Japan

[saki]

Ok cool! I hope that he will join CF! It's a great website and I love it!

 

[kala83]

I don't live in Japan yet but I plan to move there after I am through with College to teach young children English....lol but yeah if there are any Japanese people here I would love to meet you as well as I would really like to learn some more Japanese then I know now.

 

[Breetai]

I don't live in Japan yet but I plan to move there after I am through with College to teach young children English....lol but yeah if there are any Japanese people here I would love to meet you as well as I would really like to learn some more Japanese then I know now.

Please carefully do your research before coming. The largest chain English school in Japan just went under, and now 4000 foreigners are out of work.

If you can get into the JET Programme, it might be your best option.

 

[kala83]

Please carefully do your research before coming. The largest chain English school in Japan just went under, and now 4000 foreigners are out of work.

If you can get into the JET Programme, it might be your best option.

Oh trust me I have been researching the topic for nearly two years now...I was thinking of going through JET at first but it would probably not work out for me for several reasons.
1.I think you can only get one 1-year contract to work in the programs and others you can renew your contract and keep working there for as long as you want to. And since I do not plan on coming back to the states I really want to live in Japan and work there. That would just not work for me since I need a steady job while trying to save money to get an apartment or house.
2.JET is wayyy competative and extremely hard to get into even for people that are well qualified for the job. And you might end up doing the interview to into the program several times before you get into it.
3.JET I believe only teaches in Junior High School levels and High School levels and me personally I am not interested in teaching higher public education, especially in Japan. Japanese high schools are far to stressful for students and teachers. So I really want to teach in Elementary schools, so I am looking into a sub program from a program called AEON which is know as Amity ( I wanted to post a link to the site but it is telling I have not posted enough to do so)(it specializes in teaching young children which is the type of education are I want to get into and from what I have read about it so far it seems like a fairly reputable program.)

lol not to mention the fact I have several small novels with the titles of living and working in Japan, or teaching English in Japan in my house that I have been reading over for quite a while I have been trying very hard to do as much research as possible on the subject. I did hear about the incident with I think it was NOVA? But I did not hear all the details as to just what happened to make the whole company go under.

 

[Breetai]

Oh trust me I have been researching the topic for nearly two years now...

Good! You'd be shocked at the number of fresh-off-the-boat people I see here who have no clue...

I was thinking of going through JET at first but it would probably not work out for me for several reasons.
1.I think you can only get one 1-year contract to work in the programs and others you can renew your contract and keep working there for as long as you want to.

You might want to work on your run-on sentences. For JET, the contracts are renewable in many cases. Often the initial contract is 3-years.

And since I do not plan on coming back to the states I really want to live in Japan and work there. That would just not work for me since I need a steady job while trying to save money to get an apartment or house.

Having worked in the JET programme will look a lot better than a lot of other things. Do not discount this. If you really have done your research, you'd know that steady EFL/ESL jobs in Japan are rare. Take what you can get to start with, and work from there. The best jobs are usually available once you're already in the country. The JET programme is a heck of a better way to get your foot in the door than most of the other entry-level jobs.

2.JET is wayyy competative and extremely hard to get into even for people that are well qualified for the job. And you might end up doing the interview to into the program several times before you get into it.

So what? Is that going to stop you from trying?

3.JET I believe only teaches in Junior High School levels and High School levels and me personally I am not interested in teaching higher public education, especially in Japan. Japanese high schools are far to stressful for students and teachers. So I really want to teach in Elementary schools,...

I've taught all three levels. Personally, I prefer high school. The students actually have something to say, the curriculum isn't so strict, at least as far as the foreign teacher is concerned, and for a teacher I found that elementary levels is actually more stressful in almost every aspect.

BTW, the JET programme DOES send teachers to elementary schools.

...so I am looking into a sub program from a program called AEON which is know as Amity ( I wanted to post a link to the site but it is telling I have not posted enough to do so)(it specializes in teaching young children which is the type of education are I want to get into and from what I have read about it so far it seems like a fairly reputable program.)

