Job Discussion Forums

[Yawarakaijin]

Hello everyone, long time lurker first time poster here so forgive me if there are any technical errors in this post.

Now, to the matter of obtaining a working visa in Japan without a 4 year degree. I have seen this topic come up various time on this board with a myriad of replies. Some saying no way, others saying it's possible, some sympathetic to the person's inquiries and others down right hostile. So here I am with my own experience.

After spending a year in Japan on a working holiday visa and another 6 months here on tourist visas I quickly came to the realization that Japan is where I wanted to be. One problem, no 4 year degree. In fact, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Due to family issues I needed to work and was even unable to complete my 3 year College degree.

In 2000 after coming back from my working holiday Japan I took a 1 month TEFL certificate program offered at a local ESL school in Vancouver. I really wanted to teach so I worked my ass off and impressed as much as I could. After completion of the program I was offered part time employment as a teacher and activity director at the school where I completed my TEFL program. A year went by. I impressed the head teacher and was offered a full time teaching position.
Well 4.5 years passed and although it was a wonderful school I felt it was time to move on.

My plan was to head down to Brazil to hang out with friends I had made in the course of teaching in Vancouver for 4.5 years but in the back of my mind was always Japan. I had done some reading on the visa stipulations and I will admit that I did find it a little confusing. Instructor Visas for teachers required a 4 year degree. Specialist in Humanities which indicated language instruction as one of the jobs covered by that visa only required 3 months practical experience in the field. I was quite confused as to why there would be 2 different visas for what appeared to be the same position. I gave it a shot.

To make a long story short, I now find myself in Japan teaching on a Specialist in Humanities visa. My company is great. The pay is signifcantly above average with almost 5 weeks vacation per year.

Did I get lucky? It's hard to say. If an employer is up to date on the Visa rules and regulations did he " take a shot" at hiring me? I met all the requirements for the visa and had tax slips proving 4.5 years consecutive employment at an ESL school. Do most employers know or care to " take the risk" of hiring someone solely based on experience? I can't say.

To make a long story short. Never give up if you want to be here. You can find a way to get the experience and if you plug away long enough you can find an employer who will give you a shot. You do NOT need to have a 4 year degree to work in Japan.

p.s Sorry if this post was a little long, I've been dying to jump in on some of these discussions

[Yawarakaijin]

My mistake.... I stated 3 months of experience required. That is of course 3 YEARS

[Filinadian]

I too do not have a 4-year degree. I consider myself lucky because I had a chance to get 4 years of teaching experience in Canada (Vancouver) before heading here. I started with a working-holiday visa before I got my work-visa (Speclialist in Humanities). My company said that the only way I would have a chance of retaining a work-visa was to somehow prove that I worked for atleast 4 years as an ESL teacher. I took a chance and told my former boss back home to send me a formal letter stating how long I worked in Canada and the kind of job I did. I wasn't counting on getting the work-visa in the beginning, because I have heard from other people about how hard it was to get one. With only 2 months left on my visa, I took a risk and went with it. I was suprised. I am extremely lucky to have gotten this visa.

So for everyone out there, yes it is easier to get a work-visa if you have a degree, but it doesn't mean that you can't get a work-visa. Don't give up and take a chance.

[Glenski]

Several of us have mentioned this loophole in the Humanities Specialist work visa regulations before. Glad to finally see someone who can describe making use of it.

Of course, there are OTHER ways of finding work without a bachelor's degree (as we've said before, too):

spouse visa
dependent visa
cultural visa
working holiday visa