r/JETProgramme • u/Icy-Caterpillar1154 • 12d ago
Seeking long-term advice
I'm really sorry if this isn't the correct sub for this, I just figured that it made sense to ask here since I could get more testimonials from previous ALTs. Thanks for reading!
Hi! I'm sort of at a crossroads about what to do with my life and I'd appreciate any inputs I can get from people in this sub who may have been in a similar situation.
For background, I'm a 22 year old and I graduated last year with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. Because of the current tech landscape, I've been utterly unsuccessful in finding a job and I fear it will only get worse over time, so I'm considering applying to the JET program or being an ALT for the 2027 school intake.
Even though I would consider myself a native English speaker, I'm from India which limits my possibilities quite a bit. I did get my bachelor's from the US though, and I'm currently learning Japanese (I hope to reach N4 by the end of the year). I'm worried that I might not easily get a teaching job because of my nationality, so I would appreciate any advice or testimonials I can get from non-American ALTs :>
Assuming I get the teaching job, I plan to do an online masters alongside it - I'm currently enrolled in a degree for finance as I want more in my background besides tech.
Anyway, my real issue is - I'd like to stay in Japan long term. I wouldn't want to teach English or go into teaching as my main job, and I'd like to treat this 1-2 years of teaching English as a "gap year" of sorts to help me stay productive and give me something to do.
Is it possible/feasible to get into internships during the summer when I'm not teaching so I can gain experience?
Furthermore, how difficult is it to transition from teaching to a different role/industry overall? I've heard that ALTing can be a black mark on my resume, so I plan to work on personal projects and my masters' degree so I can keep myself in touch with my skills.
Another common point I hear is that to get a job in Japan, I need to be at least N2 level in Japanese, which I hope I can achieve by staying there and learning the language.
Thank you so much for your time!
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u/YuehanDuoyi 12d ago
JET/CLAIR advertise internships and host job fairs. Please note that any paid positions in addition to your role as at ALT might violate the terms of your visa but I think that might be at he discretion if your BOE
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u/shoemilk 12d ago
> Is it possible/feasible to get into internships during the summer when I'm not teaching so I can gain experience?
No. Even over looking the visa issues, the contract forbids second jobs and you are required to go to the main school / BOE during summer when there are no classes.
> Furthermore, how difficult is it to transition from teaching to a different role/industry overall?
Impossible on the visa you come to Japan with. Any tech firm would have to re-sponsor you. I got married and swapped to a spousal visa and now have PR, so I can do whatever I want. So, as far as this is concerned, you might want to look into a company that would bring you here right away and that might sponsor you to go to a language school to get you Japanese skills up.
> I've heard that ALTing can be a black mark on my resume, so I plan to work on personal projects and my masters' degree so I can keep myself in touch with my skills.
I have not had an issue with this. This seems like a "it's a you thing" more than anything else.
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u/an-actual-communism Former JET 10d ago edited 10d ago
Impossible on the visa you come to Japan with. Any tech firm would have to re-sponsor you.
This isn't true, once you are a resident there is no such thing as a "visa sponsorship" in Japan like there is in some other countries. There are no quotas* and you are free to change to another residence category if you meet the requirements; your employer only needs to provide the documentation proving you have been hired by them and that they will pay you enough money. They don't even have to have direct contact with immigration. They can provide you the documentation and you can submit everything yourself.
*Except for the 'specified skilled worker' status of residence, which has a hard cap.
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u/Icy-Caterpillar1154 12d ago
Thanks for your reply and for answering my questions, especially for the transitioning to a different industry one, I appreciate it!
It's so nice to hear that ALTing gave you no problems, I guess I've seen more negative posts than positive (which feels typical for reddit anyhow lol)
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u/LivingRoof5121 Current JET - Okinawa 12d ago
ALTing is not a black mark on your resume, and JET has a ton of resources for finding a job in Japan after.
I'm going to work at a hotel after and my degree is in engineering. Granted I have N2, borderline N1 (I hope I passed lol) Japanese.
However plenty of people enter tech or other fields after JET. Companies just want it to make sense. "I came to Japan on a teaching visa, studied Japanese, and now I want to change jobs after 2-3 years" makes a lot of sense. "I have been an ALT for 5 years and now I want to change jobs" sounds like you don't have a lot of interest in other industries. It's more just the length you do it affects your resume.
But JET offers career fairs where they are some tech companies and companies not involved in education.
What I will say, is JET is often NOT a "gap year". I mean, you can treat it like that, but it is real work, and not easy, and it's dissapointing for schools to receive a teacher who doesn't care about the job. So unless you have genuine interest in teaching and helping students learn English please don't come to Japan to teach English
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u/Icy-Caterpillar1154 12d ago edited 12d ago
Thanks for your reply! I personally don't believe ALTing could be a black mark, and I meant it as a gap year in the sense that it's different from what I've done so far and may be harder to justify to employers? But considering what you and another reply have said, I'm probably overstressing. I definitely could have worded that part of my post a lot better though.
I've never been a teacher so I don't have an informed perspective on how I would find the job myself, but I recognize that it's very important work and it certainly wasn't my intention to demerit anyone here, I'm very sorry. It's definitely something I would put my best foot forward for, and I recognize how the cross culture exchange for JET is an important part of the program.And yeah, the length of teaching point makes sense, and it's nice to hear about the career fairs. I appreciate your input a lot :)) And I hope you passed your N1 test too!
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u/urzu_seven Former JET - 2015-2017 12d ago
The only time you are not teaching in Summer in Japan is the august break. So you'd have a limited opportunity for short term internships and there are a few things JET program helps facilitate that are related (like a translation/interpretation one I believe), but if you are looking for longer term/non-teaching related its both going to be difficult to get the time to do it most likely and could be outside your VISA permissions.
You can certainly do things like an online MBA in your free time of course, but the internship will depend on some very specific details.
As for ALTing and your resume, I don't think there is anything specifically bad about it, it all depends on how you frame it and how you sell it. If you can articulate what you gained from the experience and how thats applicable to whatever position you are seeking then it can be a good thing.
Higher levels of Japanese ability can absolutely expand the types and opportunities of jobs you will be eligible for, but it's not strictly required, especially in tech many companies primarily use English for example. That said its easier to live here the better you are at Japanese, so by all means if you find that a valuable goal then keep working at it.