I'm aware of it. Amity is a sub-company of AEON. They sub-contract teachers out to schools and pocket a large amount of the teacher's wage. Many companies do this. AEON is only one of many. The JET programme does the exact same thing, except that it's a government programme. You see more of the money that you earned, AND many JET teachers have subsidized apartments. Furthermore, a lot of these companies that sub-contract teachers out legally consider than PART-TIME employees. That means that you will see no pension, full health coverage, unemployment insurance, and the like. Trust me here, you will not find a better deal than JET.

lol not to mention the fact I have several small novels with the titles of living and working in Japan, or teaching English in Japan in my house that I have been reading over for quite a while I have been trying very hard to do as much research as possible on the subject.

Good! Still, a small amount of actual experience is worth 1000 books. You can read and read and read, but when you finally get here it's still overwhelming.

I did hear about the incident with I think it was NOVA? But I did not hear all the details as to just what happened to make the whole company go under.

What made it go under shouldn't be the main concern; but the situation for the teachers that resulted.


Seriously, put in the effort and apply to JET. If you don't get in, then you don't get in. But if you do, you are in a better position than most.

Out of curiosity, why do you not plan on moving back home? Do you plan on making a life in Japan? This is a very hard country to settle in, and you will ALWAYS be a foreigner here no matter what both legally and socially. I do really like Japan, but to be honest this is not a good country to grow old in. If you are not deterred, this is my very best advice. If you simply MUST come to Japan when you finish your undergraduate degree, try your best to get into JET. Live and work in Japan for a year or two in order to get a feel for it and some experience in. Then, go back to school and get your degree in education so that you'll be a certified teacher in your home country (USA?). You will then be legally able to work in an international school in Japan, teaching in an English-only environment. These pay decently and will give you full benefits. It is much better than working in a Japanese school.

Have you seen this site before? http://www.debito.org/

 

[sampa]

................ so I am looking into a sub program from a program called AEON which is know as Amity ....... I did hear about the incident with I think it was NOVA? But I did not hear all the details as to just what happened to make the whole company go under.

kala83,
I worked for both JET and AEON. THree years with JET, it was the BEST experience. Yes, it is competitive. And don't discount the children thing, it's been changing and they had pilot programs going on when I as in. I didn't do Amity for AEON though, but as a company AEON is quite good, but the pay isn't as plush as the JET program. Also I missed the local feel and interaction I got with the community, I felt like I was part of Japanese society in a sense while in JET.

Breetai has a lot of good advice, think about some of it. I lived and worked in Japan for 4 years and the stress got to me so bad I had to go back home. I couldn't figure if it was AEON's business type structure or just being in Japan....

....... Often the initial contract is 3-years.
Having worked in the JET programme will look a lot better than a lot of other things. Do not discount this. If you really have done your research, you'd know that steady EFL/ESL jobs in Japan are rare. Take what you can get to start with, and work from there. The best jobs are usually available once you're already in the country. The JET programme is a heck of a better way to get your foot in the door than most of the other entry-level jobs.

....................................
BTW, the JET programme DOES send teachers to elementary schools.

I'm aware of it. Amity is a sub-company of AEON. They sub-contract teachers out to schools and pocket a large amount of the teacher's wage. Many companies do this. AEON is only one of many. The JET programme does the exact same thing, except that it's a government programme. You see more of the money that you earned, AND many JET teachers have subsidized apartments. Furthermore, a lot of these companies that sub-contract teachers out legally consider than PART-TIME employees. That means that you will see no pension, full health coverage, unemployment insurance, and the like. Trust me here, you will not find a better deal than JET.

.............

Seriously, put in the effort and apply to JET. If you don't get in, then you don't get in. But if you do, you are in a better position than most.

..........? This is a very hard country to settle in, and you will ALWAYS be a foreigner here no matter what both legally and socially. I do really like Japan, but to be honest this is not a good country to grow old in. If you are not deterred, this is my very best advice. If you simply MUST come to Japan when you finish your undergraduate degree, try your best to get into JET. Live and work in Japan for a year or two in order to get a feel for it and some experience in. Then, go back to school and get your degree in education so that you'll be a certified teacher in your home country (USA?). You will then be legally able to work in an international school in Japan, teaching in an English-only environment. These pay decently and will give you full benefits. It is much better than working in a Japanese school.

