Degrees and Japan
 

So I have been to Japan a few times before, for roughly 4 - 6 weeks each time, I love learning the language, I have made lots of friends out there and I wanted to try living there for a while.

Now I know to do this I at least need a bachelors degree, but if I wanted to teach English would it matter what my degree was in?

I realise that a degree in English language or something along those lines would probably help, but I'm not sure if it really matters too much or if it is mainly for visa purposes and to show that you have at least been through some kind of further education.

(I'm sorry I am not very good at searching forums, and all I found where threads which basically just said you need a degree, so I wasn't sure if the type of degree mattered)

Any help is appreciated :)

It depends on the school but they usually just require you to have a Bachelors degree in any discipline. Mine was in Law and Management. If you have a Masters then you may get some bonus money.

If you want to be a teacher, do a degree in teaching; that would probably be the most useful! Try and pick up the language to intermediate japanese and if you really want to advance your career options consider a third language on top of that. Linguistics might also be a good choice, or conversely do a joint degree where the second one is something completely different that you're interested in that could work as a fall-back if you later decide that teaching isn't for you after all.

International subjects like International relations, international law, etc might be another consideration, or something solid and transferrable like a science, maths or engineering. Really it depends on you, what you really want to do and where you want to get in. I think in all honesty, any degree would get you into japan, but it depends on what you want to do there, your own personal aptitude and what would be most interest to you in the long run. By the time you hit 30 though, it probably won't really matter what degree you have, no matter where in the world you are, just that you have one.

Thank you so much for your replies.
I was hoping to do something in linguistics or computer science :)
Now all I have to do is hope I can get onto a course this late in the year.

Once again thanks for your replies :)

If you get a CS degree and specialize in something you may even be able to find a job related to that field. Base on my research, AI may be a good area to get into...

Where are you from? Certain university in North America (Both Canada and the US) have specialized program for CS and CE people, mecatronics are suppose to be hot for Japan

I am in the UK so unfortunatley going to North America isn't really much of a choice for me.
It's good to know though that if I get a CS degree I could have the chance of specializing and maybe getting a job in that field.

International law is a good idea. That impressed the school that hired me as there is plenty to talk about in free conversation classes. I did it for a year to Masters level and I used many of the themes in class. It really provokes discussion.