Ive seen a lot of people saying how living and teaching in Japan is terrible. I qualify to give a response and I've lived here for 2 years now. It doest suck at all. Sure loads of things annoy me about Japan, but things at home in the UK annoy me too. Teaching can also sometimes be annoying and the moneys not great, but its enough to enjoy life with my wife and save a bit each month, and i get to enjoy living in a country where i know my wife is always safe traveling back from work alone, we always have access to good food, and most of all, this place is BEAUTIFUL!

We Japanese must think about teachers from overseas more and more. They wish we and our surrounding should give them good experiences. But our negative attitudes have made them depressed. And your pronunciation is very clear.This video will be my textbook(textvideo??) ;-)

Just starting university... but I'll remember this for when I graduate in four years! Thanks!

So many Jvloggers make videos like this but I swear this is the best one. You break everything down in a highly efficient and informative way! Thank you so much!

David, you're definitely saving me 2 years of my life. I just graduated from university and was contemplating whether or not I stay in my country 2 more years to earn experience in teaching - worrying too much that there's no opportunity for me in Japan if I go "empty-handed". Turns out I am not. This is giving me so much reassurance which I really needed and was desperately looking for credible info. My family is already settled in Japan. I have now decided to go on with my papers, process my COE and I'll definitely be on my way searching for these smaller companies or try it out even for direct-hire in BOE. Will also work on my driver's license and other matters that you've dicussed. Thank you so much for these videos! So grateful.

Many moons ago, about 16 years ago, when I first came here with NOVA, a few weeks in, another guy came, got his visa then left for a job driving forklift trucks in Osaka. I would suggest anyone who really doesn't want to teach English here, use these companies for the visa then leave if you have an offer to work elsewhere. But make sure you have a job to go to first, can speak some Japanese and understand the culture. Otherwise you'll wind up in dire straits. If the company says they want their visa back, they can NOT take it from you. Only immigration can do that.

Even though these videos are years old, I find myself coming back to recall bits you’ve mentioned and I’ve been keeping notes for when I move there next year! 🙌🏼 thank you for making them ^^

Perfect advice. Doesn't only apply to Japan, but any country. As soon as you're legally allowed to work there, and you're not on a sponsored visa, finish your contract and get something that works for you. I'd also like to say that pay tends to be lower in cities. They're where foreigners want to live, and the laws of supply and demand are definitely at play here. If you go into the towns, your rate of pay increases (I've seen threefold increases), your cost of living decreases (for rent) and people are generally nicer, too. There's more of a community feeling. You may not meet so many ex-pats, but your knowledge of local language, culture and history will be far greater. And what's the point of moving abroad to be at home (viz. Brits abroad on the Costas). Good luck to all of you starting out on your EFL teaching career. It's hugely rewarding, and while you work you also get to travel the world and meet some amazing people.

this is the most useful teaching in japan video i've come across so far. most people just push their own agenda - negative OR positive - on you, but your videos are just pure unadulterated objective advice. kudos, mon frere canadien !

I intend to spend the rest of my life in japan once i get my BA in english, i hope to meet somone special during my teaching career

I'm sure I'm not alone with thinking this, but thank you very much for such an informed video. Some of the points you brought up hadn't crossed my mind but are of importance to me.

Thank you. I found this helpful and informative. I am in my 40s and getting my TEFL certification on top of my B.A. in Anthropology/sociology is specifically, for me to live in Japan and have a teaching career in the private sector. It is my " retirement" to have the freedom to live and work in Asia with the second half of my life. I appreciate the wisdom of your experience. Arigato gozaimashita!

I'm almost done with my 5 year teaching education. This is solid advice that I will have in mind!

I'm about to become a teacher myself. Watching your videos help me greatly. Thank you so much.

I've lived in Japan 4 years now, and I watched your video before moving here, and the "As soon as you get a job in Japan, start looking for another job," bit is so true. Places that'll hire you from abroad value their lawyers who know the immigration laws and can deal with hiring people from abroad. And then their biggest asset is having a global hiring pool when tons of people would love to simply move to Japan. That way, they can treat you like s***, and if you don't take it, you're out and they'll hire someone else. There's a reason they're always hiring on every site. Start looking for a more local job that'll value you as soon as you touch down. Seriously.