Some very good advice

 

[kala83]

Good! You'd be shocked at the number of fresh-off-the-boat people I see here who have no clue...

You might want to work on your run-on sentences. For JET, the contracts are renewable in many cases. Often the initial contract is 3-years.
Having worked in the JET programme will look a lot better than a lot of other things. Do not discount this. If you really have done your research, you'd know that steady EFL/ESL jobs in Japan are rare. Take what you can get to start with, and work from there. The best jobs are usually available once you're already in the country. The JET programme is a heck of a better way to get your foot in the door than most of the other entry-level jobs.
** I am not trying to argue with you I just want to say first off that I had never heard that ESL jobs where rare in Japan I had always heard they were in high demand and people in countries are constantly looking for people to teach the jobs, even some of the novels I have at my house have mentioned this several times within the first chapters**

So what? Is that going to stop you from trying?
**I never said I would not try to go into JET I was merely saying on my part that I was not going to limit myself to only this program just because its very difficult from what I have heard to even get started there**
I've taught all three levels. Personally, I prefer high school. The students actually have something to say, the curriculum isn't so strict, at least as far as the foreign teacher is concerned, and for a teacher I found that elementary levels is actually more stressful in almost every aspect.
** I personally just don't feel that I have good enough talents to work with older kids in English, also I do not feel as though I would be up to the expectations of the students or faculty when it came down to preparing these kids for entrance exams. I know how stress full high school life is for kids in Japan and am not sure if I would I want to go through that myself weather it was as a teacher or not. But I will this much that I would be willing to give it a try**

BTW, the JET programme DOES send teachers to elementary schools.
**I will admit when I did my research on JET it was at least a year or two ago so if they had changed the program it would not really surprise me to very much**

I'm aware of it. Amity is a sub-company of AEON. They sub-contract teachers out to schools and pocket a large amount of the teacher's wage. Many companies do this. AEON is only one of many. The JET programme does the exact same thing, except that it's a government programme. You see more of the money that you earned, AND many JET teachers have subsidized apartments. Furthermore, a lot of these companies that sub-contract teachers out legally consider than PART-TIME employees. That means that you will see no pension, full health coverage, unemployment insurance, and the like. Trust me here, you will not find a better deal than JET.
** a lot of this information again I had not know about before, but I will honestly admit I was a bit weary when I saw that JET sent out info on the program and AEON and Amity did not send out any further information about their program at all.**

Good! Still, a small amount of actual experience is worth 1000 books. You can read and read and read, but when you finally get here it's still overwhelming.
What made it go under shouldn't be the main concern; but the situation for the teachers that resulted.
**the only reason I asked about why it went under is because yes I do think that is important information to know! especially for someone like me who wants to live and work in Japan. J. If all I know is that the teachers in that program or the program it self did something wrong then that could be anything. I am just saying I wanted to be informed because I heard about it and never got the whole story on the matter. And I think to avoid that same mistake myself its important for me to know the whole story**


Seriously, put in the effort and apply to JET. If you don't get in, then you don't get in. But if you do, you are in a better position than most.

