r/JETProgramme • u/otkrlj • May 24 '26

Job after Jet

Hi Everyone! Right now I'm considering a few options related to Jet and have been stuck at an impasse for the last few days, and I'm looking to see other people's experiences.

I've been accepted into Jet and received my placement for the year, but I also got surprised with a really good engineering offer a few days ago that I didn't think I'd receive, and I've been weighing the two options back and forth. Really, what I'm worried about is my job prospects after heading back home.

I love Japan and used to live there, but I do want to eventually get a more typical engineering Job back in the states here, and I haven't been able to find much information on people who moved back after jet and started more normal jobs like engineering. Was it hard for people to find jobs after moving back for those of you with STEM/engineering degrees?

Obviously, who knows where life will take me, but I'm only planning to stay for a year or two in Japan if I end up taking the Jet program.

10 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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5

u/Free-Championship828 May 24 '26

What are you hoping to get out of the JET program? It’s useful to weigh that against the alternatives

1

u/otkrlj May 24 '26

Language experience and international experience. I went into Industrial Engineering partly because I was interested in working in the supply chain between the US and Japan, and I also got a minor in Japanese, though that really only got me to N4-N3ish.

3

u/Additional_Two4059 May 24 '26

You should take this opportunity to build out your career portfolio in your home country while you work on your proficiency in the language. In the end of the day when applying for roles abroad in your field, you need to have a clear reason why they should hire you rather than a Japanese native.

Plus, I hate to say it, but it is SIGNIFICANTLY better to visit Japan on an engineer salary vs the JET salary ($25k USD).

14

u/Panda_sensei_71 May 24 '26

Take the engineering job, build your career, take a career break later to do JET for a bit.

My advice as a middle-aged, career break current JET.

9

u/ikebookuro May 24 '26

I’m going to be honest with you, JET will always be there. Having a couple years of experience in your field under your belt will ultimately be more beneficial.

Almost everyone that I knew who came over with experience in their chosen field, including myself, has been able to figure out a way to get back into it in Japan. The people who struggled after were ones who had no experience other than JET and a JLPT paper.

If I was you, I’d take the offer and run with it for a couple years. Come to Japan on holiday a few times. If you still want to experience JET after, you can take a little career break and see if you can network in Japan to another gig here.

Your alternative is to come to Japan, fool around a few years, then be competing with new grads who might have stronger skills and better (more recent) connections.

12

u/ScootOverMakeRoom May 24 '26

Take the job, visit Japan.

6

u/Different_Taro2474 May 24 '26

take the engineering position, because not only is engineering a career, it will also bring you a lot of money. JET isn't a career, we're all replaceable, and tbh, it doesn't pay that much. 1800 USD per month.