Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

I work as an assistant language teacher (ALT) which means I team-teach with a Japanese teacher of English (JTE). I help my JTEs plan lessons and activities at one school. I teach English to around 700 high school students aged 15 to 18. As my school also specialises in Science, I get to teach some science lessons in English too. I also run an English club after school once a week and help out with any other cultural exchange events in my prefecture.

I drive to school (about 25 minutes away) and arrive before 8:30am. I usually have 3 classes in the morning. Lunch time is 45 minutes, then I have cleaning time with my students followed by a further 2 classes in the afternoon. In between classes, I spend time learning some Japanese, talking with other teachers or lesson planning. School finishes at 4:15 and afterwards I have English club once a week where I talk with my students in English. I can cook with them or watch English movies or play games if I wish. Other days, I join in with the student's club activities. I enjoy learning about Japan's traditional sports through my students. Otherwise, I am free to go home. I sometimes get food with other ALTs that live nearby, or go shopping or to the beach.

My students are angels who listen to me and work very hard. They are also hilarious (whether intentional or not!) and love talking to me. I feel like a celebrity walking down the school corridor sometimes. My colleagues are lovely people who go out of their way to help me. Miyazaki is a gorgeous prefecture with stunning sunshine for most of the year (and a good bit warmer than rainy Sheffield!). I get plenty of time off to travel and see other parts of Japan and other countries. There are actually very few things I dislike about this job.

I spoke almost no Japanese before coming to Japan (and I still don't really speak much, despite being here for four months!). Though this has not been nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It is sometimes difficult to communicate with people, especially because most don't speak any English. But google translate has been my saviour, as well as the keenness of the Japanese people to communicate with me with whatever level of English they have!
I was nervous to teach 'scary' teenagers, but actually they are all lovely and that has been one of the easier parts of the job. Classes are big (40 + sometimes) but everyone is well behaved and quiet so its not actually much different from teaching a much smaller class. I had no formal teaching experience prior to this, but I have managed just fine!

I wanted to spend some time travelling after uni, but I didn't have a lot of money saved up. The JET programme pays a very good salary (about £22k for your first year) plus the cost of flights to and from Japan. The contract is one year, with a chance to renew it up to 4 times (total 5 years in Japan). They sort everything for you - your visa, flights, school placements, opening a bank account, phone contract and for many - your accommodation too. It seemed like a fantastic opportunity to travel and see a country and culture I had never experienced before, whilst also being self sufficient and not relying on my parents or the government for money. I am looking into teaching after I return from Japan, so it is also relevant work experience for me.

The JET programme only requires an undergraduate degree. It can be in any subject. You don't need any formal or informal teaching experience or any Japanese language ability (though some of both definitely won't harm your application).
You need to be confident and sure of yourself, with the ability to adapt to lots of big changes and difficulties.

I graduated from uni on the 20th July 2018, and two weeks later I was on the plane to Japan! I have now been working as an ALT for 4 months! I am working towards a Japanese language qualification.

I would like to keep this job for at least 2 years, maybe longer. Afterwards I think I will return to the UK to teach, though I am unsure what age group to teach just yet.

Taking some time to decide on your career is 100% OK. Life isn't a race and there's no need to sprint straight into a full time desk job straight from uni if you're not sure that's what you want. I would thoroughly recommend the JET Programme to anyone who is interested in travelling whilst earning money, with a bonus if you are interested in teaching,

Good luck!