This is a mobile optimized page that loads fast, if you want to load the real page, click this text.

I have a few questions.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Dude you are pissing me off and I don't get pissed off very often!! Re-read the every single line on this thread including yours before you post again!!!!!
 
Bikaben said:
So do I have a choice on which kind of school and which area i teach in?And what about the Salaries?Are they good enough to settle in Tokyo?If not,where is a good place to settle?
Click to expand...
I find it a bit difficult to believe that you are a college student getting ready to gradute.

Read the thread again slowly and take a look at the links included, and read the information contained in them just as slowly.

Then if there is something specific you want to ask, ask it. There is a wonderful search engine called Google that can help you find out anything people here can not answer as well. But then again you should already know that.

A "senior" in college, what by chance is your major?
 
Welcome to the forum..

I see you have a lot of questions, and plans. Please ask them, but please be aware that there are a lot of threads on this forum that could answer your question as well. So please have a look arround on the forum as well.

Thank you, and please read carefully what people are saying here (they actually give excellent advice!)
 
A lot of ur questions can be answered by the links provided by Glenski.

from the posts i have read, i think the average salary for an english teacher is around 2000$ - 2500$/month. however, i dont think japan is a place for easy cash, really need to work hard, even in the process of preparing for coming.
 
Again,I'm reading some of your posts quickly because i'm really excited for this and such.And Ashley,I dont care how hard it is,I dont care,I'm fed up with the US.
 
Look, don't EVEN think of going to Japan without a 4 yr degree hoping to find employment as an "English teacher"; it just rarely happens anymore these days. And, if you get caught working on a tourist visa, as can happen, you will be booted from the country and forbidden to return for years. Besides, many schools will not hire such a young teacher without a degree, especially with no experience. Most require that you be above 23-25 and have your degree, in any subject, in hand. Take the advice given above.

Also, you can live quite comfortably in Japan with just a very basic knowledge of the language as many teachers have lived and worked there for years without even being able to hold the simplest of conversations in Japanese.

Of course you could attend one of the Universities that are taught in English for four years and get your degree in Japan and maybe teach part-time, but the cost is probably above what you could afford. If you are interested just Google Sophia University, International Christian University (ICU), or International Universities in Japan, and you will find all the info you need.

My advice would be for you to not be in such a rush. Slow down and get your degree at home while you are studying Japanese. Japan will still be here when you graduate as it has been for thousands of years. It's not going anywhere. In the long run you'll be glad you did.
 
Bikaben said:
I'm fed up with the US.
Click to expand...
If that is your main motivation for wanting to come here, you should start to read even more and deeper in this and other forums. And more carefully, than you have read through this your own thread. You might find, that the reason, why you are fed up with the US, whatever it might be, does also, or in a very similar way, exist in Japan. If you run away, do it with your eyes open, or you might get a bloody nose running blindly into a tree...

Take the excellent advice from the other posters in this thread more serioulsy, please. Some of us still have little scars on our nose
 
You guys have given me excellent advice.And I know what you mean,but I also want my children to get a education in Japan.I want my children to get the best education possible.I also want an asian girlfriend/wife.And those are only a few reasons why I want to go to Japan.I love their culture,I love the people,and I just love everything about Japan.I think Japan is where I belong and thats where I wish to reside.Thanks guys for your advice.
 
Well more power to you Bikaben and you should trust your instincts, but do not rush into it head first without doing your homework and doing things right or you will suffer the consequences and will regret it in the future.

1. Get your degree

2. Study the language and have a firm grasp of it

3. Apply to one of the on-line ads and take a job or visit there and apply.

4. Find a place to live

5. Look for other better jobs, in English or otherwise

6. Follow the advise of those who live/lived there and know what's going on

Then you may enjoy it and decide to settle there or you may not. But at least you will have all the tools to help you make a wise decision, but above all else see #1 above.
 
Im working on Number 1 right now.Number 2 is in the works as well as I can read some Hiragana/Katakana.Before I settle,Im going to make sure I have a firm grasp of the language and such.Is it possible for me to NOT be able to become an English teacher?If not,what's a good job I can get in Japan with a Bachelors degree?Thanks in Advance for your help.One final question...sorry i'm asking this...Should I start my new life in Tokyo or will that be too expensive for me?
 
