The After JET podcast contains stories of careers and lives of the JET alumni from around the world. We're amazing bunch of talented, cool people!

After JET podcast

Job hunting in Japan? Looking for IT roles? So you want to work in Japan, but what's it like? We discuss whether language proficiency is important (watch out for keigo!), IT career options, on the job training, working conditions in Japan. We also discussed different contracting options, and the importance of checking your work contract, and about recruitment agents.

Thanks to John Littlefair-Molin; Evan Storer; Andy Shartzer and Tierra Tank.

Additional details at: http://www.jetaainternational.org/an-it-job-in-japan-1

Working in IT in Japan - Part 1

Part 2 of our discussion about the IT industry and working in Japan. In this 2nd part, we talk about online job searching, the intricacies of preparing a Japanese-style resume, and also the interview experience.

Thanks to John Littlefair-Molin; Evan Storer; Andy Shartzer and Tierra Tank.

For footnotes and references: http://www.jetaainternational.org/an-it-job-in-japan-2

Working in IT in Japan - Part 2

We talk about what it's like to work as a game master for a Tokyo mobile gaming company. See ma, playing games instead of studying CAN get you a job.  

Guest: Leslie (Game Master) and introducing David Reiling as co-host.

For more details see: http://www.jetaainternational.org/serious-play-the-game-master​

Miniboss Fight [Loop]

Serious Play: The Game Master

Analog games! We've all played them - board games and card games, famous examples being Settlers of Catan and Magic: The Gathering. A good board game can be addictive - last year, at Oz Comic Con, my friends and I were so invested in this game called Carcassonne that we decided to skip one William Shatner's appearance and spent the rest of our time at the gaming table. The analog games industry is booming, despite the widespread use of digital equivalents everywhere.

We speak to Brendan Weiskotten of Asmodee North America, who works as an Organised Play Coordinator (hence the OCP in the title). He speaks about getting into writing for Magic: The Gathering (I know right?), and how JET helped to develop his creativity and skills he uses for his career. We also share stories about when we were final year JETs, and reflect a bit on the experience since then. Also checkout the footnotes for great games recommendations!

For footnotes: http://www.jetaainternational.org/roll-of-the-dice-the-opc-1

Roll of the Dice: The OPC - Part 1

Roll of the Dice: The OPC - 2

In this second part, we get into the more fun, geeky aspects of our discussion - about how Magic: The Gathering gets made (content-wise), and what's fuelling the boom of the analog games industry (hint: nostalgia and small kids becoming big kids with disposable incomes). We also talk about what are some good games to try, which you so totally should get into!

Thanks to Brendan Weiskotten!

Bonus - more game recommendations: http://www.jetaainternational.org/roll-of-the-dice-the-opc-2

Roll of the Dice: The OPC - Part 2

Content and digital marketing - some of the hottest jobs right now are in this area of online writing and promotions. We talk to Misty Ahmadi who works in content marketing at IBM, about her job and what she did to get into it. Along the way, we share some JET stories because that will happen when you gets JETs together in a conversation.
 
Thanks very much to Misty Ahmadi!

For more details, see: http://www.jetaainternational.org/word-it-right-content-marketing-1

Word it Right: Content Marketing - Part 1

We continue with our discussion on content marketing - this time co-host David Reiling talks about his experience and his circuitous but highly eventful track to content marketing.

Word it Right: Content Marketing - Part 2

In 2016, CLAIR began the first ever work experience placements at participating companies in Kansai and Kanto area, for a period of a week, open to CIRs from 3rd year and up. We speak to two JETs who participated in the internship, Joshua Leong and Paige Norris (thanks you two!). 
​
Note that we can't divulge certain details like location and company name, as well as too much about the selection process for the internship, as requested by CLAIR.

Want to find out more? If you're a 3rd year CIR, and you'd like to find out more, head over the JET Programme site. And remember to keep your email address current with CLAIR and be nice to your supervisors! They'll be the ones who will recommend you.

The Intern: CLAIR's Job Placement Program

We speak to Andrea Jacques, who was involved with the After JET conferences in the 90s as a careers and life coach. She is also the founder and head of Kyosei Consulting, and has published a book, Wabi Sabi Wisdom (available on Amazon). We talk about her book and its themes on not only finding job satisfaction, but also finding meaning and purpose in life - gathered from her life living in Japan.

