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luckystrike
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: drunk creepin
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 Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:30 pm |
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Hey, fuck you guys, I am a JET teacher at the moment!
The application process was balls. Had I not gotten accepted straight out of college, found a decent job, or thought about something else, I absolutely wouldn't have ever applied again. It was pretty competitive. JET is absolutely looking for clean, friendly, non-creepazoid people. A mistake a lot of people make is that they don't really give a shit how much you know about Japan, how much you like anime, and how much you want to study Japanese. You come here to teach and as an international representative. The application process starts in October, and I found out I had the job the following April. I found out where I would be going in July, 3 weeks before I left.
As it is, as a JET I got paid flight, paid food, insurance, make about $40,000 a year, work regular 40 hour weeks, drink tons of beer and have low responsibility, and have great immediate job security. I live in a town of about 6000 people in the northern part of the main island, far away from anything, about 8 hours by train north of Tokyo. The scenery is fantastic, I am studying both Japanese and Chinese, doing tons of hiking, taking cooking classes from the locals, and learning a ton about teaching, which I hope to pursue after my contract is done. The people are great (both other JETS and Japanese), the kids are hilarious, and I can be as self-motivated or lazy as I want. Some days I make however much I make hourly just sitting on the internet. Other days I make the exact same amount busting my ass six ways to sunday.
Not everyone who comes to Japan is a weeaboo, and I came to the country with this sort of lifestyle in mind, as did most other JET teachers. The only real nerdlinger thing I do is I bought a PSP with excess money after I figured out like 80% of the population under 14 years old plays Monster Hunter, started a Monster Hunter club after school and me and a few kids play when nothing else is going on. It's pretty rad. I am also a proud member of the middle school basketball club. My team fucking blows.
JET sucks because there is no real incentive to recontract. You make the same amount until you decide to leave, or 5 years, whichever comes first. Most leave after 2 years. Most go onto grad school or other non-related jobs, though JET is a decent resume bullet-point, unlike (from what I've heard) any other teaching-English-abroad job. If you have some specific idea of where you want to go in Japan or you are a TOKYO OR BUST type, you will probably get placed somewhere you don't want to be. If you are that kind of person, you probably wont get the job anyways.
Not being mean, just honest! A lot of people who were better qualified japan-wise (and otherwise) than me (I studied Asian history in college but focused almost entirely on China) didn't get in. Most other JETs have no specific interest in Japan. Regardless, if you want a "fuck it lets do this" sort of experience, JET isn't what you are looking for anyways for many reasons, #1 being the 8 month application process.
Minus JET, I couldn't really imagine getting an eikaiwa job or whatever. I certainly wouldn't have had I not gotten JET. Too many horror stories, no job security, long hours (sometimes unpaid), bizarre hours, low pay. I'm sure there are good opportunities out there though, but be careful. www.gaijinpot.com (ugh) and www.daveseslcafe.com are both places to start your search though.
Regardless, minus JET, South Korea is almost certainly the place to go I hear. Several friends there are having a total blast, and making far more than their compatriots in Japan. If it HAS TO BE JAPAN, on the other hand, I don't know. Just hop a plane and stay with a buddy and hope you find a job before your 3 months tourist visa/money runs out? Or maybe just stay home? I don't mean to sound like an ass, but it probably isn't what you might be looking for anyways.
Sorry that that was so long. I did do a fair amount of research on the subject back in college though, so if you have any more specific questions I, too, might be able to help.
Last edited by luckystrike on Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:13 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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luckystrike
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: drunk creepin
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:45 pm |
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| Tokyo Rude wrote: |
| If you're just like, FUCK YEAH JAPAN, then yeah Jet. Where you'll be stuck in the middle of god damn no where and it takes 3 months for them to turn your internet on and you have to drive 20 minutes in a car that you have to pay all the shit for and you're making shit pay |
It is those kind of people that seemed to get weeded out of the JET application process with (almost) 100% accuracy. JET is exactly not the job for that kind of mentality, even if only for the retardedly extensive and long application process.
Also I had internet within 2 weeks of moving into my swank 2-bedroom apartment that is partially subsidized by the town, as is my car (no train station in town though :( ) , I get 30 free litres of gas a month, they subsidize my grocery bill, and I still get paid my normal salary, which is about a billion times more yen than I have ever made before. And I regularly bartend for town social functions and I even got the mayor to drink Jose Cuervo till he threw up in the ditch!
