I’m thinking of applying for JET as an opportunity to get back to Japan. I see a lot of negative stuff about JET & ALTs on this subreddit. Stuff about “Smith Sensei”s and “Fresh off the boat ALTs”. People seem to be really critical.
Is this just a meme, or is there really something negative here I should know about and reconsider JET?
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If you want to get your foot in the door here, it’s your best shot in terms of English teaching.
I think the rep comes with some being overly weebish or coming for a year and making stupid decisions that damage the reputation of other foreigners here.
One guy really fucked up when I was on JET by driving home drunk after a party and crashed into a stationary car at a red light. Had his name in the paper and was in jail for weeks, etc., before being deported.
It likely depends much on whether one is “JET” or JET. The real JET program is one run by the government(s) and seems—I haven’t done it myself—to work out fairly well for people without existing difficulties who join it. Pay is not high, but it’s usually enough to live from.
However, there are other kinds of job people refer to as “JET” or “ALT” that are really run by commercial enterprises and in which people are sent to various schools to assist in teaching. Most of the companies seem to be exploitive and try to pay the lowest wages possible; most of the complaints you see here probably come from people in those kinds of companies.
If I were (much) younger and interested in coming to Japan, I’d apply for the JET program but not one of the commercial ones.
People love to pretend they’re better than others. It’s the same mentality as people who think they’re better than fast food workers.
I did the JET Programme and look at it as a period in my life when I had both free time and decent spending money at the same time. It’s a good way to get to Japan, to potentially integrate into a community, and you’ll have people you can go to for help translating bills etc. If you’ve ever wanted to teach or do something positive for/with youth, you’ll get opportunity to do so. Grassroots cultural ambassador, and occasional human tape recorder.
Some JETs are bad apples, but there are a lot of awesome open-minded people as well. I’d encourage you to apply! It is not a forever-job, and not a job you’ll want to have forever (no room to move “up” within it), but it can be a rewarding and fun season in your life. It’ll also give you freedom to explore other places in Japan you MIGHT want to wind up longer-term, and will let you make contacts. Keep openminded about countryside postings too. They can be a really special experience!
People on here are assholes and elitist toward anyone in the field of education.
There’s a lot of envy of JETs, especially those who failed the interview and had to find another, less attractive way to Japan.
At the same time, JETs are fussed over and pampered (Japan wants JETs to go home with a positive image of Japan and spread the word). Some JETs start to think that’s what real life is like and develop a “do you know who I am?!” attitude, which is unpleasant, especially when they’re essentially just human tape-recorders.
I would highly recommend JET – but if you stay for longer than a year, you might be setting yourself behind your competitors in the job market.