This has certainly given me a heads up on how to strategize when I get to Japan next spring since I do plan to stay longer than a year. Solid and clearly shared experiences and great incite, as always. Blessings.

This is absolutely the most useful information about teaching in Japan. Thank you!

I am giving this video a like immediately because of what you said at the beginning, talking about who this video is directed to. People like you make the internet much better.

I am an esl teacher in China, going on my 4th year here, I am thankful for this experience, the salary here is great, apartments paid for, cost of living low, savings high,work environment great depending on company.

It's nice to hear actual advice and not just an ambiguous opinion that most others post.

Well said and totally true.. Accurate and bang on..the head of the nail! 2019 July it's exactly as Dave said! Hat's off to Dave

I don't even teach or anyting and I found this so interesting and valuable info sharing

Solid advice, Dave. I definitely learned some good information here.

Very well made video. A lot of people from my orientation group have no financial problem and are able to save quite a lot of money because this is their first year in Japan. However, as I have been here since 2012 (for university), I have so many for other bills to pay (such as city tax, pension and health insurance). After paying those bills, sometimes, I am in the red, even though I don't go out all that much (once a month). Utilities, rent and groceries can be cheap depending on one's location. I am located in Tokyo, so I have to live near by and that drives up the costs. I will definitely start looking for a new job soon, even though it will be sad to say goodbye to the students…

Thank you so much for this video! It definitely helps me, as I plan to apply for the JET program and create a career out of teaching in Japan

I'm hoping to be in Japan next July or so. It's cool to know that their number one requirement at smaller schools is more basic than just having experience. I wouldn't have thought that, but it really does make sense. Thanks Dave!

Thanks for another great video! I too have always thought that experience was the most important thing for finding jobs!

Very interesting story! Thank you! Good luck!

Good stuff. Senior in uni right now, looking to go back to Japan, fell in love during my study abroad over my gap year. Hoping to maybe get a post-grad degree there as well.

thank you very much for this information Dave. Exactly what I was looking for!

Dude, this is was more helpful than most of the videos on YT about English teaching. Most everyone else just complains about how horrible life is in Japan and tells you not to come there while failing to offer you with any practical advice.

I was kinda expecting this to be a bashing video about being an English teacher , but very happy it was not. I’m trying to go in about 2 years with a bigger company, and it never really crossed my mind on what to do afterward. Great advice and something for me to think about. Thank you!

that destiny one in the back round brings back good memories

Thank you for this video. I would never have thought about looking for work after 6 months if I was alrady working. I already knew about the myriad jobs that want you to already be in the country. Thats a given that you would most likely get the job versus someone who would have to buy a plane ticket and get their own visa.

If that's Destiny in the background, that brings back such memories. I miss the first game, was the best out of both in my opinion

Awesome video, you confirmed many of things I already suspected about the teaching gig in Japan, but it's good to hear it from someone in your position.

Thank you sir. This gave me an important insight. Thank you.

I had a feeling this was the case. Shop around. Don't settle for what you already have. I have a good mate who started out working as an English teacher and now he works for a huge PR firm translating.

This needs more views Thank you so much! You're really nice I know not much people would give the advice or give it as sincere

Thank you for your perspective. Keep the good videos coming

thanks dave this will help.me when.i plan my long term stay in japan in about 4.years right now im in college in america and am planning a short trip but hope to.stay long term in future.your videos all go towards that so i dont end up royally screwed in japan.

I'll be starting with Interac in Japan in March 2016 and plan to stay in Japan longer than a year. Watching your videos is really preparing me on what to expect and a guideline direction I can potentially follow :) Thank you so much! Keep up the excellent work and looking forward to more of your videos

I always had ambitions to teach in Japan but the problem is academically I'm not good enough, I have no University degree and to attend University I'd need to resit High School/Secondary School tests to get a better grade in English which these days I find hard to have the patience for, I kind of regret not putting in the effort when I was younger in the education environment but at 28 and with other real life issues to deal with now I guess I'll settle with seeing others on youtube who made it work instead, very informative video you produced.

