Job Discussion Forums

[gaijinalways]

[womblingfree]

[elkarlo]

[Apsara]

I used to work at an place that hires competent non-native speakers from all over including the Philippines and India. They were treated the same as all the other teachers. I also have a Pakistani friend (not Pakistani American or anything like that, born and raised in Pakistan so has an obviously Urdu-influenced accent) who worked as an ALT- he also never reported any ill-treatment or different treatment.

Generally speaking though, there is a very strong preference here for teachers with NZ, Australian, Canadian, US and UK passports and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Incidentally I think a lot of JETs/ALTs would disagree that they only teach culture, not English. Not all of them are human tape recorders.

[gaijinalways]

Apsara posted

[Glenski]

[Asher]

ECC cancelled my interview that was scheduled for February. I didn't get into JET this time around, so this is somewhat of a disappointment; especially since I could have gotten an interview in January, but wanted to find out where I stood with JET before interviewing with ECC.

I think my next step is to apply to Aeon and see if I can't get into the LA session during the same time period I was scheduled for ECC.

[elkarlo]

[elkarlo]

[Glenski]

elkarlo,
Look at the stats in the JET pamphlet. The number of Americans has fallen only 10% in the past 4 years, and the overall number of JET ALTs has fallen only 23%. With the inroads made in the public school system by dispatch companies, this is not surprising.

But it is also not an indication of a 40% drop!

One JET ALT and an admittedly dubious web site like BD are very poor supports for your statement. I hope Cthulhu comes here and says more because he has firsthand info on this. Until I see that, I will refuse to believe what you have written.

[RollingStone]

Would an indicator be the rising age limit? My understanding is that originally it was much lower than now

If an indicator, that could point to declining quality among original age range pool, decrease in applicants within original age pool or increased higherings(sic?). Could it point to anything else? So if it is because of not the latter then it must be because of one of the former?

I heard via completely unsubstantiated rumour that though the official ceiling is 40, unofficially it was raised to 43, due to declining applicants. I applied and did not get an interview. Maybe the rumour was false, or I comparatively suck.

[elkarlo]

[elkarlo]

[Glenski]

Are there really more people these days wanting to go to Japan and teach? Hard to say. Yes, I've seen that site. Been scouring sites for useful information for over a decade now, and I visit half a dozen sites or so every day.

If there really are more people applying, then it only makes mathematical sense that more would be rejected just because the number of JET positions is either fixed or is diminishing. Thanks for your clairification, though.

I, too, would like to know the success rate and total number of applicants for JET, but I suspect JET will never divulge those figures, and that they vary depending on country. I've seen people in the know write that JET requirements are rigid in some cases but not in others. One person wrote that they were on the selection panel, and even though they thought one applicant was woefully in adequate for the job in many ways, the Japanese panelist(s) overrode them and hired the person just "because he is so cute" or something like that. Sigh.

Yes, of course one's chances diminish after 39, but they aren't zero. Junior high kids respond better overall to younger teachers anyway. I wonder if our resident poster Cthulhu can respond to this. I seem to recall seeing him write that not only is JET hoping to get people with more teaching experience these days, but they are also hiring more and more of the over 40 group (although I suspect those numbers are very low percent increases).

[AgentMulderUK]