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Jack Tripper
Joined: 06 Apr 2004
Posts: 12
Location: southern Maine
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 Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 5:05 pm Post subject: For JET folks: taking a year off between contacts |
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Does anyone know anything about taking a year off between contracts? I may be getting way ahead of myself but Ive had several people alude to the idea of working for JET (which I will be doing soon as an ALT) for atleast one year. I may get there and end up wanting to stay for more time or want to leave after a year.
But if something specific comes up where I need to go home- will they honor a leave, or will I have to start from scratch again (application, interview process, ect)? Any recognition for returning JETs?
Thanks for your help! |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 11:23 pm Post subject: Re: For JET folks: taking a year off between contacts |
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Short answer, you can't.
Long answer, you can't. :)
Contracts are required to be contigous (?sp). *Some* contracting organisations *might* be willing to give you unpaid leave, but only during school holidays and only within the bounds of a current contract. You can leave after a year and you can, now, reapply to JET, but they currently require a ten year gap between contract periods if you go that route. Basically, if you leave then you leave for good. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 6:00 am Post subject: |
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Paul
May sound a bit self-evident, but the purpose of the JET program is to provide a language exchange between students and native speakers of english. Wanting to provide a service for your students should be a priority .Students should really come first IMO. It is not really meant to be junket for people wanting a short working holiday in Japan at taxpayer expense.
Hardly a language exchange if you decide to go AWOL and come and go when you feel like it.
I might also add some private language schools will not re-employ you if you quit your first year contract without completing the full term. My guess is if you cut short your 3 year term on JET they will not be so keen to give you a second turn, especially when there are so many people they turn down in the first round. |
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Jack Tripper
Joined: 06 Apr 2004
Posts: 12
Location: southern Maine
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| Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the feedback.
So it is somewhat expected of people to stay in JET for a 3 year term? I had a notion of this but don't remember reading about it anywhere on the JET website, contract (maybe its not explicitly stated). I do believe its the most beneficial thing to do for the program and contracting school, and you as a teacher would benefit well from it too. I'm looking at my JET experience to be as much a benefit to Japan as myself. I look forward to giving it all I've got and be a proper representative/ambassador of my country.
Though circumstances do arise. I would never break the one year contract, but if a year goes by and Im needed back home for something
,even if its for a short amount of time, you folks are telling me its stick with it for 3 years or dont bother coming back? Understandable, I wouldnt expect them to keep track of people bouncing around.
Just looking into things and I assure you Im in for the right reasons. |
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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 5:31 am Post subject: |
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| Jack Tripper wrote: |
Thanks for the feedback.
So it is somewhat expected of people to stay in JET for a 3 year term? ...I do believe its the most beneficial thing to do for the program and contracting school, and you as a teacher would benefit well from it too... Though circumstances do arise. I would never break the one year contract, but if a year goes by and Im needed back home for something
,even if its for a short amount of time, you folks are telling me its stick with it for 3 years or dont bother coming back? Understandable, I wouldnt expect them to keep track of people bouncing around.
Just looking into things and I assure you Im in for the right reasons. |
The contracts are only for ONE YEAR. Not three. You can recontract twice, or more precisely you can almost always recontract twice. It's vaguely possible that the contracting organization won't want you to recontract for whatever reason. You cannot take a year off and come back (Nor can you reapply after finishing the JET prgramme unless you finished more than ten years ago and also fulfil age requirements etc). You can leave for vacation. In an emergency, your BoE/contracting organization will probably be able to help you take vacation time immediately. You also get sick leave.
If something happens after you've recontracted for a year and you've got to go for a long period, then, in a lot of cases, your contracting organization is going to have to go without an ALT for that time (a lot of the time there's only one).
ETA:
Contracting Organizations really do prefer it when people recontract. Saves a lot of work (and money) for them. But you don't have to. In my prefecture most, but not all, JETs recontracted for a second year. The paperwork starts in October, so you really feel like you only just got here and you have to make a decision about another year, but you have a decent amount of time to mull it over. If a contracting organization has a record of a lot of JETs leaving after only one year (or worse, not finishing their contract) then (like at any other job) that could mean that people are not thrilled with their environment. Especially in rural areas where isolation is a massive problem (usually there's only one or two ALTs and there may only be one or two other people who speak English in the enitre town or village), the contracting organizations try really hard to make sure JETs are happy. In the cities this seems to be a little less so (but then there's usually more than one ALT and so there's people to talk to and in a city, there's stuff to do). |
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Jack Tripper
Joined: 06 Apr 2004
Posts: 12
Location: southern Maine
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| In my prefecture most, but not all, JETs recontracted for a second year. The paperwork starts in October, so you really feel like you only just got here and you have to make a decision about another year, but you have a decent amount of time to mull it over. |
This is good to know. Thanks! |
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