Teaching in Japan, Underage and Unqualified: Is it possible?
 

1) Yes your plan is flawed. 2) Please don't use cuss words, 3) this should ~technically~ be in the Japan travel section, but it's not a big deal so I guess we'll forgive you that one.

You should have no real trouble in Tokyo or Yokohama at least with getting around. I hear there are now even english language job centers for those with working holiday visa.

This would really depend heavily on what work you got (and it's recommended people budget for one month without work anyway) where you lived and what kind of lifestyle and expenditure you work with anyway, so I can't really quote a figure.

I believe changing visa type (I'm guessing you mean from tourist to working holiday?) in Japan is very difficult. They only give out so many working holiday visas per year, so they tend to be finickety about it. They may only be able to issue it in your home country. It is ILLEGAL to work on a tourist visa. If you're caught, it's serious.

Tokyo is saturated with native english speakers, usually with degrees and qualifications, and schools don't like to hire off a working holiday visa anyway (why hire a teacher for 3 months?). You might strike lucky in a small school, but without knowing where they are, (and you're more likely to need japanese language ability there too) that's a relatively slim chance. You also may struggle to find work for 3 people as well.

Vastly competitive and very very picky.

You would have to register with a language school to get the visa and have them provide you with a certificate of eligibility. This (as long as the schools policy allows it) would permit you to work up to 20 hours per week. Bear in mind if you don't turn up to class, and consequently get kicked out of school, they can and will revoke your visa, making you subject to deportation. This is no laughing matter in Japan. You could be banned from the country for up to 10 years and at the very worst case scenario, spend some time in jail, especially if you overstay.

I'm afraid I don't know. Consider contacting them in advance to explain your plans and situation and see what they say. You're only there 3 months, no quals and underage, when the job market is flooded with job-seekers in a much better position, so realistically the answer might be, 'we can only do so much'.

I've not done this on a tourist or working holiday visa, but you can get reentery visas in Japan. Contact the Japanese embassy in australia or visit the australian governmental travel website, they should provide you all the visa information you need.

A holiday visa is for those wishing to simply travel in Japan. It is 90 days and no work is permitted at all.

A working holiday visa is essentially an extended holiday visa ( up to 1 year) that permits work. You do not need to show proof of planned employment on application but you DO have to show proof of a return ticked home or sufficient funds to purchase one (currently about £2000 for British applicants). It permits you to work in Japan if you are under 30 and the work is ~incidental~ to the holiday. This means you should not have pre-arranged work before you depart and work is not the sole purpose of your trip. It is not renewable.

A work visa is anything from 1 year to 5 (or more?), permits any hours of work for any age of person, but requires proof of employment before departure.

For full, up-to-date details check the Japanese embassy website.


All on the embassy website. The working holiday visa is a special dispensation Japan gives to certain countries in limited amounts per annum, hence why only 805 were issued.

No idea, sorry.

So that's all the bad news; some other possibilities to consider:

1) wait until all 3 of you are 18 and get working holiday visas. This could make life much easier for you, even if it doesn't solve all your problems. Try and think of things you could do other than English teaching too; Japan isn't Africa, they're not struggling to find teachers.

2) Go out on a tourist visa (which is about your 3 months anyway) and WWOOF (look it up). You won't earn money, but you can substantially cut your costs with the fact that wwoof placements provide free accommodation and usually some of your meals in exchange for work. They aren't all stuck out in rural places, and it would be a really good way to see more of Japan than just Tokyo, which while interesting, isn't anything like the majority of the country. Downside is finding consistent placements for 3 people.

3) Go somewhere else; the rest of SE Asia is pretty awesome too and much more accommodating for backpackers. You needn't get stuck in the tourist places either, if you plan. Hop to Japan, do a week or two for the sights and then go elsewhere. I sailed from Japan to China and from there was able to work overland to Singapore; it's easily do-able and cheaper than flying. I budgeted around £2000 for just over 4 months including transport and that was ample.

You seem intelligent enough to probably have figured out the number one rule (that is posted everywhere in this forum as well as any site that deals with teaching english in Japan), and that is you MUST HAVE a 4 year university degree to legally work in Japan. That is, if you don't go the other routes such as marriage.

I am sure other veterans here will have more info on the other stuff, but, again, "legally", what you're asking is probably not the best route. If you don't mind the risk though, I am sure there are opportunities out there for you.

Columbine, are you saying there are schools that will hire 18 years olds with no university degrees for three months to teach English, when there are thousands of college graduates who want those jobs and will sign long-term contracts?

