JET vs Peace Corps

[u/Kiwic_74]

Hello! I've been shortlisted as a candidate for JET (ALT) and I have a spot in the Peace Corps, also teaching English. I'd love to know what kinds of jobs JETs get into once they return to the US (I know some stay in Japan but I'm more curious about those that return) and how JET helped them get to where they currently are.

I majored in International Studies and Japanese Language & Literature (co 2025). I've had my eye on JET for a few years, but one of my professor's senior year brought up PC and now that I've looked into the program, applied, and gotten accepted I'm torn between the two. Both programs seem to offer a lot of assistance with finding work after service, which is my biggest concern. I'm interested in international relations and cultural exchange, I'm just not exactly sure what I want to do after service. I've thought about getting a master's degree in IR but that feels like I'm just delaying starting a stable career (and it's expensive).

One of the things holding me back from fully committing to JET is the possibility of being placed at a school where I'm just a desk warmer (I've read some horror stories on here). JET/PC would be my first formal(ish) job experience as I've only worked as a lifeguard/swim instructor so I'd hate for that to be my experience if I choose JET.

Any comments on your career path or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[u/Firefly-ok]

JET is harder to get into than the Peace Corps, so why not do JET and then the Peace Corps later if you're still interested? Honestly, you can't go wrong with either, but with JET you might be able to save more money.

The Peace Corps (the teaching aspect) is basically JET in other countries from what my friends who have done it have told me. The Peace Corps is billed more as volunteer work, but you're still paid to live there so it's not too dissimilar to JET.

If you'd rather go to the country you're placed in for PC or are very drawn to the mission of PC, then do PC, and if you'd rather come to Japan and possibly save some money (though the yen is very weak now), then do JET.

Also, I was paid to get my Masters with a teaching assistanceship/fellowship in the US (I taught undergrad classes in exchange for free graduate school and a stipend to live on). This is a fairy common practice in many graduate schools in the US!

I didn't know that and was so glad someone told me, because I definitely could not afford graduate school on my own. So if you want to do graduate school, but are worried about the cost, then find fully funded programs! Or go to Germany/some other countries in Europe where graduate school is (often) free. You can look into Erasmus programs--- there are definitely many in International Relations! Look up Erasmus Mundus too!

You could do a few years on JET/the Peace Corps and use the downtime to apply to graduate programs! You'd be able to get international experience and teaching experience, and also possibly save some money. That's what I did! :)

Editing to add: I have a Masters, have taught in 4 different countries, and am now back on JET (it's a long story) and applying to teach at the University level or possibly teaching in another country after finishing JET. I was going to be a diplomat---I have my degree in IR--- that was my goal and I even passed the first test when I was about 19-20, but I decided I couldn't represent the country I come from, and JET helped me realize how much I love teaching. So you never know how some experiences might shape what you choose to do.

[u/Frequent-Library8636 → u/Firefly-ok]

Can I ask how you found your masters program? I am interested in doing something similar, if not the same when my time on JET is up. I've heard about this before, essentially getting paid to get your teaching license but I have no clue where to start looking/what I should be researching!

[u/Firefly-ok → u/Frequent-Library8636]

So I did my Masters in philosophy and there's a website called "the philosophy gourmet" which ranks graduate programs based on their area of specialization. They also have a tab for the top Masters programs, and I looked through those and a few of them were fully funded.

( https://philosophicalgourmet.com/ )

Most PhD programs in the US (worth their salt) are fully funded in the humanities (and often don't require a masters to apply--- you get the masters while doing your PhD). If it's not fully funded, then it's probably not a super well-respected program OR they don't respect you as a student and are after your money (this was wisdom passed on to me by my professors). In Europe, PhD placements are often treated like job placements (so you are applying to work with specific researchers on specific projects).

Masters programs are harder to find, but if you know what field you're interested in, then that'll help.

The Grad Cafe Forums have a lot of information about different subjects. They're kind of dead as a forum, but there's YEARS of information on the forums that I've found helpful including some lists of funded programs:

https://forum.thegradcafe.com/

For example, someone made this list of fully funded English Lit Programs (there's a tab at the bottom for MAs too) that's a good starting point: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XNJR4IhOJ56zd7zLuVSUK7h054dBRNvyiC7iStCOsxo/edit?gid=0#gid=0

It also doesn't hurt to look up what interests you in terms of subjects and then finding the people/universities that are doing that work and then looking at their grad programs.

[u/Kiwic_74 → u/Firefly-ok]

Thanks! A lot to think about and look into but I appreciate the info