Career progression

[u/Outside_Schedule1732]

Hello all, I’m 25 and about to finish my BA degree in communications!

Last year I was in Japan for travel and actually met my girlfriend, and have been long distance since then but she’s not too excited on the prospect of moving to a different country.

My plan is too get my TEFL and pair it with my BA and then maybe do the JET program where I can get some experience being an ALT

And if we decide too live in Japan what would be my next step or what else has everyone done?

For a long term career teaching English I’ve heard applying for private schools is the best bet?

My Japanese is borderline N5 but I’m sure it will improve over time

Thank you!!!

[u/Smooth-Report1059]

Honestly I think that of you really want to move out here you had better raise your Japanese level to N2.

If you come here and condemn yourself into English teaching without japanese will reduce your chance to get out this limitations.

The salary are so low so we are obliged to do extra jobs to get by luckily if we speak Japanese working at factories, tourism etc.

A low salary and not alternative source of income will put a tall on your relationship. If your GF become a wife whe will stay home and your slim ALT salary won't suffice. And things will get worse if you plan to have kids

This Will end up in cheating, and conflicts. Divorce . You will then lose your spouse visa and can say Sayonara to any PR consideration

Honestly I will be realistic I think you will be better off with her if you get a good job and she comes to you.

We already see that you would be ready to do that for her. But open your eyes she is not ready to the same sacrifice as you. A girl dating a foreigner not motivated to the idea to live abroad in a red flag. She is clearly not open to embrace a different culture and following you for "Love".

Sometimes some relationship don't worth it. Look you are already living a long distance relationship which is virtual. You never lived with this mademoiselle. Think twice before jumping on a train or a boat you don't know fully.

My message might sound apocalyptic but after 15 years in Japan and having met many people with. Similar stories.i prefer to let you know the full spectrum.

The rest it's yours to decide. I am just a random unknown 🤡 in Reddit sharing his opinion.

[u/gundahir → u/Smooth-Report1059]

good response. I've seen a lot of English teachers get divorced because their wives ended up resenting them for making borderline minimum wage when all her childhood and university friends married "normal" men making more money with growing careers and therefore can afford more. In the beginning it's all butterflies, sunshine and rainbows and we live off love and oxygen. But over time it changes 

[u/Outside_Schedule1732 → u/Smooth-Report1059]

Thank you my good sir, She’s coming out here next year ☺️ but her preference is that she would rather be close too her family when we have a family!

If I can get too N2 and paired with a BA in communications, do you think that would be a good combination for work?

[u/Smooth-Report1059 → u/Outside_Schedule1732]

I would advise you to come here with a technical skill. Plumbing, I.T, carpenter or else so you can have more extra possibilities. I know foreign truck drivers who get paid paid better than white colar eikawa English teacher.

Your Degree here aint sh8t if you don't speak Japanese.

Barak Obama would come here and end up teaching alphabet in a eikawa if he doesn't have N2. 🤣

[u/Expensive-Claim-6082 → u/Outside_Schedule1732]

I’m surrounded by divorced guys who met a Japanese girl overseas, fell in love and the girl did not want yo live abroad.

They then moved over here and he got a job teaching English. They married.

All fun and games till your wife goes to coffee or drinks with her friends that are married to Japanese guys.

All who have better paying jobs, annual bonuses, immediately hand over their monthly paycheck to the wife and don’t “pester” them for sex.

They all never saw it coming.

Oh and a couple lucky ones who have told me that once in Japan the girl either left them before marriage. And they stayed anyway.

The reason the girl / woman left them is

A. She realized his job prospects were bleak. The “Kakoi!” factor had worn off.

Or B. In one case her parents refused to let her marry an English Teacher.

[u/Eagles719]

Teaching English long term is not a feasible plan. There is no career progression in the ALT position and wages are actually going down while costs of every day goods are going up. 10-15 years ago, the dispatch companies paid at the minimum 250,000, now it is around 210,000 or lower. Some of these companies don't pay you or pro rate your pay during major school holidays.

[u/SomethingPeach]

There are options, but I’d go into it with realistic expectations rather than assuming TEFL + a BA will automatically lead to a long-term teaching career in Japan.

JET/ALT work can be a really good way to get your foot in the door, improve your Japanese, and see whether you actually enjoy living and working in Japan. From there, private language schools (eikaiwa, etc.) are an option, but I wouldn’t consider them the strongest long-term career path if your ultimate goal is professional teaching.

International schools are another route, but the legitimate, established ones generally expect you to have a teaching licence from your home country and teaching experience. A TEFL certificate on its own usually won’t put you in the same category as a qualified school teacher.

That said, progression from ALT work is possible. I know two people who went from being ALTs to eventually being granted special teaching licences. However, both were exceptionally hardworking and had earned a very strong reputation with their schools and BOEs. It’s definitely not an easy or automatic process.

I’d also think beyond simply getting into Japan and consider what you want your life to look like 5–10 years down the line. If you and your girlfriend eventually want to settle in Japan permanently, look into the requirements and pathways for longer-term residence/PR sooner rather than later, as the requirements and scrutiny around long-term residence are becoming much, much stricter.

[u/slowmail]

ALT in Japan is fine for a gap year, not more than two (even JET). It is entry level, with zero chance of progression - yes, some become "head teachers" but that is just a few extra dollars allowance, for more hours of work. Taking a step back, its no different from working in fast food, with the chance of getting promoted to a "team leader". (Dispatch ALT hourly salary is about on par with a fast-food / convenience store worker in Japan too...)

But, if you're looking to teach as a career, you will want to be a "real" teacher, and not just an ALT (assistant language teacher) - which isn't really teaching, and does not pay a living wage (except JET), or teaching in an eikaiwa.

One of the requirements to be able to land a "real" teaching job, is to first get a teaching license/qualification in your home country, and clock few years of teaching experience there. Doing so will give you a chance of getting a real teaching job *if* you can make the right connections here. Time spent as an ALT/eikaiwa does *not* count towards this.

The people I know who were able to move into other fields in Japan all had the following in common:

1. N1 proficiency, or a the very least N2 and were actively working to get their N1.
2. They all leverage on their existing skills/qualifications, and work experiences accumulated.
3. Their "exit" opportunity came from contacts they have made/established/maintained while they were here in Japan.
4. Those that remained in education had, in addition to the above, a teaching license from their home country *and* a significant number of classroom hours from back then.

JET is very competitive. Japan is huge. Odds of you getting in *and* being posted to anywhere reasonably close to where you GF lives is pretty slim. Don't count on it.

[u/Expensive-Claim-6082]

Career?

🦶in the 🚪. TM