Teaching in Japan, Part 1: The Path Starting in 2004
When you live in Japan, certainly at the beginning, people will often ask the question, “Why did you come to Japan?” As a rather long term resident, I am not asked this question quite so much anymore. Certainly not by those who know me, but students occasionally ask out of curiosity. My answer has always been the same. I think that everyone looks out at the world from their own country and can see what’s on offer. Something about another country, somewhere, will appeal to their personality — something about the character of the country permeates through its culture, its art, the aesthetic, the philosophy, the things it produces, and all these things tug on the unconscious. Japan always appealed to some deep part of my autistic psyche (I remember dreaming about it at night at university), so I decided to come here when I was fresh faced and 24. Teaching was something I had no interest in and knew absolutely nothing about, other than it was my avenue into Japan. Eventually after doing it for some time I realised teaching itself fit me and my career found me more than I found it.
Japan today, through anime, gaming, ninjas, tentacle porn (is that still a thing?) and plentiful other cultural and nerdy soft power allure, still attracts droves of young people who up sticks and move here. This despite all the economic and demographic pressures it faces. For people from English speaking, wealthier, developed or ‘Global North’ (as some more progressive, guilt-sensitive types like to call it now) countries, this means taking that avenue of getting a job as a language teacher, though it is almost all EFL (English as a foreign language) teaching. Hordes of excited Japanophiles jump onto the entry rungs of the ladder. As an ALT (assistant language teacher) where you are the subordinate member team teaching with a JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) in a classroom. Even if you are lead teaching and the JTE does absolutely nothing for the 50mins, you are still the subordinate in the pair. Alternatively, many come to work in an 英会話 (eikaiwa = English conversation) school where students practice speaking in English.
Get Vernon Burn’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
I arrived in 2004 just as the dust had begun to settle on the post-bubble economy. This meant the country still had a good deal of economic oompf, but its momentum had definitely slowed. I first worked at Nova, which at that time was the behemoth of the eikaiwa industry. Through the mists of time the details are little sketchy to me now, but… was my plane ticket here was paid for by them? Surely not, as they were stingy bastards at the best of times. They did set me up in a shared apartment though. I cannot remember exactly, but I was getting well over ¥3,000,000 a year; ¥3.2m or ¥3.3m, something like that. At the time of my first contract renewal, everyone was lamenting that the typical ¥10,000 yearly raise had become ¥5,000. These days, just a brief look at the Gaijinpot job listings shows a lot of first contracts for ALTs being mostly around ¥220,000 — ¥240,000 per month (some less, which works out to be ¥2,640,000 — ¥2,880,000 per year before tax). Eikaiwa jobs are fairly similar. The great bulk out there are below ¥3m a year and, so far as I know, there are no contract renewal increases for those jobs at all now. In terms of money, it is a pittance, barely survival wages.
The grand arc of my career path over about the span of 20+ years was as follows. Out of university with a degree in Biochemistry from a mid-level UK university where I just spent three years pissing about to be blunt. After that I worked for a bank for bit and didn’t like it. Armed with my degree certificate I came to Japan and walked through the doors of Nova as an Eikaiwa teacher in Sapporo before transferring down to Yokohama after just over a year where I reached the thankless level of Assistant Trainer. → Two-ish years in and I became an ALT at elementary and junior high schools through Nova. → Then a period working for Interac at a high school ALT → Getting employed directly by that high school as a 非常勤講師 (part time teacher/lecturer) on the international course they had. → During the 17 years I spent at that high school of thoroughly enjoying teaching enthusiastic students, somewhere along the line I became a bona fide teacher, there’s no denying that now. I also had a number of part time jobs including business English classes, university level classes, and toward the end getting part-time hours at high schools attached to universities with good or great reputations. → Now employed as a 教諭 (kyouyu = a licensed, full time, permanent teacher) at an elite private high school, on the same pay scale and with equal levels of responsibility as any other teacher at the school.
I have to admit to there being a tremendous amount of luck in that journey. The main moves where fortune shined upon my countenance were being in the right place at the right time when the international course position came up at my previous high school, and slotting right into it as the only candidate — albeit someone they knew, trusted and specifically asked to take on the role. Then knowing the right people who would recommend me in both getting into part-time undergraduate teaching and then subsequently for the first big brand-name high school that I was able to work at for five years. Applying at the right time with an acceptable CV and professional history to my current school such that they chose me. I did not know too much about the school and it was a total jump in the dark in terms of salary as I never asked (it turns out most of my colleagues where the same), but I trusted it would be good given the reputation of the school. It was better than I expected.
Yes, a lot of external luck gifted from the universe has landed me in what is seen as the ideal position for many people toiling out there in the Japanese education system, but there was also definitely a minority share of self-created luck that came to me through hard work and hustling on my part during that time too. Getting a TESOL teaching certificate, then passing the JLPT to N2 level (actually back when I did it, it was called 2級 [nikyuu], but its the same thing). Then getting a masters in Applied Linguistics and TESOL while working 24-teaching-hour weeks (this may not sound like much to the uninitiated, but most full-time teachers would have something like 15–20 on their schedule — I technically only have 11 now. I also somehow managed to write the dissertation for that masters very soon after becoming a father. The sleep deprived nights didn’t hold me back too much as I passed with a distinction (something like summa cum laude for the Americans among you). I participated in JALT (Japan Association of Language Teachers) academic events giving several presentations (winning an award for one). There were busy, busy times. I’m not one for false modesty, but by saying all this I am not trying to merely boast, I am suggesting there are ways that anyone who wants to can increase their luck— though it sure as shit does help to get some from the heavens too.
Even now, though my teaching hours may seem low, I am busier than ever with additional responsibilities on my plate; creation of course materials (having literally written the textbook) for two year groups, including making all their exams, marking those exams, which come in seven waves a year (totalling just under about 1,700 exam papers per annum); year group duties; coordinating our part-time native English teachers; being in charge of the administration of an AI speaking assessment we have; all manner of other meetings, committees, administrative stuff; school trips domestic and abroad; club duties like supervision and chaperoning, etc, etc.
If the school is alive, the life of a teacher is busy. There is healthy busy and unhealthy busy, of which there is plenty of that kind to be found in Japan should you work in the wrong field or workplace. I am usually well on the right side of healthy. I like being a teacher and am lucky enough to be able to support my family on my relatively generous single income as a teacher. This definitely is the exception, not only in the English teaching field, but in any kind of work here in Japan now. There have been certain changes that have happened over the last 20+ years, which I will elaborate on in Part 2, which mean that the goal of attaining of a stable, secure job and salary as a teacher is possible, but perhaps not probable. If I could do it, it is not impossible, but I should beware of survivorship bias. I am aware that the rules of the game have tightened. The target has been made smaller and moved farther away, so one has to be just that bit luckier and more skilled to hit the bugger.
