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Life After JET

by After JET

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.Share your story! Contact [email protected]

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Episodes

  1. The Fixer: Event Planning and Management

    I think my guest on this episode demonstrates the power of the JET connection and experience - getting into a career that allows him to travel the world and learn - specifically about the way business practices are done globally. Ryan Hata works in the event planning and project management space…

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  2. Education for Life: Adult Education and Literacy

    On JET, teaching can really immerse you in the local community - and many have also found their future career in education as a result. For my guest, it has lead to many opportunities- travel around the world and a way to do positive impacts on people’s lives. - Quebec City Reading Council has a...

  3. Sky Dive: About Confidence and Chances

    Our post-JET lives can be interesting and varied, thanks to the many opportunities available and networks that we form. That's the theme of this episode but along the way, we meander in our discussion, talking about the good and bad of AI, innovation and how taking chances can lead to great things.

  4. Revisting Tohoku: Present and Future

    On this special anniversary episode of the Tohoku disaster, special guest William McMichael talks about the current state of Fukushima and Tohoku, 14 years on. Though challenges remain, the outlook is far from bleak, with the people of Tohoku determined to forge a future of sustainability - and...

  5. Influencing Travel: Building Brand and Purpose

    Japan is a rich source for social-media-worthy pics - the history, culture, landscape, architecture, food and more. Unsurprisingly, some JETs have turned to building an online-based career. Few have been as successful as my guest who runs @yamatrips, a well-known Instagram account that showcases...

  6. Making an Impact: Non-profit and Advocacy

    My guest has done many things - started a non-profit while on JET, changed Japanese law, graduated from Oxford with a PhD, did a TEDx talk - but (spoiler alert) confesses that much of it was unplanned. We talk about the how and why of the Japanese institutional care of children, and what it means...

  7. Making Headlines: The News Producer

    We live in a world of constant news cycle, from stations and social media alike. So how does the traditional news bureau survive in this world of constant (mis)information? Our guest Ryan Keeble (news producer and cameraman) is on the ground reporting from London. Footnotes: Check out Ryan’s work...

  8. Let's Science: The Science Communicator

    In this episode, I get to nerd out about science, dinosaurs and gross nature facts with my guest Cecily Arkell. We talk about the challenges and rewards of being a life-long science educator and communicator at one of the top art and cultural institutions in Australia - the Western Australian...

  9. Let's Talk: Podcasting

    This episode features a special guest: not only is Doug Tassin my sempai from JET, he also heads the Krewe of Japan podcast. In a rather meta episode, we talk about our love of the cast podding genre. And we of course start with Doug's day job as a consultant building IT systems for hospitals,...

  10. Designing Connection: The Technologist

    Believe it or not, there are people trying to make HR a better human experience, through the use of technology and HCD principles. My guest Megan DeVille has a job she describes as "obscure", but one that can provide immense benefits to organisations, employers and employees. We also get to geek...

  11. Music and Brotherhood: The Musician

    Living to another country can be a source of inspiration. And you could meet kindred spirits that make you feel like you belong. My guest, Luke Cuerden, talks about finding a welcoming creative community and how much that has inspired him creatively and professionally. We also talk about the…

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  12. Oh, the Places You'll Go: Writer and Journalist

    Oh the places you’ll go. Dr Seuss's poem nicely describes the post-JET life of my guest, Sam Baldwin - journalist, start-up techie and author. A desire to live the outdoor mountain life led him to living and working in Slovenia in a 300-yo cabin. He chronicles his journey and love for his adopted...

  13. After JET - Life Changes

    Many of us go through several restarts and pivots. For Natalie Hamilton, it's been a full circle going back to teaching and finding her passion and purpose (including time to publish a textbook on kanji). Join us for a discussion on what that's like, and why finding purpose is an ever-changing...

  14. Game Changing: Game Designer

    Along with anime and J-pop, the Japanese game industry is another influential export of the country. My guest, Catherine (Cat) Dinh now works at Ubisoft Osaka, and we talk about the industry, work practices and a valuable trait that a non-Japanese worker can bring to a Japanese workplace.

  15. The Good Drop: Brewing and Distilling

    In Japan, given how available alcoholic beverages are, everyone on JET has at least one grog-related tale. My guest Colin Johnston has turned his practical experiences into a career in the distilling and brewing sector. Join us for a fascinating and educational look into the movement that is the...

  16. Travel for All: LGBT Tourism

    It may come as a surprise to some of you that Osaka is actively promoting itself as a queer-friendly holiday destination. But that is the line of work that Jonathan Lucas is in - helping to create an inclusive place that welcomes all visitors, not just on gender or sexuality. In this discussion…

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  17. Behind the Stage: Concert Coordinator

    J-Pop for some of us forms the sonic background to our lives in Japan - AKB48, Arashi, SMAP, Greeen (and just like that, you can already guess my vintage). My guest Juvia Chua went further than belting out her favourite J-Pop tunes in karaoke - she worked as a coordinator in the Japanese music...

  18. Storyteller: The Screenwriter

    My guest this episode is a maelstrom of talent, ideas and energy - one episode on this teeny tiny podcast is not enough to cover all the stories from one life well led. And storytelling is the work of Eirene Tran Donohue. As a screenwriter, she has worked in Hollywood for over a decade, with her...