Out of curiosity, why do you not plan on moving back home? Do you plan on making a life in Japan? This is a very hard country to settle in, and you will ALWAYS be a foreigner here no matter what both legally and socially. I do really like Japan, but to be honest this is not a good country to grow old in. If you are not deterred, this is my very best advice. If you simply MUST come to Japan when you finish your undergraduate degree, try your best to get into JET. Live and work in Japan for a year or two in order to get a feel for it and some experience in. Then, go back to school and get your degree in education so that you'll be a certified teacher in your home country (USA?). You will then be legally able to work in an international school in Japan, teaching in an English-only environment. These pay decently and will give you full benefits. It is much better than working in a Japanese school.
**The only reason I even considered not going home was for several reasons.
1.my friends that I already know from Japan told me that teaching especially in the field of English is a very profitable field right now is the country. And from the books I have been reading that seems to be what a lot of the authors are say too!
2. like I said I have lots of friends from there and even though I would yes be a Gijian and always be looked at like that I think through the people I know that care about me I do feel like I could feel at home there. Also my Boyfriend has told me several times that if I do move there that we would be willing to move with me. We went for two weeks when he was in high school and really enjoyed the experience in country and with its people.
3.For some reason I do not know why but just for some un told reason I have always admired Japan wither it be its entertainment (music,movies,art), its culture (old or new), its history, and even its religions (shinto) mostly. I have just always have had deep admiration, liking and respect towards Japan for many different reasons.
Granted like I said before none of this is carved in stone I really want to travel to Japan and experience the country more. Before I decide if want to stay there permanently or come back to the states. That is why I am doing as much research as I can right now. And I plan on doing many international scholarships and traveling while I am still in school just to get a feel for how it feels to leave the country and work abroad. Maybe I will find it is for and maybe I will not. I am just going to try and wait and see.
Also I would like to comment, I really would like to apologize if anything I said has seemed rude or anything like that...its just this has been a very sketchy subject for me and my family, a lot of my family just tuned me out when I told them that I had actually found a career I wanted to peruse in my life. I think I looked into working abroad first because I had been tutoring with Korean, Japanese and Chinese students at my local University in town and I could just tell they valued what they were learning so much ! And it gave me so much joy to help them lean English when I could tell they wanted to so badly lol even when my English was fairly poor as it was (which again I apologize for in this post I do realize that I myself have many English Grammar and spelling problems and need to work harder at correcting them thats why I am participating in message boards more nowadays so that I can get more writing practice.) But I just enjoy working with forigners more then Americans for some reason and my love and liking of Japan already just made me think of looking into it more.
But yes for a while the only people that gave me support and encouraged me where people from my church, eventually beacaue of how people at church treated me and they realized I was serious about this my mother started to support me more too but there are still members of my family that I can just tell think that I will never achieve this goal. And I want to do this just to show them I can do something I put my mind to even if it does not work out the way I originally thought it would. Because not only would it be a nice job but it would be something I would enjoy, because I got there myself and I was doing something that I have known for quite some time makes me happy
and I just now realized how terribly long this post has gotten and really do sincerely apologize for that lol so I shall stop now!**
nope have not seen that web site but I will very gladly check it out thank for all you helpful advise!

 

[Breetai]

** I am not trying to argue with you I just want to say first off that I had never heard that ESL jobs where rare in Japan I had always heard they were in high demand and people in countries are constantly looking for people to teach the jobs, even some of the novels I have at my house have mentioned this several times within the first chapters**

Oh, maybe I came off strong in my last post. I'm not trying to argue at all, but trying to pass on the knowledge and experience that I've gained in the past going-on three years I've been doing this.

The fact is that the days of ESL jobs being in high demand in Japan are fading. In fact, if you were to come here today and look for a job... you would be out of luck. A lot of entry jobs now are REQUIRING TESOL/CELTA certificates and/or experience. This will change for the better in the next few months. In fact, after next spring I'm sure you won't need a certificate other than an undergrad degree anymore (probably by Christmas), but because of NOVA collapsing (that's 4 THOUSAND teachers and half a MILLION students) the industry in Japan has taken a major hit. The ESL industry in Japan is declining; not increasing. The opening chapters are already out of date in this fast moving world. The new market is in China... but the pay sucks there.

**I never said I would not try to go into JET I was merely saying on my part that I was not going to limit myself to only this program just because its very difficult from what I have heard to even get started there**

OK. Good plan! Definitely make JET your priority, though.

** I personally just don't feel that I have good enough talents to work with older kids in English, also I do not feel as though I would be up to the expectations of the students or faculty when it came down to preparing these kids for entrance exams.

Every new teacher feels this way. You know what, the Japanese don't even expect us to live up to the expectations of preparing kids for entrance exams. We are not much more than a foreign-faces, English-speaking trophy for the classroom. You're expected to provide a native accent and correct grammar (unless the J-teacher disagrees with you... ), and it really doesn't go a long way beyond that. Foreign teachers are an expendable commodity, I'm sad to say. We come and go like the wind, and the schools expect this.

