain and whine. The push/pull btwn self-loathing and narcissism is the baseline here. Anything which deviates from that baseline, such as positivity and enthusiasm, should be considered anomalous.
2. Most (not all) Westerners who come to Japan with any sort of personal dream, ***especially to teach English** are usually developmentally stunted adult children who have never had a real job or who are relatively antisocial. Like, why else would you leave behind your home country, family, and friends to come teach English in a foreign land where your currency isnt worth much more than at home? Simple: cus you dont fit in at home. The positive reasons exist, and do motivate some people, but most people come here for negative reasons.
3. Congrats for being grateful. It sounds like you are one of the rare Gaikokujhin who come here with a grateful outlook. Gannbatte!
Absolutely. I work 3 1/2 days a week, and have just had a month off. This gives me plenty of time to grow all the vegetables I need for my family to live on. Teaching is the best part of my job. Admin and committee work can be a grind, but I through one of the committees I should be able to get a trip to Taiwan or Palau soon. Before Covid I used to spend a week in Cambodia every year—all paid for. What’s not to like?
It’s interesting. If you ask the average person on the street if they love their job and are having fun at it, I’d imagine most of them would just say “meh.” Most people work to live, and not because they love the work itself. Of course, there are exceptions, as a few lucky souls find work they actively love.
Teachers are often of that group. They actively chose to teach because they love teaching. It’s one of those jobs where you really would have to love it in order to do it. There’s a lot that goes into teaching: emotional energy, creative energy, physical energy; and you often must work outside teaching hours to do lesson prep or research. You also interact with people all day long, so you absolutely have to be a people-person, or at least, use up all your energy pretending to be one. Teachers are among the contingent of people who really do LIVE their jobs.
But there’s definitely a contingent of people who are only teaching in order to be in Japan. They don’t have an interest in or a commitment to education, nor do they spend any creative or intellectual energy researching methodology, learning new techniques, or planning lessons. They genuinely just don’t care about teaching. They like being in Japan; but they are not teachers. They come here to vent because they find themselves stuck in a dead-end, low-paying job that they hate, all because they don’t want to put the time, energy, or effort into finding a new one. These are the ones who are likely to be openly contemptuous about teaching and make the “dancing monkey” posts. And their misery is 100% on them.
As for the people who are teachers at heart, they come here to vent because it can be extremely frustrating to work in a system that seems actively set against professional development. Even in professional teaching contexts, such as high schools or universities, it often seems as though admin are willing to settle for extremely low teaching standards that would not be acceptable in most professional teaching contexts outside Japan. Since ESL is not taken a serious subject here it’s not held to the same high standards as, say, an engineering program would be. Japan seems quite content to allow its ESL education system to be run by amatures and idiots. That is the topic of most of the negative posts, it’s why many teachers come here to vent, and it’s prefectly legit reason to do so.
Yes. I absolutely love teaching elementary school English.
I have a ton of agency, lots of time off, benefits, a fair salary around 4 million yen, and I get to have kids at work without having kids at home. There’s a level of paternal closeness you can have with kids and their families here that is an absolute nightmare scenario to navigate in somewhere like California, where my dad’s been teaching for 35 years and hates it now more than he ever did.
Considering the poverty and difficulty I endured in the United States before moving here, I could see myself making my modest 4mil per year salary until I’m old.
The credential fart sniffing/circle jerking of English speaking people getting super up their own about what makes a teacher a teacher is something we just endure on reddit from people who need to touch grass.
*Outside* of work, sure I have a decent time. As for the work itself, I fucking despise it. I feel a fool for ever wanting to do this. I’d wanted to go into education ever since I was a little kid, and now that I do it I’ve learned I fucking hate it.
Great responses!
I posted something similar asking for positive teaching experiences and I was absolutely crucified in the comments – don’t bother coming etc
I like my job here, good pay, free time, nice colleagues and overall well
behaved students
I’m on my third year working for an eikaiwa and I’m still happy. There are very few options in terms of career growth but I’m not in a rush to get promoted. I’m learning Japanese slowly and getting more teaching experience to get there.
