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Originally Posted by WingsToDiscovery
Especially if you can't speak Japanese? Unless you do something like English teaching (where you don't need to know Japanese), but you'd still need a degree anyway.
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In my experience, if you ever expect to be an active part of any school you work in, you're going to need fluency in Japanese even when you teach English. You cannot be promoted nor be given more responsibility without the language skills, and if you intend to pursue licensing, you will need to complete between twelve and sixty credit hours of education courses in Japanese (dependent upon what transfers from your university) at a Japanese university.
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Many people here are fine wasting their lives as English teachers.
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I went to a four year university with the intent to become an English teacher in my home country. Texas is not currently hiring, and hasn't been for years now. Instead I came to Japan, and I'm quite happy here.
I consider teaching English my calling and I love doing it, whether I am teaching simple construction and conversation in an EFL classroom or teaching Medieval British Literature. Be careful how you paint "English teachers." If many people are unambitious and willing to continue to work in entry level positions for the rest of their lives, that has nothing to do with the area they are working in. I would hope you are not implying I am wasting my life.
I am currently earning an MA in Government with an emphasis on Japanese Culture and Politics (specific thesis area is the concept of kokutai 国体, a Japanese political philosophy, during the Taisho era) to be finished in June, but that is largely for permanent residency, higher salary, and university teaching requirements.
I'm quite happy continuing to teach junior high school students. They add meaning to my life, far from wasting it.