I know how stress full high school life is for kids in Japan and am not sure if I would I want to go through that myself weather it was as a teacher or not. But I will this much that I would be willing to give it a try**

I'm definitely glad I wasn't a student in the Japanese school system (or Korean, for that matter)! Do be willing to give it a go, though. I'm just trying to help you see the whole picture, including the dirty bits. Better you hear a few of them now then be surprised after the fact!

BTW: weather concerns the clouds, whether you knew it or not.

**I will admit when I did my research on JET it was at least a year or two ago so if they had changed the program it would not really surprise me to very much**

It's been since 2002.

** a lot of this information again I had not know about before, but I will honestly admit I was a bit weary when I saw that JET sent out info on the program and AEON and Amity did not send out any further information about their program at all.**

ALWAYS be very weary when a job description is missing something that would usually be important. It will never be in your favour, especially in this industry. Corners are cut whenever possible, notably in private companies. Hence why JET is your best bet. It's the least likely one to short-change you.

**the only reason I asked about why it went under is because yes I do think that is important information to know! especially for someone like me who wants to live and work in Japan. J. If all I know is that the teachers in that program or the program it self did something wrong then that could be anything. I am just saying I wanted to be informed because I heard about it and never got the whole story on the matter. And I think to avoid that same mistake myself its important for me to know the whole story**

The teachers that worked at NOVA recently only did one thing wrong; they didn't do their research and heed the warnings. NOVA has had a bad reputation for years. Well, most eikaiwa (English conversation schools) have a bad rep... but NOVA's was BAD. From my knowledge, the best of the chain schools is ECC. In other words, they're the best of the worst. The main complaints being that you'll never have Sat/Sun off. If you're lucky, you'll get two days in a row off. There's also a split-shift or two every week.

**The only reason I even considered not going home was for several reasons.
1.my friends that I already know from Japan told me that teaching especially in the field of English is a very profitable field right now is the country. And from the books I have been reading that seems to be what a lot of the authors are say too!

How long ago were your friends in Japan? During the 1980s??? ESL in Japan has not been very profitable since the bubble years of the 80s. In fact, wages are going DOWN... not up. If you want the most money teaching English, DO NOT go to Japan. In Asia, you'll do better in Korea. You'll do better yet in the middle east. If you get your education credentials in the USA, you'll be able to do well in Japan. Same of you get a master's degree or above. With just a bachalor's, perhaps a TESOL or CELTA cert., you'll be lucky to start at 250,000 yen a month now. A lot of jobs are advertising at LESS. Check www.xe.com for exchange rates. They are not pretty.

2. like I said I have lots of friends from there and even though I would yes be a Gijian and always be looked at like that I think through the people I know that care about me I do feel like I could feel at home there. Also my Boyfriend has told me several times that if I do move there that we would be willing to move with me. We went for two weeks when he was in high school and really enjoyed the experience in country and with its people.

I hope your boyfriend expects to teach English. If not, you're going to have a hell of a time making ends meet. I hope your bf has a degree...

BTW, gaijin isn't a long way off from a word like "[wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth]" or "nipper". It's a slangy word used amoung foreigners, but when coming from a Japanese (unless it's a close friend) it's quite offensive. Use gaikokujin instead.

3.For some reason I do not know why but just for some un told reason I have always admired Japan wither it be its entertainment (music,movies,art), its culture (old or new), its history, and even its religions (shinto) mostly. I have just always have had deep admiration, liking and respect towards Japan for many different reasons.

Me too (other than Shinto, which is not as pretty as it looks from the outside). That's why I'm here. Japan is one of the coolest countries in the world... by far.

Granted like I said before none of this is carved in stone I really want to travel to Japan and experience the country more.

Do it!

Before I decide if want to stay there permanently or come back to the states. That is why I am doing as much research as I can right now. And I plan on doing many international scholarships and traveling while I am still in school just to get a feel for how it feels to leave the country and work abroad. Maybe I will find it is for and maybe I will not. I am just going to try and wait and see.

