Job Discussion Forums

[Gilly23]

Planning to get a working holiday visa since im a canadian citizen. I got my tefl cert but no degree can i easily find a job in japan? and where should i look?

[Glenski]

Easy is a relative word and hard to qualify.

Where will you look? Tokyo? Sapporo? Okinawa? A remote fishing village on Sado Island?

When will you plan to come here? Christmas? Obon? Golden Week? April 1st?

With no degree, even with a WHV you will find it fairly hard, in my opinion. Yes, the WHV allows you to work, but many employers want people with degrees anyway. WHV's allow you to work only PT, so don't expect to make a lot of money unless you plan to string together several gigs and/or take on a load of privates (not easily accrued in a hurry).

Finally, "easily" also depends on your interviewing skills and appearance of your resume and cover letters, so again, it is relative.

[BenJ]

think you can work full-time at most places on a WHV - they might just tax you a lot more but this is apparently recoverable at the end of the year.

Dunno about jobs without a degree though.

[Gordon]

Without a degree, I say it will be difficult, but not impossible. PT work is certainly more attainable with a WHV.

[shmooj]

If you are going to be working part time, you will likely have no chance of finding a job with accommodation provided.

What will you do to live in something larger than your suitcase? It is fiendishly expensive to set up and rent an apartment here and I would guess that if you are living in a guest house or some such would consume all your cash.

Have you thought about trying to arrange a homestay through some kind of agency? That might be a great way to actually experience Japan and work. Just an idea...

[Gilly23]

well just to clarify with you guys. Im looking for an english teaching job. Well i guess its worth a try since i have a chance with a WHV.

[ryuro]

Gilly,

I think everyone on this board is aware that you're looking for an English teaching job, however the point we're making is that without a degree it's not going to be that easy.

Depsite some recent good news, the economy is still in the dumps here and there's truly a glut of people with degrees looking for work too. It's easy to recruit and bring people over on working holiday visas, but legally you can't work more than fulltime and in addition you're supposed to be taxed at a whopping 20% (whopping compared to the 5-10% for fulltimers with work visas).

Companies like to bring people over on working holiday visas, because it's easy to do, but normally the change them over to a standard work visa once the teacher arrives and signs a contract. You CANNOT (trust me on this) CANNOT get a regular work visa of ANY TYPE without a college/university degree. Thus many companies, uncluding the one for which I currently recruit, simply won't hire anyone without a college/university degree.

You can certainly come over and give it a bash, but bring A LOT of cash.

Cheers,
ryuro

[Lautaro]

I am in the same position as you. I am a Canadian with no degree in Osaka on a Working Holiday Visa. I would have to concur with what everyone else said. I am currently working at 5 different places, so obviously you CAN find work, but not having a degree will definitely make things harder.

I make enough money now to live comfortably, but it took me a while (about 3 months) to get to this point. In fact, my finances were drained in just ONE month! Now I`m in debt to my friends . But I expect to be able to pay them off and have a bit left by the time I leave.

My sources for employment were the Kansai Scene and the Kansai Flea Market. You could also get private students, but I have none myself so I can`t speak much about that.

Glenski basically said it best. Be outgoing and personable, have a good resume prepared (with photos!) and bring LOTS of money. With luck, things will work out and you`ll be able to enjoy Japan tremendously!

Lautaro

[canuck]

The working holiday visa limits you to work 20 hours a week at one company. For example, you would qualify working for Nova part-time evenings. Then you could get a day job part-time and be working full-time hours just two different companies.

Since you're a Canadian, you can renew the visa once, meaning you can stay for a year. Don't expect to be rolling in the first four months, especially since that you get paid one month behind, sometimes long depending on when you start.

I had a friend look on the internet and get a job with the working holiday visa in a small school in the countryside. There was no risk that way...but he was in the countryside!

[Gilly23]

Thanks for the great info guys. Ill keep you updated on the situation but ill be heading to HK first to get my HK ID hopefully.

Cheers,

Gilly