Columbine, even in China we will ask for at least a bachelor in language and/or teaching. I know, cause I know people who have taught french and english there.

I didn't say it explicitly in so many words, but no, I'm not. Not schools anyway.

However, I did know exchange students in Japan who had no qualifications, no degree (yet) and no experience who picked up english teaching work via mysensei and just through introduction to language clubs in the local area for a few months. Paid work. It's not the traditional route, it's not easy, in some cases it's not legal and it's not likely for someone on a tourist visa...but it's not impossible either.

You wish! I personally know people who have taught in China without actually having degrees. Albeit they were studying at University, but this was not through a university exchange and their degrees were in everything BUT language and/or teaching (psychology, maths, law and even ~physiotherapy~ that I can recall). They just signed up to some summer teaching program and rolled right on in there.

really wow? so there is hope for me if I wish to teach french or english in China even if i'm studying business... great! :) You've given me hope.

Like I said, it's nothing like a permanent working position and I don't know if it applies outside of Britain, but you can definitely fund yourself for a few months traveling with it.

I know, and I wasn't directing the question necessarily to you as much as to the OP. Indeed, it probably isn't hard for a student to pick up some tutoring work for an handful of hours a week, but that's pocket money, and not rent.

cxeq just so you know in Australia unlike the US we manage to complete a Bachelor degree in 3 years rather than 4 (I guess we're faster learners! :p ) and our 3 year degree is just as valid in Japan.
We have some seasonal staff at the resort this winter who want to stay on a bit longer in Japan than just the winter and who are only on working holiday visas. They have been looking for positions and from what they tell there appears to be quite a few short term positions being advertised that will accept people with only working holiday visas. Most of them though have complete a degree.
One guy has been offered a job for about 3 months at Y220,000 a month for 29 hours a week teaching english. Not great money but will allow him to stay longer than he otherwise would have.

basically, people who have student visa can do some part-time work as long as they have permission from their school but they are only allowed specific amount of time, so I guess teaching is an easy way for them to earn money.

The OP is not. Not only is he underage, he is on tourist visa and without a degree yet , he can try but with the current competition for english teachers right now in Japan, it's going to be pretty hard.

This always makes me sad. Even though it won't necessarily be real work, the fact that 18 year olds on holiday visas with no teaching experience can still find some kind of work "teaching" under the table or whatever makes me cry on the inside.

Is the 29 hours a week teaching or 29 hours working? I worked 35 hours a week, but only taught about 12.

Just for the record on private teaching.
Before I started my business I was teaching 27 different private lessons a week at 3000y a lesson, most of them in Starbucks or at the student's home.

I lined up my gigs in different cities on different days, Saturday was Sannomiya, for 8 hours, buying a Starbucks drink every 2 hours. Sunday was Osaka in Umeda for 9 hours, same deal at the maru-biru.
The rest of the hours were in the evenings on weekdays, I had no weekday afternoon or morning classes at all.

But I netted about 290000y a month, way more than enough to cover cost of living and have fun. And that's on 27hrs of work, factor in transportation and that's about 35hrs away from home, that and it took me months to set things up nicely.

So, no, no one on a tourist visa would have time to set things up like that. But for the part-time workers and students out there, it's great.

As my answers are a little different than what Columbine has given, I`ll go through the whole thing again. I did a three month gap year stint... So a bit of a different perspective.

My question to you - why only do three months when you only have ONE working holiday visa opportunity? You cannot get a second one later - if you`re going to only go for 3 months, ditch the working holiday idea and go as a tourist. Don`t worry about work. Or - just one of you go for the longer working holiday length and the others stay with / leech off of that one.

You mention it as a gap thing - gap year is a full year, and there are numerous programs out there for gap year travelers. They are usually a year... However, for a three month thing you`re likely to find opportunities as a gap *student*. Not working, but as a sort of pseudo high school student. Classes don`t matter, but you can take part in all the school activities. Schools usually aren`t too eager to take on a gap student for a year, but 2 or 3 months and it can generally be passed off as a learning opportunity for their students.

I just really think that using the precious working holiday visa for a length of time that would easily fit into a regular tourist visa is an incredible waste.

As for language - it doesn`t really matter if you`re just staying in the Tokyo area.

How much does it cost to live where you do now?
Japan is no different in that you can get by on very little, or spend unbelievable amounts. If you`re in the Tokyo area though, the bottom is going to be quite a bit higher than in other places.

Just travel on a tourist visa and don`t work. Really, that`s the only option in his case. And... As I said above, all of you should really just go on tourist visas and not waste the working holiday on such a short stay. If you cannot afford to survive for 3 months, then chances are you probably won`t be able to get the working holiday visa anyway... Not to mention that there is no guarantee that you`d be able to get enough work during the stay to support yourselves.