Well, if you are actually considering Japan long-term, I would recommend combing through Debito's site (I gave you a link in my last post). Some of the things that go on here concerning foreigners are just sick and racist.

Also I would like to comment, I really would like to apologize if anything I said has seemed rude or anything like that...its just this has been a very sketchy subject for me and my family, a lot of my family just tuned me out when I told them that I had actually found a career I wanted to peruse in my life.

No, you haven't been rude at all. The fact that you just mentioned you want to make a career out of this, and that you're thinking of coming on a bachelor's degree, is concerning though. If you are serious about a career in this, you seriously should look into getting an MA in TESOL, then maybe a doctorate. Perhaps working towards a DELTA certification would be wise as well. Without at least a master's, you won't get far.

I think I looked into working abroad first because I had been tutoring with Korean, Japanese and Chinese students at my local University in town and I could just tell they valued what they were learning so much ! And it gave me so much joy to help them lean English when I could tell they wanted to so badly lol even when my English was fairly poor as it was (which again I apologize for in this post I do realize that I myself have many English Grammar and spelling problems and need to work harder at correcting them thats why I am participating in message boards more nowadays so that I can get more writing practice.)

Please look carefully at the situation here. The students you've been tutouring WANT to learn. Most of the students you'd be teaching ESL/EFL to won't care. Asians are just like anyone else. Some study hard, some fool around and don't pay attention. The idea that Asian students are any better than their Caucasian counterparts is pure myth. They are 100% human.

But I just enjoy working with forigners more then Americans for some reason and my love and liking of Japan already just made me think of looking into it more.

Go for it!

But yes for a while the only people that gave me support and encouraged me where people from my church, eventually beacaue of how people at church treated me and they realized I was serious about this my mother started to support me more too but there are still members of my family that I can just tell think that I will never achieve this goal. And I want to do this just to show them I can do something I put my mind to even if it does not work out the way I originally thought it would. Because not only would it be a nice job but it would be something I would enjoy, because I got there myself and I was doing something that I have known for quite some time makes me happy

Trust me... I can relate!!!

and I just now realized how terribly long this post has gotten and really do sincerely apologize for that lol so I shall stop now!**
nope have not seen that web site but I will very gladly check it out thank for all you helpful advise!

No worries. Don't forget about sites like www.eslcafe.com and www.gaijinpot.com. Another interesting site is . http://www.geocities.com/esl_korea/TaiwanvsKoreavsJapan.html. Be aware that this site is a few years old, and some of it is outdated... especially the salary comparison charts. The salary in Japan has gone down a bit, and the exchange rate has gone down significantly. Keep that exchange rate in mind.http://www.geocities.com/esl_korea/TaiwanvsKoreavsJapan.html

 

[kala83]

Oh, maybe I came off strong in my last post. I'm not trying to argue at all, but trying to pass on the knowledge and experience that I've gained in the past going-on three years I've been doing this.

The fact is that the days of ESL jobs being in high demand in Japan are fading. In fact, if you were to come here today and look for a job... you would be out of luck. A lot of entry jobs now are REQUIRING TESOL/CELTA certificates and/or experience. This will change for the better in the next few months. In fact, after next spring I'm sure you won't need a certificate other than an undergrad degree anymore (probably by Christmas), but because of NOVA collapsing (that's 4 THOUSAND teachers and half a MILLION students) the industry in Japan has taken a major hit. The ESL industry in Japan is declining; not increasing. The opening chapters are already out of date in this fast moving world. The new market is in China... but the pay sucks there.

OK. Good plan! Definitely make JET your priority, though.

Every new teacher feels this way. You know what, the Japanese don't even expect us to live up to the expectations of preparing kids for entrance exams. We are not much more than a foreign-faces, English-speaking trophy for the classroom. You're expected to provide a native accent and correct grammar (unless the J-teacher disagrees with you... ), and it really doesn't go a long way beyond that. Foreign teachers are an expendable commodity, I'm sad to say. We come and go like the wind, and the schools expect this.

