Applying for the JET Program with Jason and his Argonauts

by

jason_argonauts_skeletons

There’s a Japan-related video blogger named Jason who is living in rural Japan thanks to the JET program (which is a program that sends English speakers to Japan to teach English). I know a lot of you have expressed interest in the JET program either through e-mails to me or comments, but since I don’t really know anything about the JET program, I thought I’d share with you someone who does.

Jason has taken the time to take you through the JET program, video by video (that way you don’t have to read!), in a series he calls “Applying to the JET program.”

Personally, I’m not that interested in JET, but I’m guessing some of you are. If you’re not, Jason has some good videos on other aspects of every-day Japan life on his Vlog. So, without further adieu (totally misused/misspelled that word, didn’t I?) let’s take a look at his videos on applying for the JET program.

Getting the Application

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ZVUdN3IIc']

Don’t Procrastinate!

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ct7SH4dO5w']

Who Does JET Want?

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vlnl-55Hto']

Picking Your Location

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l13jVFszUfA']

More on the Application

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0A-L19OGME']

The Letter of Intent

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo07tHkI3nQ']

Send it In!

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poodr8SaBMc']

Important resources (gathered by Jason)

The JET Programme homepage

Application FAQ

American JET hopefuls – go here for the online application

UK JETs go here

Other countries, go here and select your home country

There you have it! Applying for the JET in juicy video form. If you’re interested in Japan life, and the life of someone who’s teaching English in Japan (or just interested in people’s lives in general), go give Jason a subscribe. He also has a blog going here.

Anyone here ever thought about doing JET? Has anyone here already done JET?

  • http://www.edufire.com/arky Arky

    That's awesome Koichi, just what I need. Thanks a bunch~

  • http://honest-lies.com Catherine

    pretty awesome although like you I'm not interested in JET either. I want to land up in Japan but I wouldn't be able to teach to save my life…and I wouldn't even want to. lol. Oh and isn't it just plain old “without further ado”? XD

  • http://www.vietamins.com Viet

    Thought about it….. But I was given a couple of opportunities to do some intern research at some Japanese companies that paid more and offered better benefits. But the offers were still significantly less than equivalent jobs here in the U.S. (about ~1/5), and I need to pay off my loans. So if I wasn't going to take those jobs, I for sure wasn't going to do JET.

  • WOTDsctoo

    Maaan, that's a lot of videos. XD

    I've looked into JET a bit, but as I'm not quite even out of high school…it's quite a ways away.
    We'll see if I actually decide to do it after college. :)

    Thanks for the resource!

  • Fredy

    Unless they let me teach music in Japan, not likely.
    I actually met someone who was part of the JET program at one point, but is now just an English teacher in the high school I went to while I was there. We didn't really go into deep discussion about it. It does sound like a pretty cool program though.
    Maybe teach in Japan one day, but through other methods.

    I think it's “without further ado”. “Ado” is like fuss or mess. “Adieu” is farewell.

  • Fredy

    For some reason I keep reading “ado” and feel like pronouncing “あど” and I feel that it should be spelled “aduw”. Ugh, schwas annoy me, either that or vocal diction is getting to me, and I haven't even taken the course yet. Gotta start learning that IPA…

  • http://www.tofugu.com koichi

    Well, I suppose technically it's “without further goodbyes…”

    We'll see if I remember it's “ado” next time – I'm guessing not, but maybe we can keep it as an inside joke, hehe.

  • feitclub

    As someone who is in the JET Programme right now, this guy seems to be on the mark. I would only add that EVERYTHING you request/suggest as far as placement, work environment, even driving, is subject to the needs of the people willing to hire you. This guy asked to go someplace warm (at least, not north) and they seemed to oblige him. I have a friend who asked for either central Honshu or the northeast and he got sent to Nagasaki. Also, he said he didn't want to drive and they put him out in the sticks, so he had to buy a car.

    Me? I got real lucky. You can choose up to three locations and I picked all three in the Kansai area because that's where I did my study abroad and that's where my then-girlfriend lived. They listened to me and sent me to Osaka. Admittedly, it's the most rural area in all of Osaka, but it is in Osaka and there's sufficient public transportation to get me to and from work each day, which is nice because I don't want to drive in this country.

    So now I live in Kansai with my wife (we got married right away actually) and everything is going great. I strongly recommend the JET Programme to anyone who is interested SO LONG AS you keep in mind that your requests may be completed ignored. But if you let that ruin your experience, that's your own fault. My friend in Nagasaki is having a great time.

