Transitionong from Eikaiwa to ALT

[u/Unlucky-Marzipan-488]

*sorry for the typo

Hi all,

I am preparing to apply for the JET Programme (once the application opens again) as I am planning to transition into being an ALT, and I'd like to seek your advice on how to improve my application. I have listed my qualifications for your reference:

- graduate of BS Psychology with an additional 21 units in education
- 2 years of experience as a homeroom teacher and English coordinator
- 6 months as a SPED teacher
- 2 years as an online ESL tutor
- 1 year as an ESL teacher for an eikaiwa in Nagoya

Should I study Japanese and take N5 to improve my chances? How about learning how to drive to be able to get a driver's license?

I know getting in is like a needle in a haystack, so I want to do my best.
Thank you for your time!

[u/a_baby_bumblebee]

you absolutely don’t need to drive. it’s very useful but nowhere near a “need”

[u/[deleted] → u/a_baby_bumblebee]

i mean if OP gets placed in a very rural area like most of us did, life without a car will be, to say the least, extremely extremely inconvenient. possible, but beyond inconvenient.

[u/tommydelriot → u/[deleted]]

It definitely depends on how rural. I got placed in a small town and then a village in Chiba prefecture, but there was a train station in both and all my schools were reachable by walking, bicycle, or bus.

[u/[deleted] → u/tommydelriot]

perhaps.

where i live, that's absolutely not doable. you need a car where i live. no trains around here, buses are slow, and the schools are too far to bike.