The students, both adults and kids, are lovable. There are some that would really test my patience but that’s all part of a day’s work. Same goes for any other industry. This is my “second career.” Did some corporate work back home for 6-something years.
On my free time, I go on nature walks, onsen holidays, or spend some quality time with my boyfriend (I have no complaints about him either lol). Throughout my life, I also learned to adapt a que sera sera attitude and it keeps me afloat even during bad times.
This guy Japans! Live the good life, friend. I’m glad you’re having a good experience. What I noticed from your post is that you speak Japanese and you use it to talk with teachers. They see you as friendly and willing to learn, because that’s what you are. . You’ve got a good support system. These are what set you apart from all of the negative posters and ranters from ALT meetings. They rarely are able to speak Japanese and are afraid to get outside of their comfort zone. Sure, there are exceptions. ESID! (cough cough). But you’re doing it right.
Did you just get here?
Yep, I’ve had an interesting and profitable 22-year (and counting) career in Japan.
There just isn’t much of an inventive to post about that regularly ^-^
I’ve had several jobs that I felt terrible but right now, yes, I am having a blast. With the love of my life by my side, I find courage to restart my career in a new company and it has been great! All my colleagues are supportive and my supervisors acknowledge my efforts. it’s fantastic
I felt the same as you up until about 3-4 years of teaching English in Japan. Until then everything was great. But then I started feeling that career wise, my life was not going in the direction I wanted it to go. I also could see that I had reached the ceiling in terms of being an ALT. I didn’t want to be doing the dancing monkey routine in my 40-50s and beyond earning 250K a month. I’m not trying to put a downer on your experience, just pointing out that you’ve got to think of your future here in Japan. It may be all fun now but think 20-30 years in the future and things might not be so rosy.
Ditto, my wife and I have been here for about 10 years and enjoy our life. At the moment, we work for an eikaiwa that is super flexible with our schedule as parents and pays well for the amount of time I actually put in as well as support and perks in other aspects of our lives here. I enjoy my work as my input and experience is actually put to use. Coworkers are great and working with the office staff is great as well. Before covid, we had way more events as a staff where we would just hang out and eat/drink. It’s good fun.
Love my life in Japan. But with a growing family, teaching isn’t viable so I gotta study up an hope to make a career hop in a year or two. It’s a shame cause I enjoy the teaching.
I like my job, I don’t really have any worthy skills or talents back home so interacting and teaching kids here is rewarding even with my N3 Japanese. Also plan to be childfree and the rent is cheap here as well, so I’m not so worried. I don’t care so much about hustle culture or building my career.
Maybe not the POV you’re thinking of, but I enjoyed my working life here (uni). Spent a couple years in tokyo, then 29 in Kanazawa, and have retired ‘in place’, meaning no plan to leave, move, etc. Japan is actually pretty cheap, the food is great, good healthcare, and over here the cycling is wonderful.
How long have you been here?
I’m devastated I have to leave my school bc I’m on my third year.
My students have been so sweet to me. I have so many funny and kind stories about them.
My teachers have been so good to me. My English teacher especially fought for me to get a laptop to use at school from the BOE and succeeded. A teacher I worked with for 2 years was so nice and opened up to me about stuff, and made me laugh, and the rest of the teachers are generally just so nice.
I also happen to work for a branch that isn’t dog shit.
I’m going to miss my school so much ;3;
I have my ups and downs
Most days I’m really enjoying it here. The scenery and safety. The kids finally remembering stuff you spent the past 3 weeks teaching.
And then other days I question my desire to stay in Japan.
I’m going to start exercising again after a 2 year hiatus so maybe that will keep me in an emotional high
I loved my time in Japan. A very hands off job with a pretty easy schedule. Wonderful food to eat everyday. What felt like a decent disposable income. Great weekends exploring Japan. Met some very nice people. Had some meaningful relationships. Learned so much about the world. My three years was really good, and yes there were some hard times, but I loved what Japan has to offer and will go back.
Rose tinted glasses, perhaps; wonderful memories, definitely.