English Teachers...what next?

[alcachino33]

Hi, I'm still a freshman in college but I'm very interested in teaching in Japan for however long... So I've heard what you've all had to say about the life, the pay, the experience, etc, but I'm very curious to know what you do after that? Do you go back to wherever you are from and teach Japanese? Or do you work in other jobs?

I was looking into teaching English for two years or so...however long I want. The current permanent profession I have in my sights is publishing...whether it is with children's books in NYC or manga in California...it's all dandy to me! But I am wondering how many diverse professions former teachers have.

What would also be nice is to know what you majored in...I'm probably majoring in English Rhetoric, but might throw in East Asian Studies...
...And do I need to minor in English as an International Language? Would that help me get the teaching job, or will they provide that training for me?

(So many questions! ごめん！)

[anrakushi]

you won't need any qualifications other than a degree to get a teaching job in Japan. however for some of the better (in terms of enjoyment and or money) jobs they will be looking for BAs or experience. but hell half the time those places still hire inexperienced people. i would concentrate your studies on your future profession, publishing. don't worry about ESL/EFL courses etc. if you are not wanting to make a career out of teaching.

As for me, i'm returning to japan in a couple months to continue working there as an english teacher. i see english teaching as a good opportunity to get into the country, earn money and have a the opportunity to put my language skills to use outside the job. I plan to only do english teaching for as long as it takes me to get to a decent level of fluency to go into other work in Japan.

I personally would love to work at university level teaching cultural studies etc but this is a very difficult dream as times have changed in japan and you are now needing a PhD to really have a good chance at a position, so said the professors i studied under in Japan. I haven't given up just yet but i'm flexible in what i will do as i graduated with a Bachelor of Business (accountancy) i might look into business but I won't be doing accounting. I'm easy, see what happens. Although i do love teaching younger students and would be happy doing that as a profession, but not in an 英会話 (english conversation school).

At the end of the day, I will remain in Japan.. or possibly Korea as their economy is set to surpass that of Japan in the coming years and there could be a lot of opportunities there. Thus i have started to learn Korean as well for 10 years or so down the track.. haha.

[MMM]

Your major really doesn't matter. I majored in Japanese, did JET for three years, then came back here and worked at a Japanese bank for a couple years, taught Japanese for a few years, and now translate full-time.

Any training you need in teaching will be provided (at least in the JET Program and in most private English schools).

[samurai007]

My degrees are in History and Social Science. But after JET I didn't go back to school to get either a teaching credential or Masters/PhD. (Partly because of the internal political battles being fought in which conservative teachers and professors were being discriminated against or fired for little or no reason, especially in subjects such as History and Social Science where if you didn't toe the liberal party line in your classes, you were history. After talking to numerous professors and teachers candidly about such things, I knew I'd probably never be able to get ahead as a History teacher.)

So I moved to the SF bay area and got an office job at a company that sold and repaired Toshiba phone systems for several years, then worked in the Perishable Exports dept at Nippon Express for a while. I eventually returned to my hometown and am now doing accounting and payroll for a company that removes orchards and sells the firewood (it's actually a rather large company, with over 65 employees and at least another dozen independents who work with us.) This isn't what I saw myself doing when I returned from JET, but life can take weird twists and turns, and you don't always get to do what you planned on.

[alcachino33]

Thanks for the advice! Right now, I'm still a bit uncertain of what to do with my major...I know I'd want to stay in Japan for some time, but I'm undecided as to where to spend the rest of my life - Japan or the US. In case I do want to return in to the US, I'll probably polish up my publishing resume...but I haven't entirely ruled out all my options and may consider a Japanese teaching position in the States.

I'm currently looking at all the companies hiring English teachers from overseas, and so far I have JET, TESOL, and AEON. I'm not sure if TESOL has a temp program... I'm shopping around, browsing the forums, but if any of you have heard things about these programs or still other programs, then I would be grateful for the enlightenment.

[Gorotsuki]

Originally Posted by MMM

Your major really doesn't matter. I majored in Japanese, did JET for three years, then came back here and worked at a Japanese bank for a couple years, taught Japanese for a few years, and now translate full-time.

Any training you need in teaching will be provided (at least in the JET Program and in most private English schools).

Is translating good money I would be interested in that. I saw a job looking for a tranlator pay close to 9 million yen a year. Is this normal?

[chachava]

Originally Posted by Gorotsuki

Is translating good money I would be interested in that. I saw a job looking for a tranlator pay close to 9 million yen a year. Is this normal?

I would say that is pretty high - my g/f was a translator and interpreter when I met her and was only earning 6million yen a year.

She earns considerably more at apple now though doing a similar role so I guess it depends on the company

[MMM]

I agree, that sounds very high. It's not a job like "bank teller" or "waiter" that has a standard wage scale you can compare yourself to. Finding a regular-full time salaried job as a translator isn't always easy, and doesn't pay as well as contract work, but, of course, contract work isn't always steady.

[Cutetwirler]

Hey

I found this thread very interesting. I study Japanese and TESOL at uni in England. My dream was always to come over here (Japan) and teach. Then I came here on my exchange year, with my shiny new TESOL certificate, and realised that any native English speaking chump can get a job teaching, and in fact, I'm at a disadvantage because I'm yet to graduate.

This has somewhat shattered my dream of being a teacher, so I've changed my plan; I want to do JET as planned after uni, but do the CIR job instead of the teaching job.

After that, I have no idea what I want to do. After I reach a certain age in my life, being a gaijin as well as being a woman, I will find it hard to get promotions and stuff so I intend to return back to England and get a job in London or something.

[chachava]

Originally Posted by Cutetwirler

After that, I have no idea what I want to do. After I reach a certain age in my life, being a gaijin as well as being a woman, I will find it hard to get promotions and stuff so I intend to return back to England and get a job in London or something.

I might be wrong, but i don't think promotions are available in English teaching jobs anyway? Pretty sure you can only work as an English teacher without prospects fpr advancement unless you are fluent in Japanese (at which point you need to question why you are teaching English lol)