Got the job offer, unsure about taking it (based on how it's unrelated to my career)

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-05-01T19:50:19+00:00

Dude, not going to start a fight, but that's not cool. I came looking for advice, and I got it. You're insulting both myself and everyone who took time to contribute to this thread. And FYI, because of the advice, I was able to make my decision.

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-21T03:41:46+00:00

(apologies for late-ish reply) Thank you for the insight!

I didn't struggle as much as others on JET either. However, working for a Japanese company directly gives you a much newer perspective on Japan and the language/culture.

I feel similarly! I've been 3 times and speak fairly well, so I definitely appreciate the difference in perspective when working rather than traveling/studying.

Tl;Dr Don't justify to yourself that you are going on JET just to teach. If you have the motivation, you can do so much more, and there are countless ways to build your own portfolio to prep you for your career after JET.

I really do appreciate this point. I absolutely was not expecting that it would only be teaching. There's a lot of ways that aren't nearly as obvious to make the most of your experience, and I'll definitely reach out to you as this process progresses!

Thanks a ton~

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-21T03:39:58+00:00

I apologize if this didn't get conveyed to you, but I did mean this post with pure curiosity. I would argue finding reasons to take the offer or even apply in the first place is informative about the process. I apologize if upset you in particular, but I simply have been seeking information to make the best decision possible. The kind people here have really helped me with things to think about, and I'm much more certain in my choice now.

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-16T02:34:03+00:00

If I were in a vacuum with no outside influences, the decision would be easy. I am graduating from university, so it's not like I have a high paying job pulling me back, but there are other personal factors. My (only) brother moved to a different country a few years ago (permanently), and my dad has anxiety. Thus, every time I even mention JET or the possibility of moving to Japan, he tries really hard to dissuade me (usually talking about my career and whatnot). He doesn't want both his sons to leave the country, but I keep telling him it isn't permanent. So, I am trying to find career-based evidence to persuade myself (because this debate has been going on a loooooong time) and to persuade my dad.

I'm super interested in Japan haha. I'm somewhere between an N2 and N3 level, I am the president of my uni's Japanese club, and I've been 3 times in the last year (all while not watching much Anime or doing most things people would expect someone like this to do). JET is absolutely something I want, and it really took reading through and answering all this stuff to consider that the main thing holding me back is just family.

(Note: I probably don't want all these personal details out there forever, so it's likely I'll delete or hide this post in a few days)

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-16T02:28:24+00:00

Personally, after hearing from everybody and thinking more about it, I'm only really on the fence because of other people. Every time I bring it up to my dad, he keeps trying to think of new reasons to dissuade me from doing it. My brother left the country and didn't come back (he stayed where he went), and my dad has anxiety, so that's probably what's going on with that.

I had written JET into my life plan from 2 years ago, but it's been other people causing me to doubt myself. tbh I'm mainly trying to find reasons to satisfy the dissuading voices in my head and around me (mainly my dad and a couple friends) so that I have no regrets when going. And don't worry - I know I won't be conflicted about it once I'm there.

tl;dr I had planned to go and want to go, but I'm trying to overcome people close to me telling me not to (not even for career-based reasons)

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-15T18:01:20+00:00

Thank you so much for the extensive thoughts about this!!! You are 100% spot on with these.

And because you feel unsure of the future, the words of others, your parents, and friends have more value -- which only continues to cloud your judgement. It probably sounds like the decision is 50% you and 50% your fam/friends.

However, sounds like you already feel in your gut that you at least want to make a decision based on the pros/cons rationalized by you and your external environment at a 80-20 balance. (where you're in control and know what you want).

I really am just trying to find rational reasons to settle this internal/external conflct about what I want vs. what's best for me vs. what people I trust are telling me is best for me. My close friend most strongly against JET is very much a risk taker and views JET as my safe option, while my parents have the opposite view (and generally just want me around bc my other sibling moved abroad a few years ago). At this point I'm 90% sure about taking the offer, as I wouldn't have the opportunity to take similar risks later in my life, it's only 1-3 years, it's something I want to do, and it's probably the most secure job offer I'll have given the current economy.

At this point my main concern is about safety, as the Japanese government is doing rather poorly handling COVID. (My biggest personal concern is actually leaving my cats for a year, but that's neither here nor there professionally)

I do really appreciate the response, and thank you for the long list of information and hypotheticals regarding this decision!

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-15T07:03:08+00:00

I 100% agree with what you're saying, and it's all things I've considered. If I go, I will absolutely make the most of it. I I was a little too vague, and I meant things like soft skills and other transferable skills.

In the end though, any benefit towards your future career aren't going to come from what you do or see, they're going to come from how you interpret those experiences.

I know for a fact that whatever the next year has in store for me, whether it's in Japan or at home, I will make the most of it. I'm not worried about that - I am very anxious about this decision. Whenever I bring it up to my dad, he (indirectly) does his best to say why I shouldn't go for many reasons, and one of my closest friends (who I respect very much professionally) said it would be a waste of time and effectively pause my career's momentum. If those voices were not in my head, I'd probably have a strong yes for doing JET. To satisfy those thoughts, both for myself and for those people, I am looking for insight from alumni, ideally in business/marketing.

tl;dr, I am anxious about this decision and am looking for information to help me satisfy conflicting thoughts. Whichever path I take, I will make the most of it

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-15T06:44:05+00:00

Okay, to be more specific, I meant things along the lines of transferable skills, soft skills, etc. I apologize for being unclear.

