I would like to live and work in Japan teaching English. Is it possible to do this for the rest of my life?

Question

I am an American, but I do not want to stay in the U.S. I love Japan and everything about it....the people, the food, the culture, the technology, etc. I want to live and work in Japan, but I do not know of any other way to do this besides teaching English (I know very little Japanese).
I am a native English speaker, and I have a Bachelor's degree from a four-year University.
So I have the minimum requirements to teach English in Japan.
I would like to hear from people who have been teaching English in Japan for a long time. I know you have to renew your contract with a school every year to two years. Is it possible to teach English at different schools in Japan for 40 years? How much can you get paid for teaching English after, say, 10 years? 20 years? 30?
And what about the Health and Retirement Benefits? Can you stay in Japan for the rest of your life?

Answer 1

Sure you can. I'm doing it. I have been here in Japan for over 15 years. I have set my roots down deep and I have no plans to leave.

First of all, let's talk about your degree. Basically if you have a BA degree you can find work. It would be a lot better for you if your degree were in English, education, linguistics, or TESL/TESOL, etc. I have a friend who has an engineering degree and is here only because he got married to a Japanese girl. He hasn't had full-time work for about 10 years. He is doing the part-time thing, which is working at 10 different schools during the week. An hour here, and hour there. He is making a lot of money, but his schedule is killing him. One reason is that his degree doesn't support teaching English even though he is a native speaker.

Your lack of Japanese abilities is not a problem. It would help, but it is not a big deal.

Full-time jobs are at a premium in Japan, so basically the idea of working at different schools is not really plausible. If you are looking at private English schools, you could do it, but not at public institutions or institutions of higher learning.

As far as salary, you could start at 200,000 a month, then go as high as 500,000 a month in time. When I did the part time thing (for one and a half years) I was making around 350,000 a month but with potential for a lot more but the schedule would have been too hectic.

If you work full-time, you can get full benefits, and they are great. If not, you will have to purchase health insurance from the government, but the percentages are a lot higher than the company insurance. Retirement only comes from full-time positions and the benefits are compiled yearly. So the longer you work full-time, the more you get when you retire.

Bottom line, you can work and live forever in Japan. But where you work will play a large part in your quality of life.

It was easy for me because I had a PhD in Linguistics, and I am married to a Japanese national. I also paid my dues working the hard life path for 5 years.

Contact me if you have anymore specific questions.

Answer 2

Definitely possible, but have you been before?

As you can see some people love and some hate it. I loved working and teaching English in Japan. I met my partner there and now I'm studying so I can go back for life.

I'd give it a trial run first, 6 to 12 months, you will have ups and downs, once you get through those you'll have a more honest idea of how you feel about the country. Also consider are you a country or city person. I love Tokyo but only for about 2 or 3 days at a time, if I moved there I would begin to hate my life because I like the country better. Consider this when choosing a location.

Research your school before joining. Nova is set up so you work just under the hours required to enter the super scheme, this will leave you nothing to retire on. Geos seems to be more interested in long term teachers, training and promotion. I had no problems with Nova but I knew it was short term (18 months). I found most people that had gripes with Nova had never worked before and were fresh out of uni. If you have some life experience and work experience you'll see it's not so bad. The pay was more than enough to survive on.

If you study Japanese there (most town halls have free lessons) and do the JLPT test every year, you may be able to move across into a Japanese company once your level is around 2. there are 4 levels with 4 being the lowest.

Give it a try, steer clear of the negative people, get out and experience it and form your own opinion.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Yes, it IS possible. Don't listen to people who say it is not. There are not enough native English speakers in Japan right now, so some companies are starting to hire fluent non-native speakers. Anyway, look on the internet for a company called "Altia Central." They are a great company that will hire non-native speakers, as long as they are well-educated and can speak English fluently. You will either have to take an interview in Japan or in Canada, America, or Australia, though. You also might want to try a company called "Interact." Sometimes they hire non-native speakers of English, although they definately prefer native speakers. You can definately live in Japan for the rest of your life. It's a great place to live. However, as an English teacher, your salary won't go up very much during that time, and the benefits are not so good. However, you could try to eventually work at a college or university, which would provide you with good benefits. You will need to speak (and write!) Japanese well at that point, however Good luck! (I recommend Hiroshima, Shizuoka, Kobe, or Nagoya)

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
I would like to live and work in Japan teaching English. Is it possible to do this for the rest of my life?
I am an American, but I do not want to stay in the U.S. I love Japan and everything about it....the people, the food, the culture, the technology, etc. I want to live and work in Japan, but I do not know of any other way to do this besides teaching English (I know very little Japanese).
I...