This really put my mind at ease for accepting a Borderlink ALT job in April 2020. Thank You

I have one year left in my teacher program in Sweden. I'm a double subject teacher (English and Spanish) so I hope to find a place where I can teach both. But I will absolutely have this in mind when I'm jobhunting!

This was very helpful I’m looking into moving to Japan after about 3 years of college (I want a degree in teaching and ICT so I have some more options and yes I will be able to afford it even though I’ll have to work my ass off lol) and you gave a lot of helpful advise! Thank you!

Good video. You make some really good points and insight into how things work in regards to eikaiwa's.

Great information ! 本当にありがとうございます。from Singapore. Pls do make more such video. That's related to working anywhere in Japan.

Thanks so much, this video is really intuitive and will help me a lot in the further years to come!

Thank you for this information, it's very valuable to someone like me who is interested in the teaching field in general. I've always wanted to go to Japan and have thought of teaching as a means to do it after college, but have always wondered if being in Japan first would be more valuable. Now I know :) Thanks to your info I can make a more smart decision in the future.

Super helpful and well constructed video, thank you!

The JET program now pays higher (around 3.4 Mil - 3.9 Mil Yen after 2016 vs the 2.7 Mil they said 3 years ago when I talked to them) and they won’t allow you to find another teaching job. They’ve changed after 2016. Thank you about talking the vacation thing. I wanted to teach in the US but the lack of pay and respect is just horrible. The rent is too pricey in the US. I can understand why the demand of teachers in the US and World is so high. Looking through the JET program it’s a better deal than working where I am. Thank you again for making this video. I found it very helpful!

Hey Dave! Been watching a lot of your videos lately. You are giving a lot of great information. Keep making these videos. :)

i've seen this video 4 times that i can remember and i know i will come back for more, btw love your videos :)

Hi Dave. Thanks for another informative video. This should be very useful to me in the long term.

I’m at step one, learning Japanese :)

If I'm not mistaken that is destiny in the background. I first found this channel today while playing destiny 2. Either way love the content so far very informative

I'm a bit late to the party, but great advice man. Hope Japan's still treating you well.

Great advice! Hope everything works out for you in 日本🇯🇵 !

Your videos always calm me down when I get nervous about moving to Japan. My girlfriend lives there and I would love to be with her again as soon as possible so I've been worried about my chances of going back. But watching your videos always helps me feel better about my future. Thank you for that.

Super helpful, thanks for making bud.

I've heard a lot of people say they see schools and talent companies completely wave most of their requirements all the time because of how much they want you to be already here. Being a native English speaker and already living their seems to be enough at least some of the time. I'm still going to get my degrees first but it makes me feel better knowing that plenty of people with zero experience and no higher education can get teaching jobs just because they already live their.

just what i wanted to hear, clear precised and relates to me

Bro, there are eaaaasily some of the more useful and informative videos on teaching in Japan that I've come across. So good! Just curious how much the pay one can expect if you have say 3 years or 5 years or 10 years experience. If I did this it would be for 1 year with the intention of simply having a new experience as I'm burnt out on my current job and have been wanting to do this for as long as I can remember. That said, if I really like it, and want to stay longer, it would be good to know what kind of compensation potential there is in the future. Where it tops off at, etc.

Hey Dave great videos, I've subscribed and have been watching a lot of your videos lately and they are very informative. Keep it up.