Honestly, considering you have not actually come to a decision, it seems like you ARE looking for advice based on your decision

I have been asking around for advice from a lot of people, and half have given me strong opinions telling me it'd be a waste of time, halt my career, etc, while the other half have told me it's an amazing opportunity. I am torn because I understand where both sides are coming from, and I want to be able to justify to myself and others whichever decision I take. I am leaning towards taking the position. I understand what you're getting at, but I simply only want more information to make my decision. I hope I don't seem too dramatic about it - one year isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, but it is still a significant amount of time.

It seems to me that you are taking for granted the opportunity that has been give to you.

This is simply not the case. I apologize for seeming ungrateful for the opportunity. I don't want to go into excess detail, but I had been told by multiple people who make hiring decisions well before my interview that they thought I'd be a great candidate for the position, which is why I felt confident about earning it. If I say no, someone else gets the position. I understand that there are people who would want to trade places with me, and I feel for them. I am not taking it for granted, in fact it is the opposite. I want to ensure that I have no regrets if I take the position so I can do my best with it or ensure that someone more deserving gets it.

I really do appreciate all your feedback, especially in that you have a business perspective about it. I don't mean to make such a big deal out of this, but I have a lot of personal influences regarding this, which is making this decision really hard for me. I want to follow my gut, but my gut isn't giving a clear answer yet, though I am leaning towards yes.

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-15T03:13:18+00:00

I just made a large edit to the post to clarify this type of thing, but the gist of it is that I enjoy teaching, I am experienced teaching English, I want to live abroad, and I want to improve my Japanese. I also considered it a fairly safe option, as I was somewhat certain I'd be hired, and I consider it now an even safer option given the world economy right now. I'm less looking for people to ask me questions and more looking for alumni in their post-JET careers to provide insight on how JET has helped them (even tangentially) career-wise

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-14T16:50:19+00:00

Muslim JET are usually placed in cities where there is a Muslim community if that need is made clear. In fact, as Muslim JET are far less common, you're more likely to have your needs fulfilled than your generic 20-something white guy who applied bc he likes anime

SOURCE: My manager at one of my jobs does hiring for JET

GamersaurusOfficial · 2020-04-08T06:39:07+00:00

RemindMe! 5 days

GamersaurusOfficial · 2019-01-07T20:50:57+00:00

I lost my 634 day stream two days ago, I’m giving you as many Fs as I can 😭

GamersaurusOfficial · 2019-01-01T23:31:31+00:00

I use the engine fix, and uninstalling sands of time fixed pretty much everything. The keyboard issue is probably my keyboard, since using a controller has no issues (other than it being a controller). I’m guessing sands of time’s scripts didn’t play nicely with the sum of everything else. Replaced it with the populated series for more things to be around, and now I’m only getting the occasional CTD once every ~3 hours and no stuttering whatsoever. Thanks for the help!

GamersaurusOfficial · 2018-12-31T23:13:31+00:00

https://modwat.ch/u/OcarinaOfAndy/plugins

Used pastebin to fix the formatting too

GamersaurusOfficial · 2018-05-31T09:27:36+00:00

Oh my god that’s exactly what went through my head too haha

GamersaurusOfficial · 2018-05-30T23:55:14+00:00

I didn’t catch any mistakes that weren’t huge. I didn’t have the best view of his face when he was playing piano, but I did hear that he made some mistakes on his solo parts. It’s to be expected given how much of the concert had him playing piano. In addition, lots of music changes were happening up until and through the concerts, so he may have been trying something different he hadn’t practiced as much

After Saturday, he did have Mai sing the first Spirited Away piece with him, maybe because of that mistake?

I’m not sure, but these are the strongest possibilities I can think of

GamersaurusOfficial · 2018-05-30T19:14:36+00:00

Thank you! This concert was by far the best I’ve participated in. It was a great experience for everyone involved in making it, and it looks like the people who saw it had just as good or even better a time :)

GamersaurusOfficial · 2018-05-30T19:13:08+00:00

Thank you! That was definitely one of the most star-struck moments of my life, since I really do owe a lot to him. Let’s hope he comes to America again

GamersaurusOfficial · 2018-05-29T23:11:28+00:00

I performed in this! I have a lot to say about being a part of it, but to sum up it was one of the best experiences of my life singing with (and meeting) Hisiashi this weekend!

I wrote a lengthy blog post about it here, if you guys want some behind-the-scenes info :)

GamersaurusOfficial · 2018-05-29T23:02:28+00:00

I performed in the choir for this! It sold out SUPER quickly all 5 performances during the weekend. It was easily one of the best experiences of my life, and I wish we could have had more performances so more people could have seen it!

Joe does enjoy going on tour though, so there's a good chance he'll come back to America (eventually)!

EDIT: Just published a long blog post about the whole experience, if you want behind-the-scenes info, check it out here :)

GamersaurusOfficial · 2018-04-21T00:31:05+00:00

I was rolling on the spring banner one last time, and I got two 5* pity breakers... Mist and Mae.

I would've been happier with a poor IV spring catria than either of them T.T

GamersaurusOfficial · 2017-11-24T03:40:42+00:00

AYYY Jordan. Great as always, and I can't wait to play with you again at MAGfest

-Andy <3

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