[OldWizardEyes]

Hello everyone. I am planning to move to Japan, but I need some advice.

I just graduated high school and I am prepping to go a local community college in the fall for a semester (I will be obtaining some computer programming and networking certificates during this time). In January I will be transferring, and my options are that I can either go to an American university to study Japanese and maybe go abroad for a semester, OR I can withdraw from college and attend a Japanese language school for two years (One 6 month program, a 12 month program and then another 6 month program. I imagine it will take longer than two years if you factor in holiday breaks and whatnot).

To be honest, I would rather go to the language school. It is located in Shibuya and if I do that I can learn Japanese while residing in Japan, which would probably be good for me. I plan to become and English teacher at some point and eventually obtain citizenship so I believe that this would be good for me. As far as I know, I don't get any certification from the language school. I imagine that I would get some sort of fancy paper saying I'm fluent in Japanese, and obviously the skills would help me with daily life in Japan, but I'm pretty sure I don't get anything that could help me as much as a degree. However, during this time I will have plenty of free time so I plan to take some classes online and get my TEFL certification in order to improve my chances of employment.

I've been doing some research for the past few months, and you don't need any kind of college degree to teach English in Japan. You only need a degree to get your work visa. But if you find a company that will sponsor you, you can go to Japan without a degree (It's just that your odds are slim). I will be getting my TEFL to improve my chances of employment as I will not have a degree if I go to the language school.

Is this a stupid idea? I mean, I don't really want to go to college, I would rather go to the language school and get a better grasp on the language. I'm 17 right now, but I would be going in January 2015, so I'll be 18 when I go. I'll be in Shibuya, which is the young people's city, so who knows, maybe I could even meet a girl and get married. That would certainly help me become a citizen.

Can I please get some input here? There was a girl from Japan who went to my high school during my junior year (Although I only ever talked to her a handful of times), and I've been chatting with her about it on Facebook. She even thinks it would be smarter to go to the language school because I would be immersed in the language.

I just really need some input. I want to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid here. As for working as an English teacher, I have an interest in that as a career, so I think I want to do that no matter what. I just need advice for school. Am I setting myself up for failure?