There are a few problems with the information in this video. For one thing, it equates "eikaiwas" (sic) with ALT jobs (the list of the "five big companies" seems to be a random mish-mash of companies like Interac and Borderlink -- primarily ALT dispatch companies -- with the likes of Peppy Kids Club), when in fact, for people coming over to Japan on work visas (probably 99% of people who would be interested in the information in this video) rather than, say, spouses of Japanese citizens, they need to apply for a completely different residence status to switch between these two industries, which means that jobs that require an applicant "currently reside in Japan with a valid working visa" are not open to such people unless the company they intend to transfer to is in the same general industry. (Specifically these residence statuses are "教育"/"Instructor", which covers teaching in elementary, junior high, and senior high schools, and "...人文知識国際業務"/"Specialist in Humanities and ...", which covers teaching in most private English conversation schools and the like.) Also, "public holidays" are not related to pro-rated salaries. Nominally "full-time" ALTs who get pro-rated salaries when they are not working get paid their full month's salary for May despite its relatively large number of public holidays. The pro-rated months are those months when schools experience long periods of not being in session or otherwise do not need ALT services, and these are not directly related to Japan's public holidays. If a smaller English conversation school has their employees working on legit public holidays like the Emperor's Birthday, then those employees are generally either part-time (and therefore paid by the hour regardless of whether said hour falls on a public holiday), full-time (and getting paid overtime for holiday work or receiving time off in lieu), or getting screwed over by a company that is (probably -- I'm not an expert) violating labour laws. (And for the sake of full disclosure, I came to Japan on the JET Programme as a CIR and once I had finished my three years -- it's very difficult for CIRs to get transfers to complete a full five-year tenure after their contracting organization's fixed three-year term is up since there are fewer CIR positions nationwide to begin with -- I moved into ALTing for a private dispatch company before eventually moving back into an industry unrelated to teaching. Both my CIR position and my current job are "Specialist in Humanities and ..." but when I was working for that ALT dispatch company I was an "Instructor". There was also a brief period before fully changing back to "Specialist in Humanities and ..." that I was working as a part-time ALT and part-time eikaiwa teacher, which meant applying for a special work permit before I was allowed engage in paid activity for said eikaiwa school.)

Need more real J-vloggers like you

Great video! Great information as always! Thank you :) Now I must sleep @_@ 4am and I noticed a new video... and had to watch it right away, naturally. LoL

Great advice you are mentioning about the smaller companies. I will definitely remember that. Though I wonder how would a teacher already in Japan know about them?

As soon as you possibly can, become self-employed with a free-lance schedule. You should not depend on the employer for your accommodation. Next step is to found a company, so that every outfit or individual you teach becomes a client.

Good video this will help a lot of people.

im a junior in high school and im really interested in having a decent life in japan teaching. by decent i mean having enough to get by and having a bit for luxury things, such as sight seeing and etc... Is it possible to be able to have this type of life style if i put in the effort and time? thanks again!!! P.S Love your videos keep up the great work!!!

Hey man ! Thank you so much. Since I followed you, I've learned a lot

I didn't get the last thing which is about the most important thing to keep in mind.

4:52 230,000 yen per month = $24,370.80 US annually

Good to know. Gotta remember that, for the next 8 years that is.

do you have any recommendations for the smaller companies, i’m really dedicated to learning japanese and my goal is to become a english teacher but i see a lot of other youtubers complain of the small pay amount. it kind of through me off so seeing this video was a godsend

thank you for being efficient.....

I am your 1000th like on this video. Nice job!

Is that Destiny I see on the tv there?

this a informative video dave. thanks alot.

You forgot to say, even the higher wages you mention are still lower even in nominal terms, much less real terms, than in the 1990s. You also hit a wall at the ekaiwas you mention.

Some very smart points

Best video I've seen on this subject! Thank you. What about teaching requirements? I graduated Le Cordon Bleu as a pastry chef so I don't have a Bachelor's degree (only a certificate). So far every program says you must have a Bachelor's degree to qualify for teaching. However, I had a friend tell me that her friend went to Japan and got a job as a teacher with no degree at all. She said as long as you are already in the country they don't care about any teaching background or degrees. Is that true? I don't want to have to prolong the time it takes me to get to Japan simply because I have to stay in the US to go through college again in order to obtain a degree. Plus the expenses it would incur on top of it all. I don't want to spend my money on more college when I could be saving it for plane tickets instead.