If you can't get a job as an English teacher with a four year degree than you are hopeless. That's how easy it is. The other jobs, depending on your language ability will come with contacts and such.

Tokyo? very expensive. You're better off in the suburbs where the rents are less than half of what Tokyo charges. You need to research all this first.
 
It's really that easy?Thank god.haha..Anyway,Wheres a good place to settle at?
 
What do you prefer? a busy city or country side?
 
Anywhere outside the Yamanote Line in Tokyo isn't too bad right? At least thats what my friends tell me.
 

I've been here since before you were born, and I've encountered countless people like you aflame with a burning urge to cast aside their home country and emigrate to Japan to live forever-n-ever-n-ever. They uniformly love Japanese culture, Japanese people, and golly-gosh just everything about Japan (despite knowing jacksquat about it) and think Japan is where they belong.

Care to make a guess how many of them have done that? It's the same number as who ever showed up for even a short visit.

ZERO

The more ants-in-the-pants hyped-up a poster is, the more likely they burn through all that enthusiasm and energy just in the course of talking about it in a thread. Some other shiny object catches their ADHD eye and off they go chasing after that instead.
 
A short stay in Japan will probably help you the most IMO.


Now im not aiming this at you, but some people seem to forget Japanese are people too, they just as faulty (if not more, depends on your perception) as we are. I just think a decent amount of time invested in Japan before setting off is a good route for anyone really.
 
Well I like a busy city,thats why i wanted for Tokyo,but it's too expensive.I don't think i'll ever lose my intrest in Japan as I already read/write and speak it pretty well and I wouldnt waste years of my life learning a language that I'll never use.So wheres a good city to settle at?The Yamamote Line in Tokyo?
 
Word of the Day:

Impervious
 
Bikaben said:
,but I also want my children to get a education in Japan.I want my children to get the best education possible...
Click to expand...

Hell I want to win the lottery here too but first thing I have to do is buy a ticket.

You want your kids to get the best education, if this is true dont come here because all that will happen is your kids will learn to memorize stuff but not be able to think for themselves or at least without having someone tell them first.

I also want an asian girlfriend/wife
Click to expand...
I'm not touching thiso ne with a ten foot stick, I dont care what your motivation is but being curious and interested is one thing deciding "now" that you want an Asian wife is something totally different.


And those are only a few reasons why I want to go to Japan.I love their culture,I love the people,and I just love everything about Japan.I think Japan is where I belong and thats where I wish to reside.
Click to expand...

Come and visit, take a vacation here, do a bit of research about what's up here. Do it with open eyes and not like some teenage boy who experiences his first wet dream.

Relax.

Mike Cash said:
Word of the Day:
Impervious
Click to expand...
Nail on the head.......
 
Last edited:
As i posted earlier,I visited Tokyo last year and I really liked it.I mean,when I was there for 2 weeks,I thought i was home for the first time ever.I mean,Ive never had more fun in my life.I love Japan and nothing will stop me from my dream..Japan has everything I need and I want.
 
No offense, but two weeks is a pretty shallow glimpse of life in Japan.
 
I hope you get to Japan and I am sure you will like it. It's a cool place to live.
 
Bikaben,
PLEASE go and read the FAQ here and read all the links I gave you! You obviously have not.

Do you have a choice of what kind of school? Your choice (after you get a bachelor's degree) is limited to the following:

JET Programme ALT position
dispatch agency ALT position
conversation school (eikaiwa) teacher

The ALTs usually get placed in public schools, and JET puts them mostly in rural environments. Those are about the only 3 options you have. Whether you "choose" to apply to any or all of them is entirely up to you. Japan is saturated with English teachers right now, so you really don't have much of a "choice" in picking jobs.

Salaries. PLEASE read the links. You will find the info you seek. Salaries are going down here. JET still pays the most (300,000 yen/month). Eikaiwas and dispatch agencies pay ON AVERAGE 250,000 yen/month before taxes. Many are paying less. Negotiating is usually fruitless, especially for someone fresh out of college.

