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So, I’m going to try to keep this short. I guess I’m just looking for advice/opinions.
I went to college, got a 2year degree doing computer graphics (and I enjoyed doing it). Haven’t found a job doing this sort of thing yet though. Lately I’ve become really absorbed with the Japanese culture/language, and this has been taking over my life more than computer graphics now. I’ve seen that teaching in Japan is the best/easiest way to get over to Japan and live there. So…I’ve been thinking.
So, Teaching in Japan. Let’s say I want to do this. I hear you need a college degree to easily get a working visa and become an English teacher in Japan. I have a college degree, but it’s only an associates. Is this okay, or do I need a bachelors? Part of me thinks it would be cool to go back to school and get a bachelors in Japanese, but a larger part of me doesn’t really want to do that since it’d be another 2-4 years of education. I’m 23 now, which is young, but I still feel like the clock is ticking. I’m also hesitant to do such a crazy career change, which is not a crazy feeling to have during this situation.
I’ve just been learning the language by myself so far (currently on season 5). I wonder if it’s worth going back to school (so much time and $money$) or if I’m better off just self-learning like I have been and going from there. I guess it comes down to how important that bachelors piece of paper is compared to an associates piece of paper in the Japan job market.
Then the other thing is, I hear English teaching is more or a temporary thing in the job market. Assumingly, I would eventually reach a pretty competent level in Japanese. So is like translation the only other job market for foreigners out there? If so, how is that in terms of jobs available? Or are there other bilingual jobs I’m not even thinking of?
Any advice/opinions would be appreciated, just trying to figure out my life and where I should take the next step :P
Assumingly, I would eventually reach a pretty competent level in Japanese. So is like translation the only other job market for foreigners out there? If so, how is that in terms of jobs available? Or are there other bilingual jobs I’m not even thinking of?
You no speaka Japanese, you no job but English teacher.
By the way, I’m sure the answer you seek is somewhere in here http://www.youtube.com/user/unrested/videos
missingno15: You no speaka Japanese, you no job but English teacher.
This is true in general but there are exceptions. A friend of mine is a bar tender and the only Japanese he spoke when he started was very very basic. He’s been doing it for years and is obviously much better at speaking now. He came as an English teacher (if you are anything but JET you actually get an entertainer’s visa not an educator’s visa and so can take other jobs) but got hired at a bar and quit his eikaiwa job.
missingno15: You no speaka Japanese, you no job but English teacher.
By the way, I’m sure the answer you seek is somewhere in here http://www.youtube.com/user/unrested/videos
Thanks for the link. Yeah, I understand if you’re not fluent in Japanese you’re not going to really get a job besides teaching English, generally speaking. I understand that. I was just saying theoretically if I taught English for so long, while learning Japanese, I could become more fluent to where I could take a translation job or something like that.
I guess I’m just conflicted on whether to go through the time and money to change my associates into a bachelors or not. Generally it seems like anything beyond tourist visas want a bachelors, I’m not sure how they feel about an associates.
AnonymousI think it’s generally a Bachelors. Though, go ask the Japanese consulate nearest you.
While a “degree in anything” is used all the time, this only applies to JET or English teaching jobs. If you want a different job obviously they’re going to want a degree in their field, or if it comes under an art job (graphic design/web site development/translation) then a degree in anything might be OK, along with a portfolio.
To teach you have to have a bachelors degree, it can be in anything. If you have a teaching certificate that will also help get you the job, plus more $$.
Ｕｎｌｅｓｓ ｙｏｕ ａｒｅ ｐｌａｎｎｉｎｇ ｔｏ ｔｅａｃｈ ａｔ ａ ｕｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ ａｓ ａｎ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ ｔｅａｃｈｅｒ ｗｈｉｃｈ ｙｏｕ ｎｅｅｄ ａ ｄｅｇｒｅｅ ｔｈａｔ ｉｓ ｆｏｒ ＴＥＳＯＬ ｗｈｉｃｈ ｉｓ ｗｈａｔ Ｉ ａｍ ｄｏｉｎｇ．
Not to hijack the thread, but I wonder what the job market looks like for foreign barbarians who just want a “normal” (for lack of a better term) job in Japan. When I say “normal” I mean, not an English teaching job or other “gaijiny” work, but the kind of work average Japanese natives would do to earn a living.
