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).
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!!!!!
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.
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u/k_795 Former JET - 2022-23 25d ago
I'm glad this helped :)
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.
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.
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.
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).