Got a placement that is very remote (probably the most remote location you can get with JET). During a moment of a bit of disappointment I applied to ALTIA and got an interview.
I was wondering, is it worth it? I was thinking one benefit of going through with JET is that I can save money and maybe continue with a PhD in Tokyo or Kyoto, but part of me wants to experience Japan in the city like I did in 2016 asap, especially with how stressful life has been for me recently and I’ve been craving to live life again, especially now as I just entered my late 20’s.
Would love any input from you guys
26 comments
What is “remote”? Most people think JET is the best way to come here. And there are usually bigger cities you can visit pretty easily and regularly. I lived in Niigata for a couple of years…loved it.
What is the difference in pay? ALT work is likely harder and pays less than JET, I’m guessing.
Who knows, rural living might be a fun experience too, it all depends on how you spin things.
What you should do depends on why you’re coming to Japan in the first place. Only you know that so only you can decide.
But that said, I’ve known people who get a JET placement deep in inaka for a few years, using it to save money and learn Japanese, and then they applied for a more central job after that. You can always go JET -> another job, but it’s quite a bit harder to go another job -> JET. And living life in the sticks for a bit can be very good for keeping Japanese city life in perspective.
Personally, I would think long and hard about rejecting JET unless you have a legitimate need to be central, for example, a health issue that requires easy access to a hospital.
Just because you’ve been given an interview doesn’t mean you’ve been given a placement. ALTIA can switch things up last minute, as in during the orientation, and put you anywhere.
I hated my city when I first moved in. My apartment was gross and it was more rural than suburban so I hated it. Nagoya was about 50 minutes away so I spent every weekend there. Once I bought a car and could explore my own area better, I liked it more.
If you are thinking about doing a PhD, that means you likely have your masters. Why do you want to work at ALTIA if you have a masters? Why do you want to do a PhD in Tokyo or Kyoto? Good courses or universities, respected worldwide?
It sounds like you just want to come to Japan for whatever reason and that, for you, “Japan” = “Tokyo/Kyoto” (which is fine).
In any event, you have already experienced life in a Japanese city apparently, so why not try something different. The conditions on JET are waaaay better than ALTIA, but yes, you don’t get to choose where you guy. As someone else mentioned, nothing is guaranteed with ALTIA.
At the end of the day, why do you even want to go? You don’t sound too sure of it yourself. It sounds like you feel that Japan is going to fill something missing in your life.
“probably the most remote location you can get with JET”
So they placed you in Yonaguni?
Hard to say. I do sympathize about wanting to be closer to the city. However
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1. You’re not super young anymore. You’re not going to be able to “recreate the magic” of the experience you had in 2016 when you were in your young 20s. People around your age now are in career mode or family mode so any decision you make will want to keep this in mind. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy life and have fun, but you are older now.
2. A PhD will be useful for future job careers. I recommend getting that for many reasons. If living in a more rural area to save/earn more money helps with this endeavor, I would do that.
3. Japan is a small country. No matter where you are located, it’s not exactly difficult to travel to a large city. You can do this on breaks, weekends etc.
4. If you do choose ALTIA and get a city position, you won’t save much money with them. You’ll be entering age 30, not really saving any money and doing ALT work (which doesn’t really benefit any future career plans). Do you really want that situation? At least with the JET money you save, you can be saving that toward a PhD (as you said)
Basically, I get the feeling you are nostalgic for Japanese city life and want to recreate the adventure. I get that. But there is a difference between your early 20s and late 20s and at your age, you should be making decisions that help your “career plans” in some way
I’m under the belief not all JETS come here to be teachers, some come purely to use it as a “free” ticket to see Japan, some use it to fulfill some japan fetish, some use it purely to save money since depending on what country you come from the income might be untaxed or reduce taxed.
Assuming you’re coming purely to use it as a means to visit Japan, then it doesn’t matter what avenue you use to get here. You’ll be miserable working regardless (since you don’t really want to teach so you’ll be less likely willing to deal with office politics). So I guess join whichever gets you closest to your target destination.
That being said, if you have a goal of learning Japanese, the remote locations will get you fluent really quickly as long as you don’t spend all your free time with other English speakers and try to mingle with the locals as often as possible. It’s not unheard of for people to go from n5/n4 to n3/2 in a year from being forced to use only Japanese for a year. Also. The jet salary is probably the highest salary you’ll ever get for doing alt work. You can only top it doing direct hire or working for a private school (within the same line of work).
Do what’s best for you. None of us can decide or should decide what’s best for you. It’s better you do whatever makes you less resentful towards your time in Japan.
You’re in your late 20s and you’re talking about throwing away a job for an interview, so consider that implication for a bit. You have no guarantee at all that this will work out, so you might be trading JET for nothing. Are you cool with not coming to Japan? If not, then you might be giving up JET just to accept a shitty eikaiwa job in a different part of the countryside with less pay.
Consider also that JET probably has the strongest community of foreigners in Japan, so if anyone can help you make the countryside bearable, it’s probably JET.