I'm definitely glad I wasn't a student in the Japanese school system (or Korean, for that matter)! Do be willing to give it a go, though. I'm just trying to help you see the whole picture, including the dirty bits. Better you hear a few of them now then be surprised after the fact!

BTW: weather concerns the clouds, whether you knew it or not.

It's been since 2002.

ALWAYS be very weary when a job description is missing something that would usually be important. It will never be in your favour, especially in this industry. Corners are cut whenever possible, notably in private companies. Hence why JET is your best bet. It's the least likely one to short-change you.

The teachers that worked at NOVA recently only did one thing wrong; they didn't do their research and heed the warnings. NOVA has had a bad reputation for years. Well, most eikaiwa (English conversation schools) have a bad rep... but NOVA's was BAD. From my knowledge, the best of the chain schools is ECC. In other words, they're the best of the worst. The main complaints being that you'll never have Sat/Sun off. If you're lucky, you'll get two days in a row off. There's also a split-shift or two every week.
How long ago were your friends in Japan? During the 1980s??? ESL in Japan has not been very profitable since the bubble years of the 80s. In fact, wages are going DOWN... not up. If you want the most money teaching English, DO NOT go to Japan. In Asia, you'll do better in Korea. You'll do better yet in the middle east. If you get your education credentials in the USA, you'll be able to do well in Japan. Same of you get a master's degree or above. With just a bachalor's, perhaps a TESOL or CELTA cert., you'll be lucky to start at 250,000 yen a month now. A lot of jobs are advertising at LESS. Check www.xe.com for exchange rates. They are not pretty.

I hope your boyfriend expects to teach English. If not, you're going to have a hell of a time making ends meet. I hope your bf has a degree...

BTW, gaijin isn't a long way off from a word like "[wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth]" or "nipper". It's a slangy word used amoung foreigners, but when coming from a Japanese (unless it's a close friend) it's quite offensive. Use gaikokujin instead.
Me too (other than Shinto, which is not as pretty as it looks from the outside). That's why I'm here. Japan is one of the coolest countries in the world... by far.

Do it!

Well, if you are actually considering Japan long-term, I would recommend combing through Debito's site (I gave you a link in my last post). Some of the things that go on here concerning foreigners are just sick and racist.

No, you haven't been rude at all. The fact that you just mentioned you want to make a career out of this, and that you're thinking of coming on a bachelor's degree, is concerning though. If you are serious about a career in this, you seriously should look into getting an MA in TESOL, then maybe a doctorate. Perhaps working towards a DELTA certification would be wise as well. Without at least a master's, you won't get far.

Please look carefully at the situation here. The students you've been tutouring WANT to learn. Most of the students you'd be teaching ESL/EFL to won't care. Asians are just like anyone else. Some study hard, some fool around and don't pay attention. The idea that Asian students are any better than their Caucasian counterparts is pure myth. They are 100% human.

Go for it!

Trust me... I can relate!!!

No worries. Don't forget about sites like www.eslcafe.com and www.gaijinpot.com. Another interesting site is . http://www.geocities.com/esl_korea/TaiwanvsKoreavsJapan.html. Be aware that this site is a few years old, and some of it is outdated... especially the salary comparison charts. The salary in Japan has gone down a bit, and the exchange rate has gone down significantly. Keep that exchange rate in mind.

