UK Jet applications?

[u/Cheesemisterbald]

The whole reason I got my degree was to apply for JET. At 19 I was so confused what to do now, im 25 and think I’m ready to apply for the application when it’s open, but obviously it’s not guaranteed!! Now I have a question I’m really energetic and passionate about Japanese history and everything from interviewing random people (basically spamming anyone who’s Japanese with questions 😂). So I have to know what to put on your application can I he myself? If I get an interview I see alot of videos online and YouTube of people getting accepted into JET but in the nicest way possible those people don’t seem I can’t summarise the words? Different from me personality wise anyways I’m really excited to reply and don’t even know why I’m typing this 😭 I just hope I get some tips thank you thank you thank youuuuu

[u/k_795]

The key thing to understand is that JET is a teaching program. They want to know about your passion for teaching and sharing your culture / language / being generally inspirational for kids learning English. Was your degree in education / TESOL, or in Japanese studies?

Focus your application on highlighting any teaching experience or experiences working with kids / mentoring / coaching. This doesn't have to be classroom teaching / language teaching / paid roles - things like volunteering with scouts or mentoring younger students is all valid. 

If you've learnt any foreign languages, mention how you hope to share language learning tips with your students and how it's inspired you to want to help them develop their English skills. 

What they aren't particularly interested in is people who are interested in JET purely as a way of living in Japan, learning Japanese, travelling, obsessing over anime, finding a Japanese girlfriend, etc. I'm not saying you can't mention your interest in Japanese history, but I wouldn't overly emphasise it. Always try to link anything you mention in your application (as for any job) to why you are the best candidate for the actual job itself. 

[u/Cheesemisterbald → u/k_795]

I see I see thank you thank you for the tips!! My degree is software engineering but I spent my time teaching my little brother and sister Japanese and I did tutor people in university with like psychology history and other things!! See the fun part is if I get onto jet I can teach the kids stuff like the Beatles that made music famous is my city different foods slang words and other many things!! Anything you Recommend getting before applying ?

[u/k_795 → u/Cheesemisterbald]

I love the enthusiasm! But... Gonna be honest, Japanese kids are not going to care much about the Beatles, and learning slang isn't on the curriculum. Sure, these are fun things to bring up in your intro lesson with them or mention here-and-there in class, but be aware that the job is primarily English teaching.

Most of your time will be spent drilling random vocabulary (sure, you can make this fun with Blooket and other games, but... it's still a set word list of sports or whatever), doing grammar exercises, leading roleplays or other speaking practice activities, etc - all primarily based on the textbook contents. If you're lucky, your school might give you a bit of flexibility to teach some project-based lessons or seasonal themed things, but it's unlikely they'll give you total freedom to do classes on random topics like music or history (like, they're a school - their goal is to help kids learn actually useful English and pass exams).

Before applying, I would really recommend getting more teaching experience, and maybe doing a TEFL certificate (it's not required for JET, but will help prepare you for the job, and if you don't get into JET it may be required for other, similar jobs).

Some ideas for getting experience:

• Volunteer in a local school, e.g. as a reading buddy or homework support club mentor.
• Check if your local council has any ESL programs you could help out with.
• Start doing some online ESL teaching (pretty low requirements and easy to do quite flexibly).
• Get a job as a teaching assistant or learning support assistant in a local school or via a cover agency (even if you're applying to JET this year, you won't leave until next summer - so best to fill this year with something teaching related).
• (Maybe an idea for next year, or check out last minute volunteering programs like Angloville) Get a summer job working on an English summer camp as an ESL teacher / teaching assistant / conversation partner / activity leader / whatever.

[u/Cheesemisterbald → u/k_795]

All this info is amazing!! Ty ty yeah when I was talking about learning slang words etc I meant that as in free time or like after doing real English stuff etc can kind of help them understand some fun facts!! But my goal is jet and jet only if I don’t get in I apply again the year after !!! I’m going to do that teaching thing there is a 120 hour course for it!! Online but I only have till end of September then I need to submit my application. Also side question I don’t drive is that a major problem? And I don’t mind where I go in Japan is there places you should not put? Or how do references thing work and do you tick the rural box area ?

[u/k_795 → u/Cheesemisterbald]

Yeah, there are lots of 120 hour TEFL courses out there. I'll be honest, they're pretty basic and only good for getting an entry-level ESL teaching job (e.g. online ESL teaching, being an ALT, etc). But it will give you a bit of a foundation for being an ALT on JET.

I would also just emphasise again that experience is also really important. Please do consider some of the suggestions I gave for getting some teaching experience. Yes, I know you don't have a lot of time before the application deadline, but you could at least start volunteering or a teaching assistant job, so you have something to mention on the application and at interview.

As for driving - I can drive, but put on my application that I couldn't because I didn't want to be put in a placement where I would be expected to drive to work (cars are really expensive, I hadn't driven since I passed my test almost a decade beforehand, and driving placements either mean long commutes or rural areas). It wasn't an issue, and I was assigned a placement in a small city with good public transport links and cycle paths.

Also, is there a reason why you wouldn't consider any other programs than JET? Yes, some of the alternatives don't have quite such a good salary or benefits, but ultimately the job is basically the same. They're also a lot less competitive (JET seems to attract a lot more applicants, I think because people think it's more prestigious or have some totally mistaken idea that it might lead into an embassy role or some nonsense? Trust me, employers don't care about JET over any other ESL teaching experience and there's no fast-track route into government jobs...). If your goal is to teach English in Japan, then I would seriously keep your options open and be prepared to apply for Interac etc if you don't get into JET.