I had considered getting a degree in teaching and doing the stereotypical gaijin thing and teaching English, but honestly I really can’t see myself enjoying that type of work.
Suppose (for the sake of argument, and assuming I was at least reasonably fluent in Japanese) I just want to be a salaryman for a while, just to get me on my feet. Or maybe work customer service or summat. Or teaching some other subject? Or hell, a police officer or member of the JSDF? Is that even possible? Or do they just look at your gaijin face and laugh?
This is maybe a potentially stupid question but I’m honestly very confused as to this kind of stuff, and it could make or break any future plans I might have.
AnonymousI don’t think there’s particularly anything restricting you from getting any type of job at all, with the exception of somethings that require you to be native/resident (Government, Police).
But think about it. Why *would* they hire a semi fluent white person, who (whether they meet them or not) holds all the stereotypes good and bad about foreigners, when they can just hire a Japanese person. Who is native, understands the culture 100%, doesn’t hold foreigner stereotypes, graduated from highschool’s/universities that employers know and is 100% less of a risk to hire.
These are the only times I think foreigners get into a “normal” job (anything other than teaching):
-They are personal friends with someone with the power to employ them
-They have a particularly sought after skill set (Something that’s few in even Japan, OR you’re just extremely good at something) e.g. translating
-You start your own businessAnd think about it, if you went and applied to a conbini or a customer service place, anything that isn’t considered a Office/salaryman job, they would have to go through all the papers to sponsor your work visa.
If I was Japanese, a foreigner would be the last type of person I’d want to higher. I’d just get a Japanese person, of which there are 100′s applying, who are 100% more understanding (of language and culture) and 100% less of a risk, with 100% less hassle.
Also while it’s none of my business if you plan on doing this but, in Japanese companies most employees stay for the majority of their life. Like, fkn loooong spans of time. People don’t really “work for a few years” and then leave, and it’s (while I don’t know) probably frowned upon seen as irresponsible to leave after even 2 years. (Whereas here in NZ and probably most western countries, some people quit after 4 months just cause they’re bored.)
My vague plan is this: /beginlifestory (age now 18 1/2)
-I’ll finish my bachelor’s (age 21)
-Get a job here and pay off student loan/save a reasonable amount of money
-By now I expect to be semi/fluent and my resume should like fairly nice. (age 23)
-When I get to a comfortable amount of saved $, I’ll apply to places I want to work in Japan online, I may even travel over there for 2 weeks just as a trip, but during the time they hold huge company/employer advertising conventions (a lot of foreigners often pick up jobs there).
-Depending on what comes out of that, I might end up trying to get a year over there as an English teacher, and once that contract is up, go job hunting while over there.But that’s 5 years away. I’ll go with the flow and see what happens. Just be chill about it. You wrote like you hadn’t studied for a degree yet, so I’m assuming you’re young. Don’t plan things like you said might get disrupted. It just adds a lot of stress when it’s not that serious.
P.S You sound like you were going to study for a degree purely for Japan. I strongly advise against that. Get a bachelors in a degree you love, you’re interested in, and you want to work in. Worst case scenario, you can still be an English teacher. Best case scenario, you get a job in Japan in the field you love. Don’t study teaching because it’ll get you a better chance to be a teacher, since you obviously want more from life than that.
/endlifestory.com/profile/bbvoncrumb.fkoff
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
Because I am from Denmark, and I am not native in English, I can’t be an English teacher. So I looked up what other opportunities there was for work in Japan what is probably over half a year ago now. Most jobs I could find that were specifically looking for foreigners required JLPT2 or JLPT1. Surprisingly I actually found quite a few jobs I would be interested in getting once I finish my education(pharmacy).
I’ll just need to get my JLPT2 finished first :)-
This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
マーク・ウェーバー.
You don’t need a degree to teach in Japan, it makes it easier but it is not a necessity, jobs will be fewer but it’s possible to get hired still. I’m getting a degree though and if I fail at getting a job as a translator/localiser then hey there’s always teaching English.
The JET program is what requires a degree.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
Luke.