wow... yeah... really? Most dispatch companies offer lower salaries because they also take advantage of loopholes which stops you getting full company health and pension benefits -- for those here a year, this is great. If you are here long term, so more than 2 years, then you want shakaihoken -- this is pension and national health all in one and is something the company also pays into which bumps up your pension credits AND reduces health costs at dental clinics, hospitals, doctor clinics, medicines etc Even in your first year you are supposed to pay pension (regardless of what they tell you...those who stay longer end up getting chased about this) - that about ¥15,000 a month... by you third year i think the average people pay for national health is around 20-30,000 a split over 7-8 payments a year... the JET program as significantly reduced numbers over the years and their benefits - but it still around 300,000 a month BUT max 4 years and quite hard to get into. Next is Interac - which is the leading dispatch company... they only have a few positions that are classed as full time and get the shakiahoken -- their average salary is around ¥230,000 but can be higher (i know my salary is much higher than that). Other dispatch companies are quite small...they kinda get the cheaper contracts but still want a large profit - so they often pay you as low as 180,000 a month. Nearly all dispatch companies try to reduce the amount of months they pay you - so no summer, winter, or spring pay...it often works out around 11 months contract, with some being as little as 9 months. As for language schools - Heart and Nova have had so many issues in the past - in fact Nova have reappeared several times and don't offer you great rates. working for language schools can be very demanding and i rarely know people lasting 2 or 3 more years -- they drop classes on you, ask you to be super flexible... and they have plenty of people lining up to teach. The best thing is to try and get a direct hire position with a good board of education. This can be very tough though and often requires more experience and preferably a permanent visa because the school doesnt want to mess around with that. The other best solution is just stick at a normal dispatch company and make up the rest of your salary doing private classes -- often with companies like interac you finish around 330pm (sometimes earlier) and you dont work weekend, and usually know way in advance when the holidays are... private classes can earn you anywhere between 1500-5000 per hour depending on who you teacher and where you teach. oh...and even that 260-270...still not matching my salary -- im with interac...and no...tha doesnt include any private lessons i do....and no...im not the only one earning that amount. i would not recommend language schools -- if you really do want to try them...do so...but have a backup plan....make sure you do your research with them...they can be super challenging.

Another great video Many thanks!

Really useful and well spoken info. Thanks

Dave, great video and thanks for it. I have written you before and thank you, you have written back. This time I write FROM Japan, have been hired and am waiting for my visa. I have a very affordable apartment through a new friend and and am lying low to save money until working. I came with enough money for several months living and am okay. The problem is my company hired me almost two months ago and just sent my papers to the immigration department... just before Golden Week. I was advised I should leave to wait. I have a place, and do not want to - though will to renew my visa. My employer also implied immigration likes it when you apply from abroad (nice for people who had to come here to GET their jobs, eh?). The last wrench is I have no degree, but am intellectually inspired, in touch with the philosophies of our time, read and listen to podcasts and write and speak proper English (sorry for the bragging); I also have 18 years of experience, visited Japan 27 times whilst living 15 years in Korea, love the place and am an upstanding pro-Japan kind of guy. Any advice?

i wonder if there are any jobs in japan for non native english speakers...

Really great video! If things go right I should be living in Tokyo in December.

Definitely useful information. Thank ya

Thanks for your advice!

In the background: *CHALLENGER APROACHING* I do believe that is 2B on the TV.

Thank you for your video "Things I wish I'd know:Before teaching in Japan. I live in Japan and in the process of getting an ALT job. I will love any tips. Thank you. If possible, I will like to discuss with you one on one

Wow, great video :) Easily the most informative video of its kind that I've seen on yt and still hasn't been bested over the past five interceding yrs. Have any significant changes occurred in the field since releasing the video though?

I am interested in teaching English in Japan after I retire from the Army so money will not be an issue at all. What I really need to do is look into how I would actually teach. Is it just teaching things like nouns and verbs and proper sentences and punctuation? I still have another 18 years before I retire but it's never too early to start learning.

Destiny behind you! You play destiny that's awesome!

Great advice, thanks.

Thank you. Did you start on JET or with a larger company when you first arrived? Would you still recommend taking this approach when starting with JET, where you get higher salary and good hours and can re-up so easily? Would love to hear what you think :)

Which countries do they prefer to hire English teachers from? do they take from non-native speaking countries?