I’m not going to get into the debate of are English teachers monkeys blah blah, I’ve come to the conclusion shockingly enough that like every profession there are good and bad English teachers just like their companies.
But this I’m genuinely interested in and think it could be rare:
Has anyone gone back to English teaching after using it as a stepping stone?
I taught English at an eikaiwa for a long time before moving into a traditional Japanese company doing a non teaching role.
I like the job but it’s very stressful and I plan to look for a new job eventually.
Whilst I don’t regret leaving teaching because personally I hated it, I can definitely see the benefits now; working with foreigners, nice hours, good kids etc.
So has anyone ever gone back to it? Do you regret it? For anyone in my shoes WOULD you go back and on what conditions?
41 comments
Have you thought about using your experience in a traditional Japanese company as a stepping stone into a foreign company? More money and more sanity.
I swear some of you people willingly seeking out dinosaur legacy Japanese corps to work for are some of the worst masochists I’ve ever encountered.
A close friend of mine went from Eikaiwa into recruiting then into part time university teaching. His main reason was basically “all recruiters are cunts and you have to be a cunt to be a recruiter.” His words not mine. I think he was already well off before coming here and he married a well off Japanese woman so not too much pressure to earn.
I sometimes think that instead of retiring fully I might go back to teaching English part time for beer money and to get out of the house. I know people like to shit on it but honestly teaching English was one of the best and most fun jobs I ever had – salary sucks but it sure beats desk work for a soul-sucking corporate entity.
That said with the advances in LLM and translation technology there may not be any English teaching jobs in the future anyway.
I think you have to find a compromise on working conditions and freedom to do what you want in your off hours. Ultimately, if you aren’t happy at work, you won’t be happy outside of it.
Looking at the state of the industry, it’s going to get more and more difficult to find ideal conditions to teach English for a number of reasons very similar to translation jobs. A) saturation: lots of English speakers available to teach and all the ones capable of living stable in Japan are comfortably holding down the solid (high paying) jobs. B) Online teaching is cheaper and easier than it’s ever been. C) AI translation is providing much easier integration to improve learning applications, reducing the need for in-person native speakers. D) native Japanese who grew up learning English are quite capable and filling these positions with similar results to native speakers.
These points don’t negate the need for foreigners in Japan, but they definitely will lead to fewer and fewer positions like this, going forward.
Personally, I wouldn’t go back because nothing in that industry would be able to match or beat my current work/life balance condition. If you choose to go back, good luck to you… but be ready to pivot when things start to turn.
It’s a nice retirement plan.
If you don’t mind, can you elaborate a bit more on this subject. Why do you hate teaching English Japan? Is it due to exhausting working culture here compare to other developed countries. I am curious because teaching English is the easiest job in my country, no require teaching experience, high salary, high demand and my country is a developing country in SEA.
I’ve never been full into English teaching, but I did it on the side for years. Started in high school, continued into university, did it even after I got a full-time job and didn’t stop until a year back when I fell sick and had to cut back and focus on recovery. Only ever taught adolescents and adults. Nice beer money (I say, having never drunk a drop) and I get to talk to people without the stress of company hierarchy and whatever (I’m in a management role in my full-time job). I probably wouldn’t go back even once I recover though… just at that point in life where I’d like to move on and develop skills, maybe even a tiny side business, elsewhere. But it’d be nice to do if I ever get to retire!
I worked at an Eikaiwa for 3 years, desperately wanted to get out after 2 and got a job working at a law firm.
I worked there for just over a year but it was torture. Unnecessary, mandatory unpaid overtime, lots of foreign staff but no one that I clicked with, sometimes finishing after midnight, next to zero training besides “just read these old emails I’ve written”, getting chewed out for tiny mistakes that our partners or clients would easily get away with (and wouldn’t care about). It was. Fucking. Shit.
So I left. Went into dispatch university teaching and it honestly saved me. I was in such a miserable state during my last 3 months there, but teaching at the university pulled me back from the brink.
So I got my MA and now I’m teaching direct hire university classes. I get paid more than I did at the law firm for none of the stress and pointless hours. And I (mostly) like my classes and students.
