Min Wage Job in Japan for the past 15 years has always been ALT

10 comments

1. Sad but true

2. It should be a min. wage job, sorry.

3. The good thing about the JET Program was it showed that ‘English Education’ in Japan is largely unfixable.

4. How much do teaching assistants generally get paid? I never really thought they were being paid very much salary when they were in schools back home either.

5. In Japan, a 40 hour week pays ¥200,000 gross and no chance to move up. For most students outside of school, it is just 習い事 like piano or flower arranging or ballet.

   In the U.S., even many years ago, in most schools, a student studying for an MA who secures a TA position typically receives at least a 75% tuition waiver and an hourly rate of $25-$30 for light teaching and a lot of grading papers. If they can work 20 hours a week (grading papers at night and teaching a couple of classes in the day), they could earn around $2,000 a month, which is approximately ¥300,000 per month for part-time work — although, often, this kind of work leads to… unemployment. /s

   Edit: spelling.

6. My friend, independent now, said he made a killing 15 years ago. But now it’s bloated with companies that are being driven to provide the lowest bid to BOEs.

   I will say that I would hate to be a nursery school teacher, they get shit pay and deal with a lot of shit( real and figuratively) Even teachers with a license have a shit work life.

7. That’s because, for the vast majority of people it’s just a way to pay for your tourism in Japan

   For that’s what they trick themselves into thinking before they come here and get stuck and can’t leave and then blame everyone else in the world for their problems

   Now, if you came here and you learned Japanese and you really tried to live your best life and you met someone and you got married and you’re in a situation where going home is real tough

   And you’re applying for jobs outside of the industry and you’re just not pulling it off for whatever reason, that’s unfortunate

   But I see way too many people come here and they don’t speak more than 10 words of japanese, but they tell everybody they are fluent…. And they do absolutely nothing at all to improve themselves in any other way

   And then they say that everyone is racist and that the only reason they can’t get ahead in life is because theyre a foreigner

8. Pretty sure my hourly rate as an ALT is around 1800yen 😀 the job itself is easy, come to school at half 8 and leave at half 3. No prep, no stress, no responsibilities. I feel my work life balance is quite nice atm.

9. It’s just not true.

   As of October 2024, the minimum wage in Japan is 1,055 yen per hour.

   I think most Japanese people are just much more careful with money than us, according to Japanese people I’ve talked to.e.g when I posted on that I used the green car on the train, even over a short distance, I got comments like I was showing off or wasting money. When I ask my adult students (who are spending money on an eikaiwa) what they have done every week, it’s usually just work.

   (Edited the provide clarification, add evidence for position and refine my point).

   If you come here to act like a tourist or party, no, your ALT salary won’t cut it. Then, get a better paying job if you want to live that way.
   Japan doesn’t owe you the life you dreamed of. You chose to come here.
   I know people who have been entry-level ALTs here for over ten years. They have cars and families, and sometimes their own houses too.
   It’s a real easy job in most cases. Plenty of time to work a second job if you want more money.
   It’s up to you.

10. You would get more respect flipping burgers here, better lunch too.