Everything that you have mentioned makes complete sense to me, I think it was mostly the fact of that a lot of this info I just did not know until now. But I think that some of the resources I had were probably a bit out dated.
The only thing I am not entirely sure on is my Boyfriend, he is not planning on moving there doing English teaching like me, he really does not like kids too much and does not have too much patience for them. I know that I had brought up the subject of how he was thinking of getting over there since I had heard him say he would like to go there with me but I had heard before that you did usually need a BA at least to get a working visa over there. He said something along the lines of that he would try to house up with his friends in the military over there if he was to go, and for the field he would be working in he would get special permission from the owners or wholesalers of the product. You see he told me if he was going to come over, he would probably work in the airsoft business (replicated guns... kind of a hobby sport) I know very little about the business but apparently it is fairly big in Asia, I do think I did remember reading something online saying you do not always need a degree to work in the country. I think he might have looked into moving over there and working himself when he was single. Since he seems fairly knowledgeable about it. I am hoping that since we both have friends and connections in the country when it comes closer to when I am planning on making a move to there, we can get advise on how to do things and make sure that everything will work out for us. If and when we do want to try and go for living there. lol of course me personally I am not very helpful on this matter since I don't know all the ends and outs of the field I want to go into or for that matter my boyfriend's field he wants to go into either. But hopefully with a bit of research on our parts we will be better prepared when we want to go to the country.
Though I am seriously thinking of the two of us doing a trip out to Japan first to just get a feel for things. And how stuff works, out there.
Hopefully by doing things like this I will be able to chip away at the information I don't know much about..and be better prepared for when I go to Japan.

 

[Breetai]

Everything that you have mentioned makes complete sense to me, I think it was mostly the fact of that a lot of this info I just did not know until now. But I think that some of the resources I had were probably a bit out dated.
The only thing I am not entirely sure on is my Boyfriend, he is not planning on moving there doing English teaching like me, he really does not like kids too much and does not have too much patience for them. I know that I had brought up the subject of how he was thinking of getting over there since I had heard him say he would like to go there with me but I had heard before that you did usually need a BA at least to get a working visa over there. He said something along the lines of that he would try to house up with his friends in the military over there if he was to go, and for the field he would be working in he would get special permission from the owners or wholesalers of the product. You see he told me if he was going to come over, he would probably work in the airsoft business (replicated guns... kind of a hobby sport) I know very little about the business but apparently it is fairly big in Asia, I do think I did remember reading something online saying you do not always need a degree to work in the country.

If you have no degree, you will, I believe, need to PROVE that you've been working in your field for at least 3 years and that you can support yourself in Japan (I think you need to show that you are able to pull in around 250,000 yen a month or so) via a business plan presented to be approved by immigration. Unless his plan is SOLID, it's unlikely.

I think he might have looked into moving over there and working himself when he was single. Since he seems fairly knowledgeable about it. I am hoping that since we both have friends and connections in the country when it comes closer to when I am planning on making a move to there, we can get advise on how to do things and make sure that everything will work out for us. If and when we do want to try and go for living there. lol of course me personally I am not very helpful on this matter since I don't know all the ends and outs of the field I want to go into or for that matter my boyfriend's field he wants to go into either. But hopefully with a bit of research on our parts we will be better prepared when we want to go to the country.
Though I am seriously thinking of the two of us doing a trip out to Japan first to just get a feel for things. And how stuff works, out there.
Hopefully by doing things like this I will be able to chip away at the information I don't know much about..and be better prepared for when I go to Japan.

Since you have a Christian icon, I'll go this route: How serious are you with your boyfriend? Are you going to get married? It sounds like there are quite a few complications about coming to Japan together. Is he willing to sacrifice his desire to play with guns (do you know how difficult it is to acquire a license to have guns in Japan, unless you are IN the military? It takes SEVEN years to process the application) and teach English if he's legally unable to work as he wants, in order to be with you? Are you guys just in for the experience, or are you in love to the point where you will be married? These are rhetorical questions for you.

You see, the Christian demand to be married before living together is not just a law for the sake of being a law, but is also quite practical... especially when living abroad.

 

[Jemtree]

I live in Japan... well, on Okinawa, Japan.. My husband is stationed here. I was first stationed here myself back in 1994, and have been here mostly since then.

I LOVE it here!

I am so excited... I don't really know much Japanes at all, but I was able to read some of what has been posted here. I guess I have picked up more than I realized.

This is a beautiful place!!!

 

[fuzzyjesusfreak]

こんにちはございます、はじめまして。僕の名前はマサキクドです、オレンジレンジを大好きだから。＾＾

お元気ですか？

ハハ、僕はアメリカンです、外国人です。でも！僕は毎日勉強します！＾＾　さ、僕の日本語は悪いです、ごめなさい。