The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare have announced the Basic Survey on Wage Structure in 2018 on March, 29th in 2019. The Basic Survey on Wage Structure in 2018 provides us information about industry-classified wage statistics. Let’s see and explore how much salary teachers can receive based on these statistics.
We are basically going to see a teacher’s salary and reward with the following 2 wage structures.
- Fixed wage
- Bounus or reward not included in fixed wage
It should be noted that all the wage statistics I introduce here is not gender-classifed data between male and female.
Contents
Wage statistics in educational industry
First thing first, wage statistics provided by the government is based on an industry scale survey. Therefore, there is no survey of detailed breakdown of this wage structure in terms of individual educational services such as high school, junior high school. So you have to take the measure of and forecast how much you can get at the school you’re interested in working through the whole scale survey.
The following values about both monthly fixed age and bounus are the total average values based on statistic values of the length of service-classified data, educational background classifed data, age classified data.
| Monthly fixed salary | 381500yen |
|---|---|
| Anual bounus | 1,317,000yen |
We are going to see detailed values from the breakdown of the above values that consists of
- The length of service classified values
- Age classified values
Salary and bonus by the length of service classified values and age
The thing you could know through the values of the length of service classified values and the age classified values are about how much teacher’s salary rises in proportion to the length of service. Japanese educational institution partially adopt the seniosity pay rise system. The longer you work for the school, the more salary you can receieve.
For example, my graduated high school adoptes this seniosity wage system to all teachers. A monthly regular salary starts from 200,000 yen and it raises up by 10,000 yen as a teacher turns a year older.As of reaching mandatory retirement age, a monthly regular salary raises up natrually to 60,0000 yen. My high school considers salary amount based on the criterion of the length of service in the educational industry regardless of whether teacher is hired as mid-career employment or not.
The following values of both monthly salares and annual bounuses are comparitive values by each leangth of serivces.
| Monthly fixed salary | Anual bounus | |
|---|---|---|
| 286,500yen | 70,000yen | |
| 295,000yen | 723,000yen | |
| 322,800yen | 1,040,500yen | |
| 356,900yen | 1,284,400yen | |
| 409,400yen | 1,593,000yen | |
| 447,400yen | 1,863,200yen | |
| 475,600yen | 2,011,900yen | |
| 505,600yen | 2,135,800yen | |
| 508,800yen | 2,173,300yen |
The maximum monthly salary that a worker in the educational industry can receive as of mandatory retirement age is around 500,000 yen. This salary rate is at least given to a person who devotes own life to the educational industry for about 30 years continuously. If a person who changes career from an apparently different industry to a teaching job, a salary rise rate may get dull.
This is one indicator to be able to make sure how much salary you could receive from a school in Japan if how many years you should experience working as a teacher.
Pay rise rate
| Pay rise rate of monthly fixed salary | Pay rise rate of Anual bounus | |
|---|---|---|
| 8,500yen | 653,000yen | |
| 27,800yen | 317,500yen | |
| 34,100yen | 561,400yen | |
| 52,500yen | 308,600yen | |
| 38,000yen | 270,200yen | |
| 28,200yen | 148,700yen | |
| 3,200yen | 123,900yen | |
| 508,800yen | 37,500yen |
This is a pay rise rate to indicate how much salary will raise between before a pay rise and after a pay rise. These values are calculated by deducting between pay rise years, referring to the above, “Monthly wage and annual bonus by the length of services”
The pay rise rate peak of monthly regular salary is as of when it spent 10 to 14 years since a worker started working. A monthly regular salary raises sharply up to from the 10th to the 14th year of service. After the peak, it raises slowly up to before the retirement.
Likewise, the pay rise rate peak of annual bonus is as of when it spent 5 to 9 years since a worker started working. A monthly regular salary raises sharply up to from the 5th to the 9th year of service. After the peak, it raises slowly up to before the retirement.
By the way, the reason why the first year’s bonus rise rate is the highest, placed in the column of 1 to 2 year is that annual bonus is not mostly paid to a person who works for less than a year.
The average pay rise rate of monthly salary is 27,788, and the average pay rise rate of annual bonus is 302,600
Age classified values
| Monthly fixed salary | Anual bounus | |
|---|---|---|
| 164,600yen | 52,600yen | |
| 208,600yen | 393,700yen | |
| 247,800yen | 653,600yen | |
| 298,800yen | 871,200yen | |
| 347,900yen | 1,098,300yen | |
| 396,800yen | 1,405,200yen | |
| 432,200yen | 1,613,600yen | |
| 473,100yen | 1,802,900yen | |
| 500,100yen | 1,959,600yen | |
| 470,200yen | 1,780,100yen | |
| 442,300yen | 1,560,800yen | |
| 373,400yen | 1,005,400yen |
These values are surveyed by age. Correlation between age and a pay rise is quite similar to that between the length of service and a pay rise. In age classified values, when a worker is from 50 to 59, both a monthly salary and an annual bonus become the peak. After the peak, these values are diminished in stages.
