(Warning: this is a personal post and contains generalisations.)
The longer I live in Japan, the more I become aware that within me, there is a struggle between my Japan-half and the rest. I have lived in Japan for many, many years now, and although I have not lived in Japan for longer than I have lived in my birth country, if we consider my adult life, I have lived in Japan for pretty much half of the time. This struggle is most apparent in my workplace.
You see, generally speaking, Japanese society encourages endurance and effort, whereas my native country encourages innovation and efficiency. Sometimes these two clash and when they do it feels like a tug of war in my mind. A silly example would be the fax machine. Oh fax machine...why or why are you so prevalent in Japan. Emails are faster, cost less, and don't kill trees, and yet the fax machine is preferred in many companies as a method of communication. Japan-Me thinks "Yes, paper is reliable. Computers can crash, valuable data can be lost. It is an established method in the Japanese work environment, and easier for older workers to use and understand." At the same time, Native-Me is going "*cough* Prehistoric *sputter* SOOO many better options *spaz* SOOO wasteful", etc.
A fax machine is an inanimate object, and as such, very patient. It waits undisturbed by the uncontrolled twitching that this war inside me produces. However, when my boss asks me a direct question that challenges this duel nature, there's a very palpable pause while my brain tries to work out who gets control over my vocal chords and mouth muscles.
Boss: Is “X” a problem?
(Tug of war ensues)
Japan-Me: "Nope, no problems here. We are able to overcome anything. We are a good Japanese worker, we are too humble to even consider instructing you because you are our boss and we are not worthy."
Native-Me: "X? Huge problem, massive. Causes horrible inefficiency in my job. There is a simple solution to get rid of X. The solution is..."
Garbled answer that I actually say: "X? Yes...um...X. Well, you know...X is a little...you know. It might be a problem...maybe... Sometimes I think it's a bit inconvenient, but it is not my place to give advice."
Here's the problem. If I went 100% Japan-Me, I would fit in at my workplace more easily and probably earn an easy, friendly relationship with my colleagues quickly. If I went 100% Native-Me, my colleagues would be uneasy maybe even shocked, but at least the problem would be exposed, and hopefully corrected. However, this half-way compromise is all that the war-zone in my brain is capable of producing right now. The sad result is that it is not Japanese enough to pass without producing some quality of the unexpected and unusual, but not direct enough to achieve any results. Is this the curse of the long-term resident?
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Finding a Job in the Public Education System: JET vs Interac and direct hire
Teaching in the public-school system in Japan is more socially well-regarded than working for a private company. You'll also potentially make a lot more money than in private companies. There are three ways to enter this system and we will discuss and compare them here. All of these positions require a Bachelor's Degree.
When I say "private schools" in this post, I mean schools that are part of the public education system, but are run privately and not by local or prefectural governments. I am not referring to English conversation schools or cram schools.
-For a comparions between the public education system and private sector, read this.
-If you want to teach in the private sector, read this post instead.
The JET Programme
Possible the most well-known of the three ways to get a job teaching in schools in Japan is the JET Programme. This is a government-run program, therefore well funded and organized. Once you become a JET, you will be taken care of in Japan in that you will have a support system in place for you. There is almost always an English-speaking Japanese supervisor who will help you while you are in Japan.
On JET, you can specify areas you would like to live in, but only 25% of JETs get one of their requests. Most likely, you will be placed somewhere completely different than you originally wanted. So if a specific region of Japan is necessary for you, then JET might not be a good choice. Married couples are usually kept together, but boyfriends and girlfriends may be separated.
There is also age discrimination on JET. JET wants young teachers and there is a cut off of about 35. The older you are, the less likely you will get hired by JET unless you have experience or a degree in education.
The salary on JET is very high for Japan. You receive around 320000 yen per month, which is more than many of your Japanese co-teachers make during their first few years of teaching full-time. For ALTs, your position is easy, your work hours short, and your responsibilities few. For CIRs you may have a lot more work and responsibility. You will sometimes have to work weekends.
The disadvantage of applying to get a job through JET is the competition and the time frame. There are a lot of people applying for a few coveted spots, and in bigger cities, this is even more of an issue. From start to finish, the application process for JET takes almost one full year. It's not something that you undertake on a whim and getting refused after waiting for such a long time is surely extremly disappointing.
If you're interested in the JET Programme, you can read more on the official website.
Interac and other Placement Companies
For those who don't get into JET, who don't want to wait a year, who are older, etc. then placement companies are the next easiest route. Placement companies provide schools with foreign teachers just like JET, but as they are competing with JET and they are a private company, your salary is much lower. Placement company employees make almost 100000 yen less per month for doing the exact same job as a JET. In towns where there is a mix between JETs and placement employees, this salary difference can be a point of tension between the two groups.
You will have a supervisor, but they may not live in the same town as you, so sudden trips to the hospital might have to be accomplished alone or with a friend who may or may not speak Japanese.
The advantages are that you have more control over your location, and you can be hired very quickly. There is competition for positions, but not as much as there is for JET or direct hire positions, so it's easier to get a spot.
Interac is the biggest placement company. If you are interested in going through Interac, you can read more and apply online here.
Direct Hire
Some schools prefer to directly hire their employees. This is more often the case with high schools and private schools (remember by private schools I mean schools that are part of the public education system, but are run privately and not by local or prefectural governments. Not cram-schools or conversation schools).
These schools will post ads for teachers themselves and hire their employees directly. The salary for these kinds of positions can be high. I've seen job postings advertising salaries as high as 400000 per month. Many prestigious school prefer to directly hire in order to control the quality of the applicants.
One key requirement of direct hire is that you must already be living in Japan. I have never seen a direct-hire ad that did not specify this as a requirement. So if you are living abroad, JET and placement companies are your only bet.
Additionally, you are generally required to be competent in Japanese. JLPT N3 or higher. N4 is possible if you are really good at communicating with a limited vocabulary and your listening skills are good.
For the better positions with higher salaries and better conditions, the competition is going to be fierce. So speaking Japanese, having a Master's degree and TOEIC/CELTA etc. is often expected even if it is not listed as required in the ad.
Some good websites to find direct-hire and placement jobs are:
http://www.gaijinpot.com/
http://jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/job-info-centre/jobs
When I say "private schools" in this post, I mean schools that are part of the public education system, but are run privately and not by local or prefectural governments. I am not referring to English conversation schools or cram schools.
-For a comparions between the public education system and private sector, read this.
-If you want to teach in the private sector, read this post instead.
