I work remotely for a soul sucking company where my voice is never heard and I’m just sat on my own all day taking s**t from people via email.
I’m the type who needs to be around others to be happy, even if they’re loud kids lol. I just feel lonely and want to get out there and I used to love teaching back in the UK.
Everyone keeps telling me ‘you don’t know how lucky you have it to work from home and teaching English is the worst’ but I envy how these people can be outside talking to others all day and have life around them. Is being an English teacher really that bad because I’ve never got that impression when looking at it from the outside? The only thing which concerns me is the drop in salary because me and my wife are trying for a baby now.
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>I work remotely for a soul sucking company where my voice is never heard and I’m just sat on my own all day taking s**t from people via email.
Do you want to do the same, but in person?
Have you ever worked in retail, service or hospitality industry? Did you enjoy being around customers all day?
> The only thing which concerns me is the drop in salary because me and my wife are trying for a baby now.
In that case you would be better off putting your family first and enjoying your job second.
Insecure people or competitive people usually make a stink about it.
Weird reactionary politic holders usually have exhausting takes about it.
Qualified teachers do the whole “I paid my debts so you have to too.” School argument but with qualified vs unqualified (even though most education skillset is developed through onboarding)
What I will say: yeah, lack of upward trajectory sucks.
Yeah, salary only sucks more with inflation.
Yeah, you can end up in a situation where you don’t have any agency.
Work-life balance is insanely good.
You will be respected and welcomed locally if you take to the job in a way that isn’t reflected through how English speakers treat the job here online.
Of course, conditions depend on which company you work for but yeah don’t listen to all the know-it-alls on the internet lol. Do what makes you happy!
Speaking from personal experience/preference I never want to go back to working in an office no matter how much more money or “prestige” I could get.
You’re talking about becoming an ALT/Eikaiwa worker, not a teacher.
Those jobs are not careers and they’re self-sealed as far as opportunities and experience go, there is no path to becoming a “real” teacher and the experience won’t be useful for moving to another field in the future. The quality and expectations of your workplace will also have insane variance and nearly no consistency, you could easily get into a position where you are under utilized, and generally an afterthought to the actual staff of the school. You can also easily be ridiculously booked and taken advantage to do things that are beyond your skillset/borderline illegal.
If you want to have an actual career in something, especially if you want to earn money for the future and grow a stable position with an increasing salary, this would be a bad move.
Gotta be working for a company for at least 1 year to get parental leave. Don’t quit now if a baby is on the way. Just take a year of parental leave then decide if you wanna look for another job after that.
This sub thinks very highly of English teachers so I believe you will get sound advice on this topic
Let’s change places!!
It is not a binary choice. Surely there is a “9-5” job that is not WFH?
English teaching is fine if you enjoy it but it has a limited career path and, although almost anyone can do it, it is certainly not for everyone.
I used to work in sales and international liaison for a small company in Tokyo. I lasted a year. Burnt out real bad I quit without having another job lined up, and yeah that was stupid. I got a teaching job that paid peanuts after that. I liked the job, hated the pay and the commute. I’m now in a better company, with a better school, and I’m actually getting paid a lot more than my office job while only working four days a week.
Get a hobby, my guy. One that puts you in contact with people. Card games, sports, classes, martial arts.
It’s not that you can’t be happy and fulfilled by that career change, it’s that you’re risking a steep drop in quality of life for human contact that you can get other ways.
> I work remotely for a soul sucking company where my voice is never heard and I’m just sat on my own all day taking s**t from people via email.
Is it more that you don’t like your current company and instead you want to find a company that actually listens to you and supports you? Do you like your actual job?
Sorry, you didn’t give enough specific information about the troubles you’re running into or the industry you’re currently working in so it’s hard to say anything worthwhile.
Look at that grass over there; it’s so green!
Haven’t worked an office job in Japan, but I did back in the UK. Never want to go back to an office again. It was mind numbingly boring.
Being an English teacher is fine. Depends where you work of course, some places are just bad. I’m happy with my current set up though. I work part-time at kindergartens and it’s great.
Given the lack of upward trajectory and almost blast proof wage ceiling, you should consider it very carefully. Although, I generally champion the idea of “do what makes you happy”, especially if the person is unmarried and without kids. Since you are thinking about starting a family, that should factor into it. Personally, even when work is rough, I am happy that I can provide for my family. Every choice I make is centered around that.
If I were you, I’d be looking towards certifications and other companies that might value your experience to date. Your current role sounds like it might be helpdesk or customer support related, which is a common first step on the ladder for many people when starting their career. Transitioning into an ALT role kind of feels like stepping off the ladder and kicking it over.
