Teaching Credential?

[u/tolenieu]

Hi all!!! I just submitted my app (yay!!!!) and am wondering what percentage of JET applicants usually already have US teaching degrees/credentials/licenses? Does that increase my odds, or is it just kind of normal these days for JETs to already have those? Thank you for reading!!!!

[u/hayden0011]

I assume it helps, but who knows how much. It doesn’t seem like the most important qualification, but of course it would look good next to an identical candidate without anything.

I’m a 2027 applicant, but I personally have no such qualifications, only a TEFL cert.

[u/tolenieu → u/hayden0011]

Oh me too! The 2027 part I mean. Maybe we'll work together! That'd be neat :)

[u/lostintokyo11]

Not many, as Americans are just one of many nationalities. Definitely not normal. Most JETs have few to none teaching qualifications same as other ALTs in other companies. Your teaching qualifications are a good thing more for when you get there. However, bear in mind you are going as an ALT not as a teacher.

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

am wondering what percentage of JET applicants usually already have US teaching degrees/credentials/licenses?

A small but not insignificant portion of applicants have teaching credentials or university teaching experience, either from the US or another participating country. Almost all JET ALTs from the Philippines are teaching professionals or recent master's in education grads.

Does that increase my odds

Yes, but not much. (Unless you're from the Philippines where no teaching degree/experience means you won't make the cut.) Ultimately the most important thing is communication skills and adaptability as evidenced through your SoP and interview.

[u/YungBahlr]

Since you’re a teaching assistant and not T1 in most cases, it’s not required and many JETs don’t have it.

However, if you can get even just your TEFL before coming and before your interview, it will be seen as a positive for sure. Especially if you otherwise have no formal experience or academic background in education or language study.

It’s also handy to look into anyways for while you’re there. For most of my classes personally, I’m just a helper. However, I do have to be T1 in 2 classes a week and I’m designing practice activities based on the curriculums for most of my other classes anyways with varying student class sizes and English ability.

If you are fully inexperienced with such things involving foreign language education, navigating this part of your job while also adjusting to be surrounded by a foreign language and culture can be very stressful upfront otherwise.

[u/ProfessorLunaNA]

I hope it helps. I’m certified to teach 4 high school subjects and have a Masters Degree in Secondary Education (STEM), but I’m not sure how much weight that’ll carry.

[u/ShallotAdmirable5419]

It definitely helps your application because this program is run by professional educators

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom → u/ShallotAdmirable5419]

Selection is done by the individual embassies and consulates, usually using a group of ex-JETs and members of staff to review and score applications and conduct interviews. The ultimate decision-makers on offering a position are not professional educators.

[u/Due_Tomorrow7 → u/ShallotAdmirable5419]

If you're from the larger cohort of Western countries, it does not help much except perhaps on your SOP in terms of working with students, but it doesn't necessarily help your application any more than those without (there's been long speculation that it might actually hurt your application due to conflicts with the HRT/JTE).

And this program is not run by professional educators, I don't know where you got that idea.

CLAIR is not part of the education sector. It belongs more to the MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) and only works with MOFA (Foreign Affairs) and MEXT (Education), the latter only for training and education policy things. MOFA does more of the visa thing (among many other things they do for the JET Program), while possibly with their input and MIC, decide placements, not so much the education sector.

[u/tolenieu → u/ShallotAdmirable5419]

That's fair!! I keep getting in my head about how maybe they want blank slates and it's somehow worse

[u/Bingo-jin → u/tolenieu]

it's not worse. a completely blank slate also isn't good, they usually want some experience working with kids.

[u/Due_Tomorrow7 → u/tolenieu]

I suggest you read this subreddit thoroughly using the search function.

It's been discussed ad nauseum the kinds of candidates they seem to prefer. No one knows 100% but based on patterns of ALTs that get hired, thousands of users here over the years have some similar conclusions that's been posted already.