The JET Programme
Possible the most well-known of the three ways to get a job teaching in schools in Japan is the JET Programme. This is a government-run program, therefore well funded and organized. Once you become a JET, you will be taken care of in Japan in that you will have a support system in place for you. There is almost always an English-speaking Japanese supervisor who will help you while you are in Japan.
On JET, you can specify areas you would like to live in, but only 25% of JETs get one of their requests. Most likely, you will be placed somewhere completely different than you originally wanted. So if a specific region of Japan is necessary for you, then JET might not be a good choice. Married couples are usually kept together, but boyfriends and girlfriends may be separated.
There is also age discrimination on JET. JET wants young teachers and there is a cut off of about 35. The older you are, the less likely you will get hired by JET unless you have experience or a degree in education.
The salary on JET is very high for Japan. You receive around 320000 yen per month, which is more than many of your Japanese co-teachers make during their first few years of teaching full-time. For ALTs, your position is easy, your work hours short, and your responsibilities few. For CIRs you may have a lot more work and responsibility. You will sometimes have to work weekends.
The disadvantage of applying to get a job through JET is the competition and the time frame. There are a lot of people applying for a few coveted spots, and in bigger cities, this is even more of an issue. From start to finish, the application process for JET takes almost one full year. It's not something that you undertake on a whim and getting refused after waiting for such a long time is surely extremly disappointing.
If you're interested in the JET Programme, you can read more on the official website.
Interac and other Placement Companies
For those who don't get into JET, who don't want to wait a year, who are older, etc. then placement companies are the next easiest route. Placement companies provide schools with foreign teachers just like JET, but as they are competing with JET and they are a private company, your salary is much lower. Placement company employees make almost 100000 yen less per month for doing the exact same job as a JET. In towns where there is a mix between JETs and placement employees, this salary difference can be a point of tension between the two groups.
You will have a supervisor, but they may not live in the same town as you, so sudden trips to the hospital might have to be accomplished alone or with a friend who may or may not speak Japanese.
The advantages are that you have more control over your location, and you can be hired very quickly. There is competition for positions, but not as much as there is for JET or direct hire positions, so it's easier to get a spot.
Interac is the biggest placement company. If you are interested in going through Interac, you can read more and apply online here.
Direct Hire
Some schools prefer to directly hire their employees. This is more often the case with high schools and private schools (remember by private schools I mean schools that are part of the public education system, but are run privately and not by local or prefectural governments. Not cram-schools or conversation schools).
These schools will post ads for teachers themselves and hire their employees directly. The salary for these kinds of positions can be high. I've seen job postings advertising salaries as high as 400000 per month. Many prestigious school prefer to directly hire in order to control the quality of the applicants.
One key requirement of direct hire is that you must already be living in Japan. I have never seen a direct-hire ad that did not specify this as a requirement. So if you are living abroad, JET and placement companies are your only bet.
Additionally, you are generally required to be competent in Japanese. JLPT N3 or higher. N4 is possible if you are really good at communicating with a limited vocabulary and your listening skills are good.
For the better positions with higher salaries and better conditions, the competition is going to be fierce. So speaking Japanese, having a Master's degree and TOEIC/CELTA etc. is often expected even if it is not listed as required in the ad.
Some good websites to find direct-hire and placement jobs are:
http://www.gaijinpot.com/
http://jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/job-info-centre/jobs
Thursday, September 12, 2013
When to Be Wary: a guide to private English conversation/cram school jobs in Japan
Working in a private company has many advantages over working in the public sector. However, while it is certainly safer to apply to such schools in Japan than in other Asian countries, there are still instances of foreigners being screwed over, forced to sleep on the streets, not receiving a salary payment that is due them, etc.
Trust me; being stuck in a country where you can't read the signs, can't speak to anyone, with zero dollars, is a special corner of hell you will want to avoid. I was once stuck in Osaka without any cash due to a combination of a late plane, and ATMs not allowing me to take out money past a certain time of day. It was sleeting; cold and miserable, I had two huge bags, train stations kick you out at a certain time and then everything closes... It really, really sucked and I was freaking out most of the time until I found a 24 hour cafe. That was only one night for me, a person who can speak Japanese well and has live in Japan for years. Imagine how bad it is for someone who has little to no experience with Japan. I know a person who made some poor choices and was forced to sleeping in hotel-lobby bathrooms. They had no money for a return flight, finally they were deported and forced to pay their plane ticket home in installments.
Here is some advice to help you find a good position that will see you happy in your work, and comfortably living in Japan.
1) Look for an established company.
Now this is not a 100% guarantee of job security as the people who used to work for NOVA will tell you. Even large companies can go bankrupt and leave many of their employees desperate. However, it is a statistical fact that newer companies (i.e. less than 5 years old) are far more likely to close. If a company has been around for over 5 years, it's a pretty good bet that they have a solid customer base and can afford to pay your salary. The size of the company doesn't necessarily matter, but how long it has been operational does. Usually this information will be available on the company's website. Now, I am not saying to never apply to new companies, but if you have a choice between two, relatively equal positions, go with the more established company.
2) Your salary should be around 250000 yen a month.
There will be taxes and things deducted, but your initial salary should be around the amount stated above. This is standard. If the advertised salary is much higher or much lower than this, it would be a good idea to find out more particulars. Perhaps they provide subsidized housing, hence the salary is lower. Perhaps you have to work 50+ hours per week, hence the salary is higher. Usually benefits are not included, but Japan has a decent national insurance system you can register for, so no worries there. Vacation time is usually 2 weeks paid in addition to Japanese national holidays, but some places offer up to six weeks paid. Compare holidays, subsidized housing, pay, and other benefits carefully. Write them down. I used an Excel spreadsheet to organise and compare jobs at my smart husband's suggestion.
3) Make sure you get a copy of your contract.
After your interview and if they are interested in you, they should send you a copy of your contract before you fly ALL the way to Japan (or across the country) and spend a ton of money on train/airfare. If the company refuses to send you the particulars of your job (i.e. hours of work/week, holidays, rules of behaviour, and expectations of weekend work, etc), do not take the job.
4) You shouldn't be teaching more than 27 hours in class per week.
This is a BIG point that many would-be-employees forget to check up on. Most people find out when they have to start work and when they can leave, but it is also important to find out how many in-class hours you must teach in between. 25 hours per week is standard. 27 in-class hours is getting busy and anything more than that will be a very draining, possibly nervous breakdown-inducing job.
5) Contract completion bonuses are a red flag.
While they might sound good, contract-completion bonuses should worry, not excite you. A contract-completion bonus rewards an employee for fulfilling the full length of their contract. In other words, this company has had problems with workers bailing before their term was up. The big question here is WHY did those workers bail? Maybe the answer to this is: because the work conditions are not good. Don't turn down a job just because of this point, but be more cautious and ask a lot of questions about working conditions (i.e. what an average work day/work week consists of specifically).
