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Although there are 3 basic roads to teaching in Japan most recent graduates use to start their teaching careers, the destination in terms of salaries and working conditions are fairly similar.

Teaching English Conversation in Japan “Eikaiwa” The Most Heavily Traveled Road
“Eikaiwa” refers to the teaching of English conversation and it’s billion dollar industry in Japan. These consist of your large chain schools like ECC, Berlitz, Geos & Aeon. They employ thousands of English teachers all over Japan and can be found in all but the tiniest cities. There are literally thousands of “eikaiwa” schools dotting the country side.All of these schools are attempting to carry out the daunting task of teaching English to the Japanese.

What You Need to Teach
You need a 4 year degree from an University to get a job. (2 year degrees won’t cut it.).) You pretty much also need to speak English at native level fluency. There are some that do find teaching jobs in Japan even though English is not their first language but this is more an exception than a rule.

Although there is no minimum wage, most teachers drag in  250,000 yen a month before taxes.Most work weeks will be 5 days. Don’t expect weekends off. Saturdays are usually work days. The “eikawa” business whirs like a motor on weekends and someone has to teach the students right? This means that most teachers work at least one Saturday or Sunday with another weekday off.  Vacation packages are quite similar for most schools. 2 weeks of paid vacation and a handful of national holidays off is the norm. Schools differ on which national holidays they observe but the norm is 8 to 10 per year. It’s worth noting that ECC has the best vacation package of the monster chain schools and  arguably the  fewest complaints. Here is a handy chart to help you compare salaries and working conditions for huge chain schools like Geos, ECC, Berlitz and Aeon.

Expect to work close to 40 hours per week. Each school is different but you can expect roughly 20 to 25 actual teaching hours per week with the rest being office hours.  Most schools also will provide you with health insurance or subsidize it. Typical office hours are filled by grading student work, taking class notes, preparing future lessons or just chatting with students. Furthermore, teachers are sometimes expected to hand fliers as well. No joking here folks, by the end of an average day, you’ll know you worked. When the dust settles, your typical teacher workds roughly 40 hours per week.

Larger chain schools, mentioned above,  have fixed curriculums. What this means is that you’ll be using their textbooks and other teaching materials. For those who don’t have a lot of teaching experience it’s a helpful in reducing stress (there already is quite a bit in adjusting to the culture and learning the language etc.) Those who need to express their creativity in the lesson will probably find it stifling.

Students  assigned to a typical teacher schedule will probably be of all ages. Literally from a mere 5 years of age all the way up to 75. Some schools deal specifically with children  like Amity and Peppy Kids Club. Other large chain schools like Gaba cater to only adults or adult private English lessons.Because of how cut-throat competitive this industry is, most schools cater ot all ages. Student wise, you can expect a healthy dose of children and young professionals like office ladies and salary men as they’re called to make up the bulk of who you teach.

All most all of your large chain schools will provide their respective teachers with some kind of accommodations. This is a very big help as it’s difficult to find accommodations on your own without the help of a Japanese national. And it’s definitely not cheap. But the type provided will vary, you should expect things to be half the size of what you might find in most western countries. In general, furnishings will be a bit sparce as often they consist of departing teachers belongings.

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The attraction to teaching in Japan runs mighty deep for many. Many jump on jets hoping for a simpler life or a spiritual experience of some kind.  Others having heard tales of  fat money and of how  gracious and gentle Japanese are buy their tickets. Still some have a flat-out  fascination with Japan that they can’t explain. Lastly there are many who want to study their language and so view doing a “stint” in Japan as a way of achieving this.

The JET Program: Another  Road Into Japan Teaching In Japan
First off, the JET Program is the most sought after route into ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) programs for teaching ESL in Japan so it’s the toughest to get into. JET stands for assistant langage teacher who help the full-time Japanese teachers instruct junior high school students.

Salary and Benefits
Regarding teaching in Japan, The Jet program pays more than your average language school. Your monthly salary is 300,000 yen on a one-year contract. Annually 3,600,000 –if you don’t pay Japanese tax. If you do, your yearly salary will be 3,760,000.)
You’ll receive about 10 or 12 National holidays and 12 more personal days.

The local government or BOE that hires becomes the teacher’s boss, so there are differences between benefits etc. that Jet participants receive. The JET Program doesn’t pay for health insurance so you will need to pay about 40,000 yen for it.S. By the way, this is mandatory and is deducted from your pay automatically.

Experiences Are All Over The Board
JET experiences vary greatly. Newbies to the teaching scene regard the JET program as the “holy grail of jobs in Japan. JET does pay a bit more than other large chain schools, like Geos, but they’re not without problems too. some get ultra-cush jobs with nice apartments while others claim they don’t have heat in their shack of an apartment. The JET official line regarding the massive swings in living and working conditions is “each situation is different.” It’s the mantra of this organization.

Program Locations and Waiting
Participants are stationed throughout Japan’s 47 prefectures. Like most large chain schools, you can’t choose where you will work, so it’s hard to say where any teacher might wind-up. Being stationed in a very rural location is a very real possibility -  This should be kept in mind. Applications are taken in November with final hiring winding up in June. Competition if fairly brutal and many complain of waiting on an acceptance letter as the hardest part.

Which Road to Japan is Regarded as “The Best”
All in all, the JET Program is seen as being one of the more cushy jobs regarding salaries and apartment subsidies.Teacher employment services are yet another way of making money in Japan.