But seriously, do what you’ve got to do. You likely know better than anybody what you are capable of. I’ve ignored people’s concerns about my life choices many times over the years and I am happy with where I have wound up.
Maybe try a different office job instead? I don’t mean to sound condescending – a change in environment is what your seem to need and you don’t necessarily have to change your entire career path for it. If you’re trying for a family, English teaching doesn’t offer much in terms of advancement and since you’ll potentially be feeding a mouth that won’t provide income, it’s a bit of a risky move 😣
Why not go for a similar office job that isn’t WFH?
Why not just search for a different office job without wfh…?
You’ve got N2 and work experience and it’s not like English teaching is the only job in Japan where you can socialize.
Not saying you’ll be a failure of a teacher or whatever, but for the good positions you’re competing with people who spend hundreds of hours a year studying and writing about English education, usually with advanced degrees, or who spent a reeeeaaaallllly long time in crappy positions so the good schools know they won’t dip.
Do you want to do either of those? If not you will stagnate and be right back here trying to figure out how to get out of English teaching.
Sure the teaching part is fun. But the successful teachers have to bust their ass to leave the rat race. Usually their goal is to be “A teacher” not just having a job where you aren’t alone. Office jobs you can coast.
Seems like a lot of work and a lot of comfort/security to give up just to be able to chat on the job. You sure that’s all you want?
People here tend to “look down” on English teachers, I think it is stupid to have that mind set, but I can say from experience that getting out of English teaching and into the video game industry was one of the most positive changes to ever occur in my life.
Honestly, the problem with teaching English in Japan isn’t inherently the job itself, it is the general low standard of the majority of companies here. Pretty much every “big name” Eikaiwa is going to have shit working conditions and shit pay. From what I understand, university teaching can be a pretty good gig but will have higher requirements for qualifications, etc.
I think it is very possible to be an English teacher here and be happy, but I think you need to be realistic about what the limitations of that career path are. If what you are looking for is “people to talk to”, I would maybe seek out something that is more aligned with your current work experience, but find a company that has a friendlier atmosphere etc.
If your wife is cool with working why not. If you get tired of teaching, your can probably find another shitty office job in the future.
If your wife is expecting to be a housewife, then you have a bigger problem.
Working in Japanese companies can be challenging on a human level. If you believe that sharing a physical workspace with your coworkers will solve your social problems, think twice before taking such steps. Japanese salarymen behave in predictable patterns and struggle to engage in conversations that require sharing honest opinions or discussing topics unrelated to work, aside from food or weather. Regarding your question, yes, I quit my job in the gaming industry to teach English. Not because I have a passion for teaching English, but because the Japanese corporate culture was negatively impacting my mental well-being and I was on the brink of depression. Although English teaching in Japan doesn’t offer high pay, it provides ample free time to invest in education and acquire new skills. This is how I eventually secured a professor position at the university after spending six years grinding as an English teacher. Currently, I earn three times my previous salary in game development, with fewer work hours and more free time.
Can’t help with practical advice, but I sympathize. I’ve been “WFH” for the better part of a decade, doing a job where most of my co-workers are in a different timezone so my days are spent largely in silence in front of the internet. The Covid years were particularly bad as it massacred what was left of my social life, and there have been times when I have wondered whether I should take a career break and work in a convenience store or something…
Fortunately the job has enough upsides to make it worth it, but the only way I stay sane is by mainly not “WFH”, but getting out of the house with the laptop and working from random places (I have a vast trove of places and times which are reasonably convenient/quiet to work in).
I do caution that if you end up WFH with a baby/small child in the mix, things could get difficult, unless you live somewhere large enough you can get away from the chaos.
My only question would be can you afford it. And by that I mean you’re probably looking at a pretty steep pay cut with pretty much 0 salary increase (and with inflation going like it is a salary decrease).
I remember in the 1980’s salaries for English teachers were actually higher than they are now, this trend has continued, if you’re looking to make a life/career here I would consider this move very carefully.
If you have flexibility about where to live, there are a lot of private “international” style schools that need qualified teachers- meaning having a home country teaching qualification. They pay pretty well and are good workplaces generally.
Other option is to get an MEd and look into university teaching. Again, a fair number of jobs that pay pretty well and also have the advantage of long holidays.
Depends on whether or not you are willing to leave Nagoya. The bigger your net, the more jobs you may catch.
BTW, very bad time to start a family when your work situation is up in the air. Might want to hold off on that for a while.
