I would like to know if it is worth making long-term plans, and that would depend on realistically where I could go with English teaching and what else might be available.
It also depends on how much you actually like living in the foreign country. Many people have never been to Japan, yet they have some esoteric dream of what it should be. They get here, perhaps with job in hand and a freshly minted bachelor's degree, and then realize to their dismay that things are different.
1. People don't walk around in kimonos all the time. Koto music is not played in all restaurants or elevators. Mcdonalds is everywhere.
2. They discover that they have a very tough time with the language barrier, despite a lot of English on signs in the bigger cities.
3. They also learn that what they thought was going to be easy money just chatting up some students is actually a real job, something they may never had to do until now.
4. They also find out that they can party their butts off, but it comes at an expense -- financially and vocationally. And, many are not prepared for that. Or they just don't give a rip about the effect it has on their job performance and the reputation of other foreigners.
Information on anything outside of starting positions seems hard to come by.
Yup, and I'll be glad to add my 2 cents' worth, but I personally need a few more specific questions. Also, what seems "worth it" to one person may not to another.
I have no plans to move anywhere (semi) permanently without spending at least 6 months in the country first, but I would like to collect information so I know where I might stand.
Sound reasoning, and the more you can learn about the working conditions vs. living conditions, the better. Coming only as a tourist gives one a totally different POV.
25, First Class Degree (Computing),
Ok, this much alone automatically makes you eligible for entry level teaching work.
3 years IT experience, English as my first language, worked as a classroom assistant at a Junior School (ages 7-11) for two years during my higher education, looking to move into teaching English like my Father (an English teacher at secondary school), with TESOL qualifications scouted out (saving for the fees currently).
So, no teaching experience in ESL yet. No TESOL certificate yet. Ok. No problem. Most newcomers (including myself a century ago) come with only a degree unrelated to teaching in their hands.
I'd heard from various sources that good money can be made in teaching English in Japan by getting work at a University in that capacity, or by going into private tuition once one has built up a decent base of clients and a solid background of experience. Is this true? If so, what sort of salaries can be pulled in?
Where did you hear about such work at universities? It's totally false the way you described it.
University jobs (full-time) usually require a minimum of a master's degree in a specific field, plus publications, language ability, and experience in Japan. Part-time jobs are becoming just as competitive, but the qualifications are a bit less strict. Still, you can't get a work visa on PT work, so don't look at this for something to start out.
"Going into private tuition" sounds like teaching private lessons on the side. Yes, people do that, but there are some serious caveats you need to know.
1) You cannot get a work visa with private lessons.
2) Such lessons are very unstable. People will quit on a dime.
3) They may be easy to get sometimes, but they usually take quite a while to build up. Contacts and networking are critical. (You mentioned this.)
4) People are cheap. They will try to negotiate the lowest possible fees. There goes your "good money".
Salaries.
Entry level work will run 200,000 to 270,000 yen/month for conversation school (eikaiwa) jobs and ALT jobs through dispatch agencies. For the latter, you get less during breaks, perhaps no money at all, even though the agency continues to collect from the school. The other type of entry level job is ALT through the JET programme, which pays 300,000 per month. Realize that many eikaiwas and dispatch agencies get away with avoiding payments on your health insurance, but JET deducts about 40,000 yen/month. In your first year here, if you go with national health insurance, you will pay only 2500 yen/month on non-JET jobs, but thereafter it goes up tenfold or more. Take that into consideration when you compare salaries. Also, JET sometimes offers housing at reduced or free rent, while most other employers do nothing to help out. Get into direct hire jobs at mainstream schools, and salaries can increase to 300,000 or 400,000. Look into business English schools. Not sure how much they pay; could be 250K to 350K.
Supplement any of this work (if you have the time and energy and clients), and you can obviously make more money.
It does seem to be quite a struggle to find any 'success stories' from people outside of teaching, which is why I thought I'd ask and make sure it wasn't just me missing some blindingly obvious source of information.
Go to
www.daijob.com and read the English section of the site. Read everything Terrie Lloyd wrote on his links. He seems to deal only with non-teaching job markets.
I've nothing against teaching and have worked as a classroom assistant before, so I don't want to imply I'm against it in any way; it's the most likely alternative career for me, I just want to be sure of my options.
That's something I have been looking into, definitely, although a career move from IT is my ambition.
You just got your IT degree and are considering a move away from it? That's your prerogative, of course, and I have seen enough people in that line of work looking for teaching jobs here because they say the market for their IT skills/experience back home is waning. It's good that you are at least thinking about what it would take to prepare for the long-term switch. I did it.
Getting your foot in the door here will not usually require much in the way of credentials, but lasting will. The largest eikaiwa NOVA just folded due to poor business practices, and 5000 teachers are on the streets as a result. A company called G-COM tried picking up the pieces, but it has also reneged some on its claims to rehire these people. Essentially, the market is flooded, so even entry level people need to know it won't be as easy to get hired right way. Surviving long-term is a whole different game, and you've already discovered there aren't many sites that offer stories about it. Ask specific questions, and I'll be glad to answer, though.
I'm having a hard time turning up anything work-wise apart from entry level positions.
I hope you realize that this is the first step. Long-term jobs depend on the individual. People can get married and change to spouse visa (thereby allowing any sort of work, not just teaching), or start their own school, or string together PT jobs, etc. A 2001 report from the Justice Ministry said less than 10% of foreigners stay here more than 3 years. That should say something. For more advice from veterans, I'd suggest posting on the ESL Cafe or ELT News websites.
www.eslcafe.com/discussion
www.eltnews.com/community
I'm there, too.