Even being out in the bumfuck middle of nowhere which absolutely does blow chunks about 30% of the time, my story seems pretty common. Minus the mayor part. It isn't some sort of dream job, no, but its alright considering my alternative is.... working part time or nothing, and it is a great way to spend a year or two and pay the bills, in my opinion.
Regardless, this doesn't even really matter, but hey. Gotta spend my thursday night doing something other than drinking this whiskey. |
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luckystrike
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: drunk creepin
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:22 pm |
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| sam wrote: |
| i was placed on the JET reserve list and told i might get a call any time from may to december, but i'd decided it wasn't really for me anyway and got myself the eikaiwa job the next month. plus in my JET interview they said "you are a vegetarian. what is your opinion on my country's whale trade?". |
Oh man, that sucks about the alternate thing. I actually was alternated as well, but I got the upgrade call within two days of finding out I was an alternate. Regardless, as soon as I heard the alternate news, I immediately said "fuck this" and moved on to other things. You made the right choice; no fucking way would I have waited around any longer. I mean, its insane that after 4-5 months of application they can tell you "yeah, if something opens up we will give you a call, mind waiting around until next november?"
God I hated that application process.
Last edited by luckystrike on Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:38 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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luckystrike
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: drunk creepin
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:29 pm |
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| Zebadayus wrote: |
Question:
Does JET require a teaching degree? I remember they require a degree, but I don't recall any specific degree being required. |
No, just a bachelor's degree from an accredited university, but (straight from the application) "preference will be given to those that have some sort of teaching certification." I had a TESL cert by the sheer fact it only required one more class, but I have no idea how much it helped. Like I said, I was alternated, and almost all the JETs around me have no Teaching experience. Also a lot of JET teachers have no Japanese experience. A lot spent at least a few weeks studying here before at most. I studied abroad here for a year in college, and once again I dont know how much that mattered. I only know of a couple that have actual teaching degrees, but I think that is more because most people with teaching degrees aren't looking to apply for JET.
Last edited by luckystrike on Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:09 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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luckystrike
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: drunk creepin
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:46 pm |
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| Zebadayus wrote: |
| So if you DO have a teaching degree, and also have taken Japanese language courses, I would assume that would give you a big leg up over most of the other applicants eh. |
That's actually a great question, and one that a cursory glance through such treasures as Big Daikon shows applicants asking every year. I know a fair amount of people who applied with such credentials who didn't get the job, and a lot of people who applied without such credentials who did get the job. If I had to guess, I would say that just being a tubular dude trumps any sort of credentials you might have.
But fuck if I know man. They hire based in dick size for all I know, which is probably the only credential I am competitive in
Last edited by luckystrike on Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:49 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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luckystrike
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: drunk creepin
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:59 pm |
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| definitely tubular |
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luckystrike
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: drunk creepin
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| Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:32 am |
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| Leau wrote: |
| 108 wrote: |
| Also you absolutely must be under 27 years of age. |
That's interesting. Why? Can anyone speculate? |
The official line is that (barring extreme circumstances) the maximum age for a JET applicant (in principal) is 40 years old. I don't know a single new JET that is over the age of 28. Most are about 24-25. I'm 23.
The official party line is that JET is, above all else, a cultural exchange. I disagree with JET that age would necessarily affect how well someone could actively represent their own country.
JET seems to think younger people would be better members of the community because they would be more likely to be outgoing and adventurous (which I do mostly agree with), and more likely to have an impact on the future of the relations of the two countries. Part of your unwritten contract is doing your best to affect the locals around you in a positive way; bringing over a 35 year old married father of two isn't going to have the same impact as a 23 year old fresh out of college tubular dude with no responsibilities besides bills. The younger guy can party, travel, buy shit, and have a better time. Also the pay of JET is far more acceptable for a fresh college grad. Also younger people are theoretically more likely to go with the flow of an already established town, as opposed to a 40 year old veteran who is going to come in and try to shake things up if they don't go his/her way and the supervisor/head teachers are younger than he is.
Or so I'd think, anyways. I don't know. Regardless, I don't know of anyone who was outright refused because of age. |
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luckystrike
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: drunk creepin
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:25 pm |
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| pm sent. |
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