It seems like things don’t always go as one plans for, which…should be just as well. Life is unpredictable, and as such, the best plans we lay out for ourselves are often thrown out the door.
Despite writing a cryptic message about wanting to try for JET again this year, I ended up not applying to the program after all. I didn’t have time to write a new Statement of Purpose, I didn’t have time to ask for letters of recommendations, didn’t have time to meticulously dot every single “i” and cross every single “t” that the application seems to call for. So I held off on applying for it this year, with a semi-goal of applying for JET for the 2012 year.
But now I’m re-thinking that position of even applying to JET in the first place. After all, I have nothing to do with teaching English, and one of the main reasons why I want to do JET is to help me be more competitive for a global workplace. It’s now almost 2 years since I’ve graduated, and I’ve been thinking of getting an MBA already, and if I want an edge, I’m thinking about getting an MBA abroad. It looks though as MBA programs in Japan are pretty much…well, shoddy.
BusinessWeek reported that Japanese companies still don’t care much for MBAs, and that seniority still reigns supreme in Japan companies…
…Why do I want to go to Japan again? Is it because I’m attracted to Japan because of my interests, or am I attracted to the whole hustle and bustle of a booming Asian country (of which, Japan has fallen when compared to places like China and Singapore), and I’ve just latched on Japan because it’s something I’m somewhat familiar with. I need to re-examine why exactly I want to go to Japan.
But as I was mentioning….Japanese companies seem to not see too much value in an MBA, and MBA programs in Japan don’t seem to be very worthwhile. No Japanese schools appear on the Financial Times’ worldwide ranking of MBA programs, and only one school (International University of Japan) appears on the Economist’s ranking (#83 out of 100). International University of Japan isn’t even accredited by either the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) or the Association of MBAs (AMBA), which kinda also makes me question the Economist’s ranking.
Of course, FT and the Economist are not the be all end all list of B-school rankings, but these are two highly respected publications and their rankings have some merit (to me at least).
To end all this incoherent rambling…rethinking my JET aspirations, thinking about the future (might an MBA program abroad be in the books for me?), and just thinking about life.
For the mean time, the focus of this blog will probably warp into something more…I’ve always made this blog as a kinda double blog…part to write about my experiences trying to apply for JET, and part to write down my views. With my plans for JET maybe on hold (at least for now), this blog will probably be more about my views…my views about politics, culture, and anything I damn want! There’s a lot to write about, so we’ll see what happens.