Answer 5

First of all I have to say you can come to Japan to teach and dont have to go through the esl/Jet program. And if you do, you can get a three year visa, your job description is international specialist in human relations. Anyway, depending on your boss, you can renew every 3 years. If you marry a Japanese you can get a permanent spouse visa and dont have to get it renewed. Also, it is very helpful to have a certificate in ESL (English as second language) before you go, at least it makes you more marketable... Retirement in Japan is interesting. Usually, it applies to Japanese only- or it is rare to have a job that will give you retirement benefits as a foreigner. One tip I would give is to have a contract before you go and always keep it with you, make sure you spell out when you are working, holidays, time off all that stuff- if you do it right, you can really benefit in Japan.

Answer 6

i don't see any reason why not. i'm sure you can keep renewing your visa or apply for citizenship. i was living in Japan teaching for two years. i knew native north americans like yourself who had been there for ten plus years and had no plans to leave. one american i know over there is married to a a japanese girl and they have a child. it is quite possible to work in one school for a year or so then change. you can teach at language schools, secondary schools, colleges etc. There are many possibilities. Also, if you go to a big city and make the right contacts it is possible to change career. However, without citixenship you would need your employer to sponsor your VISA. I don't know much about the health and retirement benefits but i am pretty sure they would be good. Japan is a country run in a very good way. It wuld also depend on what type of company you are working for. I was working for a japanese company which was great. Be prepared for hard work but you will be rewarded if you work for a J company. Foreign companies may take advantage a bit.

Have you been to Japan before? I wouldn't go planning the rest of your life there if not. Don't go thinking that you can never leave. take it as it comes. it doesn't suit everyone. also, do you really want to teach? or are you just using teaching to get you to Japan?

I didn't want to teach, just wanted to go to japan, now i love teaching!!

Answer 7

It is certainly possible to teach for the rest of your life. Since you have a Bachelor's degree, you'll have no problem getting a job. You have to renew a contract every year. It is certainly possible to teach in Japan for 40 years. If you meet a wife in Japan, life will be a lot easier for you. I've been here for 2 years but couldn't imagine staying forever. Good luck.

Answer 8

Oh, boy. I could bend your ear about this one for hours on end.

I taught in Japan for ten years. You're right about the renewal every two years, but this changed in 2000 so that those in Japan over 10 years could renew every five years. I was one of the lucky first ones to receive this new visa.

Anyway, it's entirely possible to spend your working life in Japan, but the pay doesn't necessarily increase as you go along. When I left, 250,000 yen a month was standard starting pay for most ESL teachers.

To retire in Japan is a special problem; most companies are reluctant to set you up with a retirement program. And, citizenship (the last I heard) takes up to 20 years, and requires proof of great proficiency in Japanese.

My advice to you would be, go, and make as much as you can, being careful to save as much money as possible. You can always make decisions about where to retire later on.

But, be aware of this: no matter how many years of teaching you do in Japan, unless you have a degree in teaching, and obtain a teaching certificate in a U.S. state, switching from teaching in Japan to teaching in the U.S. could be nearly impossible.

I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 9

interesting that you like it so much. I live here now and the people are so shy and quiet it's hard for me to embrace the culture.
i would say get a teaching credential so you won't make so little. if you can work at an international school instead, teaching regular subjects, you will make alot more. your salary as an english teacher won't go up as much as if you were a teacher in an international school. for info on teaching abroad, check out www.joyjobs.com
your benefits will be better and because the school handles your visa, etc. you can stay for the rest of your life. there are many teachers at our school that have worked here for 30 years or so.
check out:
Tokyo International School
Seisen and St Marys International School
American School in Japan
Sacred Heart
Yokohama International School
Canadian Academy in Kobe
the salaries and benefits are good...much better than teaching english.
Good luck!

Answer 10

After about 6 months you will be sick of teaching English. You'll spend every Monday morning of your life asking Mr. Suzuki, "What did you do on the weekend?" And Mr. Suzuki will invariably reply, "I wash my car."

Basically; the schools want people under 35, because who wants an old guy for a teacher? So you would be good for about ten years, then you'll just be a joke that the school wants to be rid of-"henna gaijin". There's always fresh meat arriving at Narita who can do the job as well as you can, so why should they bother with offering you a retirement plan? I don't mean to be negative, but that's just how it is.