6) Work visas: Should I fly to Japan without one?
A lot of people will say to you, never fly to Japan without a work visa. However, sometimes this isn't feasible. If the school is looking for someone ASAP, they may ask you to come to Japan right away on a tourist visa and work until your visa is processed. This is a gray area of the law as it is technically illegal to work on a tourist visa, but then again jaywalking is illegal as well, but most police officers just ignore it. Immigration in Japan turns a blind eye to the process, so as long as you don't tell the customs officer "I'm coming here to work illegally on my tourist visa", you should be fine.
However, if the company doesn't seem to have a deadline or be rushed to replace a teacher, then they should proceed with a visa application for you before you leave your home country. Some exceptions to this do exist. Some companies like to evaluate a teacher before applying for their work permit. These schools may have had bad experiences with certain workers in the past and like to see how a new employee functions in the work environment before going through the paperwork hassle of a work visa application. They will observe you for a month, and then if you are both happy with each other, they will formalize the relationship with a work visa.
(Update! Immigration Japan has become stricter and no longer allows people to change their visa status while in Japan. So if you come in on a tourist visa, you will need to leave the country to switch it to a work visa. This can be accomplished by taking a flight or ferry to South Korea or China and staying there while you apply for the visa change. However, this costs money, so it is best to be wary of companies that don't offer you a work visa right off the bat.)
Considering the above, what I will say about this is that: if you do decide to come to work in Japan on a tourist visa, your application for a work visa should take MAX two months of your three month tourist visa. Usually, my visa applications take two WEEKS. So, if you are approaching the two month mark and your company still has not produced a work visa for you, then start looking for another job elsewhere right away. Don't wait until your tourist visa is expired and you have no recourse. Japan takes a very dim view on visa overstayers. Jail time and deportation are not fun.
A useful aside: Don't be afraid of Immigration Bureaus and staff. I have heard from a reliable source which I believe to be accurate that the Immigration Bureaus are not there to punish illegal workers or over-stayers. Their job is to help you find a legal way to stay in the country. So don't think that if you run into trouble, they will automatically deport you if you go there. It is the police who will deport you if they catch you. Immigration is there to help you. That being said, Japan has a dim view of people who can't follow rules. Do things in advance and make sure you are aware of any and all expiration dates (i.e. visa, passport, etc.). You can renew your visa up to three months in advance, so there's no reason to leave it to the last minute.
In summary, there are many factors to consider carefully when applying for any new position. Be organized and keep track of each position you have applied to, their start dates, and what the jobs offer. Making informed decisions is the best way to find a rewarding job in any country.
Trust me; being stuck in a country where you can't read the signs, can't speak to anyone, with zero dollars, is a special corner of hell you will want to avoid. I was once stuck in Osaka without any cash due to a combination of a late plane, and ATMs not allowing me to take out money past a certain time of day. It was sleeting; cold and miserable, I had two huge bags, train stations kick you out at a certain time and then everything closes... It really, really sucked and I was freaking out most of the time until I found a 24 hour cafe. That was only one night for me, a person who can speak Japanese well and has live in Japan for years. Imagine how bad it is for someone who has little to no experience with Japan. I know a person who made some poor choices and was forced to sleeping in hotel-lobby bathrooms. They had no money for a return flight, finally they were deported and forced to pay their plane ticket home in installments.
Here is some advice to help you find a good position that will see you happy in your work, and comfortably living in Japan.
1) Look for an established company.
Now this is not a 100% guarantee of job security as the people who used to work for NOVA will tell you. Even large companies can go bankrupt and leave many of their employees desperate. However, it is a statistical fact that newer companies (i.e. less than 5 years old) are far more likely to close. If a company has been around for over 5 years, it's a pretty good bet that they have a solid customer base and can afford to pay your salary. The size of the company doesn't necessarily matter, but how long it has been operational does. Usually this information will be available on the company's website. Now, I am not saying to never apply to new companies, but if you have a choice between two, relatively equal positions, go with the more established company.
2) Your salary should be around 250000 yen a month.
There will be taxes and things deducted, but your initial salary should be around the amount stated above. This is standard. If the advertised salary is much higher or much lower than this, it would be a good idea to find out more particulars. Perhaps they provide subsidized housing, hence the salary is lower. Perhaps you have to work 50+ hours per week, hence the salary is higher. Usually benefits are not included, but Japan has a decent national insurance system you can register for, so no worries there. Vacation time is usually 2 weeks paid in addition to Japanese national holidays, but some places offer up to six weeks paid. Compare holidays, subsidized housing, pay, and other benefits carefully. Write them down. I used an Excel spreadsheet to organise and compare jobs at my smart husband's suggestion.
3) Make sure you get a copy of your contract.
After your interview and if they are interested in you, they should send you a copy of your contract before you fly ALL the way to Japan (or across the country) and spend a ton of money on train/airfare. If the company refuses to send you the particulars of your job (i.e. hours of work/week, holidays, rules of behaviour, and expectations of weekend work, etc), do not take the job.
4) You shouldn't be teaching more than 27 hours in class per week.
This is a BIG point that many would-be-employees forget to check up on. Most people find out when they have to start work and when they can leave, but it is also important to find out how many in-class hours you must teach in between. 25 hours per week is standard. 27 in-class hours is getting busy and anything more than that will be a very draining, possibly nervous breakdown-inducing job.
5) Contract completion bonuses are a red flag.
While they might sound good, contract-completion bonuses should worry, not excite you. A contract-completion bonus rewards an employee for fulfilling the full length of their contract. In other words, this company has had problems with workers bailing before their term was up. The big question here is WHY did those workers bail? Maybe the answer to this is: because the work conditions are not good. Don't turn down a job just because of this point, but be more cautious and ask a lot of questions about working conditions (i.e. what an average work day/work week consists of specifically).
6) Work visas: Should I fly to Japan without one?
A lot of people will say to you, never fly to Japan without a work visa. However, sometimes this isn't feasible. If the school is looking for someone ASAP, they may ask you to come to Japan right away on a tourist visa and work until your visa is processed. This is a gray area of the law as it is technically illegal to work on a tourist visa, but then again jaywalking is illegal as well, but most police officers just ignore it. Immigration in Japan turns a blind eye to the process, so as long as you don't tell the customs officer "I'm coming here to work illegally on my tourist visa", you should be fine.
