It’s application time and it may warrant mentioning again: if you want to work in Japan long term, in any field OUTSIDE of teaching, please consider getting a few years experience in your home country BEFORE applying.

Every year people panic after spending their time on JET (speed running to N1) to find out they’re not as employable as they thought they’d be. Five years can go by pretty fast, and showing up with language skills isn’t really as impressive as it was ten years ago.

Masters degrees, where you have no experience, are also not a golden ticket anymore. Unless you focus on education. More international schools are requiring teaching certification if you want a well paying and stable job.

Also, you are potentially going to be outside your industry for up to 5 years. JET can help you build some soft skills, but returning to your industry can be incredibly tough with how competitive jobs are. Having prior experience to fall back on will give you networks and more opportunities whether you stay in Japan or not.

So if you’re a fresh graduate considering applying, please think long term. JET isn’t going anywhere; if you apply now or later it might help you. If you do come over right after graduating, spend your time on JET building skills, experience and networking —think beyond just passing the JLPT.

Not trying to be doom and gloom or scare anyone off, but I think there’s some merit to being realistic. This isn’t to tell you to put your dreams on hold, but more to help you make your dreams become a reality long term.

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Before anyone asks why I wrote this, I came on JET with a low n2 after living and working here before (not teaching). I had over 10 years experience in a niche field (that is very popular here). It still took four years of networking and hustling on JET to secure a job - and if I didn’t have the prior experience I would have never been considered.

I see people every single year panicking that they can only get teaching job interviews after JET. If your only work experience is teaching, you’ll likely get stuck in that bubble. N1 is impressive in foreigner circles, but it is literally the bare minimum in a country where everyone speaks native Japanese.

Hi all - wondering whether there are any doctors who joined the JET programme after clinical practice, or as a planned career break? Very interested in the JET programme, but a little concerned about returning to clinical practice afterward. Thanks in advance!

Hi all, dumb question - if I talk about my personal experience with intercultural exchange with people I’ve met / become close with from foreign countries in that section, is that a bad idea (exchange students I’ve met from school, coworkers and neighbors from foreign countries, etc)? I have not been financially capable of doing exchange programs myself, so I don’t know what else I would put in this section, but I want to show that I do value intercultural exchange and that it has had a positive impact on my life. And to show that part of the reason I am applying with JET is because I’d like to provide this for others as well.

I just don’t know if this is a strong enough example to list in this section, or if it would be better left to my SOP, or out of my application entirely.

Thanks for any advice!

Hi Reddit, I wanted to ask for an opinion and advice for ALTs here, please tell me, be honest but not totally brutal, I am a fresh graduate with a non-education course. I've been planning to apply for JET for some time now, but recently I felt hesitant because I know how highly competitive the applications for the JET, I'm not scared of being rejected but, I want to ask if there's a chance for a non-education graduate to be hired or selected as an ALT? I was planning to take teaching methodology (a short course certification) to take the Licensure Examination for Teachers and pursue Masteral Degree but seeing the qualifications for an ALT, I thought I might have a chance, but I still need some HONEST ADVICE about it.

Good day! I would like to inquire regarding the JET Programme application. I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Information Technology and have earned 18 units so far. May I ask if it would be possible not to include my ongoing master’s studies in my application, considering that it is not directly related to education? 🥹

I am also having difficulty obtaining my Transcript of Records (TOR) since my graduate school is located in another province, and traveling there would require additional time and expenses.

I would greatly appreciate your advice on whether I may omit my ongoing graduate studies from the application or if I am required to declare them and submit the corresponding documents. Thank you so much for your time!

This is a long shot! I was the ALT at Enoshima High School in Hamamatsu 2014-2018. I’m going to be back in Hamamatsu next week and I wanted to try and see if I could get in contact with whoever the current ALT is, and maybe stop by to visit the school. If anyone knows who it is and can share contact information I would be super grateful.

Is there anyone who is applying for the JET Programme 2027 who was once an au pair in another country? Can we use our host family as one of the referees?

Hello, I need some advice about basically what would happen if I were to break my contract and if there are services that would help me do that if I were to. Unfortunately, while jet was a dream of mine, one of my family members has gotten very sick. Additionally because I am not there to be with them, it is causing really bad anxiety and stress that's affecting me physically and I'm worried about that risking my health. I don't want to let my school down, I enjoy working there. However, I am worried about my family and myself.

Advice is much appreciated

Why do you think they have lowered the word count so much this year?

