Whats the best way for an American to find a teaching job in Japan? -

I m an American living in Oregon, who is looking for entry level work in Japan. I have a BA degree (Japanese), but I don t have a work visa. Can anyone recommend some good sources?

All you need is a BA. Some big name schools are NOVA, Aeon, and Berlitz. http://www.eslcafe.com/ http://www.gaijinpot.com/ When you have a job, the company that hires you will help you with your visa. Good luck.

Since you are well conversed in English and Japanese, it wont be a problem for you to work in Japan. My suggestion is for you to start teaching English there and then find out what other jobs that might suit you the most

Try www.gaijinpot.com They will have many job listings. With most teaching jobs there you will need a BS / BA degree. Average pay is something like 250,000 yen a month. About $2,000. Not really high. Some schools might help with a place to live. I ve heard bad things about the big schools like Nova and Aeon. Not sure if they re true or not. May just be a matter of opinion. Just be very careful what contracts you sign. I love Japanese culture myself. I d be there right now if I could. Good luck.

A BA isnt good enough, You need a masters. Good luck.

I was a former teacher in Tokyo. Get your Masters. If you have just a BA, you will end up working at an English Conversation School where they will work you to death. If you teach at a real school, you will get a nice schedule, a nice salary, and a better work atmosphere.

Maybe find someone else that has done it and ask them how. Good Luck to you!

Some options are: The JET (Japan Exchange Teaching) program Private language school chains such as Geos, Aeon, Berlitz, Nova, ECC, Interac -- people have positive or negative experiences with these outfits, often depending on what branch they end up in. But they sponsor your visa and are thus an easy way to get into the country -- then you can get another job (with same visa) if need be. .

It is not true you need a Masters to teach English in Japan. In fact, some bad schools will hire just about anyone who is quot;nativequot; or looks like quot;native Englishquot; which usually means quot;whitequot;. You could try to apply long distance to some of the schools but I recommend just come on a tourist visa. Stay for a couple of weeks and check out Tokyo or Nagoya or Osaka or whatever area you might like. Buy a JR rail pass and travel around a bit. When you are in a city you think might be interesting just go into a few English schools and talk to the teachers, and apply. The teachers will give you the best insight, better than anyone else about the pros and cons. Different schools will have different systems, with different pay, different benefits and of course they must/will sponsor you for a work visa. Face-to-face and here in Japan will get you the job offer. But please think about this choice. Why do you want to come? Please don t come expecting to get rich!