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04-19-2010, 10:02 AM
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I've found more than 1 website which allows UK travellers to stay with a Japanese family although they do require to find out a lot about you beforehand. They have various Japanese families in towns around the coutry and will set you up with 1 which suits your requirements. I believe as long as you have a genuine interest in the culture in question, there would be people willing to let you stay. I mean i'd be happy to have an older person from Japan stay with me. And in all honesty i'd prefer that to a younger person. I would have little or no interest in conversing with a 17-18 year old as they would be much younger than myself. 
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04-19-2010, 10:12 AM
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However, although i'm getting an 'open degree' it will cover 90% of the units from a full engineering and technology degree. The only units it will not cover are some level 1 units which i have more than covered in my HNC qualification (which is the equivilent to level 1 in a uni degree). So effectively by studying level 2-3 in engineering technology, i have covered it all. So for level 1, i wanted to take on other units which i believe will help me in the specific path i wish to follow because engineering in itself is a very broad subject. I will cover 'environmental' and 'networking' too. Also, i already have 9 years experience running my own department in a massive worldwide engineering company. Based on research i've been doing (writing to companies etc) i have found that my experience usually outweighs those with degrees anyway. So if i add a degree then i'm simply boosting my chances even more. As for the relevance of Open Uni qualifications, from my understanding a lot of companies actually prefer them to campus university degree's. Initially you may wonder why...but consider the fact that i have to work full time, and study full time. How many people come from campus uni and lack any real skills or knowledge? I'm not going into it blind. I looked into a lot of things and it seems to be the best way to go. At least for now. The good thing is i can change when i want. Even if i do level 1 as i am, i can simply do more level 1 units than is required and cover everything. It's quite flexable.
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04-19-2010, 10:22 AM
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I believe i'll be capable of speaking it very well...but fluently? I'm not sure. To be honest i think learning to speak a language fluently requires constant use and probably far more dedication than i have time for. As for what i can offer...well that depends really and is something i also need to look into. My current experience is Calibration. (over a varied range of equipment) Obviously in the UK, legislation for this practise is quite strict and all companies are forced to comply or they can not manufacture goods. I would assume it is the same worldwide? because it's necessary for quality control. And who would want to buy a product from a company who does not verify their equipment accuracy? Now, this is where maybe i'd have something to offer. I think based on my experiences in my company (who sell to all countries in the world) i could be a valuable asset to a company who does wish to have their own calibration department and who wish to distribute goods worldwide - especially to the UK market. It's a bit of a niche job though. Now, someone from Japan could learn all that too...but that's the same with almost anything. I would also consider setting up my own company, as it's something i had considered doing here in the UK. I'm not sure how good of an idea it is to set up a company in a foreign country though.
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04-19-2010, 10:29 AM
Thanks for the replies so far.
I know there is a lot of questions coming from people about various things. But remember, i'm not doing anything specifically to get into Japan as i don't think that is a sensible way to go about it. And Japan is also not the only country i would move to. Canada is somewhere i would very much like to live too. I just like to discuss various things and just get a general idea of how various things work etc. Career wise i've already been sucessfull, but i figure that while i'm still young i should consider a possible move abroad... I know it's the same old life really. Work, Work, Work...but it'd still be a very interesting experience.
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04-19-2010, 11:01 AM
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Basically if a Japanese person can do the job, a company is unlikely to go to the trouble of preparing all the visa paperwork needed to hire a foreigner. Starting a business in a country you haven't spent much time in and where you don't speak the language fluently? Doesn't sound like a good idea really. To get the visa to run a business here one of the requirements is to hire two Japanese nationals as full time staff, so it isn't something you can do unless you have quite a bit of capital to start with.
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04-19-2010, 12:40 PM
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Maybe i've just missed the boat in a sense. If i had spent some time in a foreign country (or a few) when i was younger it would have been fine. I had zero commitments. For numerous years i had very high pay and lived with parents (16-22), and saved up a lot of money. However i wasted it all on expensive cars and i can't change the past. Now that i've bought a house and settled down it's considerably harder to move. I have commitments which require a good wage, so changing careers and starting at the bottom is not really an option. I may yet have a chance though...once my loans are finished my only commitment is my house. Now because i'm in positive equity then selling it, moving and starting a job for a lower pay would be possible. End of the day i could experience it for a few years then come back and easily find a job which pays well again. I'm not really that fond of the business idea anywhere, even in the UK. To be honest unless it was going to be insanely sucessfull and make me rich then i'm more than happy to let someone else deal with all that and pay me well but have a lot less responsibility. Plus, with current economy situations i think starting a business is a bad idea. If i had planned right i would have had sufficient capitol to pay 2 or more wages for 1-2 years but i didn't...so the ideas pretty much redundant really. Maybe i should just settle with going on holiday numerous times. I know you don't really get to experience a culture properly as a tourist but if i could indeed stay with a family then that would be great. I'll be at least looking into that option first and foremost. Emigrating is something i just like to think about and maybe 1 day it will happen. Guess we'll see.
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04-19-2010, 01:28 PM
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Regardless as you've explained it seems you've really looked into the matter, and I didn't realise that experience counts for more than the qualifications themselves. I can see why a degree of any sort would help you, and I truly wish you luck in achieving your goals 
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04-19-2010, 01:53 PM
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 But i do agree that a full 'open degree' is a little pointless. Some people just like to keep studying because they are scared of getting into the real world and getting a job. I found by having a job since i left school and studying at the same time that other employers much prefer this over University students. End of the day it shows i have acheived the same qualification as them, in the same time frame and all the while putting it all into practise every day at work. I know from personal experience of Uni graduates coming into my company that they generally don't know half of what they think they do. Things you only learn by working, and things you can not be taught. Thanks, nice of you to say so.  As for moving to Japan, my company actually has a premises in Japan. However it's only a sales office and when looking at the website only 2-3 of them actually look Japanese...which kind of defeats the point. Although, at least i'd get to have a bit experience of working life in Japan if i went out there for a few months. Maybe a possible option to consider, although again...if i was single it'd be easy. Not so much as i am not leaving my partner for 3 months!!!
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