Teaching (ALT) or Language School First?

IELTS might help a bit. The problem is that you'll be limited to Eikaiwa positions. There's a lot of bias against non-native speakers in the business because it's very performative and they sell classes based on "Talk to a native speaker". It's going to depend on your overall fluency (as evidenced in interviews, not necessarily on tests) and, unfortunately... Your appearance. Basically it goes like this, ranked from easiest to hardest: 1. Native speaker - Super easy, no qualifications necessary. 2. "Native" speaker (India, Philippines) - A bit harder to due bias against those nationalities. Experience helps. 3. "Western looking" non-native speakers - If you look the part and your accent isn't too bad you can usually manage to find something. 4. Non "western looking" non-native speakers - Most companies won't even bother and will reject you. "Western Looking" in the above descriptions could fairly safely be replaced with "White" if you want the full, brutal truth.

Eikaiwa "teacher" here. I don't think it's that bad tbh. I've made posts in the past explaining it but there are pros and cons. Biggest pros: flexible scheduling, easy job, low stress, and imo it's actually fun. Cons: pay is terrible, no benefits, no career advancement, no raises, inconsistent pay, no paid time off. Basically, the job is good but the financial parts are all bad, IMO.