[jasonbvr]

All right out of an attempt to keep it simple, I'll break down the three basic types of English instructors in Japan, what they do and what they need to get the job.

For the entry level applicant, this is the person with no experience and only a university degree you have two choices: ALT or Eikaiwa.

First my job, the ALT.
These are the Assistant Language Teachers that work in Japanese public schools. The JET Programme participants, they are ALT's but we call them JET because they were hired through the governments programme. The rest of us usually call ourselves just ALT's or private's since we are hired by a private company, not government related. The role of the ALT in the classroom as envisioned by the Ministry of Education is to encourage your students to study English, expose them to a foreign culture, provide them with opportunities to speak English and last to accustom them with the sound of native spoken English. Now what you will actually do for work varies greatly depending on your teachers' wishes and your students' abilities or lack thereof. Oh, and the local board of education plays a big role too.

The Eikaiwa Teacher.
Think of NOVA, this is an eikaiwa. The name means English conversation school. Whenever I have met eikaiwa teachers, they always tell me that we are basically doing the same job. Which is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The basic differences between an eikaiwa class and mine are smaller number of students, they usually group students by ability, national chain eikaiwas like NOVA have a curriculum and lessons you follow, you could end up with anyone as a student from toddlers to retirees, you usually teach class without a Japanese teacher and that is all I can think of for now but there are more. Now some eikaiwas also hire ALT's. Some eikaiwas, you plan and produce all the materials for your classes.

Now for those who have attended graduate school for teaching English as a second language. These are the professors and some upper tier high schools. These are teachers who decided long ago that this was their calling.

If you can get a job at a Japanese university teaching English, you've got it made. Higher pay, more vacation time and to be honest better students are just some of the highlights. But to work at a real university, you are going to need to be published. You will also need to have worked for probably sometime as a part time professor before getting the really cushy position with and office and whatnot. Some high schools hire foreign teachers with masters in teaching English, others use the standard Japanese teacher with ALT format. For those that hire foreign teachers with credentials, you are pretty much the doing the same job as a professor just working with students who are less able.