How to find work in Japan? (other than teaching English)
 

Hi there, I'm currently an university in Canada and I'm interested in working in Japan but not teach English...preferably work in a company since business is my field of study. I know that it's probably going to be pretty hard to find a job there, but I learned the Japanese language for 3 years and am very familiar with many aspects of the culture as well.

I already tried searching through some of the oversea internships and job placements available from my university, but couldn't find any. The closest thing I could find is an exchange program to several good Japanese unviersities for study purposes only.

Any tips/advices/recommendations/referrals?

one advice
 

best way would be just to teach english until you find a job. teaching isn't that bad, plus you are helping others learn as you are also learning.

Hey hagemusha! How good do you have to be in order to do a exchange program to Japan because I have the same idea as you do.

Come you guys , lets reply a bit more. I bet some of us have the information hidden somewhere.. Don't be scared to post...:p :)


Oh ya, I too heard that teaching English is one of the best ways to start your living in Japan.. That's why one of my majors is going to be in linguistics.

Skills
 

Unless you have some exceptional or high demand skills such as:

programming
3-d/motion graphics
networking
really good MS Office tech support skills
ceo of a bank
translation / interpretation

then the usual path to escape teaching is to study hard, get your Japanese ability up, pass JLPT 2, and constantly be on the lookout for job opportunites and good contacts.

Or you can try to be a recruiter, which is fairly cut-throat and nasty.

Or you can get stumble into some job that doesn't require great Japanese or try to find some foreign companies in Japan to work for. This is entirely possible, and A LOT of people in Japan started out as teachers before moving on to something else, and a lot of other people love the cash and freedom that teaching affords you (which is better than many non-teaching jobs), so don't get discouraged.

And dont study linguistics just to be an English teacher, you really wont need it, even if you go on to teach college in Japan.

joey

* Family in Japan? Be part of Japan's First Family Network! Join the Piqniq! *

hmmm....id have to say that teaching english is the easist way of getting into japan, thats what i was gonna do but, i decided to go the military route hahaha its all good ill prolly be stationed in japan with in a year if all goes right

Teaching English? What Where? How come nobody Told me?....

After Reading this post I think I've found a Goal in my Life ( After World-Domination offcourse ).
What Graduates do you need to Teach Eng. there ?
What is the Paying?
Dream come True, or Life Becoming Hell....?
Do you need to speak fluwen(this isen't right, but what the heck.) Japaneese ?
Job-application Same as in Europe ?

If these thing suits me, I just got to study a bit harder :D

Trying to gonna get my 'skills' in 3D graphic designer. 2 bad not to much school to almost no schools in belgium teaching that.

please explain to me the military route :D I was also gonna take the English route, but im interested in some shortcuts too!

Forget Asking. Do It.
 

Japan is being located between Russia and USA. It is between China and America. YOU. From America. From USA's part of it - wanna get to Japan to what? Do not seek tha way of LEGAL. Do waht you want. If You want to live or what'so'ever about Japan - the do it. I f you would ever be wanting the same about UKRAINE|CHINA|POLAND|INDIA|SWITZERLAND|IRAQ|SERBIA|INDONESIA|EUROPE - Then fukkkkkn do it. What's the reason of wasting time on asking?..

Hope I wasn't too rude.
Able to hear what you say.

Sorry for the late reply. I study business at York University, and York U has a lot of good connections with Japanese universities. Our Exchange Program includes Japanese universities such as Kyoto University, Meiji University, Keio University, Dokkyo University (not Tokyo U, this university is supposed to be good for studying English), etc. Those are definately among the top universities in Japan, and Japanese students study like hell just to enter into those. The courses you will be studying can be taught in English, or Japanese, or both, it depends on the university. I'm not sure about the requirements, but I assume it won't be too hard for me since I already passed the second level of Japanese langauge study at York, and my prof actually talked to me in private telling me to go do the exchange.

The only problem with doing an exchange program in Japan is the cost. I don't remember the exact cost for housing, tuition, textbooks, and facility costs, but you can check on the universities' websites, and it's ridiculously expensive. I pretty much gave up the idea of exchange program since it doesn't help towards my business degree, it is very costly, and I rather try to find some non-teaching job opportunities in Japan or try to enter a company in Canada with connections with Japan.

I think he is talking about the US military route since we (me being American) have a lot of bases here.

Ditto to what the others have said above about teaching English in Japan as it is the easiest and fastest way to get there if that is your desire. However, one does not need to major in linguistics as all that is required to teach is a 4 year BS degree in anything. Therefore, it would be most wise to major in something that you can fall back on later if you find that teaching is not for you or you want to seek out other employment in Japan. A lingusitics degree will not get you a job at a major company, but a degree in business or some other marketable skill will.

