JET application

It’s a bit early to look into this, but I’m relatively low on workload so I did some research the JET Programme.  JET stands for Japan Exchange and Teaching and is a big programme that allows people to teach languages in Japan for a year. For me, it would be the perfect opportunity to refine my Japanese language skill after graduating from university, and equally important gain experience in teaching.

I’m pretty sure I will meet the qualifications with my BA degree, and applying for it seems easy enough. There is only one big hurdle: the interview process. I am a German American studying in England. The interviews are held at Japanese embassies and consulates, so shouldn’t be a problem for me to be interviewed, right? Wrong. JET demands an application as either one or the other nationality and furthermore requires me to attend the interview in either Germany or the USA. I am not allowed to go for an interview in London. In addition, interviews are held around mid February. I will be attending classes at that time and writing my bachelor’s thesis. So I can just wang by Germany and do an interview, right? Wrong. The German JET application standards require me to have a teaching degree of some sort, while the US JET standards don’t.

In other words: I will have to buy a return ticket to the USA in January 2010, which is when they let you know if you get an interview, and fly there for a day or two in February 2010, skipping classes – and having no guarantee that I will even succeed in my application. That’s a big ouch for my wallet. Bureaucracy for the win!

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categories Research | casmo | datetime 25.08.2009 10:36

  • By Rachel Slater, 25.08.2009 @ 14:54

    http://www.dialaflight.com = cheap flights to america!

  • By casmo, 25.08.2009 @ 16:46

    £364, not bad. Thanks for the link!

  • By Vivian, 25.08.2009 @ 19:19

    Japanese bureaucracy is indeed a pain. MEXT won’t pay for my flight from Hong Kong to Osaka (the scholarship includes a return flight), even though it’s so obviously clear that it’s cheaper to fly from HK to Osaka than from London! So they won’t even let me help them save money. Now I have to pay for my own one-way ticket…

  • By Rachel Slater, 26.08.2009 @ 16:58

    lol and THAT is why i told them to stick that scholarship where the sun dont shine. might aswell have just got a JASSO and gone to kyoto..

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