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Japan Jet program-

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Waygookingumisi:
Anyone have any advice with regards to applying for the JET scheme here in korea, I've been here 2 years and looking for a new experiences, i've herd that its much harder than applying for EPIK?

lotte world:
The process takes a year and you have to be able to spell.  You can only apply from the country you are a citizen of.  You can do a lot of the process from here, but you'll have to go home for the interview.  If you are successful you'll have to fly to Japan from your home country.

hwana:
While I think that getting into JET is tougher in general (based on experiences of friends who've applied and got into the program), the main thing that differs between JET and EPIK/GEPIK is the application process itself. The selection takes place over a much longer time frame than EPIK, with JET applications needing to be submitted 9 or 10 months before you'd actually be eligible to go. The point that makes it a little tricky if you're applying from Korea is that if your initial application is successful you then need to go to an interview in person at the Japanese Embassy in your home country (not possible to go to the Japanese embassy here). Assuming you pass the interview you'll then be told when you're going, or informed that you're a backup in case somebody else drops out.

You also have much less scope to choose where you'll work with JET. While you interview with the individual schools in Korea, with JET you're informed which school you'll be working at. You can state which area you'd prefer to work in, but the positions in popular areas and cities in general are much harder to find. If you don't care about location, this is obviously not a concern though.

Although it's harder to get into, the benefits make it worthwhile as the pay is decent and accommodation is provided, similar to EPIK (while this isn't standard in Japan). From friends who have worked through the JET scheme, most had far less responsibility in their school than the majority of NETs have in Korea, which may be a negative point for someone with a few years of experience. When you weigh up the benefits, it's still generally considered the best entry level EFL gig in Japan. The hagwon (eikaiwa) system works a little differently than Korea when it comes to visa rules and job benefits, so JET is generally a safer choice.

lotte world:

--- Quote from: thatkidpercy on April 16, 2012, 05:30:23 PM ---
Although it's harder to get into, the benefits make it worthwhile as the pay is decent and accommodation is provided,

--- End quote ---

Accommodation is usually not provided.  If you are extremely lucky you might get accommodation, but don't count on it.

miss_cho:
I am not sure of your nationality but if you are American you do not need to return to the US to interview for JET - you can interview anywhere on American soil and since Guam is a territory of the United States you can fly there and do the interview at the Japanese embassy. I have a friend who recently did that and was accepted into the program (and this is not the case of a friend of a friend situation - he's a fellow teacher in my town and we've had quite a few discussions about the JET program since I'm a former JET).

As people have said the application for JET takes a bit longer - you need to apply in the fall in order to be accepted for the following July. After you submit your application you are notified if you have reached the interview step in late January or early February with the interviews taking place in late February. You find out if you got into the program in mid-April. The application seems to have changed a lot since I applied so I can't really advise you on that.

JET is a lot more competitive than EPIK simply because there are a lot more applicants than there are jobs and the Japanese government has been cutting back on NET positions a lot in the past few years - the number of JETs currently in Japan is half of what there were when I was a JET. That being said 2 years of teaching experience in Korea gives you a really good edge on all the recent grads that are applying.

You can request an area but as has been pointed out you don't have nearly the same amount of influence on placement as you do with EPIK. If you request an area do your research and have a few legitimate sounding reasons why you want to be placed there when you get interviewed.

The salary and benefits of JET are a bit higher than Korea - however, Japan is more expensive but I lived quite well in Japan on my JET salary (going out a few nights a week, I had a car, trips, sending money home, etc). They also changed the pay scale for the program and it's more similar to EPIK's rather than the flat $3,000 a month everyone received a few years back. When I was a JET housing was supposed to be subsidized but many JETs had to pay for their housing because the schools pocketed the money. My school paid for all but $40 of my monthly rent, the other JET in town paid $200 a month for her apartment. School's typically set up housing so if the school had a JET before you then you don't typically have to pay any key money.


One thing about JET is that it stressed ESID - every situation is different. You'll hear it over and over again and probably start quoting it yourself. There is no standard JET experience and much like EPIK your experience at your school really depends upon you, your school, supervisor, etc. I had a lot more responsibilities at my Japanese schools than I do here in Korea. I taught at two schools (academic and agricultural) - planned all my own materials and led each class (except for two where I was a human tape recorder). I organized and led the English club on my own and even was in charge of an area during cleaning period. My co-teachers had me create questions for the tests and on occasion I'd help students prep for the spoken English portion of their university entrance exams. Here in Korea I teach classes and that's the extent of it. However I know people here in Korea whose responsibilities here mirror those of mine in Japan and JETs whose experiences are more akin to mine in Korea.

I'm not sure if the above info was helpful - if you have a specific question I can try to answer it to the best of my ability but as I said things have changed in the app process from when I applied.

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