I’ve been looking at the possibility of teaching English in Japan next year. I’ve seen things where you can go with just a bachelor’s degree and no foreign language experience. The problem is, the JET program deadline has passed, and I’ve heard Aeon and Aclipse (and recruiters like that) are somewhat illegitimate. Can anyone offer first hand experience about a program they have done (or no someone who has done a program) that they can recommend?
JET is closed for Spring 2010, but it might still be open for Fall 2010, and definitely for Spring 2011.
AEON is legit. It’s a huge company with branches all over Japan. Try out ECC, Geos, and do a bit of searching for other "eikaiwa." Some of these places do recruiting outside of Japan.
Check gaijinpot.com for a daily updated source of jobs mainly for native English-speaking university grads. Unfortunately a lot of them require you to actually be in Japan at the time of application, but not all of them. Also check out Ohayo Sensei, who put out a bimonthly list of job ads. (You can also post your own job wanted ad for free).
The crappy eikaiwa was NOVA, but it doesn’t exist anymore. However there’s a new company which is basically starting it up again. It should be completely different management, but I’d still stay away from that place. I’ve heard too many bad things about them, and that was before they suddenly went bankrupt, leaving hundreds of people out of work, stranded in a foreign country.
Interac is a good company, where you do the same job as most JET people, minus the nice government paycheque. Still quite decent pay and to some, this kind of job is "the" English teaching job in Japan.
Right now is the hiring spree as Japanese schools start their year in April. Other companies follow suit. So don’t delay. Do your searching and send out your resume today. If you wait a month it will be slim pickings. Most positions will be filled and it will be that way for months.
Can anyone recommend resources for finding jobs teaching English in Japan?