Advice on choosing 'A-levels' and a degree if wanting to live in Japan after uni.
 

Hi!
My name's Molly. I'm 16 and looking to hopefully move to Japan sometime after university. I understand that I'm young still, but I have visited Japan, loved it, and have been intrigued by their culture ever since! :) Currently I'm doing my GCSEs here in England and next year will start my 'A-levels.' These consist of three or four subjects taken over 2 years. After that it's uni! I'd like to find a decent job in Japan when I move and as such I'm currently learning Japanese out of school (they don't teach it, unfortunately). I learnt Hiragana and Katakana a while ago, have learnt a good amount of vocab and am making progress with Kanji!
So I was wondering, if I was to get a decent paying job over in Japan that wasn't teaching English, what are the best options for me to take? I'm not sure if my 'A-levels' are of much importance, but I'm computer-orientated and was planning to take: English language, ICT, Computing and Media Studies. For my degree however, I wanted to take it in Japanese. But if by then I find my Japanese is more than adequate, would it be more useful to take it in something else that will set me up for a good job in Japan?

Thank you. ^w^ :rheart:

There are lots of advice about this already on the forum, but I'll just summarise what I know.

It doesn't really matter what A Levels you take. You need a degree to work in Japan. It's unlikely you'll get a job that isn't teaching English, as there are already a competent Japanese people willing to take on the other roles.

However, it's been mentioned recently they possibly would take people such as foreign nurses because Japan has an aging population, should they speak Japanese fluently.

Apparently some suggested that there is a wide range of opening for IT professions thats fluent in bothe English and Japanese, so that's something else to consider. But it's true, the best bet is probably an English teacher.....

MMM work as a translator/interpreter I think, maybe he can comment more on roles like that

It would probably be a good idea to do a language at A level.

Recently there's been a tonne of ads for finance journalists.

And french pastry chefs. :/

and bi-lingual PA's.