In other words, people aged 50 to 59 assume the highest position in the educational institution. After that, people settle in an honorary post, a nominal post without authority of management.
Pay rise rate
| Pay rise rate of monthly fixed salary | Pay rise rate of annual bounus | 44,000yen | 341,100yen |
|---|---|---|
| 39,200yen | 259,900yen | |
| 51,000yen | 217,600yen | |
| 49,100yen | 227,100yen | |
| 48,900yen | 306,900yen | |
| 35,400yen | 208,400yen | |
| 40,900yen | 189,300yen | |
| 27,000yen | 156,700yen | |
| -29,900yen | -179,500yen | |
| -27,900 | -219,300yen | |
| 373,400yen | -555,400yen |
Roughly, 30 years old seems to be a kind of a turning point that a monthly salary and annual bonus start increasing sharply.
When you get older than 60, mothly salary is diminished gradually, as you can see the pay rise rate becomes minus from 60 years old. It clearly demostrates that a preson in over 60 gradually leave from an important post.
Private English school’s initial salary
A salary system of private English schools is very different depending on the school. Moreover, private English conversation schools don’t perfectly reveal their wage structure in public. It is hidden in a veil of mystery especially about promoting and pay rise system. All we could know from disclosed information on the internet is just an initial salary. I want to introduce the initial salary of major private English conversation school based on the following article
| English coversation school type | Initial monthly salary |
|---|---|
| ECC | 250,000yen |
| Shane English School | 252,800yen |
| Aeon | 230,000yen |
| Nova | 220,000yen |
| Berlitz | 238,000yen |
| Cocojuku | 200,000yen ~ 270,000yen |
| English Village | No information |
| Rosetta Stone | 230,000yen |
| b My English conversation school | Commission system 1600 yen / teaching 40 minutes, 500 yen/ Non-Booked |
250,000 yen per month is a start line that all you could get when you newly start working as an English teacher in a private English conversation school in Japan.
In most cases, the start salary of 250,000 yen per month, suggested by a company publicly, is a total reward before tax deduction. So your take-home pay is 200,000 yen or less.
There is also a case that a monthly salary disclosed in public is not a fixed one but just an average reward that English teachers somehow earn under a commission system.
In terms of a pay rise system, in the first place, a non-Japanese teacher is full-time but a contract worker and the salary structure is unfairly discriminated between a regular worker and a contract worker. Thus, there is a reputation that it is hopeless for non-Japanese teachers to expect a pay rise.
Don’t swallow the disclosed salary to accept without questioning. Rather, taking with a pinch of salt about the information you got is the right attitude. When you make a call to check the working condition, don’t perfectly believe what the person says to you but you just try to make sure one by one with a questioning attitude about the above things.
International school’s salary
International schools are one of the high threshold educational institutions with strict employment requirements. The posts they prepare for applicants seem to be mostly a regular teacher. This time, I quote international schools from the following article
| International school type | Initial monthly salary |
|---|---|
| The British English School in Tokyo | no information |
| Laurus International School | 270,000yen– 320,000yen |
| International school of the sacred heart | no information |
| Canadian International School Tokyo | no information |
| New International School | No information |
| Seisen International School | no information |
| St. Mary’s International School | no information |
| Aoba International School | no information |
| Nishimachi international school | no information |
| Yotsuya international school | no information |
| Nishimachi international school | no information |
Unfortunately, laurus International School is the only school that disclose an initial monthly salary on the website. In other words, international schools have an attitude to do justice to applicant’s qualification and experience individually and to estimate salary very flexibly. So, it may be quite nonsense for them to adapt the same monthly salary to all applicants evely without consideration of applicant’s career.
ALT teacher
It is said that ALT teacher’s salary is about 280,000 to 300,000, which is a higher rate than that of the general public school’s teacher in Japan. Rather, a salary of entire positions provided the JET program is set as around 300,000 per month
Rewards except for a regular monthly salary are really different depending on the municipality, accepting ALT.
Residence allowance is included in a monthly salary.
ALT’s treatment is very good but the position is only a contract teacher, having contract expiration for about a maximum of 3 years.
Conclusion
In Japan, teacher’s salary starts from 250,000 and it raises by 30,000, turning a year older, up to the peak salary, 500,000 yen per month, when a teacher becomes 50 to 59. A position that adapts pay rise system is only a regular teacher. The treatment of a contract teacher and a regular teacher are as different as chalk and cheese. However, it is very difficult for non-Japanese people to become regular teacher in Japan. If you hope to receive stable sufficient monthly salary as a teacher in Japan, international schools are probably the best choice.
how to apply as direct English teacher in Japan?
I don’t know what “direct English teacher” is. But if you look for a position in a Japanese public school you just check this article
http://hanko-seal.com/archives/5001?fbclid=IwAR0VFGvt9Djv0xiTnPigoqEDuCzTK9xpAzRwLEvq9Rsfy1Nu_5wbgm4ENlo