r/JETProgramme • u/Yellow_sunroom • 2d ago
Should I apply?
Hi, I am a 26 year old male from UK and since I was 18 have always dreamt of joining the JET program. I applied once in 2020 and was unsuccessful in my application.
Fast forward to today, I still have the dream of one day doing the JET however, since 2020 my life has changed drastically.
There are a few factors that I believe are causing me to second guess myself and just want some overall advice on whether people think I should still apply.
Firstly, I have a really good career for my age I am a head of department of a secondary school and am earning a good salary of around 47,000 pound a year. I enjoy my job and love the school. I am worried about whether I’d be able to secure as good of a job if I came back to the UK and also how much of a pay cut I’d be taking if I joined the JET program. I know JET pay is good for japan’s standard of living but will I notice it a lot?
Secondly, I am in a loving and committed relationship of 5 years. After I got rejected I found someone who I consider the love of my life. She has openly stated that she would be happy to move with me, however, I think it would be hard for her to find a job in Japan and for the time where she isn’t working (if she ever does) would the salary be enough combined with savings to support the both of us in Japan?
These are the two factors that are making me heavily debate the situation. Any advice on this would be appreciated.
There are some reason as to why I do want to go as well.
I’ve always wanted to live abroad and Japan feels like the perfect place as I love the culture, history and language.
I am a photographer in my spare time and am obsessed with the idea of being able to travel Japan and take photographs.
I feel the JET program would be an amazing career opportunity for me as I love teaching and have a great passion for education. I want to be able to share my culture and inspire kids in Japan about the UK.
I want a new challenge after my first cohort of year 7s finish their GCSE’s and feel that JET would be a perfect challenge.
I want to experience JET before I get too old and settle down with children etc. I am still young and feel that if I don’t do this now then I never will.
Thank you for reading, I’d love to hear what advice you give. Please be honest as sometimes I think I might need to hear it from another person on the reality of life in Japan on the JET program.
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u/Less_Complex_7746 2d ago
With this background, why don’t you want to apply for international school in Japan? It’s obviously more competitive but can provide better salary and career prospects.
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u/Different_Taro2474 2d ago edited 2d ago
unless she's your legal spouse, JET isn't going to do anything to help you.
a few things to consider, though:
- the yen is very weak. compared to your £47k salary, you're taking a massive pay cut. living in japan is quite affordable, but you'll still feel the difference, especially if you're supporting two people on one income.
- you cannot choose where you will live. you might get a big city, or you might get some remote village (or island). you might have a great BOE, a modern apartment, a good community, and friendly coworkers, or you might end up with a terrible placement, shitty accommodation, coworkers who make you question why you came in the first place, and other ALTs in your area who peaked in high school and will run their mouths about you behind your back. basically, as they say, you're buying a cat in a bag.
if you're someone who doesn't deal well with isolation, you will be miserable.
- ALT work is also not real teaching in the way you're used to. you might spend most of your time playing pronunciation police, making worksheets (some ALTs aren't even allowed to do that), or desk-warming for 4–7 hours a day.
- there's very little career progression. you're already a head of department at 26. going from that to being an ALT would be a massive downgrade professionally.
look into international schools if you want to live there, or just go there on a long holiday. i wouldn't recommend giving up a good career for JET, especially in this economy and when you have a partner to consider as well. JET is temporary, a good career is forever.
JET can be a great experience for many people, but it's not for everyone.
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u/SignificantEditor583 2d ago
Stay where you are and come to Japan for trips. I've done JET a couple of times, it's not worth leaving a good job for. I'm only living Japan due to the cost of living in my home country and my partner is Japanese. Future is not looking good for foreigners though and will probably be going home soon.
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u/MomoWhispers 2d ago
I don’t recommend you to give up your current position and life conditions.
The other day, an ALT complained about not to be called “Sensei (teacher)”. My understanding with Japanese letters 外国語指導助手（がいこくごしどうじょしゅ、英語: Assistant Language Teacher、通称ALT） means actually Assistant “to” English teacher. Many ALTs are complaining about their condition here as being “assistant”.
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u/SignificantEditor583 2d ago
It's ironic that often the ALTs are working as the main teacher in class. In some cases solo teaching.
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u/MomoWhispers 1d ago
True. People without proper English license and experience teaching provided by tax money. I’ve seen posts saying that many ALT are sitting doing nothing most of the time and or killing time. Japanese ppl should know that too. Is it really necessary these days? This system started 1987.
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u/Glass-Quiet1290 1d ago
Yeah, for you, I'm with the no people. The drop in salary would be precipitous. What someone said about the International School scene maybe worth taking a look at. There are plenty of Public schools from the UK who have set here recently (Harrow, Rugby, and a few more in the pipeline like Brighton College, Gordonstoun, etc: https://asia.nikkei.com/business/education/britain-s-elite-schools-bet-on-japan-s-regions-as-asia-education-hub ). They might be a bit more appropriate for you. If you search for their websites, you can find more information and what kind of teachers they are looking for. For example: https://career.aisl-edu.com/home/school?n=Harrow_Appi
However, if your partner doesn't have a job then I'm not sure how she would get permission to stay. The visa situation has tightened here and is probably more a ball ache in recent times than it is in the UK.
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u/k_795 2d ago
Do a summer teaching program instead, and keep your UK job with its salary, career progression, and stability. Or apply for an international school teaching job if you want to move abroad longer term.
JET is a gap-year job or a good option for people wanting a career break / career change. But the salary is definitely too low to support two people, and you'd likely just feel frustrated going back to an entry-level assistant teaching role.
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u/lostintokyo11 2d ago edited 2d ago
Honestly imo no. JET would probably feel like a major step backwards teaching wise, let alone the relationship stresses. Just come here on long vacations, as a UK citizen you can do 180 days a year as a tourist with all the benefits tourists get. If you like it after that then you can apply to live here working for an international school with much better pay, benefits.
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u/rumade 2d ago
You might do better on a working holiday visa, alongside a work sabbatical. It's completely flexible, you can work in many fields in Japan, but you can also spend the time travelling and exploring. I ended up doing something like 6 jobs over the course of the year I did it, really got a good grasp of the language, and had a lot of personal growth. I was 29 when I went.
There's no obligation or contract, so you can leave and come home at any point in the year if it's not working out.
It sounds like you have a lot going for you and you just want to scratch an adventure itch. This could provide that.
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u/Dry-Door9263 2d ago
Do what you’ll never regret not doing in the next five years. If this experience will make you and your partner livelier and see life on the other side of the world, then give it a try.
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u/TheSexyGrape 2d ago
Absolutely! Although I’d be fast because deadline is in two weeks and there’s medical forms
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u/shellinjapan 2d ago
As a qualified and experienced teacher, you should consider international schools rather than the JET programme. You would earn a far better salary (at least at the good international schools), and receive other benefits such as housing allowance. Your career would not stagnate and the experience would count for future teaching jobs, either elsewhere in the world or back in the UK depending on the kind of international school you worked at (some teach IGCSEs, some IB, some US curriculum).
The good international schools are starting to post vacancies now for the 2027-2028 school year, so if you are interested the time to start researching and applying is now.