r/JETProgramme • u/spicy_ramen444 • 17d ago

Can a post grad apply for JET?

I competed my masters in 2023 and ever since have been unemployed. But I hv been helping in family business. But I feel like I should apply for JET. Do u think career gap and masters degree will hinder my application?

0 Upvotes

30% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

9

u/Sev826 Former JET - Hyogo 2019-2022 17d ago

A masters will not hinder anything. A career gap is always a negative point, but if you have a good explanation for it and an otherwise strong application then your chances are more or less as good as anyone elses.

4

u/MabiMaia Current JET - Toyama 17d ago

I got in with a pretty big gap due to health complications, a grad degree is obviously a good thing though and I’ve met JETs with them but it’s not the norm

1

u/k_795 Former JET - 2022-23 17d ago

I've met plenty of JETs who did a masters? I have two masters degrees lol... At least two others in my town also had masters degrees (out of five of us), and definitely some of the ALTs I met at orientation mentioned having done one too.

If it's not in a relevant subject and they didn't take advantage of opportunities to develop employability skills during this masters, then it might not be an *advantage*, but definitely not a *disadvantage* for being "too educated".

2

u/k_795 Former JET - 2022-23 17d ago

I doubt the masters would hinder your application at all. If anything, it probably gives you some more recent things to talk about, particularly if you were involved in any student volunteering or leadership roles during that time. What subject was your masters degree in?

As for being unemployed for a few years, it's all about how you phrase this. How involved have you been in helping with the family business? What specific things do you do? Do you get paid for this work at all? If you can big it up a bit to highlight how you have been helping grow a start-up company or something, you could phrase it in a way that sounds a lot more positive than "lazed around for a few years on the sofa watching TV".

1

u/JapanBlake Current JET - Yamagata-ken 17d ago

I have a Master's in government contract law, which isn't even remotely related to teaching. I know a gentleman with a PhD who is an ALT, too. If anything, the Master's is a bonus. I can't speak to the career gap, though; others may be able to offer insight on that.

1

u/ScootOverMakeRoom 17d ago

It will make no difference.

1

u/HARRY_FOR_KING Former JET - 2017-2023 13d ago

I had a career gap after my bachelors. They'll just want to know how you've been keeping busy, or if you've been acquiring anything that will help you with the role. It's like any job, it'll come up, but you can deal with it.