Job Discussion Forums

mrmachine · Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 12

glenski,

i did read all the threads you linked to. some of them i had read before. many people say there is no chance, don't even dream of such a job in japan. a few other people say just do it, it can / does happen, don't listen to nay-sayers and just wait keep looking an opportunity will come up. that being said, i have pretty much given up on the idea of programming in japan, or at least set the chances of it happening down to a slim 5% or less. i kinda want a career change anyway. but i will still keep my eyes peeled in the job ads or keep an ear open for contacts through friends that may help with any job opportunity.

paulh,

thanks for all the info. you made a good point about having less time to study the more time i spend working, and improving listening skills but not the rest if i worked in a japanese office environment.

i've considered language school in japanbut my girlfriend firmly believes i am much better off working, to earn money and make some english speaking friends so i won't be too homesick, because when she was in australia, she had heaps of aussie friends and she missed having japanese friends. she says she knew so many people in australia learning english who studied for 1-2 years and learned nothing. but i guess it's all a matter of the effort you put into it. she thinks i just need practice, and can learn kanji / grammer on my own. but she is worried about me learning osaka / wakayama dialect instead of tokyo-japanese. but i do have some debts i need to pay off and full time study in japan is not going to help that.

if a job opportunity comes up in tokyo (not teaching, which she says i can do anywhere) she's now willing to move there earlier.

so i think i'll try to make some contacts and maybe setup some interviews teaching before i arrive, and try to get a job asap. then see how i go with japanese and maybe enroll in a part time or full time course a little later on down the track. but my girlfriend also made the point that i am coming on a working holiday visa, which i can only get once. so i should work and travel and have fun, not just study. if i wanted to study japanese i should come back on a study visa. maybe i will go back on a study visa another time. although i thought you needed to study something other than japanese language to get a study visa? she didn't seem to think so.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

mrmachine · Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 12

paulh,

my girlfriend is not from tokyo she is from "close to" osaka and a few years ago her family moved to wakayama (i think), so there's no snobbery in wanting me to learn tokyo for her friends. she just wants me to learn proper english, rather than paul hogan english (so to speak) Smile

about japanese hanging out with japanese in sydney, i know all about it Smile

sometimes it is annoying, and i feel somewhat excluded sometimes when she has made all these plans to hang out with her japanese friends and either i'm not invited because it's a japanese thing, or when i do go her friends (who have been here for 10 years) make no effort to speak any english or include me in conversation at all.

what you say about tokyo attitudes vs kansai i have heard before. and i always thought i'd like to see tokyo for sure, but i'd rather live in osaka if i were going to stay any length of time in japan.

maybe 3 months intensive study at the start is a good idea to get the ball rolling, then into work. i guess i'll make the decision when the time comes, though.

cheers.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Do you need the names of some language schools, as i know of a few or perhaps you just want to get your feet wet first.

I think your gf wants you to learn Japanese, not Paul Hogan English. Rolling Eyes

mrmachine · Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 12

japanese, not paul hogan japanese then Wink

some names of good schools would be helpful, thanks!

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Here is one more post from someone who claims to be savvy about the IT field.

Akula the shark · Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 103 Location: NZ

Just to add to the previous posts on this thread. Learning Japanese is not easy and requires a lot of discipline. It took me four years of study to go from zero to level 1 of the JLPT, and it was not easy, seeing that I was teaching English all day, to discipline myself to put in an hour a day.
I will add too, that Japanese was not my first foreign language either, meaning it was easier for me to get started on it. It won't happen overnight, and you'll really need to study hard.