If I were you, I’d accept it. It should take a little time for all the wheels to start turning on things like your COE and Visa anyway. Interview in the meantime. Before you send out your documents (you’ll need to send your physical degree, I believe) you’ll have time to reconsider.
I might take some time to read what others have written. I’ve read people who really enjoyed living in the countryside. You’ll probably get a very unique experience. It really can’t be overstated the benefits of having time to study your Japanese too. I spent half of my nights out partying and drinking when I first came to Japan. My Japanese barely progressed those first two years. You could use your time to get a leg up on things, if you haven’t already started.
> (probably the most remote location you can get with JET)
Hyperbole much? Heaps of JETs are sent out to small towns and love it.
There is no way any dispatch company will offer you anything remotely as good of a package as JET will. There are still a smattering of direct hire BoE jobs that are equivalent, but if you want expendable income, days off you can do use as you wish, etc. your only viable choice is JET if you want to experience more than subsistence living during your stay in Japan.
I don’t mean to sound harsh, but having lived in Japan for decades I’ve seen many foreigners come here with expectations and quickly get fed up and leave when things aren’t to their liking. Coming to Japan is an adventure and the JET is a very easy and forgiving way to have that adventure, when compared to the hand-to-mouth existence of dispatch company ALTs. But living in a country like Japan isn’t like traveling to a country as a tourist where everyone caters to your needs (because you are paying for that service.) You are coming as an employee being paid to live and work where you are needed, not where is optimal for your comfort. And unlike being a tourist, part of the experience is dealing with adversity, if you aren’t up to finding a way to overcome challenges of a less than optimal situation with a positive attitude, it may be time to consider if living in a country so different from the norms you are used to is for you. A desirable location will not make or break, your stay in Japan, your willingness to dive in to the adventure offered rather than be inflexible in your “requirements “ will ultimately define your experience here, for good or bad.
Unless being on an island is going to be dangerous for you because of medical conditions, I’d think long and hard about rejecting JET. ALTIA is nothing in comparison. Training-wise, salary-wise, all of it.
You might be in the middle of a city and unable to afford all the things you want, where theoretically on the island there’s at least a ferry, so you can go to the mainland sometimes.
I work at ALTIA and it’s fine, but not great. I would chose JET and do ALTIA if JET doesn’t work out.
What is the location? It really depends on that.
I worked for ALTIA for 2 years and I loved it, but the chances of getting a city location are VERY slim. 70% of their positions are driving positions, meaning they are at least somewhat inaka. If you’re trying to avoid inaka, ALTIA isn’t the way to do it. They’re a really lovely company, but I ended up leaving to avoid getting shipped to the inaka.
Drop out of JET. I have a friend on alternate who would be far more appreciative of the offer than you.
In terms of work conditions and quality of worklife, I woule NEVER recommend going with Altia over JET. That would be like turning down a salaried corporate job with full benefits for a gig selling knives door to door on commission. Also, remote locations can be tons of fun.
Lol. Unless you’re on one of the Ogasawara islands, I don’t think you’ll be that remote.
Do it for a year. Make some money, learn some Japanese, network and make connections. See how you feel after that. You might even enjoy it.
When I went on exchange, I selected university’s in the top 3 most populated cities as my first choices and got rejected for the lot of them. I then ended up going to roughly the 41st most populated city in Japan for my exchange and fucking loved it. I lived in Chiba for a number of years after that and worked in Tokyo for a couple of years but there’s a lot of value in a more rural placement as well imo. The city is super busy. It’s hard to take it slow. And what’s a year if you use it constructively?
JET is going to give you the best deal with ALT dispatch, hands down. Not only is it prestigious in terms of entry level ALT jobs in Japan, but they provide, relative to other companies, so much support they are practically holding your hand the whole time.
After your year or two, you get additional support for your career with exclusive organizations and events.
Take the time to develop and network with the large amount of free time you will have.
I was in the same situation as you, except I got the private offer before the JET offer. I wouldn’t reject the JET offer if you won’t know the private offer for several months. Most in Altia get somewhere near Aichi. If you’re lucky, you’ll be near Nagoya but likely not in Kyoto or anywhere near Kanto. If your plan is to teach English in Japan before pursing a career in academia, take the best offer at the time and then reevaluate in Japan. The private industry will always be there. Best of luck.
I’d give my left nut to go back to my JET days in a “fairly undesirable location “ from my current dispatch in a “desirable “ city.
With that attitude, please, by all means, reject the JET offer. There are a lot of alternates who are qualified and deserving and who would be much more grateful.
So please, give your spot up to an alternate who doesn’t picture Japan as just Tokyo/Kyoto.
You claim it’s remote, but what are you talking about? Deep Shikoku or Yonaguni or Ogasawara or way the heck north in Hokkaido?
You get the JET position and plug the heck out of it on social media while learning the local language and culture and probably saving a bundle of cash.
You aren’t up for that? Turn it down and let somebody else take it who wants an adventure.
Lots of great input/advice being offered, but I wonder if u/overtoad202 will ever check back in here?
Jesus, where? How remote would you have to be to consider such a shittier deal?