However, if the company doesn't seem to have a deadline or be rushed to replace a teacher, then they should proceed with a visa application for you before you leave your home country. Some exceptions to this do exist. Some companies like to evaluate a teacher before applying for their work permit. These schools may have had bad experiences with certain workers in the past and like to see how a new employee functions in the work environment before going through the paperwork hassle of a work visa application. They will observe you for a month, and then if you are both happy with each other, they will formalize the relationship with a work visa.
(Update! Immigration Japan has become stricter and no longer allows people to change their visa status while in Japan. So if you come in on a tourist visa, you will need to leave the country to switch it to a work visa. This can be accomplished by taking a flight or ferry to South Korea or China and staying there while you apply for the visa change. However, this costs money, so it is best to be wary of companies that don't offer you a work visa right off the bat.)
Considering the above, what I will say about this is that: if you do decide to come to work in Japan on a tourist visa, your application for a work visa should take MAX two months of your three month tourist visa. Usually, my visa applications take two WEEKS. So, if you are approaching the two month mark and your company still has not produced a work visa for you, then start looking for another job elsewhere right away. Don't wait until your tourist visa is expired and you have no recourse. Japan takes a very dim view on visa overstayers. Jail time and deportation are not fun.
A useful aside: Don't be afraid of Immigration Bureaus and staff. I have heard from a reliable source which I believe to be accurate that the Immigration Bureaus are not there to punish illegal workers or over-stayers. Their job is to help you find a legal way to stay in the country. So don't think that if you run into trouble, they will automatically deport you if you go there. It is the police who will deport you if they catch you. Immigration is there to help you. That being said, Japan has a dim view of people who can't follow rules. Do things in advance and make sure you are aware of any and all expiration dates (i.e. visa, passport, etc.). You can renew your visa up to three months in advance, so there's no reason to leave it to the last minute.
In summary, there are many factors to consider carefully when applying for any new position. Be organized and keep track of each position you have applied to, their start dates, and what the jobs offer. Making informed decisions is the best way to find a rewarding job in any country.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Unfairness in University Hiring Practices
There's a certain degree of discrimination (or a nicer word would be unfairness) that occurs to language teachers in university positions that doesn't occur as often in other disciplines. A common unfair practice that language teachers suffer is that we often have to teach a much greater number of classes in a week than other disciplines. The average course load for a teacher is about 6 or 7 courses a week. 8 is considered a heavy course load in other disciplines, but is not uncommon for a language teacher. And truth be told, there are institutions that require their language teachers to teach 12 or even 14 classes a week!
Institutions that give their teachers such a heavy course load usually do not expect those teachers to do any research. As research and publication is a means through which teachers distinguish themselves, improve their abilities and their career, it is a difficult to be denied the opportunity and time to devote to it.
Another common problem associated with teaching in universities in Japan is the contract. Many universities will specify a maximum duration on their contract and/or a maximum number of times you can renew your contract. For example, many universities force their language teachers (almost always the foreign ones) to leave after 3, 5 or even 10 years arbitrarily with no consideration given to job performance. They like to recycle foreign teachers to keep them young, fresh, keep their salaries low, and also to prevent them from becoming too "Japanized" and consequently, less ideal as a foreign teacher. This unfair practice was ruled legal when challenged in the Japan Supreme Court, so foreign teachers don't have a lot of recourses to address it.
Additionally, there is also often an age cut off. This is officially (i.e. legally) not allowed, but often practiced. Certain universities don't hire professors over 35 years of age, as I mentioned above, they like to have young, attractive, teachers for their students placing form over function.
You will never receive tenure at such a university and you will never become a full member of the faculty. It is also disheartening to know that no matter how much effort you put into your job or how good of a teacher you are, you will be let go after an arbitrary time period elapses. Lastly, if a university must cut its budget and decides to lay off teachers, it is often the foreign teachers that will be cut first.
When applying for positions at a university, it is important to consider your age and experience in life. Younger teachers with less experience often apply for the contract positions and simply change jobs when they are forced to leave their university. This is fine, but it is difficult for teachers over 35 to jump around in this way. If you are an older teacher, focus on applying for positions that say "tenure track". If the position doesn't state whether it is tenure-track or not, make certain you inquire before applying. It's tough to get them, but the positions that offer tenure are the ones that will provide you with job security and reflect an educational institution that cares more about the quality of a student's education, than how attractive its teachers are.
Institutions that give their teachers such a heavy course load usually do not expect those teachers to do any research. As research and publication is a means through which teachers distinguish themselves, improve their abilities and their career, it is a difficult to be denied the opportunity and time to devote to it.
Another common problem associated with teaching in universities in Japan is the contract. Many universities will specify a maximum duration on their contract and/or a maximum number of times you can renew your contract. For example, many universities force their language teachers (almost always the foreign ones) to leave after 3, 5 or even 10 years arbitrarily with no consideration given to job performance. They like to recycle foreign teachers to keep them young, fresh, keep their salaries low, and also to prevent them from becoming too "Japanized" and consequently, less ideal as a foreign teacher. This unfair practice was ruled legal when challenged in the Japan Supreme Court, so foreign teachers don't have a lot of recourses to address it.
Additionally, there is also often an age cut off. This is officially (i.e. legally) not allowed, but often practiced. Certain universities don't hire professors over 35 years of age, as I mentioned above, they like to have young, attractive, teachers for their students placing form over function.
You will never receive tenure at such a university and you will never become a full member of the faculty. It is also disheartening to know that no matter how much effort you put into your job or how good of a teacher you are, you will be let go after an arbitrary time period elapses. Lastly, if a university must cut its budget and decides to lay off teachers, it is often the foreign teachers that will be cut first.
When applying for positions at a university, it is important to consider your age and experience in life. Younger teachers with less experience often apply for the contract positions and simply change jobs when they are forced to leave their university. This is fine, but it is difficult for teachers over 35 to jump around in this way. If you are an older teacher, focus on applying for positions that say "tenure track". If the position doesn't state whether it is tenure-track or not, make certain you inquire before applying. It's tough to get them, but the positions that offer tenure are the ones that will provide you with job security and reflect an educational institution that cares more about the quality of a student's education, than how attractive its teachers are.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Public or Private: Which education sector has the job for me?
(Note: this post refers to teaching up to high school. For information on university positions, please see this post.)
So you've made up your mind and you want to teach English in Japan. There are a couple of ways to do this: teach in a school or teach in a private company. So which one should you choose? It really depends on your purpose for coming to Japan and how much autonomy you feel is necessary to be satisfied with your job.
The Public School System
Teaching in the public school system is a good idea as you learn the ins and outs of the education system in Japan and you have a more respected position in Japanese society. There are a few ways to find a position within the public school system in Japan: 1) get hired by the government via the JET Programme, 2) get hired directly by a school, and finally 3) get hired via a private company and placed in a public school. These three hiring methods are explained in more detail here.