"Good enough to settle in Tokyo"? Please, this is far too subjective to answer. Tokyo is the largest city in the country. Therefore, there are more people including foreigners there, so obviously some people have found it "good enough". Who can say for you?

I realize you seem fed up with the USA. Only you know why, and if you feel like explaining here, go ahead. At least, it'll give us something to go on. As far as finding a place to settle here, I strongly urge you to do research first, visit more, perhaps establish a network of pen pals or such, before making a huge leap to leaving your country, especially at your young age. You really don't know what it's like here. Perhaps worse conditions than where you are right now. I guarantee it won't be easy, especially at first, and especially if you don't know the language. If you want to condider locations as part of your research into choosing where to apply for jobs, my usual reply is to ask what size city do you feel comfortable in, and what sort of climate suits you (or doesn't)?

Pardon me for being a bit harsh here, but you say you want a Japanese girlfriend. Pretty narrow minded. You should just be thinking of having a girlfriend... PERIOD. You seem sure that you want your future kids to be educated in Japan, but you haven't a clue what education here is like, do you? Learn.

Two weeks in Tokyo is nothing compared to people who have been here for years. Two weeks in your own city for a foreign visitor is not enough to give them an idea of what life if like in your country, isn't it? Think about that. "Nothing" can stop you? Good, that means you will get the proper preparations, or you will be stopped, even if that means you come here and work for a short time only to realize you weren't fully prepared to last longer. Vacations are a nice way to sightsee, but they are a horrible way to learn what living and working somewhere is all about. I hope you can see that. If not, look below.
So wheres a good city to settle at?The Yamamote Line in Tokyo?
Click to expand...
The Yamanote Line is not a city. It is a loop of the JR train system. Either you have terrible writing skills (not a good point for a budding teacher of English), or you have terrible notions of geography, despite spending 2 weeks here (even more scary).

Other type of work here? You can get whatever you are qualified for. That means education, experience, and language skills. Non-teaching jobs usually require far more Japanese skills than teaching jobs. Far more! Compare your country now. How would a non-English speaking person compete for jobs there? Even having experience in a job back home would be meaningless if they couldn't speak/read/write English at a fairly high level, right? (We're not talking about orchard pickers, of course. But even they must understand some of the language for survival.) Go to www.daijob.com to see what non-teaching jobs are around, and you'll see that most of them require bilingual (to some degree) workers. (Also read the advice articles there by Terry Lloyd.) You might also want to see what general jobs are being offered by looking at www.jobsinjapan.com or www.japantimes.com (classified ads). And, even bilingual workers must have something to offer in the way of experience over that of a local Japanese person with a similar eduation. Just being a foreigner means nothing, no matter how good you feel you are at some job. The pat question that gets thrown around forums is, "What can you offer a company here that a local Japanese person cannot do?"

Stop reading things here so fast. You are only going to attract the ire of some of us, and I'm considered one of the more patient people on half a dozen forums. Plus, I'm older than your parents, I think.
 
Deciding to settle in a foreign country forever and ever because you want to use the language you've studied for a few years is one of the scariest things I've read here in a long time. Even more ridiculous than going to marry and Asian. Neither of which require actually residing in the country, by the way.

So wheres a good city to settle at?The Yamamote Line in Tokyo?
Click to expand...
Get a job, let them assign the office then try to settle down within commuting distance so you don't need to get up at 6:00 every morning and back after midnight. I'm assuming the reality of life hasn't quite hit you yet.


All I ask is that you try talking one or more Japanese first (Nihongo practice...) who have settled in America and ask them what they prefer about this country. How friendly Americans are by comparison, how easy and nonstressful the life is here...you may be shocked at what you hear.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
Do I need degree to teach English?
2
Replies
29
Views
21K
Eigo
E
Y
A Few Questions
Replies
24
Views
3K
Glenski
lots of questions
Replies
14
Views
8K
nice gaijin
S
Hey, I have a question.
Replies
14
Views
3K
Mike Cash
E
I dont have a degree, can i still work in Japan
Replies
11
Views
4K
Ewok85
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…