JET Alternate, Apply to ALTIA or just wait till next year for JET?

I applied for 2022 out of the Nashville Consulate and it’s becoming fairly apparent that my chances of being upgraded are slim. I had considered applying to other ALT companies if JET fell through but I only really feel comfortable with the wages and benefits of ALTIA nowadays.

Essentially now I feel I have two options: ALTIA as an alternative to JET (assuming I get the job) or staying state-side, saving up money and reapplying. Ultimately I want to end up in Japan after my master’s to work in an consulate, but as of now I feel like I’m at a bit of an impasse.

Advice and/or suggestions would be appreciated!

edit: Grammar.

14 comments
  1. There will probably be more upgrades soon – don’t give up yet! I’ve also heard that ALTIA’s intake for September is usually very small too so I wouldn’t rely on them too much.

  2. Just wait, ppl will likely drop out within the first couple months…not all is lost

  3. Try EPIK or GNET in Korea as well. They hire twice a year, in Fall and Spring. Similar to the JET experience and less competitive.

  4. Given the current exchange rate, if you have bills/student loans to pay off back home I would wait for JET.

  5. Imo, you might as well apply for ALTIA. If you get accepted and JET gets back to you with an upgrade, you can decide then. It’s not like you’re stuck with ALTIA if you get in.

  6. Dont be an ALT in dispatch companies, they all pay around ¥210,000a month. But they dont pay when you dont work, so its not a 12 months salary ( I got a contract once for 9 months and a half, not even 10)

  7. I’m not sure why ALTIA gets such a positive spin. All of these companies are garbage.

    If money is an issue, you want to come over on JET (or go on EPIK or something else if Japan isn’t the be-all end-all for you.)

  8. How are you with money? Dispatch companies often make you pay for your own flights and flights are reaching $1500 from my home country. because of the flight shortages. This may be difficult for your start-up fees.

    Accommodation is paid on programmes like EPIK and I think they may do two employment cycles a year?

  9. One of the ALTs i work with is with ALTIA. He seems to be fine with them and doesn’t really complain. I’d give them a shot, but as others have said the startup cost are likely higher

  10. Westgate is an option. Shorter contracts and (as far as i know) they dont seem terrible. They also reimburse flight costs.

  11. I had the same situation being an alternate, and ended up going with Altia. It was a bit rough with paying for the flight and getting everything set up, but Altia has been pretty great so far. I’ve been really lucky with my placement in Toyota. The benefits seem worse each year, and it’s not a perfect company, but I’ve managed to do well so far, aside from a few tight months with sudden expenses. It really depends what you’re wanting, but I can vouch for Altia IF you get good schools.

  12. I am a 2021 upgrade got my upgrade in late October and had people joining our discords with upgrades as late as early December. It isn’t over by a long stretch, personally I’d wait and reapply since the benefits seem much nicer as a JET then through a dispatch company. Japan is always going to be there might as well go through JET and all the support network it offers.

  13. Idk if you are still contemplating this, but I just tried to apply with Altia , got an interview and got rejected a few days later. The reason given was that they are absolutely swamped with candidates and don’t have nearly enough positions to fill to justify hiring even well suited candidates. Maybe they were just being polite, but even when I was just inquiring they warned me that they have little to no openings for overseas applicants for the time being

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