  • tindra

    i would have loved to give JET a go, but my country still isn't on the list, unfortunately, which i assume disqualifies me from applying. some of my friends from university in england have done this though, and they were really pleased with it, as far as i remember. so it's definitely worth trying, for those of you who are toying with the idea. :)

  • Fredy

    Haha. Okay. Will do. Another reason to keep reading? Besides the awesome
    contents already available! :P

  • matt

    Anyone with college degree can get accepted to the JET program. The pay is good, the hours are generally less than 35 per week, there is a lot of setup assistance when you need an apartment, car, etc. In short, it is a good deal. There are a huge variety of situations though, I just got lucky to live in a mid-sized town with lots of support. I've been on in Fukui for 3.5 years and I've seen all kinds of people come and go. You don't need to be able to teach or even be sane to get hired apparently. If you want an easy way to get a decent job and living setup and don't care where you go (almost no one living in my area got their requested place) go for it. In the interview, your attitude is really the only thing that matters. Look like you are an exciting and interesting person who can think quickly and not get flustered and you have as good a chance as possible to get hired.

  • TohruH

    My old teacher was apart of that program and now he works for the Conciliate of Japan in GA. He encouraged me to do the program too. I can't wait to go! However I might go to Japan before I get my Bachelors. Until I do I'm on their email list.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/CHESTERlikesSUBARU Chester_King

    So JET = Ladyfriend ?

    Sigh, I applied for the JET program when I was in college and was completely rejected. I'm still scarred by the experience. Well, not really.

    YMMV

  • http://www.magdalirl.com.pl Lena Tabak, W-wa

    Otyłość, cukrzyca typu 2 i zła DIETA nie !!, wiedza i medycyna TAK !!.

    Informacja nt zdrowego odżywiania i odchudzania jest NIESTETY tak manipulowana, że przekłada się na rosnącą plagę otyłości oraz cukrzycy typu 2. Należy jednak zachować rozsądek i poznać realia. Czyli, pamiętajmy i zakodujmy sobie raz na zawsze, w naszej świadomości oraz pamięci, że odżywienie własnego organizmu to baza w oparciu o którą realizujemy aktywność życia.
    Jednocześnie problem nadwagi i otyłości, również cukrzycy typu 2 ROZWIĄZUJE !! przekaz ze strony internetowej, ADRES:
    http://www.magdalirl.com.pl
    Jest to ewenement w skali kraju i całej Europy. Niezwykle ważna jest też wiedza z książki pt.:
    PORADNIK ŻYWIENIOWY człowieka w XXI wieku.
    Znajdują się w niej unikatowe tabele żywieniowe tzw.
    Indeks Żywieniowy tj. IŻ produktu.
    Chleb typu KR-IRL stanowi aktualnie o wartości zdrowia oraz szczupłej prawidłowej sylwetce. Jest w nim ogromna energia i czystość biologiczna produktu zarazem.
    Wszelkie choroby związane z otyłością i cukrzycą typu 2 pominiemy, jeśli wyeliminujemy otyłość. Aby tego dokonać należy spożywać:
    Chleb typu KR-IRL oraz żywność wg wartości tzw. Indeks Żywieniowy, tj. IŻ produktu. Jemy bez większych zahamowań, smacznie i dużo, a przede wszystkim energetycznie oraz BEZ UCZUCIA GŁODU.
    Zmęczenie jest nam wtedy obce, a kreatywność myślenia zaskakuje nas samych. Zdrowiejmy i szczuplejmy zarazem !
    Takie odżywianie NIE JEST DROGIE, a wręcz WYJĄTKOWO TANIE (koszt 1 szt. mini chlebka to 18-20 groszy czyli całodzienne wyżywienie 1 osoby nie przekroczy 2,00 zł).
    Zjadamy mniej droższych produktów, a to dlatego; że Chleb typu KR-IRL syci niewyobrażalnie przez 4-5 godz., ELIMINUJE GŁÓD, gwarantując przy tym odżywienie BIOLOGICZNIE WZORCOWE !!.
    Mamy swoje zdrowie we WŁASNYCH rękach, to zdecydujmy zatem, jak ma wyglądać nasza przyszłość.
    NIE możemy być GŁODNI !!. Jeśli nie potrafimy opanować głodu to żadna DIETA nie ma SENSU !!.
    Ta wiedza to puenta pozytywnego i energetycznego życia, którego jakość należy NIEZWŁOCZNIE poprawić.
    Spróbujmy tak jeść, a optyka postrzegania rzeczywistości będzie dla nas nowym wartościowym doznaniem.
    Dobre samopoczucie i niskie koszty są nagrodą za tę wiedzę dla wszystkich pragnących zdrowo żyć.
    L. T. Warszawa

  • Serena

    Thanks for adding this to your site Koichi. I was looking for something like this and couldn't find it. I applied for the JET Program in November and hope to go to Japan this summer. I was one of those people who was bugging you about the JET Program. Thanks for your help.
    Ganbatte Ne !