No matter the means through which you get a job in the public-school system, the likely result is that you will end up becoming an ALT or assistant-language teacher. The reason this is likely is because 99% of the public-school system jobs out there are for ALT positions. So what is an ALT and what do they do? An ALT's job is to assist the main English teacher (usually a Japanese citizen) called a JTE (Japanese teacher of English). How much you assist and how often varies extremely from position to position, however don't fool yourself. You are not the main teacher, you are an assistant.
The JTE or main teacher is in charge of content, handouts, test-making, student-parent relations, students’ academic progress, etc. Basically, it's their responsibility if the class doesn't go well, not the ALTs. As a consequence, the likelihood of you creating or leading a class on a regular basis is slim, while the likelihood of you standing at the front of the class and doing almost nothing is high. This is because consistenly handing entire classes to you to plan and teach would be abrogating their responsibilities, and if you botch the job, the main teacher is the one who will get the blame.
So, it is highly likely that you will not have much in the way of "real" responsibility in this job. Your role is to make class a bit more interesting and provide the students with a chance to speak to a native-speaker of English from another country (i.e. internationalization). It is possible to increase your range of responsibility through proving yourself to the staff as a competent teacher who truly cares for their students, but this takes time and effort.
***Some Exceptions***
ALTs who work in elementary schools often have a much bigger role to play in the content-creation aspect of class because the main teacher often has little or no English ability (or confidence therein).
Additionally, ALTs who work in high schools are often responsible for conversation classes. These classes have no bearing on the entrance examinations students must take for university, so they are often given to ALTs. The purpose of these high school conversation classes is to increase the students' enjoyment of English and to give them an opportunity to use the grammar they are learning in their other classes.
In summary, an ALTs job is usually fairly easy, well-paid and not high in responsibility. It might be tiring physically, but usually not mentally. This job is not for ambitious go-getters who like to be in charge. Sometimes, you might need to be the kind of person who can watch someone do a job poorly that you feel you could do better, keep your mouth shut, and smile happily at your students' pathetic English ability. Choose this option if your main purpose in Japan is to travel around, find a Japanese boyfriend/girlfriend, be close to the source of anime, or any other non-educational priority and/or you do not intend to become a teacher in the future.
Private Companies
Teaching in a private company like a business, kindergarten, cram school or conversation school, has its own advantages. Although this job is considered by Japanese people to be less respectable than an ALT’s, it should actually be the reverse as private English teachers have all of the responsibility and often, less pay. Now that may not sound particularly appealing, but don't write it off yet.
Generally, working in the private sector means smaller classes and you may have the same students for many years. This means that you can clearly see the progress your students are making and if you are their sole English teacher, you have the satisfaction of a job well done.
Teachers who work in the private sector generally become better teachers than ALTs because: a) they have all the responsibility and moreover, they can see very clearly due to the small classrooms, which activities work well and those, that while fun, don't result in learning. b) They can give students more individual attention and they can move students around into different classes to be with those of similar ability; an option completely not available in the public sector. c) They are often responsible for and have full control over (if not the actual content of the lesson) then the way this content is taught, learned and reviewed. d) As there are no school semesters, tests or other deadlines, they can also often choose the speed with which a given topic is taught; spending more time on difficult lessons and breezing through easy ones.
Basically, if your goal in life is to become a teacher and/or you will not be satisfied with little to no authority/autonomy, then going private is right for you. Choose this option if you can't stand old-fashion ways of doing things, you like to have control over you work, and/or you are the hands-on type.
So you've made up your mind and you want to teach English in Japan. There are a couple of ways to do this: teach in a school or teach in a private company. So which one should you choose? It really depends on your purpose for coming to Japan and how much autonomy you feel is necessary to be satisfied with your job.
The Public School System
Teaching in the public school system is a good idea as you learn the ins and outs of the education system in Japan and you have a more respected position in Japanese society. There are a few ways to find a position within the public school system in Japan: 1) get hired by the government via the JET Programme, 2) get hired directly by a school, and finally 3) get hired via a private company and placed in a public school. These three hiring methods are explained in more detail here.
No matter the means through which you get a job in the public-school system, the likely result is that you will end up becoming an ALT or assistant-language teacher. The reason this is likely is because 99% of the public-school system jobs out there are for ALT positions. So what is an ALT and what do they do? An ALT's job is to assist the main English teacher (usually a Japanese citizen) called a JTE (Japanese teacher of English). How much you assist and how often varies extremely from position to position, however don't fool yourself. You are not the main teacher, you are an assistant.
The JTE or main teacher is in charge of content, handouts, test-making, student-parent relations, students’ academic progress, etc. Basically, it's their responsibility if the class doesn't go well, not the ALTs. As a consequence, the likelihood of you creating or leading a class on a regular basis is slim, while the likelihood of you standing at the front of the class and doing almost nothing is high. This is because consistenly handing entire classes to you to plan and teach would be abrogating their responsibilities, and if you botch the job, the main teacher is the one who will get the blame.
So, it is highly likely that you will not have much in the way of "real" responsibility in this job. Your role is to make class a bit more interesting and provide the students with a chance to speak to a native-speaker of English from another country (i.e. internationalization). It is possible to increase your range of responsibility through proving yourself to the staff as a competent teacher who truly cares for their students, but this takes time and effort.
***Some Exceptions***
ALTs who work in elementary schools often have a much bigger role to play in the content-creation aspect of class because the main teacher often has little or no English ability (or confidence therein).
Additionally, ALTs who work in high schools are often responsible for conversation classes. These classes have no bearing on the entrance examinations students must take for university, so they are often given to ALTs. The purpose of these high school conversation classes is to increase the students' enjoyment of English and to give them an opportunity to use the grammar they are learning in their other classes.
In summary, an ALTs job is usually fairly easy, well-paid and not high in responsibility. It might be tiring physically, but usually not mentally. This job is not for ambitious go-getters who like to be in charge. Sometimes, you might need to be the kind of person who can watch someone do a job poorly that you feel you could do better, keep your mouth shut, and smile happily at your students' pathetic English ability. Choose this option if your main purpose in Japan is to travel around, find a Japanese boyfriend/girlfriend, be close to the source of anime, or any other non-educational priority and/or you do not intend to become a teacher in the future.
Private Companies
Teaching in a private company like a business, kindergarten, cram school or conversation school, has its own advantages. Although this job is considered by Japanese people to be less respectable than an ALT’s, it should actually be the reverse as private English teachers have all of the responsibility and often, less pay. Now that may not sound particularly appealing, but don't write it off yet.
