[Jason]

I have known teachers who have sourced their own jobs direct without going through an agent, and their pay was the exact same as if going via an agent. The agent was being paid direct from the school, rather than dedecting from the teacher's wage.

But then, I was in a situation where I went to Japan a few years back via an agent called ID Personnel in Sydney.

The setup was ME - AGENT IN SYDNEY - AGENT IN JAPAN - SCHOOL.

I got paid a lousy 195,000 yen in Shizuoka, whereas the other teachers got paid 260,000 yen. So I had 2 lots of agents using me. As a result, I then left after 3 months and found my own teaching work in Tokyo.

So you see, there are good agents and there are bad agents. Checkout the Blacklists and ask to speak to other teachers that have been placed with that agency.

NEVER accept a teaching job where your wages are lower than other teachers due to the fact you went thru an agent.