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Originally Posted by uroceanbrezze
Oh ya, I too heard that teaching English is one of the best ways to start your living in Japan.. That's why one of my majors is going to be in linguistics.
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Ditto to what the others have said above about teaching English in Japan as it is the easiest and fastest way to get there if that is your desire. However, one does not need to major in linguistics as all that is required to teach is a 4 year BS degree in anything. Therefore, it would be most wise to major in something that you can fall back on later if you find that teaching is not for you or you want to seek out other employment in Japan. A lingusitics degree will not get you a job at a major company, but a degree in business or some other marketable skill will.
The requirements for teaching English Conversation in Japan are that you have a degree, are a native speaker, dress well and, to borrow a phrase from a friend, have a pulse. That's it. It is fairly simple as you will mostly be reading from a book and the students repeating after you in the basic courses. For courses above that it is the same with a little "free conversation" thrown in to give students a feel for the spoken language. Most classes are about an hour long and if you teach at corporations are one and a half to two hours long. There is no teaching of grammar and such as that is usually taught in Japanese schools.
It is repetitive and can be downright boring after the initial honeymoon wears off. Many teachers do get burned out on it after a short time. Your success will be determined by your own effort and whether you take the job seriously as many teachers are just there for the money and are not serious about the job. For them it was an easy way to get a working visa to live in Japan. Rare is the one who does seek/find employment outside of teaching as many do not learn the language and eventually return to their own home country.
I enjoyed it tremendously as, even though it could sometimes be frustrating, it was very rewarding in the long run and quite profitable.
Therefore, if your desire is to go to Japan, then by all means go! Do it while you are young and have the time. Just have the proper qualifications. You may like it there and then again you may not, but how will you know if you never give it a try? For many on this forum it is their dream and I would not let this opportunity slip by me only to think sometime in the future, "What if...."