So I’m looking at military base jobs in Japan and I noticed that the low-skill level “store workers” pay much money than English teachers here. These are the type of jobs a teenager could do.
for example, this job
[https://www.usajobs.gov/job/748730100](https://www.usajobs.gov/job/748730100)
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pays $16.44 an hour and they pay in USD. That comes out to about $2500 a month or 370,000 yen a month which is much more than the average English teacher makes. An English teacher would require a degree and to be smart – this job requires basically nothing.
Any reason the worst US base jobs pay much better than ESL jobs?
39 comments
Because the English teaching market is saturated with English teachers. There will always be a surplus. English teachers here are easily replaced.
Not everyone is American and able to do those jobs…
There are two ways to look at this, “why do military base jobs pay so much”, and “why do English teaching jobs pay so little”. I think the jobs on base pay well because the yen is going to shit now, plus the US military has *so much money*, so they can afford to. There are other possibilities, but they’re just conjecture. Why English teachers are paid so little, I would assume it’s because there is a large supply of people willing to do the work for low wages, plus the people doing the paying don’t value us highly (and to be fair, very few of us are actually doing teaching as the primary purpose of our job).
These USD/JPY comparisons don’t make sense to begin with because different countries. Also, the exchange rate fluctuates. Not long ago $16.44 was about 1,644 yen.
Teaching jobs that don’t pay well usually aren’t real teaching jobs.
Teaching jobs do not at all require anyone to be smart, unfortunately. I’ve met some “teachers” who are so dumb I wonder how they don’t forget to breathe. Even knowing what you’re doing isn’t required, as I’ve witnessed time and time again – in fact, being a moron will get you to management. Getting a degree also isn’t that hard, again unfortunately.
>An English teacher would require a degree and to be smart
My sides
A store worker on a US military base making nearly double what an Interac ALT makes is pretty funny, not gonna lie.
Because the base ppl are being paid by the US.
…. Because it is LITERALLY payed in **accordance with US wages in USD**, ***While you LIVE in JAPAN.***
American Wages combined with Yen weakness & relatively cheap Japanese living costs = **You earn big bucks.**
The reverse would also be true; Do not try to work for a Japanese company while you live in the US: **You would be in for a REALLY bad time.**
But yeah, if you have the opportunity to work one of those jobs, **I would say go for it.**
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Sure, It sounds good on the surface.
But are you willing to give up your Japanese visa/Permanent Residency for a $16.44 p/h storeman job?
Because you’ll be required to change to SOFA (status of forces agreement).
Also good luck getting the job, because you’ll be competing with Spouses/dependents of military who get pushed to the front of the line for those jobs.
It’s called the “military spousal preference program”.
(Highly competitive)
So there’s that I guess…
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Because they are American jobs on American soil. Even though base workers may be Japanese residents or Citizens the military is fully aware that spouses and family members could fill these jobs, so they lean toward treating them as their SOs would be.
>An English teacher would require a degree and to be smart
Sorry I laughed a bit. A lot of “English teacher” jobs require being native in English. That’s it.
As others have mentioned, the exchange rate is very favorable to USD right now, making it seem much higher. But that’s still quite a bit higher than an equivalent job off base.
Another thing, if you are not already in the base environment, it is not easy to get those jobs. Most of them have hiring priorities along the lines of retired military, military spouses, dependents, etc. If you do not fall into those categories and have to check the “open to the public” box on the job search, the list of available jobs drops significantly. It’s not impossible to be hired from off-base/outside the military, but it’s unlikely unless they are looking for a more technical position that you have the skills for. The cashier jobs are going to go to military spouses and kids.
Eikaiwa and ALT work does not require a degree — a *visa* requires a degree– nor does it require you to be smart (it’s a bad career choice for you and in many cases your job is explicitly to help your bosses rip your customers off). I think it’s insulting to assume that the Popeye’s worker providing people with fried chicken that they can eat is somehow contributing less to society, less skilled, or deserving of less compensation than an ALT, when the truth is quite the opposite.
