Hello, I just wanted to ask the differences between the two companies besides the positions and tasks(even though they are relatively the same). I applied for JET and will be applying for ECC, but I am not sure of the benefits besides ECC giving you the chance to be in the Urban area compared to JET going more rural.
8 comments
The JET program is government-run; ECC is a commercial concern. The former is far preferable to the latter.
JET is a government program where you assist Japanese English teachers in public schools, and ECC is a commercial English conversation school. Both are very different.
JET is the preferred option to many because the pay is higher, you might get subsidized housing, you may get more support for life in Japan if you don’t speak Japanese, the workload is likely lighter, and more.
If you want to try out eikaiwa in Japan, ECC is probably the most decent option. But as you can read from everywhere in this sub, the “English teaching” industry is not that great in Japan right now.
JET is by and far the better choice, especially if you hope to move on to something more substantial in Japan. For one thing, JET is sponsored by the Ministry of Education, which carries a lot of weight when you put that on a resume. ECC, while not a horrible company, is a private enterprise.
Full disclosure, I was a JET for five years, and I’ve also done temp contract work for ECC for extra scratch. ECC is a fair company to work for.
Also, starting wages for ECC and JET are essentially the same. However, the JET salary increases with every new contract, and by a pretty decent amount too. Pay raises with ECC , especially ones comparable to JETc are virtually nonexistent for the entire duration of your employment.
The one thing to consider carefully though is that JET contracts end after five years. That’s it. No more. Finis. But that’s where my point about it being something you can put on a resume comes in.
My recommendation is to review why you want to come to Japan in the first place, then ask yourself where you honestly want to be in five year’s time. If money and careers aren’t high on your list of priorities, then ECC is just as good as JET, and, as you noted, you can be in/near urban centers. But if you’re thinking of a longer term presence in Japan, you absolutely do not want that presence to all be under ECC employment.
The positions are actually quite different.
Essentially, JET would have you working as a teaching assistant at a public working a 9-5, M-F schedule. where your duties withe depend mostly on the school/ teacher. JET has (relative to the industry) high pay and good benefits, and sometimes includes subsidized housing. The caveat to all these benefits is that JET is a temporary assignment, lasting a maximum of 5 years, no matter how well you performed. Once that 5 years is up, you’re out of JET and cannot do it again.
To contrast, ECC is an eikaiwa. You’ll be a sllo teacher, teaching classes of probably around 1-5 people at a time, often working something like 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm, usually including at least one day on the weekend. Eikaiwa are a private business that focus on students and salarymen as customers, so your schedule would intentionally be set on hours that *aren’t * on a 9-5. Additionally, the housing options are likely worse than JET. Being profit-driven, you might get little-to-no assistance with problem students, or will be expected to ignore the problems. The lessons, outside of following a loose format that the school uses, often will be made 100% by you.
There is more that can be said, especially regarding the oft-problematuc business practices of Eikaiwa, but that’s a bare-bones assessment of what are functionally two different industries.
JET is good.
ECC is good for different reasons.
You want to be in the city? Go with ECC
You want better pay and stability? JET
You want to know what working for Japanese corporations feels like? ECC
Do the best you can through the interview process and take whichever becomes available. That will be your steppingstone into Japan. Good luck!
There is no benefit to going with ECC. Seriously, it’s worse in every single way. It’s more of a desperation move if you don’t get into JET.
For everyone here: there is no “JET Program” once you are in Japan. You’re an alt just like every other dispatch company.
Let’s not pretend that CLAIR treats us any better lol
How have you applied for jet and still think it’s a company?