I was about to get a raise at the law firm but I honestly felt that whatever figure I was offered wouldn’t have been worth it.
I went from shitty mall Eikaiwa to porn game translation to taxi driving and back now to Eikaiwa in a room I run with a curriculum provided by another company.
Out of those 4, this is definitely the better job. For me at least.
Yeah.
Teaching > marketing/translation > own school
Good money. Y’all don’t know how good it feels to be able to pick and choose who you teach.
Bad international school – 5 star hotel – good international school. The hotel was fucking awful in comparison to what I do now.
It’s not that it’s necessarily a bad job, I’ve gone far worse for far less (ever tried working minimum wage in a meat factory?). It’s just that the job has few prospects for salary increases or progression, and English teachers are only slightly higher than burakumin and family pets in the Japanese social hierarchy.
I’d happily do it as a part time job for beer money later in life, and if you’re good at it you might just improve a kids life just a little bit.
I did eikaiwa for a couple of years when I was a student. I didn’t hate it at all, it wasn’t stressful and I’m a natural clown so I’m a good fit for the job tbh. My English also improved a lot, thank kami for eikaiwas that hire non-natives 🙏
I always aimed for translation though, I’m lucky to be a 社内 translator but it’s undeniably stressful and office work culture here is not great. I wouldn’t go back to teaching now, but I’d consider it if I really, really needed a break from soul crushing bureaucracy, ridiculous deadlines, my one very difficult coworker, etc.
I taught when I first landed in Japan many moons ago. Easiest, lowest stress job ever. Show up, teach a few classes, leave. The end. You don’t take work home. Your boss doesn’t call you at 2am because something broke. You don’t work weekends. No deadlines. No hours of meetings every day. No pressure. [Edit: No targets. No KPMs. No office politics. No “setting next year’s goals” BS. No insane yelling customers. No ridiculous documentation/paperwork requirements dreamt up by some imbecile who has never done real work before.] I have a lot of great memories from my teaching days.
I’d happily go back to that life if it didn’t pay so poorly.
When I came back to Japan, I couldn’t work in my field because licensure is different in each country. So, I taught English—first in a rented office (which was too expensive) and then in my home office. I had retirees in the afternoon, a group of nurses in the late afternoon, and then high school students after school let out. A couple of evenings a week I taught businessmen, which opened a door into what I now do from home and have done for the last 20 some years. If my current work were to end, I would go back to teaching English in a heartbeat. I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions with students—we worked on novels, movies, and TV dramas, went over homework and written essays, and translated and played music (guitar)—some of the students remain friends to this day. I wouldn’t disparage teaching English or any job—doing something well should be praised. If it works for you, then be proud and enjoy it.
I think my experiences with it have been exceptionally rare, just based on what others have said. I’m also not forced to do it, I have other options so I don’t feel stuck. That said I don’t understand why it’s such a shit job to people it’s super easy work and it pays more than any baito I’ve seen. So you could be making twice or thrice as much as minimum Japanese workers in their own country. Crazy to me
Started out in the eikaiwa-type industry (not in Japan). Taught for 2 years, got burnt out, went home to start a “real” job but hated that, too. So got my CELTA and moved back overseas to teach again but now with better qualifications. Used the better pay and better hours that come with better qualifications to get my Master’s. Now at a university full-time.
I think I realised early on that there were parts of teaching I loved (interesting challenges, helping people grow and learn) and parts I hated that had originally made me move back home (company bullshit, over-worked, terrible mandatory teaching materials, etc.). So I made sure to find places that let me focus on the things I enjoy and move up into better positions after a year or two.
My time away from teaching really proved to me that other career paths aren’t for me.
When I left teaching to get into translation, the teacher who came in to replace me was getting out of translation to teach.
I’m thinking of going back to do it. I taught for 4 years as an ALT before moving into stocks, and although stocks have been a blessing and only take a few hours a night per day, it is not 100% stable income and I find myself with a lot of free time during the day. So recently, ive been thinking of picking up a masters and doing university teaching in addition to my nightly stock trading.