Because “English teachers” is used very loosely. It’s frankly meaningless as a job descriptor in most cases.
DoD got money to blow, that’s why
What really hurts is seeing $2500 = 370,000 yen
It is a combination of:
* The employer pays what they can get away with.
* The employee accepts a job for the given wage.
Beyond that, the jobs you describe are in two very different fields; one of which provides a useful service to society, and the other employs employees who can be replaced without the customers noticing any difference.
As someone who works as an English teacher in Japan for 16 years, neither a degree nor being smart are required. I’ve found the second to be especially true.
It only seems great because of the exchange rate. I remember when one dollar was ¥80 so that’s ¥200,000 a month. At that time I was making about ¥380,000 a month teaching English
Nice ad
Cause of Biden signed an executive order two years ago making all federal jobs pay $15 minimum. So that means everyone from Taco Bell janitorial staff are making $15/hr.
Often isolated, paid in USD, generally need official teaching certification, etc
Two reasons, 1 The USD is king. It’s worth a ton more than JPY at the moment. 2. English teaching jobs in Japan pay dirt.
This….is an OUTRAGE
I have been an ALT for 10 years and some 20 year old JARHEAD without a college degree makes more than me stacking boxes???
$16.44/hour is more than an English teacher makes in Japan? How are you all surviving on that?
English teachers r a dime a dozen. Completely disposable for the next group of gaijin
You can still work on base and NOT get SOFA, so you can keep your PR. A bunch of retirees with Japanese spouses tend to do this. But not having sofa makes taxes harder. Also, if you give up your visa for sofa, you can just reapply if your done working on the bases. With proven history of paying taxes and living in japan, doubt they’ll deny your visa.
English teachers don’t have much money to pay anyone.
Government job. English teachers are not working for the US government.
Because it’s on the American economy and not the Japanese. Like, I don’t get your gripe? If you qualify to work on base and get that job, go for it. The Americans are paying for it. If you choose to live off the local economy and do the bottom of the barrel job that every foreigner in Japan does, do that.
Because the exchange rate and the salary for teaching hasn’t gone up in forever.
$1 = almost 150 yen. That’s an amazing exchange rate right now..
So getting paid in yen is a terrible deal with the current exchange rate.
First, they pay in US currency, not Japanese yen.
Second, the pay comes from the highest military funding on the planet.
Any questions?
“An English teacher would require a degree and to be smart”
I mean, other than “Are you new here?”
These job postings are for US Citizens so if you’re not a US citizen then you’re SOL.
You can get hired as a non national for the majority of the jobs but your average salary is going to be very low maybe around 200-300 thousand yen but closer to the lower range and not much different than a salary from English teaching.
Uncle Sam massively ramped up its salary in 2022 (NF-1/GS-1 jobs used to pay 13 bucks an hour at the most).
One thing that stands out is the CY-1 (child & youth program assistant) who traditionally get paid even higher at entry level. My salary went from 17 to 18.3 in a matter of months and once I finish my mandated training will go up by another dollar.
As for spouse preference: a hiring manager can only pull spousal preference over a competent candidate once a year and they have to submit paperwork to HR indicating that they are using that. That and most bases are understaffed and they really need people applying. A lot of spouses don’t want to work for one reason or another.
You answered your own question, because the pay on base is in USD. I don’t think most people would consider $16.44/hour great pay.
Because most of the utility fees are paid by the Japanese government. (Japanese tax payer)
Not sure what you’re complaining about? If you’re not an American citizen, end of post. Go cry about how poor your country is. If you are American, the same applies but you need to realize that these jobs are made to keep people on base employed.
Americans are paying for these salaries. If you get hired as a teacher, there is no time limit. Stay in Japan for as long as you want with better pay and benefits plus free housing and most utilities covered.
If you get a temp job, teacher assistant or something similar. Pay is low but you get the benefit of tax free shipping on base. However, these positions are rare since you will be competing against every bored house wife on base.