A few comparisons between GEPIK and JET

I was just looking back through my blog to see if I hadn’t already compiled a list of advantages and disadvantages between GEPIK and JET. But I guess I’d just mentioned them to friends via email or in person.

I should probably put up some disclaimer or at least qualify the statements that follow by telling my situation in Japan with JET (since every situation is different) and my situation here with GEPIK. In Japan, I taught at a high school (I’ll explain what this entails as I make the JET/GEPIK comparisons), and here (in Korea) I’m starting out as a level 1 GEPIK teacher (a more comfortable salary than entry level – 3). I think that’s the main disclaimer I need to start with.

For me, comparing JET with GEPIK, the scales tip heavily towards GEPIK (even if I were starting out as a Level 3 teacher).

I’ll start with the perk that made me want to write this post. So like, it’s summer vacation now and I have no classes. When I was teaching my first year in Japan, I assumed that I would have summers off (I mean that’s supposed to be one of the perks of being a teacher, right?). But this was not the case. While the Japanese teachers had the option of using a certain type of leave, that got translated as “research”, JETs only had the option of coming to school or using their paid vacation (nenkyu) to take time off.

Well, that pretty much sucked because you only had 20 days of paid vacation and summer was two months long. And the summer at the end of my first year of teaching, I had no more paid vacation days left. So I had to go to school all summer and twiddle my thumbs while all the other teachers stayed home and did “research” (this meant they planned lessons or studied the subject they taught. I’m doubtful they actually did those things, but, whatever.).

(My understanding is that this was only the case for JETs who taught in high schools. If you taught at a junior high or elementary school, you usually did get the summers off. But anyway, that was not my situation.)

Anyway, here in Korea, I do get the option for “research” days. And while I do need to use these days to plan for the upcoming semester and coordinate with my co-teachers, I don’t need to go to school and, more important, I don’t need to use my paid vacation. When I found this out last Friday, I was quite happy, to say the least.

The rest of the benefits of GEPIK over JET, I’ll just put in a list:
1. Rent is completely subsidized (my rent with JET was 90% subsidized),
2. Pay raises (JET had no pay raises),
3. Upwards to five weeks vacation: 20 days + 2 weeks at the end of each contract which…
4. …the school reimburses your plane ticket for, and…
5. …severance pay of one month’s salary at the end of each completed contract.

These are in addition to the perks that were also available in JET (health insurance and pension).
JET does pay more, but when you figure in the cost of living in Japan, it’s not really much of an advantage. (We’ll see if I still feel that way in a few months after I’ve received a few paychecks, each of which will be about US$400 less than what I made in JET.)

Does this mean JET was not a great experience or that I’d recommend GEPIK over JET? Well, those aren’t fair questions. It depends on…well, a lot of things. When I went into the JET Program, I had studied Japanese in high school, I was interested in the culture, had some background knowledge on the place, and it was my first time to travel overseas.

Plus, the social network and support you get in JET was great. You have orientations before leaving for Japan, where you meet other JETs you’ll be flying over with, and have two more orientations in Japan before you arrive at your school. So you meet lots of people right off the bat. Really, I think the JET Program was, is, and probably always will be the best experience I’ve ever had.

Here in Korea, I was placed by a recruiter, haven’t met a single GEPIK teacher, and am not due to attend an orientation until October. Not sure I’ll want or need to go by then, as I’ve already taught for three years and I didn’t like the dorms and schedules of some of the orientations in JET. Though, it would be nice to meet some of the other teachers here.

But as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m still happy to be here, and things are going well so far (better than they were in Seattle). So for me to compare JET with GEPIK maybe apples and oranges, but maybe for someone who hasn’t done either program, they might consider what I’ve mentioned. But I’d say first thing’s always first: What country are you interested in living in?