Korean Job Discussion Forums

[discostu333]

I'm coming to the end of my contract at a Korean public middle school and I'm going to apply for the JET programme in Japan for next year's intake. I'd be really interested to hear any comparisons from people who have worked both for EPIK / GEPIK / SMOE etc and done the JET programme as a native English teacher.

Is the programme more / less organised than Korean counterparts? Did you get good support from your school? How did you find working with Japanese people compared to Koreans?

[ThingsComeAround]

I'm curious too- I've heard stories:

Foreigners in Japan are more obtuse.
Japanese are more polite, but less inviting.
public school food in Japan is worse.

[ippy]

Jet is the KING of the ESL gravy train. You'll not only be well organised, you'll also have avenues for redress and people who will genuinely fight for your point. The principal in japan is not the crown prince rulling with an iron hand. Your REAL boss will be some BOE superintendent who you will likely meet once and never see again. You can get appaling reviews from your coteachers and still be recontracted 2 more times. The pay is fabulous, you can still get awesome subsidised apartments, i dunno what else to say man.

Jet is the sweet sweet life.

Unless of course youre rural. And jet rural is no joke. When i think of korea, it always makes me think of civilisation (the game). Its like someone placed a bunch of cities all equidistant from each other so youre never too far from a city, or at least a bus to get to one. On jet you can be a bus ride away from a train ride to a proper train ride to getting to yoru nearest town (my mate lived in a place called sakuma, which is a mere 60km from hamamatsu as the crow flies, but it was THREE HOURS for her to get home from weekends). It can be crushingly lonely. Not least because jet does all these cute little get togethers and you realise everyone else has a much better placement than you and is living the life of riley as a result (whilst youre going back to your town with screaming monkeys, mukade, and giant spiders - same friend).

Still, its the daddy. If you are jkust looking to do nothing particularly special with your life and just want 3 years of dossing about, jet might be the stuff dreams are made of.

[Darkeru]

Out of curiosity, how does the timing work out for you? Aren't the interviews both in the home country and before the contract ends? Or is it different times depending on the country?

[shostahoosier]

[Gom]

A very good friend of mine is hoping to apply for the JET scheme this year.

It is very tempting to follow him next year, all being well.

Japan is certainly a country of extremes. I think I'd like to experience it for a little while haha.

[Hotwire]

I'm 34 - is JET still an option for me?

Any age limits?

[nomad-ish]

just a question about the JET program... are the ALT positions really assistant teachers?

[ippy]

ESID (every situation is different), but for the most part YES, very much so. You will be helping your teacher with an activity, maybe covering teh speaking parts, but for the most part wont be responsible for the class.

[Caffeinated]

I think 40 was the age limit (if one still exists). I knew a 39-year old JET.

ESID, indeed. They'll tell you ESID at pre-orientation, Tokyo orientation, prefectural orientation and other meetings throughout. Yes, in JET there's definitely more support and organization. There's much better preparation and more meetings in Japanese schools. The school schedule allowed me to book time off months ahead, but in Korea last minute seems like the rule (such as finding out your summer camp was cancelled when you walk in on an empty classroom).

You will most likely be an assistant at middle school, but you will do the bulk of teaching at elementary and (likely) high school, which means more planning and prep for you to do.

A plus of rural placements in Japan would be a greater exposure to local culture, more community involvement and probably better behaved and welcoming students and locals. But yes you could be a ferry, a bus and a train away from a big city.

School lunch in Japan - less kimchi, more fresh and seasonal stuff.

Don't know about foreigners in Japan being more obtuse, but they have previous exposure to and be more enthusiastic about Japanese culture than say an average foreigner in Korea. I knew people on JET who got their black belts in judo or karate, indulged in cosplay, or achieved near fluency in a handful of years.

My experience has been that the Japanese are more polite and inviting, but ESID.

[discostu333]

[Weigookin74]

So, if you're over 40 maybe you can still be hired? I'm curious about someone in their 40's. What if they were younger looking, relatively decent or ok looking, good shape, etc and have experience? Is it possible, if you're willing to be placed in a rural area? Also, in JET, do you get crappy apartments with mold, like in Korea? I assume in a rural area you can save money? I'm not in my 40's, just curious about how strict that 40ish rule is.

[shostahoosier]

[Caffeinated]

[earthquakez]

Most of these posts are spot-on, I had friends who worked in JET.

A much better working environment, better co-workers. At the end of your time you won't get a bad reference unless you've been bad. Contrast to Korean public schools after you've been successfu, make an effort with the K teachers and your students mostly are sad you've gone and say so to the K teachers.

Then you're sitting in a job interview and the Korean boss who might employ you asks you why you played games all the time and spoke Korean in class, and didn't go to school activities. You're

For whatever reason, there seem to be too many K teachers who have to badmouth you to save face or get back at you for something that was trivial. Luckily my current boss laughed about the slagging and employed me.