Ms Jacques continues to be involved with the JET community, delivering the keynote speech at the AfterJET Career Conference (http://jetprogramme.org/en/after-con/) in Yokohama on February 20th, 2017 (to rave reviews!). 

Wabi Sabi Wisdom on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wabi-Sabi-Wisdom-Inspiration-Authentic-Life-ebook/dp/B01B8X8ALI

More footnotes at: http://www.jetaainternational.org/love-what-you-do-the-life-coach

Be Yourself

Love What You Do: The Life Coach

The vast majority of JETs work as ALTs, or Assistant Language Teachers. Therefore it's no surprise that some would continue that into an actual career in education. However, being a teacher can open up some opportunities and challenges in surprising ways, as our guest, Anna-Marie Prohaska, proves.

Anna-Marie Prohaska is on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-marie-prohaska-141453bb/

Class Afloat: http://www.classafloat.com/

The Global Classroom: The Teacher

Content Advisory Warning: In this episode, we talk about the work and experience relating to forensic investigation. If you're uncomfortable with talk about autopsies, etc, you might want to skip from the 20-min mark.

Mention forensic investigation, and you'd be thinking of shows like CSI, Bones and Dexter. Our guest actually credits the X-Files for getting him into the field of forensic investigation, which is way cooler. We discuss the career path of the forensic investigator, in all sorts of fields, and how you shouldn't trust shows like CSI, Bones and Dexter. We also talk about the nature of police work in Japan, compared to that of the US, and also (at least for the US) how to get into the field. 

This page on JETAAI website: http://www.jetaainternational.org/forensic-investigation

Brian Waters can be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-waters-2426474/

He's also on Twitter on a slightly less serious note @MyTwoYen

And also a Wikipedia entry on the 'CSI Effect': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSI_effect

Science of Crime: Forensic Investigation

Being an artist is not just a job, but a way of life. Many of us may have once dreamed about a creative career - drawing, painting or writing, but usually feel that the reality of paying bills and eating regularly outweigh the fantasy. But for Mr David Piper, there was simply no choice to really make once JET was over. 

- To see David's work: http://sundayink.com/
- Follow him on the Book of Faces: https://www.facebook.com/sundayink

Music credits: Draw Me a Sheep (Act 1), Cartesian Reunion Memorial Orchestra: the little prince-a ballet in two acts  by Lloyd Rodgers

The Art of Life: The Freelance Artist

Do you have the write stuff (I had this pun, I needed to use it)? A passion for writing, reporting on social issues and events (and yoga) led our next guest, Shannon Lough, around the world and into a career as a journalist. One time she interviewed an ex-astronaut (true story).

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonlough/
- Portfolio: http://portfolio.shannonlough.com/
- Website: http://shannonlough.com/
- Black Press: http://www.blackpress.ca/

Music credits: The Daily News by Electric Mirrors is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 
Based on a work at http://blocsonic.com/releases/bsog0058

Front Page News: The Journalist

We've talked a lot about turning hobbies into a career, and my guest Julius Pang (ALT 2004-2007 Kitakyushu) not only became a professional photographer, he combined it with his love of Japan and started a photography tour business (Incredible Photo Tours). We talk about the work, photographing Mt Fuji (i.e. much harder than you'd expect) and wrangling old people. 

- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julius-pang-165baba/
- Portfolio and Tours: http://juliuspang.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliuspang/

Julius was also a presenter at the After JET Conference: http://jetprogramme.org/en/after-con/

To start his business, Julius joined the New Enterprise Initiative Scheme (NEIS), for Australian job seekers who are interested in running a new small business: https://www.employment.gov.au/self-employment-new-enterprise-incentive-scheme-neis

Music for this episode: Photograph by Derek Clegg is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Derek_Clegg/End_It_For_Now/Derek_Clegg_-_End_It_For_Now_-_04_Photograph

Picture it: The Photographer

In this episode I return to the discussion of teaching as a career, this time with a trainee teacher, and another who is a tutor at university. We talk about the differences between pupils in Japan and in Australia, the satisfaction of teaching and why all those class games are more useful than you might think.

