While ¥500,000 isn't a great salary in the United States, it is nearly double the salary of the average salaryman in Japan and almost 3x's the amount that a typical full-time English teacher is paid. You won't be rich in Japan with this amount of money (especially if you happen to be living in Tokyo), but you most certainly will feel like it at times.
You can watch the video for this blog post on my YouTube channel here.
Please watch my YouTube Playlist on working in Japan for more information or you can search this blog for more on jobs that are available in Japan.
The Truth About Working Multiple Jobs
I recently began working multiple jobs to make up for several events that took place such as falling behind on my student loan payments, medical bills, family emergencies, and as I have shared here on my blog and on my YouTube channel my eviction from a share house as well as moving 3 times in less than a year due to bad living conditions and falling for housing scams. You can say that I don't have the best luck and I wouldn't argue with you on that, but what I do have is a to of experiences and loads of information to share with you.Working multiple jobs is not all cupcakes and rainbows. It is honestly very tedious and stressful at times. You have to be very punctual and planning out your month day by day in great detail is a must. Somedays it feels as though your life is all work and no play, but the moment you receive all 4 direct deposits and when you go home with an extra ¥8,000 (cash) in your pocket from teaching private students it makes it all worth it.
Where Should You Apply?
Craigslist is the best place to find teaching jobs in Japan and to quickly land interviews. Please watch my YouTube playlist on how to work in Japan or you can read some of my older blog posts on working in Japan for more information. You generally need to already be living in Japan and preferably within 90 minutes of the location of the company you are interviewing for.Please note that my point is that you should work more than 1 job NOT that you should only work part-time.
If you haven't graduated yet and don't have the proper work visa then you CANNOT work multiple jobs because you cannot legally work full-time in Japan.
The Job Hunt
It is extremely important that you prioritize your full-time job for obvious reason. Your full-time job is what will provide you with a stable salary and that will help your resume as well various applications for credit, housing, contracts and miscellaneous services get approved with ease and be looked upon favorably. This can also make finding additional jobs that are part-time difficult as the two tend to overlap one another. For example you might not get off work until 5:00pm but the position for the part-time job (while close to your home) starts at 4:00pm or 5:30pm. It may take you some time before you find a school that is willing to work around your schedule or before you find an ad for a job that fits your availability perfectly but it will be worth the wait and there are more flexible companies than you can imagine. In some circumstances it might be worth it to negotiate different work hours or a higher salary with your current full-time position if not it might also be worth int to consider finding another full-time job with shorter or more suitable/flexible work hours and conditions.
Don't Feel Trapped!
Your employer cannot take away your work visa if you quit or break any of the rules in the contract that you signed. They only have the right to fire you and if they are really angry and petty they have the right to inform immigration that you are no longer being employed by them. If you do choose to quit your job you must notify immigration (legally but honestly nobody is going to force you to and you won't necessarily get punished for not doing so but it is against the law to not do so) within about 14 days and you must find another job within 90 days or basically 3 months.I don't recommend job hopping in Japan as there aren't a million different schools to choose from nor are their a million different English teachers, Japanese assistants, or managers. You don't want to burn bridges and leave any school on bad terms. If you find a higher paying job or a more comfortable position take some time to weigh the pros and cons, read some reviews, visit and the school's website and do some serious research BEFORE you resign from your current position. Always try to be honest and do things the right way.
Think About Your Health
Don't be afraid to leave if you are being abused or if you become stressed to the point of wanting to go back to your home country or commit suicide. Your sanity and mental health is the most important thing here! Don't let money stop you from taking care of yourself and tending to your friends, family, romantic partner, spouse, children, and pets. There will always be money to be made and positions to be filled at schools. You need to make time to relax at home, to go shopping, to indulge in a good book, to watch a good movie, to laugh with your friends, to date, to party, to enjoy intimate time with your partner, to spend quality time with your children or other family members. While you don't have to do this every day it is imprint that you set aside some time where you promise yourself that you will do nothing but relax and have fun. Consider taking a bubble bath, calling your friends or parents and venting to them about your day. Think about watching some comedy on YouTube, going to a karaoke bar or having your own at home, playing video games, painting, or exercising. Sometimes just having a journal is all it takes to keep you sane. I do all of these things throughout each week after work whenever I feel sad, angry, or stressed out. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a bad day at work. We all have feelings. We are only human. Being angry or sad is just as normal of an emotion as being happy or excited. I know that it can be hard, but try your best to not let people push your buttons. Take a step back and reevaluate the situation. Try to remember how determined you were to come to Japan and think about why and how you got here. Do you really want to give up on all of your dreams because you lost a student, a job, or your boyfriend/girlfriend? Sometimes a bad day can be a bad week month or a year but it will not last forever. It is up to you to take care of yourself and to find things that make you happy in life. Having a good balance between work and personal time off is something that is very difficult to do for anyone who works more than one job, but it is possible. You have to put yourself first!Think About Your Health
Now that we've covered the basics let's briefly look at some of the raw pros and cons to working dull-time vs. part-time in Japan.
FULL-TIME JOB
The Pros
The best part about working a full-time job is that you can get visa sponsorship, the money is stable, and it looks great on your resume no matter where you go in the world. It also makes it easier to get an apartment, loans, credit, or discounted contract plans. You can decorate your own classroom and create your own lesson plans (this can be a con if you're not passionate about teaching or lack experience). There's less supervision and more creative freedom. You will almost never have to work during the weekend. Raises are given consistently and more often.
