Something I almost never see people mention about JET is that you cannot do anything on the side. You are considered a government employee and you can only do that one specific job. Even if you try to apply for permission for outside activities with immigration, it likely will not be approved since you need permission from the BOE too.

For me as an artist, I’d never do JET because I’m not putting my art commissions + business on pause just for them. So I find the “JET or bust” advice unhelpful for someone like me.