Edit: Sorry! The title should specify uni salaries, I’m not asking about schools or eikaiwas.
Hey all,
I’ve been shopping around for direct hire university teaching jobs in the Kansai area and I’ve noticed that not all schools will advertise their salary or whether it’s paid year-round.
I’ve heard rumours and know some salaries from experience and friends, but I’m curious about others and in other parts of Japan for comparison.
I’ve also found it hard to find specific data (every website or article just gives a range of potential salaries per koma). Also I’ve been offered jobs without them explaining their pay system and I don’t suppose I’ll find out until I have a contract in hand.
I know it’s perhaps a personal question, but for anyone working in this kind of job would you mind giving information out publicly?
5 comments
Assuming you are hired directly by the university and not being dispatched by some outsource company, and Counting one class meeting per week as a Koma, range is about 22,000 to 35,000 per month. Really just depends on the university. Pay would be for the “semester” so spring from April through the end of summer vacation. A Fall only class would be paid through March. If you had classes in spring and fall expect 12 months of pay.
My experience is in Kansai.
Not in Kansai, but Tohoku. Generally speaking, each university has their own guidelines of guidelines of guidelines based on your age, years since graduation of your highest degree, years of experience teaching at uni, or whatever else. So, because it’s complicated, they don’t advertise the exact price.
Generally, part-time teachers are paid per hour or per class (Koma). For those that pay per hour, though a class is generally 90m, the teacher is paid 2 hours worth.
I’ve taught at various universities in Tohoku (so I cannot say if it’s the same to Kansai), but generally I earned between 9000¥ to 12000¥ per class taught. The lowest I’ve ever heard of is 7000¥. Average is 10000¥— again, depending on your qualifications and experience.
Generally, universities have a maximum number of classes that part-timers can teach per semester (usually 3 or 4). So, many part-timers work at a few different schools, to teach as many hours as they can.
So, if you teach 10 classes per semester (maybe 3 or 4 at three different schools), you’d make about 10万円 per week. Semesters are generally 15 or 16 weeks, twice a year (so up to 32 weeks of pay). It’s not a bad salary considering all the “time off” between semesters.
Not Kansai but Kanto:
Tokai University is 25,000 per koma. (Two koma a week M/Th or T/Fr per class. Meaning one “class” would be 50,000 per month)
Obirin is 30,000 per koma (but one class a week if I recall correctly).
Lowest I’ve seen at a low tier private uni was around 140,000 per month for two koma or 4 90 min classes a week (like mon/wed 2 periods each day). This is paid year round and some schools may ask you do office hours or hours at their tutoring centers but that’s usually paid at a separate rate (like 3000 plus an hour)
Ideally you’d do this for a year and hopefully get a full time gig at one of the unis if they like you. 10 classes a week to me is hell especially if you don’t get many repeats or need to commute to 2 – 3 unis.
I can tell what I’ve heard about three schools in Kansai, one public and two private. They all have different approach, but average is roughly the same.
Municipal uni in Kobe pays from 11000 jpy per koma (90mins). Payment is split between 6 months in the case of 1 semester (14 classes) or 12 months for year-round class (28 classes). Salary tends to rise every few years a bit and cap around 14000 jpy per koma after 5-6 years.
Private uni in Kobe pays 12000 per koma, but they pay by number of classes delivered within a month. So, literally no pay in August or February and March. No raise.
Private uni in Nishinomiya (should be pretty obvious I guess) pays fixed amount monthly for a number of courses taught. 6 months in case of 1 semester or 12 months for a year. Amount is just above 30000 jpy per month per course. Some small additional compensations are added for high number of students etc.
I would say it’s safe to assume a 11000 as an average for 1 Koma here. I guess some fluctuations exist due to experience/field, I assume a phd holder with academic background is eligible for such number. I guess people with professional background might have a different treatment on case by case basis.
Edit: I guess it’s not explicitly communicated by schools during hiring process because it’s a kind of common knowledge probably?