Yes. I was an ALT, then studied some more, then worked in a few Japanese companies, studied some more, worked in language schools (outside Japan), then came back to teach in university. It works for me ☺️
My position required proficient business Japanese and at least an MA, so it wouldn’t have been possible without some of the intervening experience. I didn’t enjoy working in Japanese companies, but that’s as much down to the companies I worked in as it is my general dislike of warming a desk.
I did a short stint teaching in the early 2010s, then transitioned to IT, now I’m kinda thinking about starting my own school. There’s a very underserved market for good quality business english focused on professionals/researchers (people that actually have to use English, not just Tanaka-san wanting a BS TOEIC score), I can see it from the people around me in the field.
I’d never go back to working for someone though.
Not permanently or full-time but I went from eikaiwa hellhole to office job (but not actually working due to the pandemic) to teaching at a local eikaiwa one day a week just for something to do. Teaching has never exactly been a passion of mine but the local eikaiwa has been actually pretty enjoyable. I’m quitting soon because my office job came back so with both jobs I only have one day a week off and I want more time to myself, but if that weren’t the case I’d probably stay for a while.
I suppose if I had no other options and had to choose between teaching english or leaving Japan I would go back to it. Just not for the long term, and if possible not to a big corporate place like the place I worked at when I first got here
Working with foreigners is a downside not a benefit XD but no, I’d never go back. I hate teaching. Thankfully only had to do it for 6 months.
I taught English (kids and adults) for two years and then worked for a Japanese firm for 10 years unrelated to teaching. Went back to only Business English last year but since the rise of AI I don’t see this business growing anytime soon. It has already been beaten back by online classes that are basically as effective. The only gigs I have been getting are contracts with large Japanese companies using the English lessons face to face as a carrot to get workers back in the office (it’s not working). I found that teaching is just too draining to do for enough hours to get the money I need.
Back in the Eikaiwa days I was usually in the school for 8-9 hours with 5-6 hours of teaching. I can’t go back to that, it’s too much solid concentration and because you are in the school for up to 9 hours it isn’t any different time wise to a regular job, except your cap is probably at 5 million yen maximum with no additional benefits like half paid medical and pension, plus retirement savings and bonus.
Having said that, large Japanese firms are of course a bit of a nightmare in terms of rules and overtime. But the one I was at for 10 years helped me get a house and savings, plus I really appreciate the half subsidized insurance now I have to pay it all myself. The only regret I have there is pushing for a management position. The paid overtime disappeared while the work increased.
The job I have now is back in a Japanese firm but much smaller and non-management, which means paid overtime. Plus I have all the benefits back.
Not everyone can set up their own teaching/translation, etc. business (there isn’t the demand to match the supply). We can’t all be Youtube influences and get the money needed to live as we would like. There is something to be said for a traditional job.
I would have liked the new job to be a foreign owned company with a subsidiary in Japan, but your value as an non-Japanese in Japan is far less when the information flow is to Japan, in English. Your value is far higher when the information flow is out of Japan from a Japanese company.
Not myself, but I’ve known people who went back to private instruction after going into translation or some similar stuff.
I also know a handful (two) who went from teaching English to some sort of “regular job” and then went into teaching at an International School. One is still teaching, the other is still teaching, but has married a Chinese-Japanese lady who got deported for whatever reason, so now is still teaching but in Shanghai. (With plans on moving back when her 3/5 year/whatever ban is up. World’s biggest anime fans the both of them.)
I went back to being an ALT after doing a shitty office job. Pay is lower but man the free time I get is defo worth it.
I work as a freelance translator, and did that and part time teaching (mainly business) for a few years as it was difficult to find a full time job and the income from both combined ended up being very comfortable.
I was getting a bit tired of managing both especially during busy translation periods, and was feeling a bit drained by eikaiwa which I don’t think is nearly as interesting.
That said, I wish I hadn’t quit at the exact moment I did. I got a bit overconfident with a couple of huge (worth 4-5 months salary) translation gigs, then kind of forgot how slow the summer season is (at least in my experience). If I just held on until this fall I’d be in a really solid place financially. I’m still OK but some of my savings have drained a bit.
Worst case scenario I wouldn’t mind picking up a few part time classes again since it’s not my main job and I can do that along with other things. I don’t mind it being a potential income stream if I really need it, but there’s no way I’m going back to doing it full time.
I have.
