Japan
Japan is a mecca for ESL teachers. Thought the heydays are long gone, the country still attracts a lot of students. The best ways to get a teaching job is to work with one of the four major English-teaching school chains, called Eikaiwa. Collectively, these schools employ thousands of conversational English teachers. There is also another option for teaching English in Japan, which is to become an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), where you would work side-by-side with a Japanese teacher in an elementary or junior high school. This program is aimed towards recent college graduates. Japan is also pretty a expensive to live but if you stay a long time, you’ll be able to save a lot and experience one of my favorite cultures in the world.
Basic Japan Information: Japan has a very high standard of living. Everything from transportation to food to apartment rentals may be way over the limit of some individuals. A lot of expatriates work in big cities like Tokyo and Nagoya to help pay the bills. In big cities, don’t expect to save a lot of money where living expenses can eat most of your budget.
The food in Japan can be expensive, especially fruits and vegetables,especially if they are imported. Moreover, drinking is also expensive. However, there are many cheap places to eat if you know where to look. One can find fair prices of noodles, bread, fruits and vegetables at markets and grocery stores. There are a lot of 100 yen ramen and sushi shops around.
Salaries in Japan: Salaries in Japan tend to be pretty uniform throughout the country. Typically, most people earn about 280,000 Yen a month ($2,800 USD). Sometimes one can find a job for 300,000 yen or if you have been in Japan longer, a little more. Though that may sound good, living expenses are not usually covered and the high cost of living in Japan. If you work in an international school, or do private tutoring, you can earn well over 350,000 Yen per month. The longer you stay in Japan, the higher your salary will get as most of the good jobs are by word of mouth only.
Job Requirements in Japan: To teach English in Japan, you will need a BA from an accredited university and need a TEFL degree. You don’t have to have experience for the JET program, which is the teacher placement program run by the government, or many of the language schools.
JET Program- The Jet program is the Japanese government’s teaching English program. You apply in your home country and go through an application and interview process. If chosen, you are assigned a place to live in Japan and are under contract for one year. You must be in your home country to do this as visas and interviews are required to be conducted from there. If you are looking for a good way to get into Japan and a guaranteed job for a year, the JET program is probably for you.
Visa Rules for Japan: In order to teach English in Japan legally, you must have a work visa. In order to obtain a work visa, you must have a bachelor’s degree. Moreover, most schools and programs will only hire native English speakers, so you should also consider that a requirement. If you work in the JET program, you will be required to have an interview in YOUR HOME (emphasis feel awkward) country. You can’t apply outside of your home country.
Once you enter Japan, you have 90 days to register yourself to get an alien registration card at the city hall or local ward office. When immigration issues your working visa it will be for 1 to 3 years. The company that sponsors you has nothing to do with how long your visa will be good for. This is in the hands of immigration.
Visa processing times vary but expect 2 to 3 months for everything to get processed.
