Job Discussion Forums

[Mikoan]

Hi everyone, I kind of posted this question in an Interac thread, but thought maybe it should be a separate topic.

I just got hired by Interac for August 2009. I've read a lot of the threads about them on this board, and know that they have a mixed reputation: most people seem to find them fine to work for, but the few legitimate-looking horror stories concerning the company that I've read also sound really bad. And over and over I hear people saying to go with JET if at all possible.

So now I am wondering if I should just try to find an education related job in the United States (I am actually interested in teaching, not just going to Japan, though I'm interested in that as well) and apply to JET next year. If worse comes to worse and I get rejected by JET, I could always reapply to Interac again.

The way I see it, Interac is a guaranteed job, and I probably will be fine with them. Furthermore, my contract is only half-a-year, so if I really do not like it, I have a better chance of finding another position from Japan than I do here.

On the other hand, it is also true that I would be doing the same job for JET, except with a better salary, legit benefits, and maybe better support. Furthermore, the usual reason I've heard to choose Interac over JET, that you're less likely to be thrown in the middle of nowhere, doesn't hold true for those of us who would be going in August...we were warned by our recruiter to expect rural, very rural.

Anyway, I know eventually I have to make the decision, but if anyone here who's worked for either (or even better, both) has any advice to offer, I would greatly appreciate it.

Also, if it helps, I speak about intermediate level Japanese (5 semesters of college, been told by my teacher and other trusted sources that I could probably pass JLPT 3), and I studied abroad in Kyoto for a semester, so this would not be my first time over there. I have about two years of experience working with children of all ages (except pre-elementary school), though this is mostly tutoring or camp counseling, not actual teaching (though I have some experience assisting/shadowing actual classes). Why do I want to go to Japan and be an ALT? I'm interested in Japanese culture/language, and I'm interested in teaching. It seems to make sense.

Thanks.

[natsume]

I think we are similarly motivated. I had to answer the same question for myself a few years ago.

Here's my perspective. After my research, I was not willing to even contemplate Interac. I am very wary of their parent organization, and the inherently unfair dispatch system is unacceptable to me, but I also was most interested in getting a job as an ALT, hence JET. I was made an alternate once, and turned it down at the time because the big "maybe" wasn't going to work for me then. I got in on my second try.

To each their own, but I would have sooner gone with an eikaiwa than gone dispatch.

EDIT: My experience on JET has been very, very positive, although I recognize that I was also very lucky with my placement, or at least, I am a good fit with my placement. Also, I am semi-rural/suburban, but about a half hour from the shinkansen, so I feel like I got lucky there as well. Although I don't take full advantage of it, I really like the security of the infrastructure of the JET program, at least in my prefecture. It is a pretty awesome deal, and I am quite happy.

[Glenski]

First of all, "intermediate level" Japanese is not JLPT3. It's more like JLPT2.

Second, what is so bad about a rural setting, where you'd be more exposed to the language and have more reason to learn/use it? Don't knock the opportunity that is a'knocking!

ALT positions with Interac or JET give you roughly the same exposure to the public school environment, so this seems to be what you want. A half-year contract with Interac? Are you sure they won't just reevaluate you after those 6 months and just renew you for a full year? That's probably what they do because of the academic year beginning in April. So, if you like the Interac situation, you may actually have 1.5 years with them, not just 6 months. After that, it's up to you/them to agree on renewals.

If you put off this Interac job, and apply for JET, you won't hear about the JET slot until May 2010 (assuming you even get past the first 2 steps of the application process). So, if May rolls around and JET says "no thanks", you are in the same position you are now to look for an Interac job, but it will be 12 months later. Think why Interac needs someone mid-year, too. Why would a teacher bail out?

You may not even get a straight answer from JET in May. They may put you on the alternates list, and then you would be in limbo.

I'm not saying jump on the Interac job, just trying to give you more to chew on. JET seems to be looking more and more for people with serious teaching qualifications, so getting those in the next year or so could actually be the edge you need (and yes, JET does support more than Interac! Ask bigdaikon.com denizens for an average answer to that, but remember ESID).

[Mikoan]

To Glenski: I said "intermediate" because the people I've met who were JLPT2 seemed perfectly fluent in Japanese, had no problem reading literature/newspapers etc, so I considered them advanced (on the other hand both were studying for the JLPT1, so perhaps I did not get the most representative sample). But I don't know very much about the JLPT, so perhaps I am only an advanced beginner (I could certainly learn a lot more vocab).

I must not have put this very clearly: I am not knocking the countryside. I agree that I would get more "culture" and language exposure in the country side, though it would also be nice to have a city nearby for the weekends. I am just saying that Interac typically uses this as a selling point, that with JET you will probably end up in a tiny village vs. a suburb closer to the city. But, since this time around most of Interac's placements could be in a place as little as a few thousand people, which seems to be on the more isolated end of even rural areas. So, my point was, if I'm going to end up in the same kinds of places either way, this supposed advantage of Interac is irrelevant.

My contract lasts until March, when I have the option of renewing. So it can last for only 6 months, though our recruiter didn't recommend it (it doesn't sound like a good idea to me either unless I really don't like the experience).

Most (more than half) of these mid-year positions, we were told, are new contracts picked up after a JET left, rather than abandoned by a breaking-contract Interac ALT (though there are some of those too...too bad we don't know which).

But, that's a good point that with JET, I may have to wait for more than even a year. On the other hand, as you said, I'd be in the same place now, no worse off (hopefully) and with more work experience. Also, I was thinking of maybe getting a TEFL certificate or something along those lines if I decide to wait a year; it would qualify me for more positions in general if JET falls through, it seems like.

