Teaching English in the JP

[Maku]

All the places I've looked at a few different places and they all say it's year contracts.

[jasonbvr]

Short term positions lasting only a few days, a few weeks, or two to three months are usually only available to those already in Japan and have the proper work visa. Working as a student studying in Japan, you have to have the consent of the school at which you are studying to get the work permit.

Contracts lasting only six months are available through Interac and some other ALT staffing companies starting in August/September. This is because some companies need to fill vacancies mid-year since the school year starts in April. A lot of schools prefer to start their ALT's in April so that they will be there for the entirety of the school year, but due to the fact that most people graduate in May/June in North America, GB, etc. a lot of schools compromise and take them in August.

Now, you mentioned being a student. If you are living and studying in Great Britain, Australia or New Zealand, you will qualify for the working holiday visa. Without the working holiday visa say for someone like me from the US, you need to have finished your degree to qualify for the working visa. If you can get the work visa, that is all that it really comes down to. There are short positions out there, but you've got to have the visa or be able to qualify for it.

[TaichiYamada]

thnx alot you guys! Yeah, I'm Dutch so this work permit won't be an option I guess. Just wanted to go on adventure in Japan, but I wanted to work a bit over there so I can earn the money back I spend on the flight and lodging and stuff.. ah well...

thnx again, I'll just keep saving my money till I can go to Japan.

peace

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by TaichiYamada

thnx alot you guys! Yeah, I'm Dutch so this work permit won't be an option I guess. Just wanted to go on adventure in Japan, but I wanted to work a bit over there so I can earn the money back I spend on the flight and lodging and stuff.. ah well...

thnx again, I'll just keep saving my money till I can go to Japan.

peace

The requirements for getting a work visa differ from one country to another. I would suggest looking at Japan's embassy page on the net for your country and maybe contacting them if you have any questions.

[pandayanyan]

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

JET is not a company but rather the government program. Originally all ALT's were JET's, but the trouble is that they don't find and hire enough JET's to fill the positions in all the schools. This is where the ALT companies come in the picture. They lobby for vacancies and find teachers to fill them.

As far as Heart, I think it depends a lot on where you work. As far as I know, Heart teachers are some of the lowest paid ALT's around. Working for them would not be bad, but I wouldn't ever settle for anything less than 250,000 yen a month. That really goes for any company and anywhere in Japan. Some teachers are in such a rush to get over, they'll sign anything.

I work for a regional ALT company called Fifth Wings. From what I have heard of other teachers is that Fifth is really the best to work for in this area although certain parts of my contract are not in compliance with Japan's labor laws. This could've have been easily avoided if I negotiated and knew these things before signing, but I didn't. I have yet to argue with them about it and probably won't because I am figuring out a sly way around it. That way if I resign in August, I can get a better deal because they see me as being a trouble-free employee.

Other companies I know of, Borderlink is fairly new in are region so I don't know much about them. OES, I have never really talked to anyone who works for them. RCS has lost a lot of teachers and a lot of staff. Some complain of having trouble but overall they really seem average to me. Interac sounds very appealing to me. Although they are national and say couldn't take me to the doctors if I had some trouble like Fifth would, they seem very professional and the pay is good.

A lot of your contract stuff will actually depend on the area you work in. Take my situation for example, in Ota we come to school even though we don't have any classes. Take my friend in Oizumi, she doesn't go to school for the holidays but also was paid less those months.

So what it boils down to is 1) the area you work in and 2) what you sign to in your contract

I may have posted it before but in case I didn't, I am very interested in anyone who is in the interview process and talking about exactly what they are offering to you.

Here is a few reasons people like Fifth:

They set up a cellphone for you before you arrive.
They give you a bicycle.
They put you in an apartment and give you a futon, pillow, blanket, sheets, a small saucepan, a frying pan, a coffee mug, forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks, and food when you first arrive.
If you get sick, arrested, or your scooter breaks down and you are going to be late for school, Fifth saves your ass and doesn't complain much about doing it. (Although to my knowledge no Fifth employee has ever been in trouble with the police outside of traffic violations.)

Now why I think Fifth does all these things, very simply put it is owned and run by women. Besides the managers that do the hiring, the whole operation is run by very kind ladies who treat their teachers like lost children. Then again maybe it is just me because women always treat me like a big kid.

wow ... I bask in your knowledge ... thank you for the info it is greatly appreciated.

edit: does fifth or heart have a website or info pack ? Googled it but too many matches to sort through.

[Maku]

Originally Posted by pandayanyan

wow ... I bask in your knowledge ... thank you for the info it is greatly appreciated.

edit: does fifth or heart have a website or info pack ? Googled it but too many matches to sort through.

Jason is the best source of information on this subject.

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by pandayanyan

wow ... I bask in your knowledge ... thank you for the info it is greatly appreciated.

edit: does fifth or heart have a website or info pack ? Googled it but too many matches to sort through.

There is a lot of stuff in this thread to read through. There is a post I made that had tons of links, but for job searches I simply look at O-Hayo Sensei and GaijinPot. Ohayo is the best in my opinion but you will spot some different posts in gaijinpot every now and then.

A lot of these smaller regional companies are not going to have websites, and to the best of my knowledge Fifth and Heart both do not have sites. I don't even think RCS has one, and they are a fairly bigger company.

What I did when I applied last year, I made a list of well over twenty potential employers and sent them my resume and cover letter. About a week later I had something like ten responses. Then I looked at a map of Japan where each company would place me and basically chose based on that. There were a few key questions I should've asked that I know to ask now and a few things that I probably could've had rewritten in the contract had I asked for it. But I was ready to come over and tired of searching after three weeks so I signed and two months later ended up here.

I am really happy with my school even though there have been loads of ups and downs. No matter what type of teaching position you take and what company you end up working for, there is going to be a lot you will need to learn about English education in Japan and living here in general.

I keep saying this but have never gotten any responses. If you are looking at job offers, show me the offer and I'll give you my two cents. Basically you are going to have to just put yourself out there and talk to the recruiters, teachers, managers and owners who are going to interview you. The companies with websites and info packets represent maybe 10% of the opportunities available, and I really think that it is probably less than that.

[pandayanyan]

What sort of portfolio should I put together? Does general work experience help or would they rather just see schooling and grades/reccomendations? It wont be for awhile since im still in college but im trying to get it together fresh that way I have more time to perfect it for em when it counts.

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by pandayanyan

What sort of portfolio should I put together? Does general work experience help or would they rather just see schooling and grades/reccomendations? It wont be for awhile since im still in college but im trying to get it together fresh that way I have more time to perfect it for em when it counts.

You basically want to keep it as brief as possible while highlighting aspects of yourself or your background that make you appear like a teacher and master of the English language. Both your cover letter and resume should be no longer than a page. If you were applying for a job at a university or upper tier high school, then you may need a portfolio showing grad school credentials and any publications you have written or co-authored.

Maybe later on today I write up a sample of what I sent out last year when job hunting. And yes, two to three reccomendations from professors you've had will go a long way. (Especially if one of those was your Japanese teacher. Not that I learned anything, but that is neither here nor there.)

[jasonbvr]

Oh, and grades/gpa don't really mean a thing unless they are really good. All they want to see is a diploma. Then when you get the work visa, all they want to see is the visa. I didn't mention nor was ever asked about my performance or lack thereof in school.