  • http://www.youtube.com/myargonauts Jason H.

    Koichi – Thanks so much for the excellent shout-out. I appreciate it!

    Happy Holidays!

    -Jason

  • David

    Awesome thanks for the videos

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1124234194 M. Aaron Dishner

    I've applied for the JET Program and I'm super excited about the possibilities! I've also watched all of Jason's videos. They're pretty good, although, as he admits, his pronunciation is a bit off (^-^). Well, it's still informative and he seems like he'd be a great teacher, too. Hopefully you'll get an interview Serena!!! (^-^)

  • LostInInaka

    Came on JET more than 5 years ago…and stayed…so it couldn't have been all that bad an experience!

    Actually I was an alternate for about 2 days at first but then got picked up quickly thereafter.

    Great experience to come abroad, but damn if I wasn't bored during the working hours…

  • Digger

    KOICHI & JASON – THANK YOU! I NEED this!

    (and I don't bust out the Caps Lock for just anything)

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  • http://soldave.ismysite.co.uk/biginjapan Dave Webb

    Have been on JET for 5 years in Okinawa and I have to say I love it. Wouldn't be exaggerating if I said it has changed my life. My only advice on applying is this: have some sort of interest in education if you're thinking about coming here. There are too many people in Japan teaching English because they see it as an extended vacation after they finish university and before they enter what they see as “a real job”. In contrast to what you may think about being a teacher in your own country, what you do here in Japan does have a profound impact on the students and they do remember you for good or for bad. Coming here for the right reasons makes you more motivated and enthusiastic to the students when things might get tough.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Johnny-Le/1129367649 Johnny Le

    Thank you very much for linking Jason's videos! I recently discovered the JET program in college and wanted more information about it. I guess the best way to learn more about it is to watch videos/blogs of current and recent JET members.

  • http://www.goabroad.pk goabroad

    great, good work

  • mdea

    Its very inspiring stuff.. I'm a 2010 JET hopeful, I didn't feel I was ready this last go around, but this upcoming year I'll be all prepared to submit my application, and with any luck I'll get picked to go.
    rent a car

  • inchirieriauto

    Very good info.Thanks for sharing.

    inchirieri auto | fier forjat | cadouri

  • KattyKat (chisato)

    ALL HAIL, TOFUGU!! I love you!! I was on JET for two years; those were some of the absolute best years of my life, and they have influenced my outlook on life and my career path (teacher) in so many ways. I didn't watch the videos, so I don't know if these things were stated, but if not, I think they are important: …I think the interviewers have wised up to the “type” that wants to be a JET participant because they really like manga and animae. If that is your primary interest, JET may not be for you. If that's what INITIALLY got you interested in Japan and you can substantiate that you now have a BROADER interest in the country, people and culture, you're good. Likewise, interviewers and cooperating schools are wary of the JET participant who is coming to Japan in an effort to extend his/her college expereinces in the frat/sorority house. Japan is TONS of fun, but the best candidate will be one who has (and can convey!!) a genuine interest in Japan, in education, in travel and in learning about the world. I don't begrudge anyone who has joined JET as a way to get to Japan or a way to be with a foreign partner, but I want to stress that if there is no OTHER reason you want to be in Japan, you might do better for yourself and the students and teachers you'd be working for through JET if you tried for a national eikaiwa and worked there for a year or so. You'll have a lighter work load, and you'll be beholden to fewer people. (I think.)

  • KattyKatchisato

    Absolutely agree! The JET Program genreally treats its participants so well that it really is sad to see when a participant is screwing the program over (coming to work a little hung over, enjoying being “on stage” but not reciprocating with any interest in their own cooperating teachers and students). JET can be affect a profound change in your life and the lives of the kids and teachers you meet. Have a blast, but also, take your role seriously. The JET folks have really trusted you with a lot.

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  • http://hi.baidu.com/yishiym123 DeepBlue

    That's awesome Koichi, just what I need

  • http://hi.baidu.com/yishiym123 DeepBlue

    That's awesome Koichi, just what I need

  • http://www.facebook.com/katrina.horridge Katrina Horridge

    Btw, he’s now stopped his blog. there is a post he put up saying he would end his blog at the end of 2011.

  • http://www.facebook.com/AveryGoodgame Nick Hattan

    Too many Uhh’s and Umm’s. But very helpful, thanks!