Graduate from college if you want to live in Japan.

[Sukai]

I am planning on living and working in Japan; but first I want do do a four year s/w course in Japanese Studies (that means i will spend the third year studying in a Japanese university. By doing Japanese Studies in particular, will that help me in getting a good job in Japan? Or would it be better to get a deree in something such as buisness studies or science ect. and then learn japanese later on?

ox

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Sukai

I am planning on living and working in Japan; but first I want do do a four year s/w course in Japanese Studies (that means i will spend the third year studying in a Japanese university. By doing Japanese Studies in particular, will that help me in getting a good job in Japan? Or would it be better to get a deree in something such as buisness studies or science ect. and then learn japanese later on?

ox

Start learning Japanese as soon as possible. I like your plan.

[JackIsLost]

i'm sorry i didn't read the rest of the posts (50 pages!!!) but has anybody mentioned studying abroad? my friend recently got to study in kyoto studying abroad and from the looks of it, she is having the time of her life. if you are a shy type of person, you will meet all types of people from all types of cultures and stay in japan to boot!

[BlueGirl]

This past year, I did a two week homestay exchange in Japan with my high school. Almost all the people in the group (eight of us) want to go back, probably with JET or something similar at first. My aunt did that in the eighties and she had no prior Japanese experience, but learned fast! It's silly to think of teaching English in Japan as "lowering yourself". It's an excellent way to learn about the culture without jumping through all the hoops to move there permanently, and apparently it pays decently. If you think you want to live in Japan, something small like that would be a great idea to test the waters, which is very important when acclamating to other cultures. Even though I'm not planning on majoring in Japanese, or teaching, I'll probably still do it for the reasons I mentioned.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by JackIsLost

i'm sorry i didn't read the rest of the posts (50 pages!!!) but has anybody mentioned studying abroad? my friend recently got to study in kyoto studying abroad and from the looks of it, she is having the time of her life. if you are a shy type of person, you will meet all types of people from all types of cultures and stay in japan to boot!

The intention was for people those that claim they want to make Japan a permanent residence...not for exchange students for a short time.

[Domo41182]

So I want to clarify some things that I have heard to see if anyone else has heard these things. One thing I have heard is that if you have a spousal visa it's pretty easy to get a job just doing grunt work at a huge company like Sony because in Japan they usually don't care what type of degree you have, just the fact that you have one.

Also another thing I have heard is that the chances of finding a job in Japan once you've been out of college for a few years diminishes hugely because most companies are looking for people right out of college. My Japanese teacher at my university told me this because being a native Japanese person she can't even find work with her bachelor's and master's degree.

Just curious if anyone else has heard anything about this...

my first post here at this site btw

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Domo41182

So I want to clarify some things that I have heard to see if anyone else has heard these things. One thing I have heard is that if you have a spousal visa it's pretty easy to get a job just doing grunt work at a huge company like Sony because in Japan they usually don't care what type of degree you have, just the fact that you have one.

Being able to live in Japan without a working visa opens up the job market immensely, but that doesn't mean it will be easier to get a job. Japan is in a recession like much of the rest of the world. What will be more valuable than a degree will be a fluency in Japanese. Without that, yes, you will be doing grunt work more than likely.

Originally Posted by Domo41182

Also another thing I have heard is that the chances of finding a job in Japan once you've been out of college for a few years diminishes hugely because most companies are looking for people right out of college. My Japanese teacher at my university told me this because being a native Japanese person she can't even find work with her bachelor's and master's degree.

Just curious if anyone else has heard anything about this...

my first post here at this site btw

I have never heard this before. It might be true for your teacher because she is female and Japanese, but I don't know if that is universally true.

[Tsuruneru]

Mmm, Spicytuna, and godwine thanks for the advice you gave me on the last page it really helped me out.

[CoffeeAddict]

Hello,

For 3 years I will hopefully get my bachelors degree in geology engineering(or 5 if I decide to go for masters..), so my question is, if I learn japanese in the meantime, what are my chances of landing a job as fresh graduate(especially if I'm willing to work in smaller cities, where rythm is bit slower)?
What can I do to improve my marketability as a fresh grad?

[chinabean]

mmm the fastest I can graduate at this point would be in June of 2010 with bachelors degree, i'm excited!