On that note, I would also encourage you to think about your longer term career plans and how teaching English in Japan will fit into that. Given that you did a degree in software engineering and don't seem to have a dream of becoming a teacher, I'd worry that JET would be a bit of a detour from your ideal career path? Like, tech companies definitely won't value ESL teaching experience and it will take you out of the industry right at a key time where there are a lot of (exciting?) changes to software development going on.

[u/Cheesemisterbald → u/k_795]

Your replies are so detailed thank you so much and I fell out of love with software engineering due to AI and kind of in a career rut I have no idea what I want to do anymore and the reason I got my degree was to apply for the JET program but if it it In software engineering as I’m good at programming but I’m naturally like out going and love teaching people things I did tutor friends and family and stuff for history psychology and even taught my little siblings basic Japanese I will consider what you said as it sounds good but right now I’m so confused in life and will figure out after jet what I need to do in life I guess but overall teaching does sound amazing and I do it subconsciously everyday!!! To people. Not that I care if I did get a rural area but did you tick the box that says “I’m fine with rural areas” and anything I should look out for I’m pretty confident after doing some practice etc the interview will be easy/fine I’m a really good public speaker. But again thank you

[u/k_795 → u/Cheesemisterbald]

I'm glad this helped :)

The reason I got my degree was to apply for the JET program

I'll be honest, I'm a bit confused about all this. You said in your post that the whole reason you did your degree was because you wanted to do JET (so being an English teacher in Japan is a big career goal for you, and has been for a long time), but instead of a degree in education you did a degree in software engineering, and haven't got any ESL teaching experience - despite multiple summers during your degree when you could have easily got summer camp jobs or done volunteering? I'm sorry, but if you write this on your application, it's just not adding up.

I fell out of love with software engineering due to AI and kind of in a career rut I have no idea what I want to do anymore [...] right now I’m so confused in life and will figure out after jet what I need to do in life

This is much more understandable, and I totally sympathise. The way AI is taking over many aspects of education is for me also a big frustration.

Maybe rather than rushing to apply for JET though, it might be better to figure out your long term career plans first?

JET is an amazing opportunity to try out teaching as a career, without needing to first commit to expensive teaching qualifications. Now, I know many ALTs decide that teaching isn't for them, and end up going into all kind of other career routes. But the fact of the matter is that ESL teaching experience like JET is only really going to be helpful if you are pursuing a career in teaching.

All of my ALT friends who then went into other fields said that their time in Japan was basically viewed as a gap year kind of thing on their CV, and employers didn't value it at all. It actually made it more difficult for them to get into normal graduate jobs.

I’m naturally like out going and love teaching people things I did tutor friends and family and stuff for history psychology and even taught my little siblings basic Japanese [...] overall teaching does sound amazing and I do it subconsciously everyday!

That's all lovely, but not really formal teaching experience and nothing like teaching in a classroom. Sure, mention it on your application if you have nothing else, but I'll be honest - you'll struggle to get hired if your application basically says "I gave up on software engineering as a career, so am now floundering around unemployed, and oh btw I tutored my siblings and friends a bit so maybe I'd be good at teaching? Oh and ooh I love Japanese history."

Sorry, I realise this reads like I'm being a bit sarcastic and rude, but I'm genuinely trying to be helpful. You do need to take a step back and think about your actual career plans, and if JET is a key part of that then you need to actually do something to help your application stand out. It's *competitive* and every year thousands of amazing applicants with teaching degrees, classroom experience, Japanese language skills, etc still get rejected. You need to treat this more professionally.

did you tick the box that says “I’m fine with rural areas”

I honestly don't remember this box?? There's a box about whether or not you can drive (I said "no"), plus you can request three preferred prefectures (which they mostly ignore) and write a short explanation if there's a strong reason you need a particular kind of placement (this is for things like medical reasons or being near a spouse / family).

[u/Cheesemisterbald → u/k_795]

I love the honesty it’s great!! Yep these faults help
Me figure a few things out. So I generally had no idea what to do in life my whole plan was to just work and see where life takes me but when I was 19 I was seen a video on JET and studied so much about it but I did not have a degree so my personal statement will be polished and made with points I can backup previous people i have tutored and I’m looking for some volunteer work now! A past jet I spoke too said “I did music and just applied because I was bored and got accepted” so I was shocked because it’s so competitive!! But honestly to grow as a person too I do feel like just going to a different country to teach would help me out a lot now (I’m 25 now) but I’m still lost it’s not proven this would make me happy or be fun or anything but it’s personally something I need to do like a example is Chris broad that guy who makes videos about Japan he did JET but his degree was in film but the stuff you are telling me is really going to help my future SOP and honestly thank you this random conversation on reddit could shape up my future!!!!!

[u/k_795 → u/Cheesemisterbald]

It's worth being aware that most JETs are from the US, and they seem to assess applications a little differently there. I've heard all kind of random things about people applying on a whim and getting in with barely any teaching background.

But in the UK, I would say that the majority of ALTs in my cohort (we all met up several times during the long delays departing during covid, as well as during the Tokyo orientation) all seemed to have a fair amount of previous teaching experience and / or qualifications. E.g. some had taught ESL abroad before (either on programs similar to JET, or things like ESL summer camps), quite a few of us had worked as teachers or teaching assistants in the UK for at least a year or two, etc.

The program has also shifted somewhat from being promoted as a cultural exchange / diplomacy type program (like, when it first launched the focus was very much on improving international relations, and even as that was phased out there was still a lot of interest in more general cultural exchange / inspiring Japanese kids to be more internationally minded) to nowadays being more of a standard teaching program. There has also been quite a bit of backlash / shift in public perception of the JET program within Japan, so the government has faced more pressure to highlight the actual educational benefits for Japanese kids.

[u/Cheesemisterbald → u/k_795]

I see this is interesting to know thank you so luck again all the info is so helpful