In general, if you have a visa that allows you to work... They don`t really care about qualifications. In your case, the biggest neck is the length of your stay. That combined with no experience or qualifications is going to make things pretty tough. For a working holiday visa holder who is staying the full year, it makes sense for a school to snatch them up... After all, they don`t have to worry about securing a visa, don`t have to sponsor anything, aren`t held responsible for you, and don`t need to make sure you have a minimum number of hours a month. But when it is three months, not only will they have to train you, but they`ll have to do it again for someone else when you leave. And you`ll be leaving soon after you are finally decent at it.

Not bad if you have a visa and are going to be in Japan for a year.

Possible - yes. Realistic - not really. You will need to be a full time student at a language school. That means full day schooling in most cases. Working is at the discretion of the school. They can allow you to work up to 18 or 20 hours a week (I forget the exact number of hours). But only if they think you`ll be able to balance it with the true reason you`re in Japan - study. Some schools are very permissive and you can file for work permission right away. Some will only grant it after you keep high grades. Some don`t at all.
Either way - if you`re in school most of the day, finding the time to work is likely going to be difficult. And even if you do pull it off... What is the point? Head to school in the morning, straight to work after school, then home to sleep for another day. Little reason to be in Japan at all.

I wouldn`t think so unless you`re a more lengthy visa holder. At least in the teaching category. If you wouldn`t mind working on a factory line or something of that sort, then I am sure they can find something around the minimum wage line for you.

On a tourist visa - I wouldn`t think so as long as there is no violation of the visa going on. (ie. Working, overstaying, etc.) On a working holiday visa - I don`t think it would be a good idea.

Do you have a plan for sightseeing?
Do you plan to live in one location, work, and then leave?
If your main intent is to live in Tokyo and work to support yourself - then I doubt that is a "holiday" as much as "work". If you plan to travel around Japan and supplement your in-hand money from working... That is primarily a holiday.

Well below the minimum wage set for teachers with proper visas on lengthier contracts. (Usually around 250,000/month.) I`d guess around the 2000/hr mark, and chances are you`d only be able to pull off part time with that kind of short stay.

I am definitely going to side with the opinion that you should wait a bit, then come on working holiday visas for a whole year. There are plenty of places that would be more than willing to hire you on one despite what has been said.

Not Columbine, but I am going to come straight out and say yes. A very clear yes.
Hiring a teacher who is on a working holiday visa is INCREDIBLY easy for a school. They have NO responsibility. There is no paperwork they have to do, there is no minimum number of hours they need to have the teacher work for, there are no ties at all.
There are quite a few schools out there that heavily favor working holiday visa holders for these reasons.

This is always nice to hear and very motivating for people like him and me. I think most people on here, don't really know what a Working-Holiday-Visum actually is because only very few countries can actually get it.

The only thing wich nobody is really asking on here is, how do you actually apply for a teaching job? Do you just walk into these schools and go straight into the office and ask for an Interview with the director? :D
or do you apply online, or over phone?

Wish somebody could answer me these questions :)

remember, applying with the Working-Holiday-Visum^^

I thought it was because we don't waste a year at the start to do general studies and go straight into our "major"? But then again, doing an extra honours year is not uncommon nowadays anyway.

Look for a school in the area you live in, look and see if they have a hiring page up... And if they do contact them.

I can`t really imagine them just randomly hiring you if you walk in off the street.

Either way though - if it`s a three month thing like the OP is talking about, I highly doubt anyone will bother with hiring... No matter how easy it is to hire working holiday visa holders.

Why is that? I thought they would welcome you with open hands after your last post?? What about 6 months instead?

Also if you could tell me this.. wich area in Tokyo do you believe would be the best too look out for a teaching job? Or are schools everywhere?

Because who wants to spend the time and resources hiring someone who is going home in 90 days?

And the best place to look for a school in Tokyo to teach at is "outside of Tokyo".

Oh thats good to know!

Well, she said that they Love to hire people with a Working Holiday Visum because it would be so easy for them to do so. But like the Working Holiday Visum already says, it's not only a Woking Visum. It's more desinged to fiance your stay too keep on traveling. So to be longer than 3 months in a contract situation with a school, is already quite some time.

And because people said it was so easy to hire somebody with a WHV.. so why do they make it that complicated then?

But anyway, what about 6 months instead?

6 months is better than 3. 12 is better than 6. We don't have WHV in the US, so I am not so familiar. If Nyororin says it is true, I'd believe her.

