It is a while before I decide on a career (I am in high school) But I was wondering how I could go about being a teacher in Japan? I plan on taking my JLPT N1 exam at the end of my senior year and then possibly majoring in linguistics/Japanese or anthropology/East asian studies [in those types of areas]. Does anyone know how much a teacher could make at a good high school in Japan? Is this possible?
Japan - 3 Answers
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1 :
You could possibly teach English in a private school. Most people start as Assistant English teachers working through a teaching exchange program and make connections through there. It is very competitive, however, and employers care more about you knowing proper English and teaching techniques more than speaking Japanese, so you might want to consider majoring in Education instead. Pay varies, but the program I'm with pays its assistants 36,000 yen a year.
2 :
In order to become a teacher in Japan, you need to take a few required education classes and pass the licensing exam. Pay doesn't mean much without comparing it to the cost of living, but the median income for a high school teacher in Japan seems to be in the mid-7 million yen range. The best part about the school teacher career is the pension plan, as you won't have to worry about money once you make it to retirement. If you are capable of passing the licensing exam and interested in a 40-year career in Japan, this is the best way to go. The other route is to be a contract teacher. If the best pay is to be a JET, the pay is fixed at 3.6 million yen, so that's half as much as a career teacher. The annual contract can be renewed for a maximum of four times, so that would be a 5-year experience for you. If the pay seems low and the length of stay limited, that's because the Japanese government considers it a youth exchange program more than anything else. That's why the minimum qualification is also low, just a college degree. You could choose alternate agencies than the JET program, but they are getting their contracts by undercutting JET, so your pay will be lower too. A third choice for other people is to seek a job as an instructor at a private English conversation school, but you want high school, so you can rule that out.
3 :
You can work as ALT at Japanese high schools. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JET_Programme It's difficult to become a regular teacher of a high school in Japan. You need to go to a college in Japan and get a teacher license. Even if you got the license, it does not mean that you can find a teacher job. Since the number of children is getting lower and lower, the schools are getting fewer and fewer, too.
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