(ALT) Job Question

5 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **(ALT) Job Question**

   Hey guys, I’m really interested in a temporary job so I can gauge out whether I actually want to live in Japan or not. Because of this, I decided to apply as an ALT and things were going smoothly until they hit me with the bad news. Because I was an immigrant, I only actually have 11 years of education where English is the primary instruction and the minimum years they want is 12. My only chance of moving forward now (with that company and as far as I can tell, most companies) is to gather an official letter from my old schools stating that English was the language used as primary instruction (which I don’t believe any of my schools did so).

   What can I do about this situation so I can proceed as an ALT?

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   What options can I consider for a temporary position in Japan?

   For starters, I graduated with bachelors in Computer Science though I haven’t really done anything with it mostly due to me lacking confidence in my coding skills and being terrified of programming jobs. I studied Japanese while I was in college as well and know basic level but I haven’t taken any JLPT tests. I don’t really have anyone to practice conversations with so I don’t have any motivation to keep using or continue learning it.

   I know JET is another option and I don’t think they have the 12 year requirement but I do know that they are very competitive and having been rejected by them twice just makes me feel daunted about applying again.

   Thank you for any advice!

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2. >What can I do about this situation so I can proceed as an ALT?

   You can get the paperwork required. That’s the only answer unfortunately.

   The education requirement is not a job/company requirement, it is a *visa* requirement. If you can’t prove that you have 12 years of education in English you can’t get the visa.

   >I know JET is another option and I don’t think they have the 12 year requirement

   JET absolutely ***does*** have the same requirement. JET is just a government-run ALT program. They’re on the same visa, and thus have the same requirements.

3. You could look into Eikaiwa instead. They’re on specialist in humanities (and not instructor) so the requirements tend to be a bit less in terms of primary education.

4. Additionally, if I took classes online for certifications and such, will that count towards the 12 years of education or do they have to be in a full time school?

   I’m going to try to ask my old schools for the letter, just trying to think of alternatives in case I’m unable to acquire the documents.

5. I predict you may still have a better shot leveraging your computer skills and going for tech roles, maybe though career forums? If you don’t like the job you can always quit and move back to your home country. But the pay will probably be much better than the ALT/JET salary, and a company position will look better on a resume for whatever your next step might be.

   Careful of pigeonholing yourself into English teaching or admin/desk work unless that’s really where you want to end up. I’m saying this from experience.