Want to start teaching English in Japan?
The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (known as JET) offers the perfect opportunity to broaden your horizons, explore another culture, and get paid for it. Participants in this exchange teaching program get the chance to live and work in Japan.
How the JET Program Works:
As part of the JET program, you can apply for three different types of positions. Here’s the breakdown:
- Assistant Language Teachers (ALT) work in public schools and assist a Japanese English teacher in the classroom. The ALTs help prepare teaching plans and extracurricular activities. This makes up the majority of JET placements
- Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) is a position for someone who already has a command of Japanese. These JETers help local government offices with exchange programs
- Sports Exchange Advisors (SEA) are JET participants who, you guessed it, foster cultural exchange through sports. SEAs are sports professionals who work with local governments to assist with sports training and sports-related programs.
Once you’re accepted into the program and placed in one of the positions listed above, you’ll live and work in Japan for one year. The program will help you find housing and your pay will help cover living expenses, food, travel, sushi, sake, etc. The best part is that placement possibilities are endless, from Japan’s bustling metropolises to its peaceful mountainside villages.
Benefits of the JET Program:
Like many of the exchange programs that allow you to live and work in a foreign country, the JET program will do wonders for your resume, skill-set, and confidence. You’ll gain invaluable foreign language skills (or increase the ones you already have), get solid work experience under your belt, and have the amazing experience of assimilating into a foreign culture. How many job applicants can say that during an interview?
For more information on the JET Program:
You can visit the program home page, http://www.jetprogramme.org/. For specifics on applying as an American citizen, go to http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/JET/. One thing to note: the application is competitive and lengthy. It usually begins in late-September, with applicants receiving notification the following May, so start planning as soon as possible!
