Job Discussion Forums

Shiggy · Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 86

I tried JET and wasn't accepted. I tried AEON and wasn't accepted (thank God). And, last year I withdrew my application with Interact.

Are there any other companies that hire ALTs besides these three?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

JET is not a company. It is a government-sponsored program.

It isn't "Interact"; the spelling is "Interac".

Yes, there are tons of companies that hire ALTs. You'll have to give us a little more info on your needs and desired location to get answers that help you. Otherwise check online ads everywhere.

ghostrider · Joined: 30 May 2006 Posts: 147

You need to get your feet on the ground in Japan. Aeon, ECC, Interac, JET are the current realistic ways of making that happen. If you're from a country that offers a working holiday visa, you can save up and come during the peak hiring periods and look for work on the ground, but don't expect anything much better than those. Quite a few are actually worse.

Shiggy · Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 86

baki · Joined: 29 Dec 2010 Posts: 72

Ghostrider is right, you will need to be in Japan to take your chances. Schools would much rather see you in person than recruit someone blindly over the internet. Let's say you ran your own company and you needed cheap labor would you recruit anyone from say Nigeria without knowing their background first?

You will need at least $2000-$5000 just to get started on temporary accommodation, food and travel, if you don't have that it will be very difficult. It's possible for people to run out of money and appear quite desperate in the end. You don't want to look like that. Preparation is everything.

Start saving for August/September or even December if you don't have the money now and plan ahead. It'll make life easier for everyone including yourself.

PS. I've never applied for JET before, but while many people have been rejected the first time they just try again. There's a certain "energy" one must prepare themselves with when applying for jobs. I feel from your post you're lacking that right now, you need to grab it like it's yours!

move · Joined: 30 May 2009 Posts: 132

What's wrong with Aeon?

And do you want to be an ALT or work at an eikaiwa? They're 2 different things. If you want to be an ALT I would check out Altia. Or for eikaiwa there is also ECC. Naturally, there are a ton of smaller dispatch companies and eikaiwas you can look into as well.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Shiggy,
The fact that you didn't know JET was a government sponsored program shows that you need to do better basic research. No offense, but this is an elementary fact about JET.

Shiggy · Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 86

Maybe I'll try Korea, China, or some other country before Japan...

Denizen · Joined: 13 Nov 2009 Posts: 110 Location: Tohoku

First of all, Shiggy, do you have a Bachelor's degree? Some experience teaching? Willing to work anywhere in the country? It's difficult to help you if we're unaware of your current qualifications.

If you're seriously thinking of teaching in Asia and don't have any setup money, you may want to spend some time in the Jobs forum, checking the necessary qualifications to get onboard. Some companies will pay for your flight, your apartment and your transportation to and from work, but the timing for getting hired is in March/April and again around August/September.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

rxk22 · Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 1629

ghostrider · Joined: 30 May 2006 Posts: 147

When you do currency conversion to yen, they make roughly the same amount in China, BUT the cost of living is lower. Japan can be quite expensive (not as much the first year) if you have any sort of social life.

Also, hate the say it, but what made Japan so much cooler than the rest of Asia from a western viewpoint has stagnated. The country is really in the hands of the seniors and the old men who run the companies. You don't feel like you're in the middle of something exciting happening there like I imagine it felt like in the 80's and late 90's and early 2000's. People are in shape and dress nice, but a city with the youth mostly copying the same few (western) store and magazine trends doesn't feel like it's bursting with creative energy. Likewise, the music scene is expensive. The cool kids mostly just go to club events and watch the same few DJ's that play what people are creating in London, NYC, France, Canada, Sweden, etc. A ton of kids play at local venues, but you're paying 3000 yen to see local bands who are rehashing emo, hardcore, punk, indie music from 5-10 years ago. It's a huge city, and there are tiny fashion-based subcultures (I really mean tiny), but they're mostly Japanese exclusive. The gyaru thing is fading away quickly and they weren't foreigner friendly anyway (mostly poorer kids from outside of Tokyo). Not sure China is any better in either regard, but it's something to keep in mind if you're thinking Tokyo/Japan is going to be the center of action for a 20-30 something anytime soon.

seklarwia · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:47 pm Post subject:

ghostrider · Joined: 30 May 2006 Posts: 147

Sorry, you're right I think. Not sure how I screwed that up. Was relying on my memory. I just search Google and it seems the avg is around 5000-10000 RMB/month right now, which is less than half the 250,000 yen/month.

That's definitely a downside. I heard English teachers in other Asian/Southeast Asian countries have similar problems. The yen otoh is relatively strong, especially compared to American currency. A plus if you're transferring money back home, a downside if you're saving up to come to Japan from the US.

Shiggy · Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 86