the JET programme

[natgoodalieman]

Hello. I am interested in the JET programme and have just found this site, so was hoping someone could help me?

I think I would qualify for JET, but was wondering more about it from previous JET participants. I dont have any teaching training, but that doesnt seem to be a requirement. Seeing as Id be totally crap at teaching something i dont know, Id do a training course before i went. even if it is just for my own benefit. any other suggestions on what i should do to prepare should i be accepted?

i was wondering if you can have any preferance about where they place you? I hate the countryside so would die if they placed me there. can you ask things like this? ideally, id like to be placed near tokyo, but i guess thats everyones preferance. (?)


thats all. any feedback would be great. thanks.

[FG Lurker]

With JET you have no control over where they place you. It could be in Tokyo or it could be in backwoods Shimane.

Your experience on JET will completely depend on where you get placed and the people you have to work with. Some JETs have great times here and a lot of freedom in the classroom. Others are treated as a living tape recorder where all you do is give a few pronunciation examples in the class. Most are somewhere between these two extremes.

There are lots of JET-specific sites around, digging around on Google should lead you to them pretty quickly.

[AssKissinger]

If you haven't already, check out Big Daikon.

Don't worry about being able to teach. If you come to Japan as any kind of English teacher the last thing you should ever try to do is really teach. It's a great experience; it just doesn't have anything to do with teaching.

[ichigo partygirl]

Im also thinking of joining the JET bandwagon as an easy way to get back to Japan with a job. Ive heard if you have pretty good reasons (such as family, lived there before etc) they will place you where you ask.
Id rather come on my own steam and get a job but im worried about being caught in the 'weekend to Korea' trap, or not having a stable income.

[Big Booger]

Every situation is unique.. that's the first thing I learned on the JET trip... i knew people who had it set... furnished house, car, summers off, all national holidays, they left school at 3-4pm, and basically had a breeze of a time. And they were paid on the high end...

And then I knew people who got the royale ass fuck from hell on the JET jaunt... had to acquire their own place, their own transport, had to work every day except national holidays and were required to stay until 5 or in some cases 6.

Some chicks got sexually harassed by co-workers, their vice principals, or principals. Some dudes I knew got invited to stay the night at the principal's palace and were treated to some wonderful kiddy porn...

I mean there are horror stories but overall I think it's a decent gig if you're not coming over to think you are going to improve your career... trust me it's a dead end and the eikaiwa industry is on a downward slope to end up in a shitty sess pool of degenerates.

I mean the going rate when I arrived here in 2001 was between 270000 and 350000 yen.... and now you look it's as low as 170000 to 250000 and getting lower... Thanks to go-between, outsourcing and all that scammy shit.

come over, do the 1-3 years 4-5 if you do elementary ed. and then get the fuck out of here... it's a win-win... you get to fuck off for a while and they get to see a gaijin entertainer (teacher if you prefer to call it that)...

"All in all you're just another brick in the wall."

[akatsuka]

Im also thinking of joining the JET bandwagon as an easy way to get back to Japan with a job. Ive heard if you have pretty good reasons (such as family, lived there before etc) they will place you where you ask.

...really?? interesting... where did you hear that from and how realistic is it?

[ichigo partygirl]

Many people i have known have gone on JET - i guess it depends from which country you are from and what your reasons are / how nice the person is feeling at the time of your application.

[Greji]

is on a downward slope to end up in a shitty sess pool of degenerates.

Ahh, does that mean you're going to be dropping in to see me Boog?

[Big Booger]

Ahh, does that mean you're going to be dropping in to see me Boog?

You betcha!

[natgoodalieman]

thanks for the info. i didnt know abou the 'daikon' JET page, so i'm taking a look now.

can i ask - what are the advantages and disadvantages in your opinion of doing jet?

I'm going to be broke when i graduate, so do i have to have ton of cash behind me? I know the money isnt great, but, do you have to pay for accommodation etc? could i live on the pay they give?

thanks again.

[kamome]

thanks for the info. i didnt know abou the 'daikon' JET page, so i'm taking a look now.

can i ask - what are the advantages and disadvantages in your opinion of doing jet?

