Job Discussion Forums

[mitsui]

The good old days are gone. You would have to work your way up like anybody. I have been here 13 years and may be unemployed starting in April, or maybe just doing part-time work.
To make money you have to work really hard and will have to decide if it is even worth it.

Frankly at this point if I can get 4 million a year, I would be doing well.
Or I could work six days a week. That is the way it is going here.

[nightsintodreams]

[redstanggt01]

[nightsintodreams]

I hate to be that guy, but...

Your dream is boarderline impossible.

By your own admission, you lack anything above basic IT skills, a degree in IT takes at least 3/4 years and the top students already have many of the skills needed before they even begin the course.

Furthermore, you only have basic Japanese ability. Even if you somehow got to N2 level (which is an extremely difficult feat to do while outside of Japan IMO) that still wouldn't be enough for you to function well at a company. I've met many people who've come to Japan with N2 and they're speaking ability is generally not good until they've lived in the country for at least a year or so.

The foriegners I've met who work outside of the TEFL idustry are either super intelligent and the top at what they do, or can speak Japanese very well and have a job that is somehow related to translation or English.

I'm not going to say it's impossible, but if I owned a bookies, my odds for you to make it would be pretty low.

If I was in your position, I'd try and get an ALT job with a low workload, then in my sparetime/ breaks study IT and learn Japanese. At least then you can kill two birds with one stone while living in the country you want so desperately to be in.

[nightsintodreams]

[redstanggt01]

If I was in your position, I'd try and get an ALT job with a low workload, then in my sparetime/ breaks study IT and learn Japanese. At least then you can kill two birds with one stone while living in the country you want so desperately to be in.

This sounds like good advice actually, and again, I don't really have to do something like IT, but I would like to do something that would let me stay and make a decent wage. Translation, as someone said, is difficult, and although I do have the financial means right now to stay in japan for a year in language school, I'm debating at the same time if it's worth going, when I barely have any skill sets right now. Frankly, I know that a lot of other people are going through this as well.

How would it work out if I went to japan to study Japanese for a bit then looked for ALT Jobs during my last three/four months? At least I know I would be conversational by then, and while I'm doing that, maybe make some connections and tell them about my situation?

Edit: I'm sorry about offending other people about ALT/TEFL work before. I'll edit it out. I didn't mean to come off that way....I'm just feeling rather bitter right now. I appreciate any help anybody can give me here.

[nightsintodreams]

I wouldn't waste the time and money on a Japanese school if I were you.

If you're self motivated then you can study by yourself while working and earning in Japan, especially if you have an ALT job where you'll be surrounded by Japanese people 5 days a week.

[redstanggt01]

Well, for me honestly, trying to self-study is difficult. It's just hard to keep motivated when I have a lot else going on in my life. That, and correct me if I'm wrong but isn't getting an alt job a lot easier when you have a visa other than tourist and reside in the country?

Also, I have a TEFL certificate if that helps, but its only online. 120-hour TEFL to be exact. Almost everybody has it though I think, and I've forgotten almost everything I've learned from the course, although I still vaguely remember how to make a lesson plan.

[PO1]

I'm going to agree with Pitarou and others to say that if you don't like working long hours, Japan probably isn't for you. As foreigners working for English language schools or ALT, you're more likely to get off work at your scheduled time. However, if you're working for a Japanese company in IT, I would suspect you'd be the equivalent of a salariman. This means you work until your boss says it's OK to go home. I have one student who told me he worked from 7 am to 11 pm some days just to make sure he got all his work done. Of course he doesn't get paid overtime for this.

I do think working for English schools insulates some people from the reality of working for a Japanese company. Most people travel long distances, work late hours, and have very little vacation time. This is a work hard, play little society for most. That's one reason young people have avoided this by simply stringing together part-time jobs for a long period of time. They don't want to become "trapped" so to speak.

However, if coming to Japan is your dream, you're going to have to bite the bullet and get what you can get. There are still jobs to be had in EFL, but I wouldn't sign up for those if your opinion of the work is pretty low already. It can be brutal for people who use it as only a way to have a long vacation.

[rtm]

OP, it sounds like you are really lost, and just don't know what you want to do for a career. The only things you've said you want are to live in Japan (which is not a career), and to move up in a career path, though you haven't been able to articulate what that career is (you started by saying IT, but then you said . Your first task is to figure out what career you want.

Your degree is in International Business and Marketing. You must have learned something while doing that.

It sounds like you are a fairly recent university graduate (within a few years). Does your university offer career counseling services? That might help.

If I were in your situation, here's what my plan would be.

1) Figure out why your applications for eikaiwa and ALT jobs have been unsuccessful. People here would be willing to look over your application materials. Constant rejection from ALT and eikaiwa jobs for over 2 years means that something is wrong. Make yourself an attractive candidate for ALT or eikaiwa jobs.
2) Get an eikaiwa or ALT job in Japan. This will get you into the country.
3) Study Japanese on your own while working. This will take some dedication, but if it's something you really want, you'll do it. It might take a couple years.
4) Once you have improved your Japanese ability, get a job in finance. I had a friend who had only a little experience in finance, and got a job as an assistant broker in Tokyo. He also had high-level Japanese ability and a visa, though. That said, he only lasted 6 months in the job and went back to being an ALT.

[Big_H]

I'm actually against you coming to Japan to build your language and then expect to get that IT job. Right now I have my doubts that you'd get hired in a Japanese office even if they had a branch in your home country.

One of the posters made a good point by saying that if you lacked IT qualifications in your own country, then sure enough it won't be any easier for you to get hired in Japan. Stay home, earn a couple of years of experience, take a few courses to have some extra softwares under your belt. When all of that is said and done, then you can start thinking if you prefer staying where you are or come to Japan and work (likely in an eikaiwa) while developing your Japanese language to business level at least. If all goes to plan, you can now start looking for that rare chance to get hired since you've just reached the minimum qualifications required to apply, without having any edge to get hired.

But don't take my word for it, google for IT positions and see how often do employers ask for entry level engineers anywhere around the world, let alone from abroad. You have to get a year or two of experience, it's just the way it is -especially with engineers-. And if you want to do that for a living in Japan, then you'll have to learn their language to a fluent level; a whole different ball game -and requirements- than going there to teach English.

edit: So your instincts were right in your OP to give priority to experience in your field over language fluency. If you come to Japan and work on your language you'd still be very unlikely to qualify for a real IT position -just as you are now in your country- and you'd probably get stuck in TEFL. A 3-years personal deadline is a lot of time if you'll have focus and determination, but it takes a lot less to claim those qualities than putting them to use. Good luck.

[redstanggt01]

[rtm]

[fluffyhamster]

[kpjf]