I live in Japan!

[Takushimazu]

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

Get married, get the spousal visa and you will have no problem teaching English. Then within a year or so you will find something different.

I am pretty sure you need a Degree to do TEFL.

[Lonewolf]

About learning the language. I've been studying by myself (from books) for about a year now, and even though I know quite a few words and sentences, it's still very hard and it's going very slow. As Nyororin mentioned earlier in this thread (I think) it's a lot easier to learn the language once you're there. If you want to learn it before you go, I think it would be best if you took a Japanese class somewhere. In other words let a Japanese person or someone who can speak the language teach it to you.

[Kaicui]

its really ez when u already have some sort of oriental experience

[Takushimazu]

I have some experience.. I recently went to Japan but some people, like the staff in the hotel ( who were all young women ) seem to speak really fast, like young women in UK, so I couldn't really keep up with what they were saying.

But I am not just learning from books, I am also getting help from my fiancee (who is a native speaker). We always try to speak to each other in Japanese to help me learn, but I often have to fall back onto English words or sentence structures.

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by Takushimazu

I am pretty sure you need a Degree to do TEFL.

You need a degree to get the visa, not to get the job. Got visa, no problemo. Trust me on this, apply to a small eikaiwa or ALT staffing company and all they will care about is the visa. If you want to improve your odds, do one of those certificate programs for TEFL. That Cambridge one I think is the most widely accepted. Then there are the others like Bridga Linguatec or something.

You will see that a lot of companies may ask for a picture of your degree and passport when you apply. I would send them a picture of your college diploma, passport and a snapshot of your Japanese visa after you get it. That should be all it takes is proof of your visa status.

[Osensei]

From what I have read, all you basically need for employment in Japan is a bachelor's degree and a commendable resume. Well, if were on the topic of "teaching English". Also, if you find my response to be inaccurate, please do correct me.

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

You need a degree to get the visa, not to get the job.

Well, don't you need to be hired first in order to get your visa sponsored? It would make life easier if you just earned your degree first, so they say.

[jasonbvr]

I am speaking to the special circumstance that Takushimazu would be faced with in that if/when married to a Japanese person and residing in Japan he is granted his spousal visa, that would allow him to skip the usual work visa application.

But yes, under normal circumstances you need the degree first, job second and visa comes third.

[Osensei]

If you don't mind me asking Jason, since I personally run into users online who are open to the public here and there; how much do you make per month, and how much would that amount translate to in US currencies (money)?

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by Osensei

how much do you make per month, and how much would that amount translate to in US currencies (money)?

Currently my contract stipulates that I am paid 12,000 yen per work day and paid when a national holiday falls on a work day. For example, May has 23 work days, two of which are holidays, so that totals 276,000. After the roughly ten percent in income tax, 50,000 for my rent, and 4,800 for my cellphone bill I can expect to be paid 212,000 or around that much for the month of May. More often than not thought, there are 21 work days which is 252,000 of which I see about 190,000 yen.

Right now I am being raped on the exchange rate, 121 yen to the dollar. So for May that is around 1,750 USD after taxes, rent, and the phone bill. If the yen would gain to what is the normal rate of 115 since I have been in Japan, that would bring me to 1,840 USD.

But I am about to see a change in my contract come August and the pay by day will be replaced with a flat monthly salary.

[Osensei]

I see, well thank you for the response. I also hear the regular eikaiwa ALTs are generally paid 250,000 yen per month. A quick question on the visa topic, is it possible for one to obtain a working visa before seeking out a job in Japan, say to keep ahold of one until getting sponsored?