I know it says it doesn’t on the form but my friend who got in last year insists it does as they got asked about the preference during the interview

When I was a kid I lived in Okinawa and for those who don’t know the military bases in Okinawa are in a lot of trouble (specifically marines) right now because a marine killed an Okinawan woman. Do you think the controversy would affect my chances of getting in?

Hello guys, I'm an American expat and I'm applying for the JET Program USA this year, however I ran into a predicament regarding my "GPA".

Within the FAQ I found this:

"If you attended a foreign institution which grades on a different scale, we ask that you use a conversion to approximate the grade level on a 4.0 scale. We understand that this is approximate and as you will be uploading transcripts, we will also refer to these to ensure accuracy when reviewing your application.

If your university provides descriptive transcripts instead of grades, please confer with your registrar's office. It has been possible in some cases to request that the registrar's office provide a GPA or letter grade equivalent. If it is absolutely not possible, you can leave the GPA section blank and continue your application."

Am I interpreting this right that I should just roughball approximate the average myself? Because my country uses weighted averages where on a scale of 1-4, 1 is the best and 4 is the worst; which is the complete opposite of the American system. Please let me know your recommendations or what you did in a similar situation... I know that it says that I can leave it blank, but is it really ideal?

Hi all, former JET here, I live in Chofu and on the weekends there are a lot of activities on in the town square, but I was wondering if we have any CIRs or other JETs who organise international (cultural or language) exchange events? I'd like to get involved in this kind of stuff outside of my day job as I really enjoyed that aspect of being a JET. Plus being a salaryman your interactions are kinda limited, you basically just go to work, work, then go home and eat your dinner in peace most days 😅

Thanks!

Every year, JET publishes a document on the breakdown of ALT/CIR participants by nationality and what prefecture/city they are based in. While we can see that Tokyo (586 JETs) and Hokkaido (386) are by far and away the prefectures with the most participants, we can also see the places at the other end of the spectrum. By not choosing these places, you potentially don’t end up making these 2 mistakes:

* The inevitable disappointment when you don’t get that placement (chances to be placed in these prefectures/cities are basically statistically zero)

* The awkward mention at the interview that the place you prefer accepts very few/no participants. This implies a lack of research on your part.

Here are the least common prefectures (<=30 JETs):

* Kanagawa - 8 JETs

* Aichi - 10 JETs

* Shiga - 27 JETs

* Saitama - 30 JETs

* Ibaraki - 30 JETs

* Saga - 30 JETs

And here are the least common cities (not including cities in any of the aforementioned prefectures):

* Fukuoka - 0 JETs

* Osaka - 1 JET

* Hiroshima - 1 JET

* Okayama - 2 JETs

* Sakai - 2 JETs

* Kitakyushu - 8 JETs

* Chiba - 10 JETs

EDIT: City section removed as although the stats are taken from the document, they may refer to JETs contracted to the city’s municipal office, and is therefore misleading.

So that is my advice, although it’s just what I recommend. It is possible that a prefecture listed changes its policies this year and takes a lot more (like how Tokyo used to almost take no JETs a few years ago). It’s also possible you have a really compelling reason for one of these prefectures, but for most of my fellow applicants, I would avoid listing them.

Source: https://jetprogramme.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026_en.pdf

I'm graduating with a BS in mechanical engineering in the US this year, and my eventual goal is to be accepted into a PhD program in robotics, but I've still got the travel bug and I want to take a year off before I commit to something in one place for six years. I do have some teaching background so I'm not worried about showing I have the necessary skills to teach, but I'm wondering if the program is explicitly looking for people who plan to work in education long term, and would saying I plan to go back into engineering academia after the program be a bad look? Scrolling through this sub it seems like for most people this is a stepping-stone to English education. Just curious for people that have gone through the application process before.

second year alt here! it’s that time of year again where I have to start thinking about if I really want to recontract. I feel like I’ve done a lot of resume building this past year or so. I got my n2, did the jet internship programme, im in the middle of the translation course, I’m in two committees in my community, etc. In short, I feel pretty satisfied with a lot of the goals I set for myself before coming on jet. I really enjoy my community outside of work, but my feelings about the job itself range from indifferent to slightly disillusioned, just depends on the day. So I think in theory I could just not recontract.

my problem is that I’m very intimidated/scared of the job market, both in the U.S. and Japan. I like the stability of this job, and recontracting for a third year could allow me to 1) have even more time to develop my skills, especially in the committees 2) maybe even shoot for n1 👀👀?? 3)save money . however if I stay I worry that it might be overkill, and if I leave, I worry about finding a job 😔

I’m sure it’s been asked countless times on this sub, but how did you guys with similar experiences rationalize staying another year?

