Is Altia worth picking over JET in order to be in a more urban area?

24 comments

1. JET is not pure Inaka, no. It’s all over the place.

2. No. JET isn’t pure inaka and ALTia has inaka placements too. But inaka is superior anyways unless you like your landlord taking your shirt and getting cancer from living near a highway and/ or factories.

3. JET isn’t pure inaka at all. If you want to apply to both and pick based on where you get placed then that’s fair enough, but you’ll have to accept your JET offer *before* you get told your placement location, so it’ll mean waiting a few months to get your placement and then having to break your contract if you choose not to go with JET.

4. JET is significantly better than ALTIA.

   Many ALTIA placements are in the Inaka, and there are JETS in many cities. ALTIA is mainly only central Japan/Chubu region which means you’ll have a lower chance of getting a city placement anyway. ALTIA also has a preference for people in Japan, who’ve lived here a while and don’t need assistance setting up their lives (because they will not help you).

5. Inaka is the tits bro

   All of those surveys that say Japanese people are unhappy, they only surveyed people living in big cities

   source:Trust me

6. I think JET is your best bet if your main concerns are your salary & benefits package. If your main concerns are location, you’re better off working somewhere where you have more say in the place you’ll end up working/living in.

   It’s not really a good idea to apply for JET if you have the intention of leaving almost immediately upon being placed in inaka/suburban area.

   I’m not saying it’s good or bad to prioritize the location either, just that it’ll save everyone involved a lot of hassle later on if you don’t apply for a job (and then immediately leave it because you don’t like the area)

7. Better to go to Inaka first and then work your way into a city job.

8. Just tell them you can’t drive in the application. Then they’ll send you to a city.

9. No, not really. JET is superior to really everything else you could land, including Altia, regardless of the posting.

10. That’s a really bad idea. Altia has a lot of inaka positions too.

11. I’m a JET that was placed in a city. Aside from common human sense, this is another major reason not to be dishonest on your JET application, especially with regards to the medical forms, because they take this information into consideration when placing ppl. A high number of applicants think that reporting mental health conditions will lower their chances, so they don’t do disclose them. Since it’s not disclosed, they don’t know to place these applicants in places where they have easy access to the services they need.

12. There’s a big push for JETs in Tokyo now compared to a few years ago where I understand it was a rare placement. They are apparently wanting two in every public school and plenty of private placements too. My school will be looking for two this intake as both of us are leaving. I actually wanted rural and ended up here so go figure lol

13. Inaka is very much what you make of it. I did four years of it. Sorted my head out picked up some hobbies and learnt the language through deep immersion. You get to see, and even be part, of local festivals rather than being a remote observer. However it’s lonely at times and can be very hard to have a social life, even if you drive and speak good Japanese. The same can be said for the cities, they just have more opportunities, it’s still on you to take them. It comes down to you as a person more than anything else.

    ATLIA is the less shitty of the dispatch companies. They’re not perfect but they do pay for your holiday and you get half decent training. In terms of pure cash JET wins any day of the week but you won’t be crazy poor with ALTIA. Get an offer first before you decide.

    Also there are cities and cities. Just cus you live in one doesn’t mean it’s a hip hop happening place.

14. I would absolutely take JET no matter where you place. I did JET for 5 years. It’s communal, with a massive built-in network of potential friends and a social life.

    JET is a good organization, and you’re employed by governments. Businesses like Altia are garbage. All they care about is profit and will chew through you. If you don’t care about that and really want the placement they offer, maybe it’s worth it for you.

    Keep in mind that there are tons of urban JET posts.

    Even if you’re inaka, you’re rarely that far from a city. Trains are awesome.

    Inaka life can be really good in different ways. Some people find it a much more intimate and rewarding experience where you actually become part of the community, whereas urban postings might be in schools where you’re just another ALT, and they don’t really want you there.

    Inaka can mean improving your Japanese faster.

    It may be possible to transfer in the future. I did 3 years in one city and then moved because they didn’t want anyone for longer than 3 years. So I did 2 in another. You can always try. Worst they’ll do is say no.

    The difference in pay is likely going to be your spending money. I made ¥300k on JET and had the time of my life. I make ¥200k through a dispatch company and have to watch every yen I spend.

15. I lived in two prefectures on JET because my first position got eliminated, and I agree with everyone else saying that having a chance to live in rural or suburban Japan kind of rules (just make sure you know how to drive a car, just in case)

16. Probably not.

17. NO

18. I worked for ALTIA, not anymore and never for JET. I would rather work for Jet. Pay will differ. Dunno what JET pays but ALTIA is slowly getting worse with pay and having to do “contact days”, extra work that has no meaning.

19. No, absolutely not. JET has and will always pay better. I worked for Altia for over 10 years and finally got out. They’re on a downward track, too. Do JET. If you like Japan that much after you’re done with JET, look for direct hire. Avoid any and all of the ALT recruit companies as much as possible.

20. What’s your goal?

    Are you just coming to Japan for a working vacation and you want to party it up? Then, sure, do dispatch. They’ll get you a visa and whatever you need. You can have the city life of your dreams. Even better, if you are a college student, stay in school an extra semester or two and study abroad in Japan, you’ll have a great time.

    Do you really want to **live** in Japan? Do you want to actually teach English? Then join JET, where you might get placed in the middle of Tokyo or the middle of nowhere, but you’ll have a chance to really get to know your school and community. You may miss some things, but there’s hardly a better way to really experience Japan and get to know people, both locals and other foreigners.

21. Go with JET. Better all the way around.

22. Go with the JET program. If you end up in a rural area, you will learn Japanese much faster. If you get posted in a city, you will make more money.

23. Everything I’ve heard about JET is better, the only real pro to Altia is having SLIGHTLY more of a choice where you’re placed overall. I’m on my 5th year at Altia and personally liking it, but as others have said, it’s getting worse by the year. If I remember right, I had a few cities to choose from and ended up in Toyota, but I was placed pretty last minute, so I’m not sure how easy it is to get where you want normally. Can’t speak much for JET

24. Go with a dispatch company if you want to live in poverty and be too broke to see, do, or enjoy anything Japan has to offer. But hey, you’ll be in a city.

    JET or nothing. Don’t be so quick to write off the inaka.