  19. The Cut: Film Editor

    In this episode, I speak to Alex Barnett. We get into the world of video (and film) editing - what the life of a freelance video editor looks like. Making art or making bank - how does one make a living, following your dream in an industry that's competitive and moves between boom and bust? Fun...

  20. Good words: Content design

    Cara Lam is probably one of my more popular guests I've had on this podcast. As a content creator, she vlogged about her JET experience and life and continued with writing blogs about her life after. So it's not surprising that she went into content design and strategy as a career. This being an...

  21. Remembering the Tohoku Disaster: Part 1

    In 2011, I was a JET living in Fukushima. From that opening sentence, you can probably guess what this episode will be about. A decade on, my friends and I will be recounting our experiences during that time and after, in this special 2-parter that's meant to mark the 10th anniversary of the…

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  22. Remembering the Tohoku Disaster: Part 2

    Continuing on from Part 1, this time we talk about coming back to Iwaki. In Part 2, we describe how our local communities were impacted, what we saw and what we did. And how it continues to leave its mark on our memories and lives, 10 years on. My thanks to John Auyeung, Cathy Hawker and Caitlin...

  23. Making a Difference: Humanitarian Work and Education

    After JET, many would continue on in careers in education, community building or public service. For my guest, he has managed to combine all of these into an international career that has covered areas such as health, disaster relief, gender inequality and the empowerment of minorities in the...

  24. Good PR: Marketing and Public Relations

    Does the marketing and PR industry have, well, bad PR? My guest, Alex Varney, and I discuss this in a deep-dive into the industry. It may be a question of semantics, and a fine line between positive promotion and outright propaganda, but it does make for a fascinating discussion as Alex discusses...

  25. Performance Art: The Actor

    If you've ever laughed at a Youtube clip, or played a video game, then chances are you've come across the work of my guest for this episode - Michael T Coleman. He's helped write and/or performed on some of the funniest online content, such as School of Thrones, and is the voice actor for Cody, a...

  26. Now Showing: The Filmmaker

    We head to the arts for our next theme, with our guest, filmmaker Gavin Hugh. In addition, we'll be getting into some political discussions, as Gavin also works for a member of the Scottish parliament, making this episode feel totally like, real grown-up and stuff. Film, politics, Nazi zombies…

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  27. Life in the Arctic: The Non-profit Director

    Continuing with the theme about the meandering path of life, our guest has certainly done her fair share of travelling and career paths (diving instructor, tour manager and marketing director, recruitment) and now currently runs a non-profit greenhouse program in a converted ice hockey stadium in...

  28. A Life's Journey: Living at the Temple

    If there's a theme for the next couple of episodes, it will be about the meandering journey of life, ending up in unexpected but wonderful places. Our guest went back on JET the second time, and with her husband and children, stayed on to build a life in Japan, start up a non-profit... and find a...

  29. Choices in Life and Work: Recruiting

    Our guest Amanda Chau works as a recruiter and HR consultant in Japan, and recently was a speaker/mentor at the After JET Conference for JET leavers in 2020. So she is in a unique position of knowing what it's like on both sides of the job seeking process. While this episode is about her work, in...

  30. AfterJET... More JET

    When one finishes JET, sometimes the next step is... more JET. In concluding the theme of past JETs working in public service, we fudge the definition a bit and feature a JET unicorn: our guest Matt French has applied for the programme three times (successfully), and is currently going into his…

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  31. Be Our Guest: Promoting Tourism

    Tourism is one of those careers that is a good fit for JETs - after all, we are passionate advocates for our second homes in Japan, and have explored every nook and cranny, probably more so than locals who have lived there all their lives. Continuing with the theme of ex-JETs who now work in the...

  32. Reading the Air: Working at the Consulate

    What's it like working in the Japanese public sector? We'll spend several episodes talking to guests who work in different government and non-profit organisations. Our guest Rafael Villadiego worked for several years at the Consulate of Japan in Sydney, and gives us a look at working at a...

  33. A Short Update for 2020

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

  34. A Life's Journey: The Mentor

    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…

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  35. For the People: The Advocate (Part 2)

    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: -...

  36. For the People: The Advocate (Part 1)

    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…

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  37. Make Your Own Career: The Entrepreneur

    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…

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  38. Revisiting Teaching After JET

    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…

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  39. Picture it: The Photographer

    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...

  40. Front Page News: The Journalist

    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:...

  41. The Art of Life: The Freelance Artist

    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...

  42. Science of Crime: Forensic Investigation

    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...

  43. The Global Classroom: The Teacher

    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…

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  44. Love What You Do: The Life Coach

    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…

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  45. The Intern: CLAIR's Job Placement Program

    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...

  46. Word it Right: Content Marketing - Part 2

    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.

  47. Word it Right: Content Marketing - Part 1

    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…

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  48. Roll of the Dice: The OPC - Part 2

    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...

  49. Roll of the Dice: The OPC - Part 1

    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…

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  50. Serious Play: The Game Master

    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:...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

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.Share your story! Contact [email protected]

HOSTED BY

After JET

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Life After JET have?

Life After JET currently has 52 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Life After JET about?

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.Share your story! Contact [email protected]

How often does Life After JET release new episodes?

Life After JET has 52 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Life After JET?

You can listen to Life After JET on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Life After JET?

Life After JET is created and hosted by After JET.
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