The Cons
You're required to work pretty much all day everyday and you don't have any time to travel or flexibility with your work days and times. You also are getting paid anywhere from $5-$10 less per an hour. You are generally required to work on some holidays or weekends.PART-TIME JOB
The Pros
Working a part-time job means that you can switch between multiple companies which makes your work a lot less stressful. It's like a breath of fresh air to go to a different company everyday or every other day. The interview process is usually much easier and shorter. You only have to work for about half of the time or less to make the same or close to the same amount that you would at a full-time teaching job in Japan. The pay is more per hour but you'll generally work less hours so it's technically less money if you only work 1 job or only a few hours). You'll gain more experience working with different age groups and English levels throughout each day or week.
The Cons
You generally can't get visa sponsorship, there's no stability in your pay as your hours and pay can vary depending on the company. Your pay is dependent on your work. If worked in combination with other jobs (especially a full-time position) you will seemingly have little to no free time as your off time falls in-between multiple jobs meaning that you'll only have a few hours to spare on somedays before heading off to the next job. Most companies that don't offer visa sponsorship are smaller schools that can be sketchy or that can potentially close suddenly.My Final Verdict
While it's ultimately a "pick your poison" kind of thing, I'd say that (you obviously need to keep at least 1 full-time position to satisfy your visa requirements if you are here on a work visa) it is worth it to sacrifice some of your free time in exchange for more money. you don't have to work several jobs forever. I personally don't intend to but it is a great idea to get started living in here (short term) and then upon setting up a savings and purchasing your basics, furniture, clothing etc. you can always quit and if you need the money again just reapply for a new job or if you leave on good terms as you should you can probably continue working for your previous employer (like I have done so myself).How I Make Over ¥500,000 a Month as an English Teacher
For confidentiality reasons I cannot share the name of my company or my exact salary for each individual job that I work. Some of the days and hours have also been slightly altered to protect my own privacy. While I do share a lot I have to draw the line somewhere. I hope that you will respect my privacy and simply use this as an outline of what your work life and schedule would be like should you decide to work multiple jobs to make more money.
Below is an estimate of my daily work schedule outside of this blog and my YouTube channel.
Full-Time
Head Teacher International School
Monday-Friday: 9:30am-2:30pm
Part-Time
After School Program
Monday-Friday: 3:30pm-6:30pm
Part-Time
Private English Lessons
Days & Hours Vary
Part-Time
English Conversation School Eiken & TOEIC Prep
Saturday: 10:00am-2:00pm
I personally make almost (and sometimes more than) $6,000 USD a month (before taxes), but of course since these are part-time jobs my hours vary and sometimes I have less private students for various reasons. Because I am working so much I honestly don't have a lot of time to make YouTube videos or to write blog posts as you can tell by all of my grammatical errors and incomplete thoughts and sentences, but what I do have is a lot of money to pay off my loans, travel, buy gifts, makeup, clothing, hair stuff, and to eat food.
I am planning on opening a few schools within the next 1-2 years. I have been saving a lot of my money to purchase real estate, as well as a building for a shop, and schools in various cities. Trying to do all of these things would be nearly impossible on typical full-time teacher salary of just $2,000. Sacrifices have to be made for now so that I can live a life of luxury in the future and I'm okay with that.
My Expenses
As you can imagine this varies for me every month since students come and go and I am not always working my part-time jobs everyday or week. Sometimes I spend and save a lot less money other times I spend and save a lot more. I can admit that I am really bad with money (it does indeed burn a whole in my pocket), but with such a "high" salary for a single woman living alone in Japan it is even difficult for someone like me to overspend (yet I honestly somehow have managed to do so). Below is an estimate of my bills for each month.Rent:¥38,000
Utilities: ¥7,000
Internet: ¥0
Groceries:¥50,000 (I like to cook gourmet meals so I spend more than most)
Health Insurance: ¥0 (deducted from salary)
Phone Service:¥9,000 ( I have a lot of data and make calls overseas)
Taxes: ¥0 (deducted from salary)
Transportation: ¥0 (reimbursed by employer)
Savings: ¥100,000
Vacation Travel Savings: ¥50,000
Retirement: ¥56,000
Business: ¥35,000
Entertainment & Clothing: ¥25,000
Toiletries & Makeup: ¥15,000
Laundry & Cleaning Supplies: ¥15,000 ( I have OCD and clean more than necessary)
Miscellaneous (games, furniture, appliances, other): ¥10,000
I usually spend about ¥360,000 or less a month on my rent, bills, food, household and personal items. The rest of my money I use to help my family at home, to purchases supplies treats and materials for students, to tithe to my church, to buy gifts, to take care of my pets back in America, to pay off my tuition, and to help the poor in my region. Like most people the amount that I spend fluctuates significantly as my actual bills and rent is quite low so I have a ton of spending money every month. I have been living rather humbly and mostly saving my money as I intend to move and I have plans to have a business soon.
Want to Make Even More Money?
While ¥500,000 isn't a ton of money in Japan for a family in Tokyo it is quite a lot for someone who is single and living in small apartment or in a share house. It is more than double the average salary of the average teacher in Japan who is only paid about ¥200,000 to as much as ¥250,000 on the somewhat higher end.There are several other teaching options and positions in Japan that pay even more.For example the JET program, positions at colleges, and some private international schools in Japan pay a lot more on average than typical conversation schools, and public grade schools, and high schools. If you can land a position at a college you can make as much as ¥280,000-¥680,000 a month by just working for 1 company anywhere a few hours a day to 10 hours a day. These positions are honestly harder to land and generally require that you have a relevant Bachelor's, Masters, or Doctorate degree (just having a spouse visa isn't good enough in most circumstances). I will make more specific blog posts and videos dedicated to these topics in the future.
Thank you so much for reading! If you have any tips or questions for/about juggling multiple jobs or for applying for them please leave a comment.
Stay Tuned!
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