teaching in japan with no degree, possible?

[orkst]

I'm from america but currently living and teaching in beijing china. I have over two years experience teaching english here, but no college degree. Is it at all possible to find a teaching job without a degree? I attended tufts university in boston for two years part-time while at the same time graduating from the school of the museum of fine arts. but understandably its just a diploma of completion from a studio art school. I already understand the visa situation, in china you also need a degree to get a working visa, but most schools dont really care about which visa the teacher has. hence its quite easy for someone to find work with a business visa or even tourist visa. I guess my real question is, considering I go there without the proper visa, are there schools that would still hire me? Also, does anyone know about volunteer opportunities? As long as they provide free accommodation that is.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by orkst

I'm from america but currently living and teaching in beijing china. I have over two years experience teaching english here, but no college degree. Is it at all possible to find a teaching job without a degree? I attended tufts university in boston for two years part-time while at the same time graduating from the school of the museum of fine arts. but understandably its just a diploma of completion from a studio art school. I already understand the visa situation, in china you also need a degree to get a working visa, but most schools dont really care about which visa the teacher has. hence its quite easy for someone to find work with a business visa or even tourist visa. I guess my real question is, considering I go there without the proper visa, are there schools that would still hire me? Also, does anyone know about volunteer opportunities? As long as they provide free accommodation that is.

The short answer is no. Unless you have a friend who is doing hiring for a private English school in Japan you will be on the low end of an increasingly competitive pool. There are fewer jobs for graduates in the US, so they are looking overseas, and there are fewer students in Japan, so the number of applicants is high and the number of positions is decreasing. Long story short: no inside connection and no degree= no dice.

[Sangetsu]

To qualify for a work visa without a degree you would need 3 years consecutive teaching experience, which you would have to be able to verify with pay stubs or tax records. This will qualify you for a work visa, but most schools (better than 90%) will require a degree.

Once you have 3 years experience, you can begin inquiring at the smaller schools. It might take some time, but you'll probably find someone willing to hire you. Keep in mind that quite a few of these schools are quite sketchy, and will try to take advantage of you. If you can put up with their nonsense for one year, you should then be able to move to a mainstream company which offers more in the way of pay and benefits.

As for the available work here, news today is that enrollments at all English conversation schools is on the rise, especially since Rakuten instituted an "English Only" rule in the workplace. Though Rakuten is an internet retailer working in a predominantly Japanese market, all Rakuten employees will be required to communicate in English at all times, even in the break room. Other multinational companies are also setting up minimum English standards for their employees, and the current thought is that English conversation schools, particularly those which specialize in business English, are going to enjoy a boom in business.

Part of the reason for these changes is increased trade ties with China and India. Many Japanese companies who have partnered in one way or another with Chinese and Indian companies actually use English to communicate with each other, as it is more widely taught in these countries.