I was not granted an interview for JET 2023. In the mean time, I have applied to Interac. If I get the job I plan to apply to JET after a year with Interac. Is this a good idea and would it strengthen my application for JET for 2024?
> Is this a good idea and would it strengthen my application for JET for 2024?
Hard to say, but it wouldn’t hurt your chances.
Worst case scenario you miss out the next year and go home with the experience of ‘teaching in Japan’.
You are putting way too much stock into JET.
Getting hired by Interac means you will already be in Japan. By the end of that first year, it will be much more advantageous to just stay in Japan and find somewhere else to work instead of having to go home to complete the JET interview process.
But all of that is moot to the real issue. If you want to actually teach as a career, going the ALT or Eikaiwa route is not the right way to go about it. They are revolving door, entry-level jobs with limited upward mobility. JET isn’t an exception to this: they just pay a little better.
If you are serious about teaching, get a teaching license and some experience in your home country to make you a better candidate for international schools. Or get a Masters degree, or both.
If you are just coming over to Japan for the experience of living there, or you don’t plan on making this a career, it really doesn’t matter whether you work with JET or not.
Just save up and come over with Interac. So long as you have cash in the bank the interac gig is not that bad. IT is boring, but if you have the funds to travel during holidays and eat out and meet people at weekends you are good to go. The exchange rate is in your favour rn.
Im no expert, but i would say working for interac would make it more difficult to get on to JET. They want fresh-faced bushy tailed types, not grizzled ALT veterans.
You need to apply for JET from your home country; the unnecessary airfare cost alone is gonna cancel out much of the increased pay.
Honestly it would probably be a detriment to your JET application. They have clauses about how long you are allowed to have stayed in Japan while still being able to apply for JET. I do not believe that 1 year hits that limit, but the fact there is a limit at all should tell you that the less the better.
But at u/G3rman has said, JET isn’t that great of a gig anyway. For a first job in Japan, sure, it’s probably one of the best you can realistically get without being insanely lucky. But once you’re in Japan? There are better fish in the sea.
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> Is this a good idea and would it strengthen my application for JET for 2024?
Hard to say, but it wouldn’t hurt your chances.
Worst case scenario you miss out the next year and go home with the experience of ‘teaching in Japan’.
You are putting way too much stock into JET.
Getting hired by Interac means you will already be in Japan. By the end of that first year, it will be much more advantageous to just stay in Japan and find somewhere else to work instead of having to go home to complete the JET interview process.
But all of that is moot to the real issue. If you want to actually teach as a career, going the ALT or Eikaiwa route is not the right way to go about it. They are revolving door, entry-level jobs with limited upward mobility. JET isn’t an exception to this: they just pay a little better.
If you are serious about teaching, get a teaching license and some experience in your home country to make you a better candidate for international schools. Or get a Masters degree, or both.
If you are just coming over to Japan for the experience of living there, or you don’t plan on making this a career, it really doesn’t matter whether you work with JET or not.
Just save up and come over with Interac. So long as you have cash in the bank the interac gig is not that bad. IT is boring, but if you have the funds to travel during holidays and eat out and meet people at weekends you are good to go. The exchange rate is in your favour rn.
Im no expert, but i would say working for interac would make it more difficult to get on to JET. They want fresh-faced bushy tailed types, not grizzled ALT veterans.
You need to apply for JET from your home country; the unnecessary airfare cost alone is gonna cancel out much of the increased pay.
Honestly it would probably be a detriment to your JET application. They have clauses about how long you are allowed to have stayed in Japan while still being able to apply for JET. I do not believe that 1 year hits that limit, but the fact there is a limit at all should tell you that the less the better.
But at u/G3rman has said, JET isn’t that great of a gig anyway. For a first job in Japan, sure, it’s probably one of the best you can realistically get without being insanely lucky. But once you’re in Japan? There are better fish in the sea.
Interac will convince you to not join JET.