Despite a dip in new arrivals brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, many non-Japanese who live in this country are here teaching English. While the industry was dominated by a few major companies just a decade ago, these days you’ll find a lot of smaller companies running schools for children in particular.
As with any industry, there are definitely challenges that you need to be aware of before accepting a new job. One common issue that seems to come up time and time again? Contracts.
Though not necessarily malicious, such precarious, short-term contracts tend to lack ample benefits and adequate protections. The image of a foreign teacher of English tends to be that of a person who is here to make some money and travel after their graduation, thus corners are cut because some firms think they can get away with it.