Hello, to quickly summarize my situation, I am a 25yo French M currently looking for a career change. During my previous experiences, I discovered a real passion for teaching, and I would like to pursue this path, potentially obtaining a master’s degree related to this field. Living in Japan has always fascinated me, as I find its culture and history very interesting ! At the same time, I am studying Japanese and aim to reach at least an N2 level in order to communicate properly with locals and my friends from Japan.
It is therefore quite natural that I became interested in the idea of living there and potentially teaching English ('cause teaching French looks complicated outside Europe/US). I was considering pursuing a master’s degree in TESOL.
Unfortunately, I have seen that many programs such as JET, as well as numerous schools (Eikaiwa, public schools, etc.), tend to prioritize native English native speakers, and without this, obtaining a visa would be difficult.
At the same time, I'm with my Japanese gf for a while, and we have considered getting married to facilitate my move to the country. However, since this is not something to take lightly, I am hesitant and prefer to take my time…
Taking all this information into account, do you think I have a realistic chance of finding work as an English teacher in Japan as a non-native speaker? (I am okay to move around rural areas to find work tho) Or should I just give up on this idea?
by Numerous-Sink-3396