Perhaps a foolish question but...

[Naguib]

My question is highly optimistic but I'm willing to ask it anyway. Is there any chance that I would be able to teach in Japan without a bachelor's degree? I was looking at teacher exchange programs, and saw that JET, for one, requires at least that. I was hoping that maybe a TEFL certification through CELTA may be enough for some schools? an eikaiwa? a language lounge? I don't need anything fabulous, I just want a job.

I have a year and a half of college done and I'm nearly twenty so I'm not straight out of high school or a drop out - so I have some experience? I'm a little confused as to what I want to do college wise (i'm a prospective transfer student) so thought that maybe teaching in a country that I'm interested in, and also learning the language of, might be good...
Thanks a lot all,
hannah

[ketanakrav5084]

I think it's horrible the lack of response to most of these questions.

I too, am trying to seek a job in japan without a degree but only some college. Unfortunately due to final situations it will be a while before I can return to school

I have heard from friends, who were living in Japan. That it is possible to get a visa job without a degree. You can try using gaijinpot.com and just keep applying even if it says you need a degree. The best support you can give yourself is to work as hard as you can on your Japanese, even take the JLPT. They will look really good on your resume. Also getting the TESOL certification IS a good idea, there are different programs for doing that and I'm currently still researching them.

Another way, if you can swing it. Save up money and go to japan before the school year, (you have to figure out what is the major higher/leaving time of the city) and just go on tourist visa and apply for jobs. I have heard and seen people get visa supported jobs because they were already located in japan, had some college, and were native English speakers. Needless to say some of this requires luck. If your in Tokyo, go to HMV and on the 2nd to top floor and sometimes the main floor they have the magazines. There is one called "Metropolis" which is mostly in English and the whole back of it is jobs for gaijin.

I hope this might provide some insight for you. The best is to continue with school and at least get an associates, or if interviewing be able to show that you are enrolled in online courses to continue your education while your working. Also, while I forget the proper names, know the four type of Japanese. Casual, Polite, Formal, Honorific Formal. The last one you will need for interviews and for talking with co-workers when you start. My friend who was a full time teacher in japan said he got "scolded" by some of his Japanese coworkers (other school teachers) for not using the honorific formal when speaking with him. (This is an unusual case, but best to be prepared)

I hope this might be helpful. Also anyone else reading this, if I missed something or the information is incorrect, I hope they kindly address it. ^_^* がんばって！

[Naguib]

Thank you so much for a reply, I was not really expecting a response for the reason you mentioned. But the information you've given is very helpful, and I hopefully will be traveling in Japan soon, giving me a much better chance. Thanks again!

[Taurus]

This is all personal opinion, obviously, but:

I don't think it is literally impossible to get a job teaching English without a degree, but I think it will be extremely difficult. Apart from JET, most of the major eikaiwa and organisations like Interac (ie. contracting organisations that send teachers to schools) currently require a degree, and while there are smaller language schools, there are lots more people looking for jobs than there are positions to fill. If you're not already in Japan, you'll also need to find someone to sponsor your visa, and if you look through the job listings you'll see that not many of them are willing to do that (I guess because there are plenty of candidates who already have a visa).

The other thing is that teaching English is not an ideal way to learn Japanese. A lot of English-teaching positions require you to work pretty hard, so you'll be using English all day. I'm currently on the JET programme and I'd say I'm on the cusp of passing JLPT2, but while my understanding has got better, my spoken Japanese has got much, much worse since getting here because I spend all day teaching, speaking, and correcting in English, and when I get home my wife refuses to speak to me in Japanese because she wants to maintain her English. (And when I try to speak to her in Japanese we always end up rowing! Maybe time to find a conversation partner on Skype!)

So my advice would be to keep looking through all the job listing sites in case you can find teaching positions that don't require a degree. If you're really interested in teaching English then yes, by all means pursue some sort of English-teaching qualification because it can only improve your chances. And if you're really interested in coming to Japan, then try to find out what other opportunities might be available and continue to work hard at improving your Japanese.

Good luck.

PS. You might find some interesting links here.

[ketanakrav5084]

Yes, I do agree.

Having people to practice with is very important. I have an "adoptive" japanese father who lives in the states, but when I went to Tokyo we stayed at his apartment. Also, thanks to help I do have a group of japanese friends dispersed between USA and Japan.

One of my friends taught in Japan for 4yrs, and his (now) wife is japanese. To help each other with language he would speak japanese at home and she would speak english. 2yrs later they are both fluent in both languages.

The amount of japanese you can learn in a set amount of time is entirely up to you. In Tokyo I met people who were there for 10yrs and were asking me to talk to people for them (I had only been studying Japanese for 3 months) because they couldn't even ask where the bathroom was!!! Then, in the case of my friend, I was teaching him how to read Hirigana 2 months before he left. A year later when we met in Tokyo he had just past the JPLT 3. A year after, he missed passing level 1 by only a few questions. This was while he was working as a english teacher for private high schools and as an english magazine journalist.

There are other jobs available too depending on your japanese and personal interest. If your involved in the music industry or gaming, or illustrative you can get jobs doing translative work or other just by leveling your japanese. I have heard of many anime studios who want to hire american cartoonist and as long as their open minded will teach them japanese as needed. Be creative and think of your own self strengths, while english teaching is the easiest foot in the door it's not the only possibility.

[mieth]

I guess I will write about my experience so far.

I do not have a degree so I will just get that out there up front. I originally came to japan on a tourist visa. Right before the expiration I jumped over to Korea for 4 days and then came back for another 90 days. Right before that finished I went Fiji for a week and came back again for another tourist. This time I had a little trouble with immigration coming back in. But they didn't really give me that hard of a time. I had to wait in a room and they came back 10 min later and gave me my landing permission. They didn't say anything else. During this period of time I got my paperwork together to go to a language school. After two months passed I went back to the US to wait for my pre college visa with the language school.

I got my visa came to Japan and did a year and a half at the language school. Finished that and then entered a Japanese university and finished that. Now I am quitting school and found a job with a company. It is related to my previous line of work in the states so they are willing to help sponsor my visa.

Normally you need a degree from an accredited university buy honestly I doubt they would know the difference between a fake one online. One of my co-workers got his working visa approved with only an associates degree. He didn't actually know that he needed a bachelors and just included it with his application. He got a 3 year working visa no problem. If you don't have a degree you can still get a working visa if you have 10 years related experience to the new job you will be getting. Finally the last way is with only 3 years of work experience in a related field. The catch is that it has to be either in translation, language education, international sales/business, special ways of thought required for business etc. If you have this you just might be able to squeeze in without a degree. This is the route I am trying for and I was at immigration 2 days ago to put in my application. Ill let you know how it goes. All is not lot without a degree but I recommend you have one.

I certainly advise against it but I have met people here who got working visas on fake degrees. I don't have my degree but I am not willing to stoop that low just to be in Japan. Anyway if you can manage to just eek out an associates you might be able to get lucky like my co-worker. If yo have finished a year and a half just stick it out for another semester or two and give it a try.

Good luck. Cheers.