I'm going to be broke when i graduate, so do i have to have ton of cash behind me? I know the money isnt great, but, do you have to pay for accommodation etc? could i live on the pay they give?

thanks again.

Don't worry too much about money or accommodations. It's probably a good idea to have a couple thousand dollars on hand when you come to Japan to handle expenses until your first paycheck. You definitely can live - and even save - on the JET salary. The amount you save depends on the cost of accommodations your local authority finds for you and your overall spending habits.

I happened to have the shittiest apartment imaginable- a 6 mat room with no heat and only one sink, plus a Japanese toilet (hole in the ground) and a shower/bath in a concrete cell. Seriously. But as others said, you might find yourself in more luxurious surroundings, depending on what is made available for the JET teacher in your assigned community.

ichigo is right - the only way to guarantee an assignment to Tokyo or any particular location is to prove that you have a valid reason to be there, such as a family connection. The best I could do was to get an assignment in the Kanto region (i.e., within reach of Tokyo) by demonstrating that I was a serious student of Japanese and wanted to learn hyoujungo (standard Japanese), not any of the dialects of Japanese such as kansai-ben.

Advantages of JET - international travel and experiencing a new culture; interacting with Japanese people; learning a few skills that may or may not be translatable to your first job back in your home country.

Disadvantages of JET - it's a crapshoot as to how good (or bad) your experience will be; you'll have spent 1-3 years outside of the country without gaining much appreciable job experience (unless you want to be a teacher); homesickness and the frustration of being a foreigner in a country that will never change its strange attitudes toward foreigners.

[jingai]

homesickness and the frustration of being a foreigner in a country that will never change its strange attitudes toward foreigners.

Maybe, or maybe not- on what timescale? Things have improved a good bit since foreigners were cut down in the streets of Edo.

[kamome]

Maybe, or maybe not- on what timescale? Things have improved a good bit since foreigners were cut down in the streets of Edo.

Come on, jingai. How long have you been a member of FG?

[ichigo partygirl]

If anyone else can think of some equally or better paying alternative please do.
And before anyone (Gboothe) sugests no hostessing or other dodgy jobs like that.
Im only doing JET if i get placed back in Yokohama. Im hoping the fact i lived there have many friends/Host family etc will be a good enough reason.

[kamome]

If anyone else can think of some equally or better paying alternative please do.
And before anyone (Gboothe) sugests no hostessing or other dodgy jobs like that.
Im only doing JET if i get placed back in Yokohama. Im hoping the fact i lived there have many friends/Host family etc will be a good enough reason.

That's more of a reason than most JET hopefuls can give. The presence of a host family would at least give weight to your request, but is no guarantee that you will be placed there. They have to consider other factors, such as the need for JETs in that location (given the localities' requests for teachers, the number of open slots, etc.), the level of demand by applicants for placements in that area, the particular skills or background you bring to the table, etc. I recall making Yokohama my number 1 choice but wound up in BFE Saitama (of course, I had no special ties to that city).

Ichigo, what is your degree in? If you have a specialty, can you get a job in the field that you were pursuing in college?

[AssKissinger]

natgoodalieman, you can trust me on this, if you're going to teach English in Japan JET is definitely the best way. Some JET gigs may suck, but in several years in Japan the worst JET gig I ever saw was way better than the best eikaiwa gig I ever saw.

[ichigo partygirl]

hehehe Nahh insted of studying something useful for a job i studied what i was interested in..Japanese. So as of December ill have an Honors Degree in Japanese. Im dont mind teaching i guess...like AK said JET has gotta be better than eikaiwa (which i just did a year of part time) Im just worried i wont get placed in/near Yokohama
Sorry for hijacking your thread natgoodalieman!! I hope some of the questions i ask may help you in someway

[kamome]

hehehe Nahh insted of studying something useful for a job i studied what i was interested in..Japanese. So as of December ill have an Honors Degree in Japanese. Im dont mind teaching i guess...like AK said JET has gotta be better than eikaiwa (which i just did a year of part time) Im just worried i wont get placed in/near Yokohama
Sorry for hijacking your thread natgoodalieman!! I hope some of the questions i ask may help you in someway

Ichigo, instead of teaching on the JET programme, you might consider being a CIR. You would be working in a government office, most likely at the board of education in some kind of international relations position. Only people with fairly fluent Japanese can get those positions, but you seem to have the background. Problem is, there are fewer CIR positions, which means that the competition for Yokohama would be higher.

