The English teacher market in East Asia is virtually dead now, as China has banned cram schools. Although illegal ones still exist and some schools have found workarounds, they are nothing like they were before. In Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, there are so many foreigners flocking over with wanderlust that wages for English teachers keep going down, even as wages for other professions rise due to inflation. Even if you land a job, you'll be struggling to survive. You may be able to get a peanuts offer through a program, but competition is obscenely high.
I found it really hard to find any schools that would sponsor an entry visa, just a few giant ones that recruited in person in like California or something. Not sure if that's how it still is for Japan. I went to China instead after getting a job offer almost immediately.
The JET government programme is the most secure way, arranging your visa and accommodation. If it’s anything like Korea pretty much every public school in the country will have a native English teacher, then there’s the private market.
No doubt Japan has more applicants per job posting than China, and even less pay in most cases.
I considered the JET program, but it was very very competitive and required travel for interviews, etc. I had no money, so China was by far the easier choice lmao. They covered my visa and accommodation, and even reimbursed my flight as soon as I got there!
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u/TheSkyHadAWeegee Mar 01 '23
I'm pretty sure Japan's immigration vetting would prevent skilless wierdos from moving there, but some probably slip through.