The requirements for teaching English Conversation in Japan are that you have a degree, are a native speaker, dress well and, to borrow a phrase from a friend, have a pulse. That's it. It is fairly simple as you will mostly be reading from a book and the students repeating after you in the basic courses. For courses above that it is the same with a little "free conversation" thrown in to give students a feel for the spoken language. Most classes are about an hour long and if you teach at corporations are one and a half to two hours long. There is no teaching of grammar and such as that is usually taught in Japanese schools.

It is repetitive and can be downright boring after the initial honeymoon wears off. Many teachers do get burned out on it after a short time. Your success will be determined by your own effort and whether you take the job seriously as many teachers are just there for the money and are not serious about the job. For them it was an easy way to get a working visa to live in Japan. Rare is the one who does seek/find employment outside of teaching as many do not learn the language and eventually return to their own home country.

I enjoyed it tremendously as, even though it could sometimes be frustrating, it was very rewarding in the long run and quite profitable.

Therefore, if your desire is to go to Japan, then by all means go! Do it while you are young and have the time. Just have the proper qualifications. You may like it there and then again you may not, but how will you know if you never give it a try? For many on this forum it is their dream and I would not let this opportunity slip by me only to think sometime in the future, "What if...."

There's always room for Ambassadors of your current country, you could be placed in Japan, if you speak the native language and all that kind of stuff.

get into a foreign company
 

In my case,
I got a job from a US company and they send me to work in their branch in Tokyo. Usually in the investment field (no-client interaction/ just analyst), Japanese is not really required. That's how I got in.

:vsign:

well if anyone is wellbuilt or have good looks you can either try to catch the attention of various scouts, wich seems to constantly have their eyes open for new models or idols, but then again it may only be an optiion for women =P. Ive also been having plans about working as a security guard/body guard or something there. translator or a tutor in languages is also one plan Ive had for some time because other than japanese I can speak swedish, english and german fluently.

one good thing is to apply into a japanese firm in your country. trust me studying the japanese culture and actually living in it is very different. Some Japanese firm sends there employee in Japan for training which are called Kenshusei.

Take me for example, I worked in a Japanese firm for 4.5years in my country. During my stay there, I studied Nihongo and learned the working ethics of the Japanese. Also in that span of time I was sent on a Business trip to Japan twice and for AOTS training. Then I got a chance, when I applied in a Japanese firm base in Japan 2 years ago, got accepted and been working here for 2 years. :)

Wow! wish I could also do that.

Most foreigners teach English as their first job. It is a good way to get a feel for the country and to get settled. If you network like crazy, eventually you will make some contacts and the opportunities will eventually present themselves.

You should also focus on what job exactly you would like to do. "Business" is very general.

I think that the point is what are your skills. What can you provide to the Japanese society?
- English level
- Japanese level
- Technical skills (IT, design, marketing, etc.)
etc.

I came in Japan 2 years ago without any ideas about what to do and I found a job in just 10 days. But I had a MS computer science and I already spoke Japanese fluently.

Thus, teaching English can be the best opportunity (and a very funny job) for people who don't speak Japanese yet nor have technical skills;)

I've always wanted to go to Japan, however, I'm still 16, and I will learn japanese and chinese for 3 years at least. Hopefuly I will make my master degree in japan. I'm still in the 11th grade, after the 12th I will go to University to that chinese/japanese languages and cultures course.

I speak fluently portuguese, english, spanish and I can already speak a bit of japanese. I used to be fluent in french, but now I am not.

Do you think that I could get a job like teaching portuguese?

I was qualified. I applied. I was hired.

The main part of that was: I was qualified.

If you're not qualified for a job/visa, then it doesn't really matter what else you have.

I was wondering, would it be realistic for me to work in Japan?

This is what my current education and future education would be like :

~10 GCSEs - I have this.
~Hopefully 4 A Levels [In Art, Technology, Media and Sociology] - I'm currently doing this.
~And a University degree in either Game Design or Graphic Design - This is what I'm doing after.

I am from the UK and I heard that there is an agreement with Japan which makes it easier for people from the UK to go to Japan, and also a handful of other countries too, could someone explain that to me?

Also, I would like to know which is the most realistic job opportunity for me. I wanted to be a Game Design concept artist, but over here that would be difficult, and in Japan that seems completely unrealistic. So does anyone know what the demand for Graphic Artists/Designers is?