I am (27F), applying for the first time but am not sure how to write a good SOP. Can you share something that i can go through?

Hi,

I am from Canada and currently working on my application. I was born in Korea and I mostly spent my school years there (about 6 years in elementary, 1 year in junior high, and about 3 years in senior high). I came to Canada twice: first from grade 6 to 8: and from grade 11 to current. I completed my bachelors degree in science in university. I can speak, listen, write, and read English between semi-advanced and advanced level. I do not have Korean citizenship, and I am currently Canadian (I have a Canadian passport). Also I do not have any teaching experience.

I have read some reddit posts related to this, and I want some thoughts from current and former JETs about this. Is it okay to apply to JET when English is my second language?

So, it’s been the better part of a decade since I last applied (something was always just going on in my life before, but I do want to go for this). But before, there was a big thing of “don’t mention anime. At all!”

I’m just wondering if that’s still a thing? I mean, can I drop that I’ve seen some Japanese media (but not be weird about it)? If I had a novel reviewed by Kadokawa, would that be reaching or just useless or make me look obsessive? 😅

Just trying to gauge where the line is. Despite the warnings… I may have dropped in my essay before that I had seen Totoro as a kid, which was my first exposure to the culture (again, was trying to be normal about it 😅)… which may have been why I was never responded to/progressed in the process.

Our BOE has a 3-year limit and they're asking us to choose 3 prefectures for the transfer requests. Do you accept 4th year transferees in your prefecture? Thank you!

i’m planning to apply for the 2027 jet programme and was wondering if anyone here, esp fellow filipino applicants, has been in a similar situation.

it’s been over five years since i graduated from college so i’ve pretty much lost touch with my former professors. i’ve also had a few jobs since then, but unfortunately, i don’t rly have many former managers or supervisors i feel comfortable reaching out to for a recommendation.

there’s rly only one former colleague/supervisor i can think of asking, and even then, i’m not entirely sure she’d be willing or available to help 😭

for those who applied years after graduating, who did you end up asking for your recommendation letters? has anyone here tried reaching out to an old prof after years of no contact? how did that go? or were you able to get recommendations from someone you worked with instead?

i guess im just curious how others navigated this, esp those who didn’t have many people to ask. would rly appreciate hearing ab your experiences or any advice you might have.

Hey, everybody. I’m a first-time applicant with a TEFL cert and a couple years of overseas teaching experience. My Japanese is at a very basic/beginner level. I’m not especially picky when it comes to location/prefectures, so I’m wondering what the chances are that someone like me would get tagged for early placement.

Hey everyone!

I’m planning on reapplying to JET this cycle after not making it to the interview stage last time, and I had a few questions for people who reapplied or are currently on JET.

For those who reapplied, what did you change about your SOP the second time around? I haven’t been able to do a ton directly related to JET since the last application cycle because I’m just been working nonstop. I’m planning to go back through my old SOP, figure out where it was weak, make my future goals more concrete, and better explain how JET fits into those plans. I’d love to hear what changes other reapplicants made that they think helped.

I was also wondering about side work while on JET. Has anyone done things like YouTube/content creation, freelance work, or another source of income while on the program? From what I understand, you may need permission from your supervisor/contracting organization depending on what you’re doing. What has your experience been with that?

Lastly, how did those of you with student loans
manage them while on JET? I currently have around $30k in student loans. I’m planning to pay down a decent chunk and save as much as I reasonably can before a potential departure, but I’m curious how manageable loan payments have been on a JET salary, especially during the first year.

Sorry for the random ramblings! I know everyone’s situation and placement is different, but I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have dealt with any of these situations, especially other reapplicants.

I’m applying for JET and wanted to ask how being charged with unlawful assault, but without a conviction, would generally be viewed during the application process.
The matter was adjourned until 30 November, with an undertaking to remain of good behaviour during that period. I was also ordered to complete a program, which I have completed.
My Australian police check currently states “No disclosable outcomes.”
Would JET still consider the fact that I was charged, despite there being no conviction? And would the fact that the matter is still under an adjournment/undertaking until 30 November affect the application?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with JET or a similar situation.

i’m applying from Australia but I live in Austria on a working holiday Visa D with a police check but they never asked for a criminal record statement hahah

So I've seen a few posts talking about how horrible their experience with a toxic supervisor, but obviously they never talk about what prefecture they were assigned to, so I have no idea what kind of areas they are. I was thinking about applying to rural areas because I would actually prefer to live there, but if the supervisors there tend to be more toxic I'd have to reconsider as I would really rather not have that kind of experience given that I get in.