JET program and/or Job opportunities.
 

I am learning Japanese and considering career choices. (I'm only 15, so it will be many years until I actually get a proper Job).

What is JET like, what are the pros/cons?

What other careers could I pursue, any advice?


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I wouldn't mind being a high school English teacher in Japan, but who knows.. I can barely speak any Japanese right now.. =.=

This is what I plan to do after I finish university, which will be about 3 & a half years away. I'm currently studying IT, which I've read in various places, is an area where foreigners living in Japan can find work. Of course, other more experienced forum members can give better insight, as I'm only 19. But I hope this helps in some way :)

Interesting, can anybody give me a rough idea of the pay?
Pros/Cons
Or maybe just what someone on the JET program actually does on a day to day basis?

On a Scottish site, I've read you can make about ¥250,000 per month. Which is around £1800, or $2800

On a day to day basis you assist native Japanese speakers who are teachers of English with their classes.

Pros:
- More immersion
- Money will most likely go further than somewhere like Tokyo
- A step up from English conversation schools
- More of an actual life (possibly owning a car, having a larger apartment, etc)


Cons:
- Possibly living in the middle of nowhere
- Teaching as a job (unless you actually like to teach)
- Relatively low pay (you could make more back home, but this is really just a means to Japan for most people)

These are just a few I considered.

I don't wanna burst your bubble, but do not get your hopes up too high for JET, by the time you will be of age to be able to come here, I am betting that JET (at least what it is now) will no longer exist.

Umm.. actually JET really is not all that bad for pay (if you are from the States), coming out of college in the States (unless you are something special) you would probably not be making much more, actually probably less, than what you are paid on JET, consider the what kind of annual income (pre-taxes) it would take to get a net pay check of roughly $3000 dollars a month. And this is only for the time being, but consider the current exchange rate as well. I think that adds up to a pretty decent salary. (of course decent is relevant to where in the States you live).

Sure, purchasing power/cost of living and all is different here, but when I was on JET I always managed to save more than 50% of every paycheck.

Interesting, well, I don't know WHAT I want to do with my life right now, but learning to speak Japanese is defiantly a high priority :P

I'm gonna have to agree with RickOShay about the pay!

If you're from the states, you don't have to pay taxes (to Japan or the US). You will also get great insurance (which I think covers half of what you'd pay without it).

The exchange rate is a huge part of it. If you are looking to pay back student loans and stuff like that, then you'd do pretty good getting payed in yen (for the time being). In 8 years or so it could be better or worse, but that's for the gods to decide.

Some costs that they don't seem to talk about are things like paying for school lunch, school trips (that you may or may not go on with teachers or city officials), and other little things. However, you get a mean pension (which I think amounts to something like 8k after 3 years), a portion of your rent may be payed, and your traveling expenses (related to work) will often be meticulously calculated and reimbursed. This all depends on many factors though.

The reality is you might not get a nice round 3000 a month... it might be closer to 2500-2600. That doesn't mean you're not getting that extra 4-5 hundo, that all goes to your pension and things like that. Given expenses like school lunches and "enkais" in reality you might bring home 2300-2400 a month. Saving half of that shouldn't be hard at all.

If you do something crazy like major in Japanese in college like I did (which really doesn't have a lot of purpose) then doing JET might be your best bet. I think this worked out better for me than trying to get a job for Toyota. Well... I might've been able to get a job with them in the Summer of '08, but even if I did get that job I doubt VERY highly I'd still have a job with them given the current situation.

Sorry, it's just my standard of living.

I have never ever heard anyone complain about the JET salary. At 35 hours a week and 300,000 yen a month with benefits, it is hard to complain about.

If your standard of living requires champagne and bon-bons, then it might be tough, but that isn't who JET is looking to hire.

Wow, excellent.
I think I would enjoy a job like that. (I like teaching)

Seems quite reasonable.
I hear a lot about people on the JET program being mocked for being "foreign" (元亀 .. ? Genki? Is that it?) or something like that, is that true?


Regardless, I hope there is an opportunity like this still available in the many many years to come :)

What in the world does 元亀 mean?

I don't know why you're making a personal attack on my lifestyle. Just because I have money doesn't mean it's all "champagne and bon bons." I just gave an opinion like everyone else, and in my opinion I consider what JET offers as a con. Anyone else can come in and give their opinion as well, and even say it's good money to them, but you guys are treating me like I bragged about it.

On Google Translate, it translates as 'Genki'

lol No way. You can't fool me like that when Japanese is my first language.

I didn't make a personal attack on your lifestyle. I meant "you" as the general "you" not "you" WingsToDiscovery.

JET pays more than many other English teaching positions with tougher hours. Again you (WingsToDiscovery) is the first person I have ever heard complain about the JET salary. The majority of JET participants are young fresh college graduates, so for a single person I think it is a pretty generous salary.

元亀 【げんき】 (n) Genki era (1570.4.23-1573.7.28)

I think he wanted to say 外人.

