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jasonbvr (Offline)
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Posts: 771
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Japan
05-28-2007, 02:53 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xlll View Post
Are you in the JET Progamme, or were you hired through a private company?
I work for a company so I'm not a JET. The reasons are simply that by the time I decided to teach English in Japan I did not have time to apply and second I didn't think I would be accepted because on paper my university career did not look so grand. I have thought about applying to JET, but I would have to return home to do so which wouldn't be all that bad considering it would give me nearly a year at home.

So to clarify, you can not apply to the JET Programme from within Japan. Why? I don't know, it is fairly retarded. Let me outline the perks of being a JET a little more for you.

All ALT's are paid by the board of education that they work for around 300,000 yen per month. For the board of education, the cost of hiring a JET versus a private is nearly the same. I say nearly because JET's have all these little conferences they get sent off to, so occasionally they can be a little more expensive but not much more.

If you work for a company, your company is earning whatever they are not paying you out of that 300,000. For most companies that means around 50,000 yen a month per ALT that they hire and contract to the board of education.

However, as a JET programme ALT the pay you take home at the end of the month is not 300,000. JET's pay into the Japanese form of social security which takes around 40,000 yen per month. Non-JET ALT's pay the minimum income tax in Japan which is around 9,000 to 10,000 yen per month. However, JET's have the opportunity to file a form to have most of what they have paid into the pension plan returned to them at the time they leave Japan. So around a thousand dollars or so at the end of their stays will be returned. Most non-JET's are also paid completion bonuses but not nearly as much as the combined bonuses of airfare along with the pension returns. So month by month we make the same but in the long run JET's take home more.

Now for the other benefits.
JET's receive a inheritance basically of a lot of things from their predecessors. If you are a non-JET and your company does not promise such things as bedding, deposits for you apartment, an apartment that comes with a TV, fridge, microwave, light fixtures, stove top, and a washer. You might end up having to buy all these things yourself. Yes, some apartments in Japan do not have light fixtures and stove tops. Then you have other perks like all the books most JET's leave behind, bicycles and basically whatever they deem not worth taking home. Now there are a lot of companies out there that will set you up with most of these things. Some companies will even be providing you with a car and paying for insurance and things like that. It all depends on what you are promised and what you can weasel out of them.

Third benefit of being a JET, automatic friends. I have friends that are JET's and those that work for other companies. But to be completely honest, JET's tend to either stick together or congregate more with other JET's than other ALT's working for the same company. Why? JET's always have these JET conferences and parties throughout the year and the only way I would know about them is when my JET friends invite me. Then I always get the, "What? You're not a JET. Why are you here?" To which I reply, "My friend so and so said there was a lot of beer here, so here I am." Anyways, the point is you are automatically in a little club whereas other ALT's have to go out and demonstrate our ability to make friends on our own. It is almost like joining a fraternity in a way.

Last edited by jasonbvr : 05-28-2007 at 02:56 AM.
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