Would you recommend teaching english in japan after college?

Question:

I'm learning japanese and it seems fun so would you recommend it :)

Answer:

I do, but you really need to have realistic expectations of what it means to teach English in Japan. I think most of the people who burn out and go home early (especially the ones who break their contracts to do so) go over with very unrealistic expectations of what they will experience there and give up when the reality isn't what they expected.

I'm assuming you're talking about the kinds of jobs available through programs or organizations like JET, Interac, Altia, or the various eikaiwa in Japan. You need to be aware that these jobs are short-term, temporary jobs with no chance for things like promotions or pay raises while you have them. Your salary isn't going to be that high, but if you are careful with your money you can still save some money while having fun in Japan. You need to keep in mind that you are actually there to work, so you probably aren't going to have tons and tons of time to travel around and have fun. You're there to do a job, not have a paid vacation. How that job goes depends very much on the people around you -- some schools use their foreign English teachers (usually called assistant language teachers of ALTs) as human tape recorders and only bring them out to read words and passages from the textbook. Others expect their ALTs to plan lessons and be very active teachers. Most probably fall somewhere in between. You may have periods of complete boredom interspersed with periods of being so busy you don't know how you're going to manage everything. You will most likely spend your days eating unfamiliar and sometimes unidentifiable foods. When you go home at night to cook, you may not have the equipment or ingredients to cook foods from back home for yourself. Your sleeping and living arrangements could be very different from anything you are used to back home. Some of these programs allow you to choose where you live from a pool of open spots, while some programs (like JET) put you where they need you. That means that if you are determined to only live in Tokyo or some other big city, you might get lucky...but you might not. JET, for example, no longer places people in Tokyo city. You are just as likely to wind up in the boondocks where the closest train is an hour away by car and you are the only non-Japanese person for miles around. You may or may not be around other people who speak your language, which could make even the smallest everyday task difficult if you don't speak Japanese. On top of all of this, people are lining up in droves to teach English in Japan, so competition is intense for even less-than-ideal spots and situations and you will probably be expected to sign a one-year contract. No trial period of a few months to see if you like it. There are people who want to stay a year or more lined up right behind you to take any job offer you turn down.

That said, if you are aware of and feel prepared to deal with these facts -- especially the bit about how you're there to work and not have a paid vacation -- you are in a much better position to have a great experience than many other people. If you want to experience the daily rhythm of Japanese life that tourists don't get to see, this is definitely a good way to do it. I thought it was fascinating to see the workings of a Japanese school and I made a lot of wonderful friends. I miss my school, my friends, and my students. Besides, doing something like this can be really good for your resume.

I'm assuming you have at least half of a year left before you graduate and need to make a decision, so my advice is to really examine your goals and expectations for teaching in Japan, then take a good hard look at the realities of the situation and see how they mesh with your expectations. If you think you can handle the realities, give it a try.