Teaching English

[JWK]

Hello, my name is Joe. I want to move to Japan. The only way I see myself getting a job to support myself is by teaching. Looking at the requirements, you have to have a Bachelors degree. Since i'm going to be teaching English. I should get a English degree, right? I actually want to live in Japan for good. Do I have to teach English, or do I have other options?

[Musashi]

Hey Joe... How is your Anime collection comming along?

[JD9]

Don't waste your time getting a degree, just marry a Japanese and get a spouse visa.

Imagine all the extra Gandam figures you'll be able to buy and paint with all of that saved tuition money!

[JWK]

Hey Joe... How is your Anime collection comming along?

Why does that really matter?

[JWK]

Don't waste your time getting a degree, just marry a Japanese and get a spouse visa.

Imagine all the extra Gandam figures you'll be able to buy and paint with all of that saved tuition money!

Wow, what a waste of a post.

[JD9]

Don't waste your time getting a degree, just marry a Japanese and get a spouse visa.

Imagine all the extra Gandam figures you'll be able to buy and paint with all of that saved tuition money!

Wow, what a waste of a post.

Funny that's exactly what I was thinking about yours before I replied.

[Musashi]

Hey Joe... How is your Anime collection comming along?

Why does that really matter?

Yep...Just as I thought. I hope you enjoy your career in the field of Eikaiwa.

[sirwanksalot]

Hi Joe, don't listen to those jerks. What you should do is check out a poster on Gaijinpot by the name of Glenski. He has given many newcomers advice on a wide range of subjects such as how to renew your visa, what type of degree you need to work at a university, what direction to sweep your tatami mats in the morning and so on.

I for on am not nearly as knowlegable as Glenski but I would advise you to major in English literature, as most of your students will be or will know of at least know of one major in that fascinating field. Good luck!

[RalphWiggum]

And this thread is precisely why no new posters ever use this site. Fuck me, the guy asked a simple question and gets torn a new one? I know all the answers are in the archives but still...

Yes, you need a bachelor's degree. No, it doesn't have to be in english.

See, that was easier than being a dick to him.

[BergKatse]

this thread is precisely why no new posters ever use this site.

+1

[sirwanksalot]

Sorry for being a dick.

A degree in anything will do. Even a four year degree in traditional Native American basket weaving with a minor in bovine linguistics.

[JD9]

OK let's play nice then.

Hello, my name is Joe. I want to move to Japan. The only way I see myself getting a job to support myself is by teaching. Looking at the requirements, you have to have a Bachelors degree. Since i'm going to be teaching English. I should get a English degree, right? I actually want to live in Japan for good. Do I have to teach English, or do I have other options?

To teach English and live in Japan for good you either need a degree or have a spouse visa (be married to a Japanese).

Going and spending all of the time and tens of thousands of dollars required to get a degree (any degree) just so you can come here and work in eikaiwa is a douchetastic idea.

Assuming you're not gay, repulsed by Japanese women and/or currently married, find a Japanese woman to marry (there are millions of them about the place) get a spouse visa and then you have the freedom to do whatever job you want while living here forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

[katamari]

And this thread is precisely why no new posters ever use this site. Fuck me, the guy asked a simple question and gets torn a new one? I know all the answers are in the archives but still...

Yes, you need a bachelor's degree. No, it doesn't have to be in english.

See, that was easier than being a dick to him.

wiggs, lovely post. hats off.

[AsahiSupaSpy]

And this thread is precisely why no new posters ever use this site. Fuck me, the guy asked a simple question and gets torn a new one? I know all the answers are in the archives but still...

Yes, you need a bachelor's degree. No, it doesn't have to be in english.

See, that was easier than being a dick to him.

wiggs, lovely post. hats off.

Hear, hear. At least wait till he has 30-odd posts before taking the piss. Just jokes.

Get a degree, get a job, get a visa. Sorted.

[Lamarr]

Basically there's eikaiwa (English conversation schools), the main ones being Aeon, ECC and Gaba; and Assistant Language Teaching (teaching assistant in a Japanese elementary or high school), the main companies for that being Interac, or the government JET programme. There are a lot more companies out there than that, but these are the main ones and, to the best of my knowledge, all of them hire abroad.

To get the visa, if you've got a bachelor's degree, you can get a job with one of these companies and they sponsor your visa; or, if under a certain age and you're from US/Can/Aus/NZ, you can get a working holiday visa without a degree, which will allow you to officially work up to a certain limit (25 hours a week maybe) for one year.

You'll have to do further research to check all the details on this, but that should give you a start. Also, read and research extensively on this site, particularly the Good, Bad, Ugly Forum, for information on how to approach this endeavour, the potential pitfalls involved and how to avoid them, and real-life, first-hand horror stories of people who didn't do any of that and ended up getting their asses reamed , such as this fellow: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=257524&hilit=homeless

Good luck!

[JD9]

The 25hr working limitation for the WHV means nothing.
I worked up to 50hrs a week when I was on mine

[MacGyver]

While wigs is right, I do see why other posters would take the piss. His post is incredibly naive. But to be fair, I'm sure I was as, if not more, naive than the OP.

I'd add that even though any degree will get the job done, I'd also argue that "forever" is a long time and things change so if I were you (the OP) I'd get a degree in something I was either interested in and/or had value in terms of jobs in the future, both in Japan and your country of origin, such as economics or IT etc. Even a degree in education would be better than some BS degree that you do just to get the piece of paper to get a work visa. Trust me, easier to do it now than go back later on. Trying to study while juggling other commitments, such as family, work, social life, etc., assuming you can afford it, is harder than it sounds (and movies make it out to be). Plus to keep your job/cash flow you'll prolly have to study part-time, which will take longer than if you did if f/t and got it done before entering the work force.

[Lamarr]

One other thing I'd ask is, why do you want to live in Japan "for good"? If you haven't gone to Uni yet, I presume your still in the 18ish age range. That's quite a decision to be making at 18, unless you've already got ties to Japan, like family or girlfriend/boyfriend.

If you're going to Japan to escape something, or because you can't think of anything else to do, or on a hunch, I'd just be a bit careful. Try and stop and think things through a bit. Like Mac said, think of your interests, and look at possible career paths you're interested in, rather than, if I'm reading the tone of your post right, just "doing anything", or just whizzing off to Japan, end of story, and seeing what happens. You could end up regretting it later on.

Japan can be a challenging place to establish yourself in as a "foreigner", and needs some thought as to your career direction, as well as planning for the realities of living in the country.

[allblacks]

The 25hr working limitation for the WHV means nothing.
I worked up to 50hrs a week when I was on mine

Same thing on the student visa. Been there done that.

[Lamarr]

The 25hr working limitation for the WHV means nothing.
I worked up to 50hrs a week when I was on mine

That's why I wrote "officially", the implication being that you're not necessarily bound by that. I don't think anyone on a WHV only works up to the limit, unless they're a real nerd or stickler for rules.

[MacGyver]

That's why I wrote "officially", the implication being that you're not necessarily bound by that. I don't think anyone on a WHV only works up to the limit, unless they're a real nerd or stickler for rules.

Just depends upon whether you get a second/third job or not. Some employers with either ignore the rules or know nothing about them. If you get a job with one that follows the rules, then you have to get other jobs to make more money.

[inflames]

I know that the new ARC says stuff about work restrictions on it (even if you have an international services visa, for example). It might say how many hours you're allowed to work, which makes it kind of hard for employers to ignore.