Left a web design / programming job to teach English in Japan (I was an English teacher way way back on Working Holiday), and I even took a massive pay cut to teach English.
There’s no way in hell I’m going back. I hated being an English teacher before but after my previous job, I realized it’s not so bad. As an English teacher, at least my stress were the kids. As a designer / programmer, my stress were full grown adults.
It’s not a walk in the park, but stress from kids are easier for me. Although this is just subjective to me. I respect people who will think otherwise.
It’s not “going back”, but I’m doing a one-day experience with my son’s nursery class, and I’m super excited about it. I love teaching little regrets, I’d do it full-time if they money was there.
(And I just might anyway, who knows? Life is short, working miserable makes it worse and shorter. )
Yes. I wanted to teach. Realized eikaiwa wasn’t really want I wanted. Did sales for a bit, decent money but I didn’t like it. Went to teach elementary school as an ALT for a short bit while I decided if I was gonna go to law school or something else. I was pretty independent at my school and liked being in control of my lessons. Got my masters in education, and now teach at a top private high school. I enjoy it, pay is good, fairly low stress, but I have a lot of autonomy in what and how I teach (content based English class).
It’s not a bad profession if you’re into it and have a workplace that doesn’t see you as a trained monkey.
I did Eikaiwa for 5 years, quit and worked at a Japanese company for a year, quit that and went back to Eikaiwa. But i only did a year of that before i realized why i quit in the first place. Never going back.
University teacher here. Went from ad agency to teaching and never looked back.
Decent money
Nobody looks over your shoulder
Four months plus paid vacation
Best damn thing I ever did was commit to that masters degree …
Hell fucking no
I was an Eikaiwa teacher in my early 20s, and then went on to a somewhat more conventional career. A decade or so after that, I parlayed the knowledge from that career + the teaching experience into a gig teaching in a Chinese university.
Later, using that experience, I taught a kind of “technical English class” for beer money in Tokyo.
One thing I’ve learned is that I prefer one-on-one tutoring over lecturing. Lecturing is just listening myself say things I know. I much prefer having a real back-and-forth conversation.
I left after 10 years of doing it full time and not a regret doing it
I worked at a trade company (we imported hay and tried our hand at exporting fruit) back in 2014. I was an ALT before that. I ended up quitting the trade company and going back to teaching because I hated the way the company was being run, the higher ups were mostly all so far up their own asses their heads are poking out their mouths (I’m not one to insult people, but those idiots deserved it), and the complete lack of time off and constant belittlement was driving me insane.
In all honesty, the experience working there is a good one to have. I’ve been able to point out when teachers are full of BS and give students better expectations of the real world rather than someone who has only ever been in school. Not to mention that once teachers realized where I was coming from, they started to respect my opinions and insight when I could provide them. It honestly helped me to build relationships I would not have had otherwise.
In the end though, quitting that job was the right decision for me. I’ve been very successful (although I still wish I made more money) since I quit, and it even lead me to meeting my wife and having the two greatest kids this world will ever see. If you are considering quitting a job to go back to teaching, make sure you have a game plan for how you want to move forward so you don’t wander around aimless like I did for a couple years.
I was an English teacher in an afternoon school, went on to become the branch manager, just to go back to teaching because I loved it more. (Disclosure, it wasn’t in Japan. However, I was also a teacher in Japan, quit to do other things for a few years, then went back to teach in Japan).
Fun things never pay. Except being a professional gamer
Get a masters in tesol and enter the university circuit. Good gig, little oversight, longer vacations, library access.
I like the work, hate being on computers all day, so I’m pretty content to continue to teach.
As long as you’re happy, then nothing wrong with teaching. A job is a job.
If you have a spouse visa or PR, you can just open your own eikaiwa. Sure you’re not JUST an English teacher (but manager/business owner) but you make more money. If you’re popular enough you can even hire other foreigners and not be a dick.
There is nothing wrong with teaching English. If you’re serious about it, it is actually a real job. Just the ALT/eikaiwa environment in Japan is usually a joke (both with teaching and salary).
I haven’t gone back to it as a job, but I do tutor some professionals freelance for those extra yennies. Plus I can choose who to teach and not to teach, etc.