Anyway, thank you both (Natsume) for responding. Glenski, I've actually read a lot of your posts regarding Interac, and they were enough to make me somewhat more wary than initially.

By the way, what is ESID? I'm not familiar with this.

[fat_chris]

ESID is the JET mantra for "Every Situation Is Different."

I will post more about my JET situation this evening. Like Natsume, I am also very content with my position as a JET ALT.

Regards,
fat_chris

[Glenski]

[Mikoan]

[Cool Teacher]

Some BOEs get fed up with JET and then use ALT companies. It is true!

If a JET leaves then the shcool usually has not ALT for the whole year, and it is embarassing.

But I think they don't so much in mid-year.... Interac and other companies fight each other for contracts.

[fat_chris]

[fat_chris]

Based on the Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (JEES) criteria of knowing 1,000 kanji and 6,000 vocabulary words for the Level 2 JLPT, I would say that students of this test are at an upper intermediate/lower advanced level of Japanese.

Mikoan,

I have been a JET ALT for 2 years and have re-contracted for a third year. During these past 2 years I have lived and worked in an extremely rural setting at a high school with only 165 students in a sprawling village (spread over 8 km) of about 5,000 inhabitants.

As Glenski has pointed out, this has been very good for the language study. While I am often alone up here in the mountains, I am also away from the foreigner community of the closest big city. Furthermore, I have the time and space to dedicate myself to more serious study. On that note, it can be said that the isolation of a rural area can afford one the time and space to commit oneself to any serious personal project, whether it be online study, writing, language study, marathon training, or whatever.

I knew what I was getting into when I arrived here, so I approached it with an open mind and have since made the most of it. Even though my two years haven't been perfect, I am genuinely satisfied with my time spent here.

Coming into my assignment as an experienced teacher, I have been granted a lot of flexibility in carrying out my tasks at the school. I feel that the school takes my work very seriously and holds my contributions in high regard. My school allows me to do after-school EIKEN coaching, and several students, teachers, and administrators enjoy the Friday lunchtime conversation club that I have set up.

I am an "Assistant", but I take the "Language Teacher" part of my title very seriously. The school notices this and therefore, my relationship with my school has been quite good.

Once again, the ESID moniker must be applied. Some schools may allow the ALT to do more...some schools may not. I don't mind staying late at my school and putting in a little extra. That includes participation in club activities (track and field) and full attendance at bi-monthly English department meetings and monthly staff meetings.

What Natsume has mentioned is also relevant to my case: I may have gotten lucky with my placement, or it has just fit me...or I have just fit it. I have cherished my time in Japan as a JET ALT in a very rural placement. Whatever you choose and do, may your experience also be rewarding!

Regards,
fat_chris

[Glenski]

[fat_chris]

[Mikoan]

I actually thought my Interac recruiter was pretty straightforward...he was totally upfront about the fact that we were virtually guaranteed to be in a rural area, and also the fact that, if we wanted to actually have a good time at our school (i.e. get along with the Japanese staff), we'd be expected to put in a lot more work than just teaching, along with many other cultural challenges we should expect. He did spin things a bit, like trying to make partially paid holidays sound like a great thing (i.e. we shouldn't expect them to be paid at all). That being said, he was way more straightforward than my AEON recruiter, who I did feel like was trying to sell me on their company by glossing over a lot of potential details and problems. In fact, they didn't really go into potential difficulties at all; everything was wonderful and shiny.

Starting in August is halfway through the Japanese school year, but doesn't JET run August-August? So if a JET finishes their contract-year completely and then leaves, there's still half a school year left. That's when Interac comes and takes the contract, so I've been told. I didn't think it sounded so implausible.

I thought BOE's were reverting to private dispatchers because it's cheaper than JET, though I've seen some *interesting* numbers floating around as to how much the dispatchers actually get as well.

As for the countryside: I agree with everything that has been said; being in the country sounds excellent if your school likes you, gives you more opportunity to connect to the Japanese people, study the langauge, etc.. But what if for some reason we don't get along? Then I might feel a bit stuck if there's nothing and no other groups of people around, and nowhere else for me to go conveniently. I also personally like living in more populated places better. So for me, it seems like being in a small-ish suburb or larger town near a city would be better than truly middle of nowhere. That being said, I never said living in the countryside was a negative; I've just heard from people who worked for Interac, or even from some who worked for Interac after JET, that one of the advantages of Interac is that you get more flexibility with your location than on JET. Even in the countryside, there's definitely some parts of Japan I'd rather be in than others (the cooler parts, for example). However, our recruiter warned us that we wouldn't be able to be that choosy in this round of hiring. so if I am going to be thrown anywhere anyway (which could be a good challenge, I acknowledge that), then it may seem like a better idea to go with JET who won't screw me over if some kind of difficulty occurs, then with Interac which I've heard mixed reviews about in that department.

I don't know if that answered your question, though I wasn't quite sure what there was to answer to begin with, since I was never "knocking the countryside," just expressing some reservations.

[Mikoan]

Thanks for those numbers, Fat-Chris. So, it looks like JET probably hired around 1000 people from the US this year? Would there be anyway to find out how many people actually applied? Over on the JET forums, I've heard them throwing around numbers like 2/10-4/10 get an interview, and 1/4 or 1/3 of interviewees actually get a position. Certainly selective, but even Interac this year was telling us that about 1/10 to 1/9 of the applicants would actually get a job for the August start date.

[Hot-Carl]