Given that you can't control where you will be assigned, I'd say don't limit yourself by geography and just do JET for the experience. It will be a great experience wherever you end up.

[natgoodalieman]

Sorry for hijacking your thread natgoodalieman!! I hope some of the questions i ask may help you in someway

no worries, they do!!

ive been interested in the fact that you would like to do JET but if you can specify where you want to do it (Yokohama). I lived in Japan for 8 months as a gap year(ish), and I lived in Saitama and had a ball. I didnt have any Host family, so I cant say that, unfortunately, but I did have good friends there and would be great if Im within travelling distance to them... if im not then Im sure I'll find other friends, its just the bother of finding them, and when you first get there, its kind of lonely for the first month or so...

anyway, let us all know how you get on! good luck.

what did you do in Japan before?

[jingai]

Come on, jingai. How long have you been a member of FG?

Not since Edo.

[ichigo partygirl]

I was a student for one year at a university in Yokohama - best damn time of my life hands down.
Kamome -i looked at the CIR thing but it just seems like more/tougher work for the same amount of money. Id rather take the easier option and increase my chances of at least being in Kanagawa-ken.
Im taking JLPT level 2 this year - i just want to get back to Japan to keep the Japanese at an OK level/get better. As well as have some more good times with my friends.

[sillygirl]

Id rather take the easier option

V sensible...

[kamome]

I was a student for one year at a university in Yokohama - best damn time of my life hands down.
Kamome -i looked at the CIR thing but it just seems like more/tougher work for the same amount of money. Id rather take the easier option and increase my chances of at least being in Kanagawa-ken.
Im taking JLPT level 2 this year - i just want to get back to Japan to keep the Japanese at an OK level/get better. As well as have some more good times with my friends.

That's true - it is more work for the same amount of money. But you do come away with a better looking resume and will definitely improve your Japanese, which you said is a goal.

So how do you game plan for the possibility that you won't be assigned to Kanagawa-ken? I guess that brings you back to your original question - how to find another job, not in an eikaiwa school or hostessing, that will guarantee you can stay in Yokohama with a stable income? That's a tough one.

[ichigo partygirl]

Yeah im not too sure. I guess ill have to cross that bridge when i come to it. In that case i might just piss off to Europe....god i hate not knowing what im going to be doing.

[sillygirl]

i might just piss off to Europe....

Yay!!!

(Waits in bar with Ichigo's drink)

[ichigo partygirl]

Yay!!!

(Waits in bar with Ichigo's drink)

(in the near future)...is drunk and lost and seemingly crazy asking for a girl with a dragon on her back..

[Greji]

(in the near future)...is drunk and lost and seemingly crazy asking for a girl with a dragon on her back..

Definately crazy. If you were sober and sane you would be talking to the dragon. Get more sense out of the conversation.

Returns to sty with friends.

[sillygirl]

Returns to sty with friends.

The doctor will see you now...

[Greji]

The doctor will see you now...

Yah Doc can you check me for Rabies? I just got bit by a dragon!

[natgoodalieman]

Id rather come on my own steam and get a job but im worried about being caught in the 'weekend to Korea' trap, or not having a stable income.

'the weekend to Korea' trap? Forgive me for being stupid, but Im taking that is when you cant get the visa so just go there and keep renewing your tourist visa by taking a short trip out of the country? (correct me if Im being stupid) I dont understand that though. As with a tourist visa, you are not allowed to work, so... what would be the point anyway? Unless you are ultra-rich or can get enough private students to teach in order to live.

Ichigo partygirl, as you have a degree in Japanese, cant you use that to get yourself employed somewhere on a work visa? I dont know what kind of job you can get with this degree, but I guess you know. (?!)

One question please - JET: How long is it for min/max? Also, ichigo, any news on the 'I WANT TO WORK IN YOKOHAMA OR ELSE!!" JET approach?

thanks