I am currently teaching myself Japanese and am planning to get lessons, so If I get lessons at the age of 18, and study until I'm 22, [which is when I will finish university,] would it be realistic for me to go to Japan, or is it just out of the question?

Thankyou ~

It doesn't matter how many GSCES or A Levels you have. Toss on some Pre-Us while you're at it.

All that matters is the university degree. Is it a BA or a BS? You're in. Is it a two year degree? Not good enough. Three year degree? Immigration precedent goes down the middle, sometimes yes, sometimes no, and usually they want a nice long letter from your employer stating why a three year degree is enough to do the job.

The easiest, as stated, is teaching. It's the fastest way into the country, assuming you have a four year degree or can prove you can do the job with a three year degree. Teaching is probably an area where you can certainly make a case that a three year degree is good enough.

You might also look into a cultural or apprenticeship visa, since you want to go into a field Japan excels at and dictates. The downside is that you have to watch your "income" very carefully. You're only allowed to make as much as is required to pay your most basic of expenses. If you're actually accruing cash, immigration will get very angry.

You're in the UK... I think the UK gets a working holiday visa. I know most commonwealth nations do. In that case you do not have to have the degree to get the visa, but it only lasts six months, and renewals, while possible, are sketchy at best.

Best bet? Go for the teaching job to get you here, and then start looking for someone to take you on in your field, even part time, even at a no name studio.

This is work. It doesn't come by accident. It comes by persistence, connections, and planning.

I see. The degree I am planning to do would be a 3 year course. I have yet to look into it properly as I am only in my first year of A Level, but I will probably do a foundation year at university and then do the two year course which gets you a degree. I actually don't know a graphic design course that runs any longer than 3 years here.

As for teaching, well, I'd probably suck at it. I really don't like children, so that's probably a dead end. If it was teaching older students, then I'd be perfectly happy to do it in those circumstances. But any younger than 13 and I'd rather not.

Really it was just sort of a dream for me, I never particularly expected it to happen I just wanted to see what chances I may have to get into Japan.

And about the UK - The working holiday visa does sound familiar.

As for the course for Game Design I was considering this is the one :

This is the undergraduate course ~

BSc(Hons) Games Design @ Leeds Met

And this is the post graduate one ~

PG Cert/PG Dip/MSc Games Design @ Leeds Met



This is the one for graphic design :

Undergraduate :

BA(Hons) Graphic Design @ Leeds Met

Post graduate :

MA Graphic Arts & Design @ Leeds Met



Could anyone tell me if these courses would be appropriate to gain me entry into Japan?

Japan sees BS or BA and they presume four year degree, so you should be fine either of that you mentioned.

Ah, that's good. Thank you very much for all your advice.

MissMisa
I am currently studying to become a graphics designer (here it take 4 years though)
Id suggest you try networking on asoboo which is a creative networking site, many foreign companies in Japan have a user in there, and maybe it could come in handy..
ive heard graphics designers are treated like scum in Japan, so maybe a foreign company would be better?

im kpauner on asoboo please remember to add me if you decide to create a user..

I would also suggest looking into something called Tokyo Art Beat (i think its called) you cant miss it if you enter one of the design groups on asoboo

Cheers

btw: im still looking for an internship in Japan, its hard...

Thankyou for your advice too, I'll check it out! ^_^

Personally, I think learning two languages at the same time is not a good idea.

And just to let you know in case you don't know, there are many Brazilians in Japan and I'm assuming they take jobs that are related to Portuguese.

If you focus more on studying Chinese, there might be more opportunities available for you.

Good luck!!

I tried studying French at the same time as Japanese. It was, for me, a resounding failure. I have retained little French, and I'm sure my Japanese is weaker for it.

That's the course it is.
3 years of chinese and japanese, plus 1 year spent in China or Japan. If that 1 Year I'll go to China, then I'll be learning chinese for one more year.

That course is given by native teachers of both languages.

I'm currently learning english and spanish, and before I used to learn english and french.

Thank you ! ^^
I'll do my best, I'm learning japanese at home, grammar, writing, etc, so it'll be easier for me when I get there.

As for these courses I quote earlier - I found out that they are actually 3 year courses full-time, and 4 years part-time or as a sandwich course. Would that be a sufficient degree to get me into Japan?

Wuau too much languages.

I speak only english and spanish of course.

But I´m trying to look for a job in japan not as a teacher I works as a IT-Consultant but I didn´t find anything yet:confused: :confused:

I have a question, how would I start a buisness in Japan?

Anyone who currently resides in Japan with a Permenant Resident Visa or who is a Naturalized Citizen, give me a PM? I'd like to ask a few questions about moving to Japan, but only to people who actually live there. :D