Should I become a teacher in Japan or a nurse in the States? Any ADVICE or TIPS are welcome.?

Question:

I've been indecisive about whether or not I want to be a nurse or teach English in Japan. For a few months now I've been on the nurse side, then I wavered to the teaching side. So my questions are:
- How well will my living be if I live in Japan IF I can get a job there?
- What should I major in besides English? If I still get my nursing major I can still teach but would I still get hired as easily? I will become TESOL or TOEFL certificated, or both no matter what degree I decided upon and learn Japanese nonetheless because it's a beautiful language.
- I plan to not have any children, for various reasons, will my life in Japan be easier due to this?

I just want a simple life and I'm not sure what I want to be a nurse, or teacher. I will only be a nurse if I'm in the states, and a teacher if I go to Japan, UNLESS due to some miracle land a job at an clinic? But I think Japan has it's own nursing rules, laws, etc. and I probably wont be certified.

Anyways, answer my questions and give me any other tips, advice, and input. Also, my bigger dream is to teach in Japan but I feel like it will be easier to become a nurse and teach in the states... And the JET Program is amazing and I would totally do it but I'm engaged and my future husband doesn't want to get separated. Unless you know of a way in which I get my own housing and not a shared place and I could have my husband live with me. In case it matters, he is a computer science major.

NOTE: Just in case it matters, I want to go to Japan for the main reasons of it being safe, lots of public transportation, hospitable and kind people, beautiful landscapes in the countries, and their culture is the most intriguing to me. That said, I'd love to live in a small town on the outskirts of a city.

Thank you for reading. Any advice is welcome. I really need all the ideas I can get.

Answer:

There are benefits to both.

If you actually want to go to school specifically to be an English teacher in Japan, that will in some ways put you ahead of the crowd in Japan. Most native English speakers in Japan originally did other things besides trying to be a teacher, then just found teaching work there. Your resume would be really useful if you had all the certifications. Also, you'd pretty much be guaranteed continual employment in Japan. There are so many jobs for teaching English in Japan that some companies only have the qualification that you are a native English speaker. Some don't even require that. I've seen people from countries like Bangladesh and Cambodia teaching English in Japan.

Being a nurse would have the benefit of providing you with a job in the U.S., but also leaving open the option for teaching in Japan too. Like I said, there are always English teaching jobs in Japan, especially for educated people. You don't necessarily have to have an English major, a teaching certificate, or the other certificates like TESL, TOEFL, etc. It just won't be quite as easy.

One thing you could do is go to school for nursing, get a bachelor degree, then apply to the JET Programme. If you get accepted, go to Japan for a year and see how it works out for you. If you like it, you can usually renew your contract for another 2 years, 1 year at a time. If you still like it, you can look for other employment in Japan so that you can stay.

If you think you'd rather return to the U.S. and be a nurse, you can do that.