Generally, working in the private sector means smaller classes and you may have the same students for many years. This means that you can clearly see the progress your students are making and if you are their sole English teacher, you have the satisfaction of a job well done.
Teachers who work in the private sector generally become better teachers than ALTs because: a) they have all the responsibility and moreover, they can see very clearly due to the small classrooms, which activities work well and those, that while fun, don't result in learning. b) They can give students more individual attention and they can move students around into different classes to be with those of similar ability; an option completely not available in the public sector. c) They are often responsible for and have full control over (if not the actual content of the lesson) then the way this content is taught, learned and reviewed. d) As there are no school semesters, tests or other deadlines, they can also often choose the speed with which a given topic is taught; spending more time on difficult lessons and breezing through easy ones.
Basically, if your goal in life is to become a teacher and/or you will not be satisfied with little to no authority/autonomy, then going private is right for you. Choose this option if you can't stand old-fashion ways of doing things, you like to have control over you work, and/or you are the hands-on type.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
The DOs and DON'Ts of Working in Japan
This guide mainly applies in an educational context, but can be extrapolated for almost all Japanese workplace environments. It's full of generalities of course and mainly applies to a workplace that consists of mostly Japanese employees. If your workplace is very international, then this guide might not apply.
1) Never Say Die
Don't take sick leave, and don't take vacations. Stay late at work often, and talk to your co-workers about how tired you are. Also, participate in everything optional (i.e. sports festivals, school festivals, speeches given by VIPs that you can't understand, etc). Yes, it will involve giving up your weekends and evenings, but participating in events and activities in your workplace show that you are committed to your job.
2) Don't complain.
If your situation is miserable and you hate your job, this is a tough one, but Japanese almost never complain and neither should you. If you absolutely must complain about something, make sure you speak to a Japanese co-worker and get their advice on the best way to go about doing it. Obviously you can complain about harassment and so on.
3) Retro Up!
Act like you are from an episode of Leave It To Beaver. Japanese value cheerful optimism, cooperation, friendliness, thankfulness, and a purity (i.e. sexual purity) of dress and comportment (short skirts are oddly an exception). Don't believe me? Just read their manga or watch their movies/dramas. The messages in these portrayals of society are always someone who triumphs over adversity by being cheerful, moral, and hardworking. Your role-model is now Jane Eyre. The younger generation is changing, but the younger generation isn't going to be the people interview, hiring, supervising and working together with you at the moment. It's still old-school here.
4) Ask for permission
Especially when you are starting out, you will not know the workplace culture. Make sure you ask for permission to do almost everything out of the ordinary, even if it seems harmless to you. Want to have a class outside on a nice day? Ask permission. Want to make a website for your students online? Ask permission. Want to use an unoccupied room covered in ten years of undisturbed dust? Yes, you've got it - ask permission.
5) Give away some glory
Make suggestions to your sempai. This is tough to do as it involves your sempai (co-worker above you in rank) getting credit for all your ideas, but as a junior worker it is not your place to offer constructive criticism. Once you have worked for a few years, then you can make suggestions at meetings. Until then, if you want to make a suggestion, then make it to a co-worker and ask them to suggest it for you.
1) Never Say Die
Don't take sick leave, and don't take vacations. Stay late at work often, and talk to your co-workers about how tired you are. Also, participate in everything optional (i.e. sports festivals, school festivals, speeches given by VIPs that you can't understand, etc). Yes, it will involve giving up your weekends and evenings, but participating in events and activities in your workplace show that you are committed to your job.
2) Don't complain.
If your situation is miserable and you hate your job, this is a tough one, but Japanese almost never complain and neither should you. If you absolutely must complain about something, make sure you speak to a Japanese co-worker and get their advice on the best way to go about doing it. Obviously you can complain about harassment and so on.
3) Retro Up!
Act like you are from an episode of Leave It To Beaver. Japanese value cheerful optimism, cooperation, friendliness, thankfulness, and a purity (i.e. sexual purity) of dress and comportment (short skirts are oddly an exception). Don't believe me? Just read their manga or watch their movies/dramas. The messages in these portrayals of society are always someone who triumphs over adversity by being cheerful, moral, and hardworking. Your role-model is now Jane Eyre. The younger generation is changing, but the younger generation isn't going to be the people interview, hiring, supervising and working together with you at the moment. It's still old-school here.
4) Ask for permission
Especially when you are starting out, you will not know the workplace culture. Make sure you ask for permission to do almost everything out of the ordinary, even if it seems harmless to you. Want to have a class outside on a nice day? Ask permission. Want to make a website for your students online? Ask permission. Want to use an unoccupied room covered in ten years of undisturbed dust? Yes, you've got it - ask permission.
5) Give away some glory
Make suggestions to your sempai. This is tough to do as it involves your sempai (co-worker above you in rank) getting credit for all your ideas, but as a junior worker it is not your place to offer constructive criticism. Once you have worked for a few years, then you can make suggestions at meetings. Until then, if you want to make a suggestion, then make it to a co-worker and ask them to suggest it for you.
The Japanese University Workplace
Some people have asked me about working in a Japanese university and what that entails. Here is a description of the kinds of working conditions you can expect in a Japanese-university workplace.
Part-time Work
Working part-time at a university in Japan is great. If you can teach more than 8 koma (90 min) a week, your pay is pretty good for not much work and little to no responsibility. The average pay for 1 koma is about 10000yen, or somewhere around 100 USD or 75 Euros. If you have at least eight of those a week, that makes for a weekly pay of 80000 yen for 12 hours of (official) at the school work. Of course there is always class prep and marking and you won't be paid for that as those hours are included in your 10000yen per koma. This puts you in an annual income of just under 4 million yen per year, which is very decent pay for Japan.
The downsides to working part-time are that you have no input into any changes in your department, nor will you generally even be consulted by the full-time teachers unless you have a close working relationship with them. This is more disadvantageous for some people than others. Some individuals really care about improving the level of education at the school, and some people care mostly for their own students. If you are the kind of person who likes to make a difference in your workplace, part-time work might be tough for you.
Finally, you don't get any benefits, bonuses, research money, and you can't apply for most grants. You will probably not have a private office, and your computer/printer may be ancient. However, the biggest negatives are that your salary will never increase and you have no job security.
Full-time Work
Just like part-time work at a university, full-time work is a mixed bag of good and bad points. The main negative is pay vs. responsibilities and work hours. You will often start off making less than a part-timer would with a lot more responsibility. You will work at least 40 hours a week. Most teachers have on average 6-7 classes per week with language teachers often having more. Beware of any institution that has you teaching more than 12 classes per week, this is an unfair course load.
