Job Discussion Forums

[ExpatLuke]

Hey all, I'm an American citizen currently living and teaching in Vietnam. For awhile now, my Vietnamese girlfriend and I have been talking about making the move to Japan. She has her 4 year degree in Japanese and speaks fluent Japanese, English, and, of course, Vietnamese.

We're both interested in the JET Program, but we're concerned about the possibility of them not placing us together. From what I understand, if we wanted to apply for the program I would would have to do it though the Japanese Embassy in the US, while she would have to do it through the Japanese Embassy here in Vietnam. I would apply for the ALT and she would apply for the CIR positions.

Can anyone who has done the JET program with a boyfriend or girlfriend tell me how easy or difficult it was to get them to place you in the same city? Has anyone tried doing it as a couple of two different nationalities and positions?

Is it just more trouble than it's worth? Maybe she should just apply for the CIR and I should look for work in whatever city she gets placed in, or vice versa.

[rtm]

[marley'sghost]

When I was a JET, there were a few married couples who were accepted and placed together. I doubt that unmarried couples would get the same consideration. "My partner is a JET and we're hoping to be placed as near to each other as possible." Eh, couldn't hurt I suppose. JET is a great way to work in Japan. Apply and see if either of you even gets an interview first. If you both apply, you effectively double your chances of being accepted. If one of you should get a spot, then worry about work for the other. Lots of other teaching gigs here besides JET.

[ExpatLuke]

Hmm, yeah I figured as much. It sounds like we'll both apply. I'm fairly confident that I'd be accepted if I applied. I'm not so sure about her. I was looking at the statistics and they only had one person from Vietnam placed in the CIR program, but that might just be due to lack of knowledge about the program.

[kita]

You might want to check out http://www.jetprogramme.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=12818 on the official JET forum. Seems like JETs are recruited from Vietnam on a request only basis.

You might have a good chance of getting accepted, but her chances are practically zero. If no BOE has made a request for a Vietnamese participant then her chances are in fact zero.

[RustyShackleford]

Hey Luke. Good to see you on my (current) side of the tracks.

JET and Japan in general is definitely biased towards NATIVE English speakers and I'd wager the number of aspiring Vietnamese speakers pales in comparison to Euro languages and Mandarin/Korean.

Since it's unlikely Vietnamese CIRs would be in demand, since your girlfriend assumedly speaks fluent English, she may be able to get some work doing work at the local Elementary schools IF they're seeking "English Supporters" as some local Japanese do in my town. She could also be eligible for work for smaller English schools if she can pull the proper TOEFL/TOEIC scores and some larger chains if she can pull that AND the proper Japanese levels. Less scrupulous ALT dispatch companies will also be just happy to get anyone who speaks decent English.

You seem to be willing to follow her around but the reality is that you as the native speaker will be an easy ticket to white-collar work and your girlfriend will most likely need to hustle more. That's without going with the employment biases against SE Asians to begin with.

The bright side to all this is that the JET salary will be more than enough for you and your gf to live a comfortable, if not daily super-exciting fun, life.

In any case, as said before, placements won't take unmarried partners in much consideration but will most likely allow you two to live together should either of you get accepted.

Finally, keep in mind that part of JET's goal is inter-cultural exchange. Having lived in Vietnam for X years may be a strike against you and you'll at least have to address this during your interview.

All in all though, good luck with your application. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!