外人 is indeed the word I was looking for.

Hmm, all this info on JET is getting me thinking, its quite interesting.

You ain't kidding with that, can you imagine making that much back in 1987, for the same kind of work and hours.... makes me wish I was 20 years older.

Right now it's like 80 yen to the dollar. Those were numbers I saw when I was working there and was literally sending cash home. It is a great time to be changing yen to dollars if you got 'em.

Its currently 76 YEN for 1 AUSD

If you were to work for a month and not spend any money, you would have $3,919.83 AUSD.

That is very decent (Considering a first year apprentice makes half that amount)

Alas, I can't really say much. I don't have a job.

but I am more talking like (though I am loving this exchange rate), what you get paid on JET has not changed in like 23 years... 300,000 yen a month in 1987 (you know back when minimum wage was like $3.80 or something an hour)... makes me feel light headed...

Very true, very true...but these guys get five years now. I could only do three in my days.

Hmm, I just read somewhere that JET provides you with free housing.. is that true? Or just an inflated rumour .. ?

It just depends. I had a 60,000 yen a month apartment, and the prefecture I worked for paid half of that. As far as I know, free housing is no guarantee.

Hmm, that would mean you would only be paying around $300 (AUS) a month, correct?

That is quite good, in my opinion.

So let me get this straight, on a day to day basis people on the JET program assist teachers to teach the English language to the Japanese?
And we ourselves are not expected to speak Japanese ourselves? (Even though I would MUCH rather speak Japanese, lol)

I read somewhere that the less Japanese you she more likely you are to get a place somewhere, as your more likely to engage the students in English :)

Most of the people I know here in Hokkaido are lucky to earn up near Y300,000 per month. Most I know earn quite a bit less. It's damned cheap to live here though and a JET salary gets you a pretty comfortable lifestyle. All the JET'S I know up this way are having a great time. Living on inaka island does have it's benefits!

Yes, you are assisting native Japanese teachers of English to native Japanese students.

You are not expected to speak Japanese yourself.

I imagine it will be similar to the German person coming over to my school (when I was there). They helped with bits or the class, & the teacher organised activities for the person & the class to interact with each other.

Interesting, I will have to talk to my Japanese teacher some more, ask her about it too :)

It's quite a ways down the road for you, but if you do continue to learn Japanese a letter of recommendation from your Japanese teacher (who is hopefully Japanese) should really help.

Regarding the whole "they prefer no knowlege of Japaense bit" I've heard that quite often but I'm not so certain. I can say that most of the JETs I know have studied Japanese for at least a year in college. Some people really do have no Japanese skills at all though. I get the impression that most people who "know Japanese" can't communicate in Japanese anyways when it gets down to business... so whether you've studied it or not wont take away from the fact that you will be a foreigner in a Japanese classroom, thus exposing the students (and teachers/staff) to your foreign ways. It's not just about teaching English, in my opinion. You're looking to exchange culture and junk like that too. I think if you ever do end up getting a JET position, you will discover that the English you speak and the English tehy are learning are two very different beasts. (No offense, but they seems mostly interested in American English, closelsy followed by English English... that's not to say that there aren't a ton of JETs from Australia or other countries though). Regardless, they teach a very bastardized version of American English, which focuses too much on the written part of it. Therefore, it is my humble opinion that while you are there to teach English, you will mostly spend time talking about your country and assisting the teachers with class activities and things like that. You might also get to work with the city to promote different events or participate in things with the community (or you may do that on your own accord as many JETs do).

The pay is great (by Japanese standards... especially considering the hours). The pay is also very good when compared with America (my home country). Unless you were born rich and are accustomed to really nice accomodations your whole life, the living conditions wont get to you much.

There are some things that are worse and some things that are better. If you focus on the crappy things, you'll have a crappy experience. If you focus on the good things, you'll have a good experience (albeit a little artificial). If you take it as it is, I'm sure you'll still have a good time. Such is life, when you really think about it.

Indeed, very insightful information.
Alas it is still many, many years down the track before I even consider career.

However, to apply for JET you need a bachelors degree, am I correct?

If so, what degree exactly are they looking for, or what qualifications?

Any bachelor degree will do.

I see, so its more of a "Look, look, I'm dedicated and talented! Pick me!" thing than any specific qualification...?

The interview process I went through was fairly intense. Half of the interview was in Japanese, which was pretty intimidating after studying Japanese for just four years. I had taken Japanese literature, and one of the questions I remember, asked to me in Japanese, was a comparison of the unique features of Japanese literature compared to American literature.

Ultimately, I think they are looking for people who are enthused, but are also flexible and resilient. I think they are less concerned with whether you can teach children (who knows? Chances are you have no experience) and want to know that you can live for at least one year on your own in Japan. Three+ years is even better.

I think it is also seeing if you can work in a system and be satisfied being the low-man on the totem pole.