The average starting salary for a full-time university teacher varies so widely it is hard to give accurate numbers. It can be as little as 250000 (equivalent to a cram school teacher), or up to 480000 yen per month. Private schools will tend to pay less than public schools and lower-ranking schools (i.e. not famous or distinguished academically) will pay even less. However, these low-ranking schools are good entry jobs and may be more lenient in their hiring practices. Maximum salaries also vary with each institution.
Full-time university teachers get all standard benefits offered including health insurance, sick leave and holidays. Your salary will increase over time and most universities give you bonuses twice yearly. Also, you may have much greater job security usually with the possibility of tenure, although this depends on your institution and if they employ discriminatory-hiring practices for foreign employees. You will often get a yearly amount of money to spend on research and trips to conferences. You will also often get subsidised housing, dependent allowance, as well as a private office.
A big difference between full-time and part-time teachers is the number of responsibilities you will have. In additional to classes, full-time teachers are in charge of committees, research rooms, and in particular, seminar students. Seminar students are students that choose to engage in research with you for the full term of their 4 years at the university and ultimately, you are often responsible for helping find employment for them when they graduate. (Obviously a big responsibility.) You may be responsible for giving intensive courses during the summer months and also for administering test on weekends. You will have to help out during open campuses, festivals, and so on. You can expect to work during all school holidays. The students may not be in class, but this does not mean vacation for you.
Working at a Japanese university is a prestigious job with a lot of respect and better than average pay. Therefore, your co-workers will generally be very intelligent and well-educated. It is a great work if you can get it, less busy than working as a office worker, and generally with a better working environment.
Part-time Work
Working part-time at a university in Japan is great. If you can teach more than 8 koma (90 min) a week, your pay is pretty good for not much work and little to no responsibility. The average pay for 1 koma is about 10000yen, or somewhere around 100 USD or 75 Euros. If you have at least eight of those a week, that makes for a weekly pay of 80000 yen for 12 hours of (official) at the school work. Of course there is always class prep and marking and you won't be paid for that as those hours are included in your 10000yen per koma. This puts you in an annual income of just under 4 million yen per year, which is very decent pay for Japan.
The downsides to working part-time are that you have no input into any changes in your department, nor will you generally even be consulted by the full-time teachers unless you have a close working relationship with them. This is more disadvantageous for some people than others. Some individuals really care about improving the level of education at the school, and some people care mostly for their own students. If you are the kind of person who likes to make a difference in your workplace, part-time work might be tough for you.
Finally, you don't get any benefits, bonuses, research money, and you can't apply for most grants. You will probably not have a private office, and your computer/printer may be ancient. However, the biggest negatives are that your salary will never increase and you have no job security.
Full-time Work
Just like part-time work at a university, full-time work is a mixed bag of good and bad points. The main negative is pay vs. responsibilities and work hours. You will often start off making less than a part-timer would with a lot more responsibility. You will work at least 40 hours a week. Most teachers have on average 6-7 classes per week with language teachers often having more. Beware of any institution that has you teaching more than 12 classes per week, this is an unfair course load.
The average starting salary for a full-time university teacher varies so widely it is hard to give accurate numbers. It can be as little as 250000 (equivalent to a cram school teacher), or up to 480000 yen per month. Private schools will tend to pay less than public schools and lower-ranking schools (i.e. not famous or distinguished academically) will pay even less. However, these low-ranking schools are good entry jobs and may be more lenient in their hiring practices. Maximum salaries also vary with each institution.
Full-time university teachers get all standard benefits offered including health insurance, sick leave and holidays. Your salary will increase over time and most universities give you bonuses twice yearly. Also, you may have much greater job security usually with the possibility of tenure, although this depends on your institution and if they employ discriminatory-hiring practices for foreign employees. You will often get a yearly amount of money to spend on research and trips to conferences. You will also often get subsidised housing, dependent allowance, as well as a private office.
A big difference between full-time and part-time teachers is the number of responsibilities you will have. In additional to classes, full-time teachers are in charge of committees, research rooms, and in particular, seminar students. Seminar students are students that choose to engage in research with you for the full term of their 4 years at the university and ultimately, you are often responsible for helping find employment for them when they graduate. (Obviously a big responsibility.) You may be responsible for giving intensive courses during the summer months and also for administering test on weekends. You will have to help out during open campuses, festivals, and so on. You can expect to work during all school holidays. The students may not be in class, but this does not mean vacation for you.
Working at a Japanese university is a prestigious job with a lot of respect and better than average pay. Therefore, your co-workers will generally be very intelligent and well-educated. It is a great work if you can get it, less busy than working as a office worker, and generally with a better working environment.
Monday, September 2, 2013
How to Get a University Teaching Position in Japan in Five (not-so-easy) Steps!
In my years of living and teaching in Japan, I've come across quite a few people who are trying to get teaching jobs at a university in Japan. Many of those teachers are good at their jobs, and many of them have impressive credentials; some even had PhDs. They often ask me how I have managed to get two university jobs, one full-time having only a bachlor's degree. Although having a master's or a phd is a good start, it won't necessarily get you an interview. So, if you are thinking of trying to get a university job, or if you have been trying unsuccessfully, this post is for you.
Step 1 - Learn Japanese
This may sound obvious, but unlike JET or a conversation school, a university is not geared towards hiring foreigners and they probably won't have an English-speaking supervisor to help you out. Bothering your rediculously busy co-workers to help you with your administrative crap is not going to endear you to them. Also, they won't be able to help you much at faculty and other meetings. You should be able to hold your own in conversations about pension, insurance, curriculum, student affairs, etc. Minimum level for this would be JLPT N3, preferrably lower N2. Reading and writing kanji is less important than being able to speak and understand. I repeat, you pretty much NEED to speak Japanese well.
Step 2 - Get Published
Most universities require you to have a minimum of 3 publications for a full-time position. Even for a part-time position, having something of yours published, anything really, is often required. So, if you have a chance to put something down in writing that will get published in a journal, book, magazine, newspaper, DO IT!!! Ideally, get published in an academic publication, but in my experience, the university staff mainly want to check their boxes with respect to applicants and if you can get that "I have published something" box checked, then you will have an easier time getting an interview, and hopefully landing the position.
Also, think back to any time you were published at school, did you submit a poem or article for the school newspaper? Have you ever won a writing competition? Every little bit helps. If you have nothing, I would suggest going to the local newspaper in your town and asking them if you could write an article for them (in Japanese of course). However, since academic publications are best, choose an area of educational interest, write something well-researched, and try to get published.