Teaching English isn’t bad. I know it gets a bad reputation around here, but really if that’s what you’re into, do it.
I do it. I love teaching. It’s great. The kids are hysterical and I’ve never had a problem with school administration.
The companies you work for are shit, though. Still, if you show up and pretend to give a damn, no one’s going to give you any trouble.
Honestly teaching english was the most fun job i ever had. Iv never worked in an office but i do understand the soul crushingess of a shit job. If i could go back to teaching english with the money i make now i probably would tbh. Thats how much fun it was. I will admit it really depends on what school you work at, i was at some really good public elementary schools with super fun and bright kids. I dont recommened eikaiwas…
Private schools you have to be careful with, there are rankings for every school in japan even the private ones and some times people just buy their kids’ way in with money and the kids have no interest in learning at all. Look up reviews/rankings if you plan to apply directly…
In this thread: people not differentiating between ‘teaching’ and teaching.
I used to work in an office job in the UK, and made the jump to teaching in Japan (so the reverse of what you did).
I would say that money-wise it could potentially be tough to go into entry-level (i.e. ‘unskilled’) teaching like eikaiwa or dispatch alt work.
However, if you have UK QTS and some experience you might be able to work as a qualified teacher at an international school. I’m a uni lecturer, so I don’t have direct experience of this, but I heard it can be decent in terms of salary and benefits.
I don’t know if the teaching gap in your CV might be a bit of a barrier at first, though.
Personally, my salary is decent (above average for Tokyo), and I get 22-weeks paid holiday a year, so I can enjoy time off on my hobbies or traveling. I find the work itself interesting, as I have control over my curriculum and teach a variety of areas.
I know not all teaching situations are the same as mine, so it might be useful to hear from people in a range of different positions.
Per your other thread it seems you are pulling down around 4m yen per year, if thats the case I wouldn’t overly worry yourself in the salary change assuming you can find a non eikawa teaching gig. If you were making significantly more (10-15m+) in a highly paid industry and still wanting the career switch I’d estimate a deeper calculus of the pros/cons. Given above you should definitely do what makes you happiest and assuming you can continue contributing (even partially) in the marriage you will be better off in the long run. Being unfulfilled in work with as much time as we allocate to our jobs can be a huge drag on the happiness factor. Discuss with the wife and make a joint decision on what will be best for your relationship and future family.
Mate, I’m trying to figure out how an office job is somehow perceived as superior to a teaching job or any job tbh. It’s literally just a source of income. Like, no one worth their salt is going respect you just because the source of your income is different. Anyways, remember there are many types of teaching jobs (Small Mom N’ Pop eikawas, chain eikawas, dispatch ALTs, public school direct-hire ALTs, private school direct-hire ALTs, JET ALTs, private school/public school English teachers, kindergarten, university, cafe, business, home visits, etc…) and many of these type of jobs pay better than your average salaryman with less than half the stress and workload. Think zero overtime. After a couple of years, you will be able to spit out lesson plans in 5 minutes and spend the rest of your downtime studying Japanese, skilling up, or browsing reddit. You just need to put yourself in a position to get the higher paying teaching jobs with decent benefits.
Do not do this. Sure find another job… But by no means switch to English teaching.
ah the grass is always greener on the other side hey
I’m a swimming instructor but I just started working part time as an ALT too and I love it. I work in a high school and was directly highered by the school so that could be part of why I enjoy it bc I basically don’t have a boss. No one pays attention to me as long as I show up and make the kids happy
I was in a similar situation to you. I was an offshore field engineer in oil and gas, the salary was great, but the life was not (and I also read the comments about teaching English before I made my decision). So I quit and became and ALT here in Japan because I wanted a new/fun challenge and so far it has exceeded my expectations.
Why would you let the comments about how bad being an ALT is get to you? It’s fun and the holidays are amazing. You have such long holidays you can travel (domestically and/or internationally) 3 times a year. I’m not sure what job in Japan would allow me the time to travel this often.
Side note for the other people that probably don’t have N2 or N1:
I came to Japan last year with zero Japanese and I’ll be taking the N2 in July (合格かどうかわかりません）, the immersion at school is great and really helped! I also spend my free time studying Japanese and the teachers are always willing to answer my questions. You’ll be surprised how much and how fast you can learn.
Bro just do it. Don’t listen to naysayers and do wat you want it’s your life
Just save some money first.
If you do it try to find a nice ALT job.
Eikaiwa is awful.
Dude don’t do it, it gets better, work on reducing your hours both overtly (moving from 40 hours to 35 hours is done by a lot of people) and implicitly (streamlining your work processes)