Thinking of a career change, am in my late 30's, born and raised on the East Coast of the U.S. and have a M.A. degree in Counseling. Will these demographics be in demand as an English teacher in Japan? Any information you could provide me would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
2007-02-06 06:26:11 · 4 answers · asked by Resurrected 2 in Travel ➔ Asia Pacific ➔ Japan
No, your not too old. That's bogus.
You must have a sponsored visa from an English school there, be it from a cooperate or private school (or in my case if one of your parents are a native - child of a native/spousal visa).
They want to see that you went to a college/University for 4 years - regardless of what you've mastered in.
When you do get your visa and self situated - then you are free to check out other potential employers - private owned schools can pay you up $30-$40 an hour ( In The big cities or country-sides), whereas the big cooperate owned schools like Nova will pay you a mere $12 an hour.
2007-02-06 14:07:40 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only potential negative I see is your age. You're certainly not old but many companies in Japan who hire English teachers are looking for folks in their 20s. Since you're talking about a long-term commitment (career change vs. one year of teaching and then returning home), and since you hold a master's degree, you might be very much in demand.
A quick online search should yield lots of companies who hire English teachers. I imagine an inquiry to a few of them would get you the most accurate information.
One other thought. Most of the ones I've investigated are looking for people who already live in Japan. However, we are nearing the end of the Japanese school year so there might be openings coming up.
2007-02-06 19:06:59 · answer #2 · answered by Rich 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As Rich mentioned the drawback is your age. I applied to NOVA years ago and was turned down even though I had a masters degree in education, spoke rudimentary Japanese, had 10 years teaching experience but was 43 years old. I subsequently got a job, by a fluke, with a private school in the mountains that was set up for troubled kids. I taught there for nearly 6 years and it was the best experience of my life, apart from being isolated.
You might want to look at corporate teaching. Look for schools that are not so wrapped up in conversation classes for kids and housewives but are looking for meeting skills, presentation skills and the like.
Gambatte, kudasai!
2007-02-06 21:25:11 · answer #3 · answered by iwasnotanazipolka 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the last i checked which were many many moons ago, you must hold a tesol paper or have any qualification in teaching english and english must be your native tongue
2007-02-06 15:37:34 · answer #4 · answered by zirconiag 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