And it's not complicated, it is just 90% of foreigners wanting to teach English in Japan only consider Tokyo.

Next time don't multilink to your blog which links to an article. Just post the link to the article, please.

2011 Guide to Visa and Immigration in Japan

MMM pretty much answered this... But I`ll add so that I can sort of give more flesh to what I originally said.

Schools aren`t quite like fast food joints. They don`t want just ANYONE to work there for ANY period of time.

When choosing a teacher for a position, they will often happily choose the working-holiday visa holder over someone who requires a work visa when they are competing for the same position.
This is because of what I wrote earlier - the school doesn`t have to go through the pain of getting them a visa, they don`t have to be responsible for them, etc.... Not to mention that having the working holiday visa means that they are already in Japan and on site.

But note that I said when competing for the same position.

A work visa is something that starts at a year. If a school needs someone for a year, 10 or 11 months on a working holiday visa is an alright compromise. The advantages outweigh the month or two earlier that they`d need to find a replacement. No school is going to consider hiring someone on a work visa for a year if they only need them for 3 months.
If they are looking for someone for that short of a period, a working holiday visa holder will NOT be competing with the pain of getting a work visa. They`ll be competing with other people who already have some valid means of being in Japan - in other words, everyone will be on the same footing in terms of company responsibility. In this scenario, the working holiday visa can actually be at a disadvantage. Long term residents (whether PR visa or spouse) may be available for a longer term if needed. Those who already have a work visa but who are looking for something short term for extra cash already have experience under their belts... If you take the "we don`t need to get them a visa, they`re already in Japan, and we won`t need to be responsible for them!" out of the equation - where is the advantage?

I know of several schools that do their best to only hire working holiday visa holders. But it is for long term positions. 9 to 12 months sort of thing. Finding ANY school in need of an "up to 3 months" teacher itself is going to be pretty close to impossible - working holiday visa or not isn`t going to make a bit of difference.

I agree with you, it's weird that everyone (including myself) wants to start in Tokyo for what ever reason it might be.. but for me actually this is really not important at all. Osaka for example would be just as good if not much better like you mentioned!

It's a decision I have to make based on people like you, who have the experience and knowledge for what is better. Because then I would book my Plainticket directly to Osaka.

Oh ok, I now understand what you meant by that! However, do you always need to sign a contract? But even in a contract situation, you could always leave right?
Because that would mean that I could always tell them that I am available for the entire year.. not only 3-6 months. Nobody could force me to stay there any longer and nobody would even know that I lied in the first place.
Does this make the WHV superior again??

Also if you could give me your opinion as well, would you also recommend me to ignore Tokyo right away for a teaching job? And look out in a different city like Osaka for example?

A lot of places will want you to sign a contract of some sort. It all really just depends.

No, it does not.
Do you really think that places who regularly hire WHV holders wouldn`t think of this? They will definitely confirm your passport (for visa status) and in the schools I know of, they require you to live in their housing and show proof of departure date.

If you`ve heard of it, choose somewhere else.

I am fascinated by how many people can consider and engage in this kind of bait and switch with no consideration to the money, time and energy a school goes into the hiring process, and more importantly, what happens when your students show up to class and you are on a plane home.

As Nyororin said, this happens often enough that employers are very careful in their hiring.

And people wonder why some landlords don't like renting to foreigners.

If I heard of it? What do you mean by that?
Could you tell me wich city you would prefer to look out for a teaching job? Or would you even recommend me something smaller?

I just would like to get your opinion!

So what are exactly the conseguences for me then? You can't tell me they would boot me out of Japan for staying a little shorter.

I Love Japan and the lovely people who live overthere and it would really hurt me too to do this and just leave earlier. But I Love Japan that much, that I would like too see some more from this country and don't spend my entire WHV in a big city like Osaka or Tokyo. It's really not worth it!

It would really pain me to do something like this, to the Japanese people.. but if I have no other choice, what should I do. And I don't want to work somewhere else and do a different job. It's one of my biggest dreams to work as an English teacher in a country like Japan.

Also I really don't think you correctly understand the meaning of the Working Holiday Visum. It's really not at all designed too work! It's only there too support yourself so that you are able keep on traveling. Cause the Holiday in WHV should always stand out the most and goes for the Japanese as for the traveler. Everybody who deals with the WHV knows this and also the teachers in Japan must know this.

Also like Nyororin mentioned a couple posts back.. they love o hire people with a WHV because it just makes things much easier for everybody. Because of that I am going to assume, that most likely 90% of them if not more only work a short period of time.. cause otherwise it wouldn't be a WHV anymore.