AnonymousYggbert:
You don’t need a degree to teach in Japan, it makes it easier but it is not a necessity, jobs will be fewer but it’s possible to get hired still. I’m getting a degree though and if I fail at getting a job as a translator/localiser then hey there’s always teaching English.The JET program is what requires a degree.
I’m pretty sure you need a work visa to “legally” work full time in Japan, and for that a Japanese company has to Sponsor you the visa and for that, you need degree.
Aware me with sources if I’m wrong though, interested to know.
^
Yep, pretty sure that is how it is.Depends on your nationality, visa schemes differ. I know a guy from the UK who is on some sort of work holiday visa that he has been able to extend multiple times I believe.
I know from experience not all teaching jobs require you to have a degree. Most of them will require you to be in Japan already though, so applying online from another country is largely pointless as they won’t sponsor you. (and obviously it’s not possible for them to sponsor you without a degree)
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
Bbvoncrumb:
I don’t think there’s particularly anything restricting you from getting any type of job at all, with the exception of somethings that require you to be native/resident (Government, Police).But think about it. Why *would* they hire a semi fluent white person, who (whether they meet them or not) holds all the stereotypes good and bad about foreigners, when they can just hire a Japanese person. Who is native, understands the culture 100%, doesn’t hold foreigner stereotypes, graduated from highschool’s/universities that employers know and is 100% less of a risk to hire.
These are the only times I think foreigners get into a “normal” job (anything other than teaching):
-They are personal friends with someone with the power to employ them
-They have a particularly sought after skill set (Something that’s few in even Japan, OR you’re just extremely good at something) e.g. translating
-You start your own businessAnd think about it, if you went and applied to a conbini or a customer service place, anything that isn’t considered a Office/salaryman job, they would have to go through all the papers to sponsor your work visa.
If I was Japanese, a foreigner would be the last type of person I’d want to higher. I’d just get a Japanese person, of which there are 100′s applying, who are 100% more understanding (of language and culture) and 100% less of a risk, with 100% less hassle.
Also while it’s none of my business if you plan on doing this but, in Japanese companies most employees stay for the majority of their life. Like, fkn loooong spans of time. People don’t really “work for a few years” and then leave, and it’s (while I don’t know) probably frowned upon seen as irresponsible to leave after even 2 years. (Whereas here in NZ and probably most western countries, some people quit after 4 months just cause they’re bored.)
My vague plan is this: /beginlifestory (age now 18 1/2)
-I’ll finish my bachelor’s (age 21)
-Get a job here and pay off student loan/save a reasonable amount of money
-By now I expect to be semi/fluent and my resume should like fairly nice. (age 23)
-When I get to a comfortable amount of saved $, I’ll apply to places I want to work in Japan online, I may even travel over there for 2 weeks just as a trip, but during the time they hold huge company/employer advertising conventions (a lot of foreigners often pick up jobs there).
-Depending on what comes out of that, I might end up trying to get a year over there as an English teacher, and once that contract is up, go job hunting while over there.But that’s 5 years away. I’ll go with the flow and see what happens. Just be chill about it. You wrote like you hadn’t studied for a degree yet, so I’m assuming you’re young. Don’t plan things like you said might get disrupted. It just adds a lot of stress when it’s not that serious.
P.S You sound like you were going to study for a degree purely for Japan. I strongly advise against that. Get a bachelors in a degree you love, you’re interested in, and you want to work in. Worst case scenario, you can still be an English teacher. Best case scenario, you get a job in Japan in the field you love. Don’t study teaching because it’ll get you a better chance to be a teacher, since you obviously want more from life than that.
/endlifestory.com/profile/bbvoncrumb.fkoff
Everything Bbvoncrumb said was what I read too when I researched about working in Japan. Another route that’s possible is to work for a Japanese company with a branch in your own country, or a company from your country that has a branch in Japan. There’s always the possibility of being transferred to Japan this way.
To sum up, a bachelors degree will help out alot. Some work experience will look good on your CV/Resume too. It’s best not to start out with too high expectations of what kind of job you want. Teaching English is entry level. If you can get something better than teaching then all well and good. Teaching is a good place to start though.
If anyone wants to read more they can check out the forums at http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quedisplay.html
Japan-Guide is a very good website and has a decent forum used by foreigners currently living and working there.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
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