[Sangetsu]

The demand for English teachers in Japan is once again rising. I continue to be amazed at the kinds of people who are hired to teach. These are generally people with little to no real work history, all they possess when they arrive in Japan is a degree. Their English is often not very good, and is sometimes actually quite bad.

The larger companies in Japan will not hire anyone without a degree. Not because it's impossible, but because it requires more paperwork, and because they advertise in their literature that the teachers they employ all possess a 4 year or better degree.

Smaller schools (and there are countless smaller schools) are much more flexible with whom they hire. The downside is that they are often difficult places to work for. They generally offer lower pay (though that's not always the case), less than great working conditions, and will often have you sign a labor contract that would land them in jail if it were to see the light of day in most western countries.

Google any potential schools you might have an interest in, and look for comments about them. Many teachers who have had mishaps with schools have published their experiences on the internet