Hi Napolioni. What kind of questions do you have? Feel free to ask it here or if you would like, go to our contact us page. I can try to answer them as best as I can.

Hi Jack…are still on this site?..l have some questions..

Hi Ocean,

That’s a very hard question to answer without more information. The jobs you can get will depend on where you are and what qualifications you have. Are you already in Japan? Or are you looking to move to Japan? Do you have any teaching experience? Do you have a diploma from an accredited 4 year University?

I’ll assume you are not currently in Japan and are looking for a way to move there. If this is the case, and you have (or will graduate) from a university, I highly recommend applying for the JET Program if you are from a country that offers it. It is a long application process that is comprised of writing an essay, following tons of instructions, and asking for 2 very good recommendations. It also takes months before you know if you will be accepted on the program or not. It is also very competitive. But as far as benefits go, JET is probably the best way to get your foot into the door. It has pretty good pay, probably the most benefits out of any Japanese teaching job (for foreigners), and they just take better care of you that most other private companies. There are some downsides, but if you can, I would apply for that.

If you need a job that will sponsor a visa for you to live and work in Japan, you 100% need a diploma from a 4 year university. If not, it may be possible to get a visa with other methods, but it is very, very, very difficult to do.

If you have a diploma, using a private company like Interac is a semi easy way to find a job in Japan…as you already know, I hate Interac though. But every situation is different, and I know people who actually like working for Interac more than when they were on the JET Program. The good thing about Interac is that they make it easy for you to come to Japan, as they will take care of your visa for you (but might leave you to do other important things on your own).

If you give me a little more information about what you are looking for, maybe I can be of more help. Or I hope the info I typed here helped you out in someway 🙂

Hello Jack,
What in your opinion is the best way to get a job teaching English in Japan ?

Hi Boniswa. I can’t speak for Louise, but I can talk about my experiences with Interac. Depending on the location and branch of Interac you work for, the salary (and possibly benefits) will be different. I forget the exact number, but I believe I had 5 paid days off per each 1 year contract. Although keep in mind that you may not be able to take any of your paid vacation until you work at least 6 months with the company. Also, I believe the amount of paid days off increases each time you recontract for another year. If I remember correctly, you got 1 extra day of paid leave for every year you recontracted with them. There was a limit to this though.

And YES…your salary will be cut for several months out of the year. So you need to plan accordingly. The biggest pay cut is in August, where you only work 2 weeks max. Since you only work half of the month, you will only be paid 50% of your normal salary. In December, you only work 3 weeks, so you will only get paid 75% of your normal salary. It is often the case that you don’t work a full month in March and April as well. So you might be looking at another 25-50% pay cut in March (or more) and another 25 -50% paycut in April. Yes, that sucks if you really need the cash.

Don’t take my word for it. Their website is pretty up to date, and they are pretty clear about their pay and vacation days when they hire you (although they are shady when it comes to teaching hours and working conditions…in my experience). So I would check their website for more information….you can also contact them directly. They are pretty good at answering your questions…but just be sure to call when they aren’t in their hiring season…they are extremely busy then. It’s been a few years since I’ve worked with them, so its best to contact them for any specific questions.

If you want my honest opinion…I hate them. Mostly because of the staff I worked with. Although I think their pay and benefits are pretty crappy, they are still better than many other companies out there. The one good thing about them is that they are on the ball when it comes to getting your visa. They kind of help you with other things like health insurance and what not (if you’re a normal, contract employee), but you still have to do some things on your own.

No problem!

Unless things changed, you won’t be able to apply through Thailand if the Japanese Embassy in your country of citizenship is located elsewhere. Well, you can apply, but if you make it to round 2 (the interview stage), you will need to fly to the Japanese Embassy where you applied from. I’m not sure about the Philippines, but as an American, I had to apply though a Japanese Embassy based in the USA. I would definitely check to see if this applies to you too. I have a feeling that it does.

If you can’t make it back to your home country for an interview with JET, Interac is a much easier way to get into Japan with a teaching job, but I highly, highly recommend trying for JET. The pay is much higher with JET and the benefits are probably 10x better with JET program. Generally speaking, the support and feel of the job on the JET program is much better than Interac (in my experience) because at the end of the day, Interac is a company who prizes profits more than their workers. With JET, the focus is more on you as a person than making money. That being said, every situation is different and you could be placed in a very remote area with JET. Interac also has some remote areas in Japan, but definitely not as country as some areas that JET program participants can be placed in.

Overall though, I highly recommend JET. It’s a long and tedious process to go through to get the job, but it’s worth it. On the flip side, I recommend that you avoid Interac if possible. While there are a lot of other worse jobs you could get in Japan, there are also much better jobs as well. The positive thing about Interac is that the pay is not as bad as other companies (although I still think it sucks) and the ease of getting a visa to work in Japan.

Hi Jus10,

To make myself totally transparent, I used to work for Interac for 2 years or so..and I completely hate them. The staff in my regional office was phenomenal though. Now they are not a horrible company…there are much, much worse companies out there. But they are in the business to make money, and just like your comment says, they try to get as much as they can out of their workers. However, it’s not as bad as you may think.

I hate this saying, but it’s true. Every situation is different. Interac offers different salaries and options depending on the area you are in, as well as your experience. In my time with them, I had 0 problems with time per week of work. I worked 7 hours and 45 minutes per day (including lunch time), 5 days per week (with a couple of Saturdays throughout the year for special events). What I did have a problem with was it totally felt like you were just a number, a robot working mindlessly to make them money. While many of the staff do care about their employees, there were some (like my supervisor) that made you feel like it didn’t matter if you stayed with them, or not. So depending on where you teach and the staff you work with, your experience will vary.

As for the 29.5 hours per week for a “full-time” employee, many companies do this on purpose. They limit your working hours per week to less than 30, because if you work more than 30 hours, they are required to provide you with health insurance, and I’m not 100% sure so don’t take my word for it, but I believe they need to pay into your pension as well. However, if you don’t plan on working your whole life and retiring in Japan, having a pension actually sucks…the reason is you have to pay for at least half of it each month, which means you get a smaller paycheck. So even though I was working close to 40 hours per week, I believe I was still classified as a part-time employee. However, for my position, Interac supported my health insurance (you still have to pay monthly fees for this, but its better than the standard issue national health insurace), and they paid for half of my pension every month (you have to pay the other half).

So here is where it gets complicated and is grey area. If you are working 7 hours and 45 minutes per day, 5 days a week like most people at Interac are, that means you are working close to 40 hours per week. That is in your contract. Your contract says what times you have to work from and how long your working hours are. But you get paid a salary, so the amount you get each month is set. So if there are national holidays that month, and there are only 19 working days, you pay would still be the same if you worked a month that had 22 working days. I believe that some branches/companies do put the 29.5 hour contract in their contracts even though you work more so they don’t have to support your insurance..as mentioned above. But if Interac says they will cover your insurance and pension, then technically the 29.5 hour thing doesn’t matter. So the main thing is to ask them about all of this before you sign the contract.

Okay, my rant is going way too long here. I hope this helped. If you have any other questions, please let me know.