[Tsuwabuki]

I wish I could add a lot to this, but MMM pretty much said it all, and others have added further detail.

However, I will add that I have a genuine interest in teaching. That is my job. So I hear all this whining about ALT work or English teaching in general... except, I'd be doing this in the states. So for me, a degree was already part of my plan. And although I made a half-hearted attempt at JET (as previously mentioned), I have eventually ended up in Japan because of economic decisions. Frankly, I can just make money faster here. Not necessarily more money overall, just faster money. In addition, I am relatively young, and it seems to me that when you are young you should be able to have an opportunity to travel and see the world. At this point I don't plan to leave Japan any time soon, or possibly ever, but who knows?

As a teacher, and one who is a teacher, and not a dancing monkey who got here by any means necessary, but someone engaged in teaching as a career, I find the "Oh, I won't 'lower' myself to that level" absolutely insulting. If you can't even bother working to get a degree, than you have no idea what it's like to take the courses and the exams to be a qualified teacher, and I don't want you here, because you're bound to give me and those like me, a bad name.

When it comes to Japan, "put up or shut up" is the best advice I can give.