In the Australian state of New South Wales at least, all trainee teachers are required to pass a literacy and numeracy test before they are allowed to run classes, called LANTITE (Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students): https://teacheredtest.acer.edu.au/prepare

Music: "Everything I ever learnt" by Mr. & Mrs. Smith is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. 
(http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mr__Mrs_Smith/September/Mr__Mrs_Smith_-_September_-_03_Everything_I_ever_learnt)

Revisiting Teaching After JET

Despite the economy, state of the world, etc, it's never been easier to pursue your dream job, even if it means creating your own unique job title and career. Being an entrepreneur however can be a challenge. I talk to our guest, Raelene Morey about this, the importance of standing up for yourself and how every situation is different when figuring out... life.

Because of the lack of mentors in this industry, Raelene is willing to have a brief chat with people seeking advice - so be nice and courteous, and don't make her (and us) regret it. Her contact through her LinkedIn below.

Also, very very mild language warning, just in case.

FOOTNOTES:
- Check out Raelene's company, Words by Birds: https://wordsbybirds.com/
- Raelene is on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raelenemorey/

Podcasts that Raelene recommends:
- How I Built This: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this
- Don't Keep Your Day Job: https://www.cathyheller.com/podcast/
- Pursuit With Purpose: https://www.melyssagriffin.com/topics/podcast/

Finally, the JET Programme: https://jetprogramme.com

Music for this episode: "Stream of Consciousness" by Strong Suit is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Strong_Suit/Simulation/11_Strong_Suit_-_Stream_of_Consciousness)

Make Your Own Career: The Entrepreneur

What started out as a conversation about documentary film making quickly moved into discussion on refugee and asylum seeker issues in America, particularly with the current administration. While job searching after coming home from JET (and therefore having plenty of free time), our guest, Rebecca Chen, decided to embark on a documentary film making project - it's early days yet, but we shall be checking back to see how she goes!

FOOTNOTES: 
- Rebecca Chen on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-c-9b594254/
- Interfaith Rise: http://www.interfaithrise.org/

Australia on humanitarian issues:
- Australian Department of Home Affairs: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/60refugee
- Discussion on facts behind the numbers (Dec 2017): http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-21/fact-check-george-brandis-refugees-per-capita/9241276

- UNHCR Population statistics: http://popstats.unhcr.org/en/overview#_ga=2.40345569.2113324426.1513120832-389102545.1511316219

Music for this episode: "For The People" by The Dogon Lights is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Dogon_Lights/Ride_It/06_For_The_People

For the People: The Advocate (Part 1)

Our second of our 2 part episode and this time around we get down to talking about life after JET. It can feel like a step "backwards" in some sense, going from having your own apartment and independence, to going home and starting over again. But it's not all bad, really we promise.

FOOTNOTES: 
- Rebecca Chen on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-c-9b594254/
- Interfaith Rise: http://www.interfaithrise.org/

Australia on humanitarian issues:
- Australian Department of Home Affairs: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/60refugee
- Discussion on facts behind the numbers (Dec 2017): http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-21/fact-check-george-brandis-refugees-per-capita/9241276

- UNHCR Population statistics: http://popstats.unhcr.org/en/overview#_ga=2.40345569.2113324426.1513120832-389102545.1511316219

Music for this episode: "For The People" by The Dogon Lights is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Dogon_Lights/Ride_It/06_For_The_People

For the People: The Advocate (Part 2)

The closest description that one can use for what our guest does for a living, would be "life coach", though Andy Chaleff would agree that it's usually hard to quantify. In this episode, we talk about his philosophy, his very eventful life, from JET, to high flying corporate executive, to penniless boarder in a leaky attic, to where he is now. 

Andy can be reached by: 
- The Last Letter (http://www.thelastletter.com/): Andy's website, which contains his tour dates and book, which is coming out in September. 
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andychaleff

Music for this episode: "Chunga Lunga (Overcome Your Fear)" by BROWS is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/BROWS/Under_The_Black_Flag_1654/14_BROWS_-_Chunga_Lunga_Overcome_Your_Fear_1819

A Life's Journey: The Mentor

Hello everyone! It's been a while. A short update about our podcast.

A Short Update for 2020

Featuring the lives, stories and careers from the global JET Programme alumni community. And usually, our stories begin with "This one time in Japan..." - our best, our silliest and our fondest.