Job Discussion Forums

[Mark]

Hi folks,

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on whether it's better for people who are already in Japan to go through JET or to look for ALT work on their own. The application deadline is getting close, so decision time approaches.

Thanks.

[Li-ka]

Mark, put your application in. JET is a good deal. I'm not really talking from experience, there are others who could help you put much more than I could, but from what I've gathered by being a frequent reader to these pages is... if you'd like to get an ALT position, not just as an English teacher, but an English teacher in a Japanese school, then you need to have some qualifications and some language experience. To get a position as an ALT on your own, you'd need to read the websites that Glenski usually posts regarding job advertisements. They might have more info on job requirements and such too. You would also need to pay your own flight over and have a lot of startup money.

Despite what you decide, it would be a good idea to put your application in for JET. You won't have an interview until February, and won't receive notification of a position until April. When they give you that notification they ask if you are still seriously going to commit to being on the JET program (at least my alternate noticifation asked). Because JET takes a long time and there's a lot of competition, I would suggest starting the application process anyway and having a backup plan (like comming to Japan and finding your own job). If you really want to find an ALT position on your own, most of them would probably hire for April since that's when the school year starts. So, you could put your JET app in and look for a job while you wait the process out. And head on over to www.bigdaikon.com for more answers to your JET questions. Of course, keep asking your questions about private companies here, I'm sure others would be better able to help than I.

Best of luck! (c:

[Mark]

Thanks for the response, but I should have been more clear. I'm currently living in Japan, and I do have ESL training and experience. I taught ESL to kids and teens in Canada before coming here (although not within the public school system). So, what I'm really curious about is whether privately found ALT positions are superior to JET in terms of working hours/salary/job satisfaction and so forth. I'd like to improve my Japanese language ability, so working in a Japanese school would hopefully provide me with an opportunity to do that.

JET seems good because it's a Japanese working environment with lots of free time for study and possibly even language exchanges during the day with teachers and staff who have some down time. From what I understand, ALT positions found outside of JET and Interac seem to pay quite a bit more than the JET salary.

[canuck]

Go with the JET program if you can. They overpay you for what you do and pay for you flight, in addition to having the tax treaty. It's a much better deal than working at a conversation school. If you find a better deal while you're on the JET, then quit then.

[Glenski]

One thing to know...you can apply for JET while you are in Japan, but you will have to interview with them in your home country.

[guest of Japan]

JET has a higher salary than the majority of ALT jobs. Also it seems that many are lucky in gettine free or cheap housing.

The downside seems to be that you're likely to be placed in the countryside. It'll be good for your Japanese skills, but you'll grow weary of looking at endless stretches of brown rice fields in the wintertime and of losing vast quantities of blood to the swarms of mosquitoes in the summer.

You might want to look into the Kurashiki Board of Ed. I just read they are hiring now, and supposedly they pay pretty well.

[canuck]

[homersimpson]

[homersimpson]