Also, would you recommend me Osaka more? Or perhaps even a much smaller city??

I mean just what I said.
There are a number of well known cities in Japan. 90% of the people who want to teach English in Japan tries to move to these cities.
However, there are a lot more other cities in Japan, full of people and opportunities... but because no one has heard of them, or they aren`t the "cool" places to go in Japan - almost no one tries to move to or work in most of them.

So basically, if you`ve never heard of it and it`s a decent sized city - you`ll find far more opportunities with less competition there.

Then don`t. No one is going to force you to do so.

If it is your dream to work as an English teacher, then go through the normal routes to become a teacher - not a WHV.

Once you have the WHV in hand, what you do with it is really your own business. It is easier for a school to hire someone who is on the WHV for a year than get a working visa for someone. It`s not the school`s business to plan your holiday.
Most of the people working on the WHV that I have had contact with were working for 9+ months, and doing "tourism" on their days off and after their work term ended.

You are talking about blatantly lying and deceiving a school. No matter what your visa is, if you tell them you are available for a year of work then run off - you have deceived them.
If you only want to work in little bouts here and there... LOOK FOR LITTLE JOBS HERE AND THERE. You will have considerably fewer opportunities when compared to looking for longer positions, and the WHV won`t provide an advantage, but at least be honest.

Nowhere have I even so much as implied that a WHV gives an advantage when looking for very short term positions. I have only said that it is an advantage when you are competing for a LONG TERM position. It won`t give you an advantage for a short term position. That`s life - deal with it. Don`t go lying for your own personal satisfaction. It`s incredibly childish, selfish, and flat out disgusting.

When I visit Japan next year, I just finished my A-Level here in Germany. I won't have a degree, but I am actually not planning on staying for more than a year anyway. I also want to visit Korea for 3 months too.

Really, the WHV is the best thing out there and for me! It's like a gift from somewhere else.. I can't really describe how happy I am that Germany and Japan have such an agreement with each other. :)

But again honestly, do you really believe that 6 months is a short time for a school to hire somebody on a WHV?? I could even work for 8 months if I have too. But the rest I need to travel around the country! We are not talking about 3 months here.. 6 months is half a year already, if this is not a lot of time what is?

Well, if that is life.. then I don't have another option other then telling them that I am available for the entire year, do I?

The great thing about working and traveling in Japan is that it doesn't take that much time to get from one place to another. I lived in Hyogo-ken, but often went to places like Nagoya, Tokyo, Kyushu, The Japan Sea, etc. for weekend trips. I was lucky to have a schedule where I worked in the evenings on Monday, so I could take off to, say Hiroshima on Friday afternoon and get there in time for dinner, then spend three nights have lunch in Hiroshima and be back in time for work on Monday. Especially if you want to work part time, you should have no problem seeing the country without constantly being on the move. I lived near Osaka, but was less than an hour from some gorgeous hiking areas and small towns with populations of only a couple hundred people.

I think you see my point.

If you want to travel Japan and do small jobs here and there, then more power to you. I am just saying, as one non-Japanese to another, don't be lie and deceive your employers, because that makes it that much harder for the next guy.

Nyororin's addressed what she said, if you want to work short stints and focus on the holiday, that's great. Don't lie about it.

Personally I like Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara) area more than Tokyo. I think Kansai has more variety, more flavor, and more charm. All of these cities have their own distinct personalities, and are within about an hour or less of each other. But I also like Fukuoka, Yokohama, and Nagoya a lot as well, so I can't really tell you what you would like without knowing you.

Emphatically, yes, 6 months is a short contract. 3 months is ridiculously short. You have to stop thinking of it in terms of years and visas, and look at it from the point of view of the school. 3 months is barely a single school term, but curriculums or courses may cover a whole year. Depending on the time of year, terms might also be very connected in terms of work done (if holidays are short). It's highly disruptive to have a class change teachers each term; especially unexperienced ones as it takes time for the teaching to settle in and become anywhere near effective. It's way too much effort as well. When you're looking at teaching and working with schools, even a year can seem a short time.

Telling lies about your availability and bumming out on a contract deal is exactly why foreigners get a bad rap in japan over issues like this, why apartment landlords often ban foreigners and why employers become harsher. You DO have other options, you're just being too selfish to consider them.

I'd like to thank you all emphatically for your responses and while I can't detail and haven't even made my decisions yet as I am going through my half-yearly tests at the moment; I would like to promise a write-up on what I'm taking from your input.

All I can say now is I know that you've all had a definite impact on my life and future :)

Thank you.