Hi all,
A little background about me: I used to work for an eikaiwa for a couple of years when I first came to Japan to pay the bills as I focused on my next steps. I worked a full-time position from Sunday to Thursday. I’ve long since moved on to vehicle purchasing and exporting, a dream of mine.
This past year, I reconnected with many of the teachers/instructors I first met here, and almost all of them are still in English teaching. When we caught up, they said they’re working on part-time or dispatch contracts, often juggling multiple locations to make ends meet. A couple of them said they have to move between 2-3 locations in a single day for a shift.
Aside from JET, it seems there are very few full-time positions available—maybe in eikaiwa, ALT positions, or as vocational school/university lecturers. That got me wondering: is the bar set very high for landing a full-time teaching position? Many of the people I know have master’s degrees in TESOL and lots of experience in teaching, but they’re still not getting full-time contracts no matter much they apply.
I’m curious what others have experienced. How rare are full-time positions really, and what does it typically take to secure one? Asking so maybe I can share valuable information with these acquaintances and help them get full-time work.
by Froyo_Muted