Comments on: No More Easy Money for English Teachers in Japan?

By: Guy Jean

Guy Jean — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:01:42 +0000

Americans who can’t get a decent job in the US go to Japan as English teachers. The only qualification required is to be able to speak English and preferably have a Caucasian look. No wonder they are also commonly reffered to as the whore -senseis.

By: JB

JB — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:10:51 +0000

Teaching English in Japan doesn’t pay crap, anymore. Every time I go to an interview, I see five or six other guys in nice suits ready to fall on their faces.

The pay is down from ten years ago, 250k yen per month, to about 170k per month, even though it is illegal to pay a foreign English teacher less than 250k per month because it is “unlivable” according to the Japanese government. Nobody stands up for teachers, including teachers, basically. Don’t come to Japan unless you want to be hurt, hungry, and without a way back.

By: Valerie

Valerie — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:11:02 +0000

I’m sorry to bug you, but I’m looking over this site, and you seem to be a good person to ask. I’ve been looking into going to Japan to teach EFL ever since I taught it in the Peace Corps, but circumstances have kept me in the States for the last few years. I’d like to go as soon as I get out of grad school, but the JET program warns applicants about going if they plan on making payments on student loan debt, which I will have to do. Do you know if that will pose a problem?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:22:39 +0000

Matt,

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I saw your reply toward the beginning of my vacation and the email ended up getting buried in my inbox.

Dont be worried about Cantonese living in Shenzhen. Although its in
Guangdong, Shenzhen is a city made up mostly of immigrants from all over China. In the main parts of the city Mandarin is all you need. Its only when you get out to the factory districts or into some of the smaller neighborhoods tucked around the city that Cantonese becomes really prevalent, and even then it seems a lot of people are conversant in both. Traveling around Guangdong province is sometimes a different story, but even then as long as you can read a little you shouldn’t have too many problems.

One think I would urge you to consider is what you hope to get out of moving to China. If you’re looking to immerse yourself in old, traditional China then Shenzhen is probably not the best place for you. If you’re looking to make a pretty solid amount of money and use it to fund traveling then SZ is probably ideal.

Thats a pretty basic overview, but if you have any more questions youre welcome to message me at my matador profile: CptStKckr

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:15:40 +0000

Stephen, I am about to graduate in May, and am thinking about going to Shenzhen to teach English. I don’t know Cantonese and have never taught English before. What advice do you have? Thanks.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:04:41 +0000

Thanks for the update, Tim. I often think about applying for JET, but may end up going back to Korea or China…or even try Vietnam.

By: Turner

Turner — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:27:39 +0000

Agreed; I’ll start with his info and do a blog write-up soon. Stay tuned…

By: Tim Patterson

Tim Patterson — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:12:56 +0000

We should do another article on teaching in China…big new market!

Here’s an older piece from BNT with solid advice…

http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2007/04/23/teach-english-china/

By: Tim Patterson

Tim Patterson — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:09:15 +0000

Thanks so much for this detailed, knowledgeable, informative comment.

By: tom gates

tom gates — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:54:56 +0000

Yonatan gives about the most comprehensive and useful comment I’ve seen in a long time – thanks!