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 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.

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.

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