Step 3 - Get a part-time position to gain experience and save money
Almost every full-time job will require that you already have at least 2 years of teaching experience at the university level. In order to obtain this, you will need to settle for working part-time for 2~3 years. On the plus side, part-time often pays almost as well as full-time depending on how many koma (classes) you get. On the down side, it's hard to get a visa if you aren't working many hours. You may need to suppliment your part-time university work with part-time cram school or conversation-school work. If you cannot do that, working full-time teaching English to adults is the next best thing.
Save up money because you may have to travel to interviews in person. Some universities will be able to conduct interviews via video conferencing software like Skype, but most won't. Flying around for interviews can get VERY expensive, VERY quickly so be prepared.
Step 4 - Get a Master's Degree
If you don't already have at least a Master's degree, use the time you are working part-time to gain experience as time to get your Master's degree online. Yes, it's expensive, but without it you will have one hell of a time getting a full-time position. There are many online programs, some of them are total scams, so my advice to you is to make sure you get a degree from a university that also has on-site students. (i.e. students who are studying on the school grounds.) A Master's degree in English literature, ESL, and lingustics are the most sought after, but generally speaking, having any Master's degree will be sufficient for most jobs.
Step 5 - Apply, Apply, Apply (or Delay Equals Failure) A Novel By Job Hunter
Send your resumes to every and any job you can. My rule of thumb is this, if you are missing out on one criterion, apply anyway. If you are missing out on two criteria, apply if the job is particularly suited to you in some respect. More than three criteria? Forget it. You may have to send out hundreds of resumes and since this is Japan, you will have to send them by mail (costs $). Also, your resumes will often have to be in Japanese. Be prepared for this by downloading a template and asking a Japanese person to help you if you need kanji assistance.
You will need to tailor your cover letters so often you will have ten versions or more. You will have several different resumes because often universities will have their own resume template requiring you to constanly have to imput the same information over and over in different formats. You will want to die, kill HR people, and you will have to sacrifice a TON of your time, but without this constant effort, you will not succeed in finding a job.
Most job advertisements for April come out in September and resumes are usually considered in the order they are submitted, so if you are a procrastinator, prepare to be rejected. In particular, if you see an ideal job posting, jump on that opportunity asap.
Other points suggested by web-buddies are:
*Membership in an association helps. JALT is a good place to start.
*Avoid emphasizing your eikaiwa (English conversation school) background if you have one. These kinds of jobs have a (often underservedly imo) bad rep in Japan.
Here are the best sites to find university level teaching jobs in Japan. Good luck to you!
jrecin.jst.go.jp/index_e.html
jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/job-info-centre/jobs
Step 1 - Learn Japanese
This may sound obvious, but unlike JET or a conversation school, a university is not geared towards hiring foreigners and they probably won't have an English-speaking supervisor to help you out. Bothering your rediculously busy co-workers to help you with your administrative crap is not going to endear you to them. Also, they won't be able to help you much at faculty and other meetings. You should be able to hold your own in conversations about pension, insurance, curriculum, student affairs, etc. Minimum level for this would be JLPT N3, preferrably lower N2. Reading and writing kanji is less important than being able to speak and understand. I repeat, you pretty much NEED to speak Japanese well.
Step 2 - Get Published
Most universities require you to have a minimum of 3 publications for a full-time position. Even for a part-time position, having something of yours published, anything really, is often required. So, if you have a chance to put something down in writing that will get published in a journal, book, magazine, newspaper, DO IT!!! Ideally, get published in an academic publication, but in my experience, the university staff mainly want to check their boxes with respect to applicants and if you can get that "I have published something" box checked, then you will have an easier time getting an interview, and hopefully landing the position.
Also, think back to any time you were published at school, did you submit a poem or article for the school newspaper? Have you ever won a writing competition? Every little bit helps. If you have nothing, I would suggest going to the local newspaper in your town and asking them if you could write an article for them (in Japanese of course). However, since academic publications are best, choose an area of educational interest, write something well-researched, and try to get published.
Step 3 - Get a part-time position to gain experience and save money
Almost every full-time job will require that you already have at least 2 years of teaching experience at the university level. In order to obtain this, you will need to settle for working part-time for 2~3 years. On the plus side, part-time often pays almost as well as full-time depending on how many koma (classes) you get. On the down side, it's hard to get a visa if you aren't working many hours. You may need to suppliment your part-time university work with part-time cram school or conversation-school work. If you cannot do that, working full-time teaching English to adults is the next best thing.
Save up money because you may have to travel to interviews in person. Some universities will be able to conduct interviews via video conferencing software like Skype, but most won't. Flying around for interviews can get VERY expensive, VERY quickly so be prepared.
Step 4 - Get a Master's Degree
If you don't already have at least a Master's degree, use the time you are working part-time to gain experience as time to get your Master's degree online. Yes, it's expensive, but without it you will have one hell of a time getting a full-time position. There are many online programs, some of them are total scams, so my advice to you is to make sure you get a degree from a university that also has on-site students. (i.e. students who are studying on the school grounds.) A Master's degree in English literature, ESL, and lingustics are the most sought after, but generally speaking, having any Master's degree will be sufficient for most jobs.
Step 5 - Apply, Apply, Apply (or Delay Equals Failure) A Novel By Job Hunter
Send your resumes to every and any job you can. My rule of thumb is this, if you are missing out on one criterion, apply anyway. If you are missing out on two criteria, apply if the job is particularly suited to you in some respect. More than three criteria? Forget it. You may have to send out hundreds of resumes and since this is Japan, you will have to send them by mail (costs $). Also, your resumes will often have to be in Japanese. Be prepared for this by downloading a template and asking a Japanese person to help you if you need kanji assistance.
You will need to tailor your cover letters so often you will have ten versions or more. You will have several different resumes because often universities will have their own resume template requiring you to constanly have to imput the same information over and over in different formats. You will want to die, kill HR people, and you will have to sacrifice a TON of your time, but without this constant effort, you will not succeed in finding a job.
Most job advertisements for April come out in September and resumes are usually considered in the order they are submitted, so if you are a procrastinator, prepare to be rejected. In particular, if you see an ideal job posting, jump on that opportunity asap.
Other points suggested by web-buddies are:
*Membership in an association helps. JALT is a good place to start.
*Avoid emphasizing your eikaiwa (English conversation school) background if you have one. These kinds of jobs have a (often underservedly imo) bad rep in Japan.
Here are the best sites to find university level teaching jobs in Japan. Good luck to you!
jrecin.jst.go.jp/index_e.html
jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/job-info-centre/jobs
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