What are my chances?

I was just wondering what are my chances of getting a job in Japan. I have only high school. (secondary education) My specialization is electronics and automatization. I currently work in a glass factory, taking care of glass inspection machines. Of course, I know it probably means nothing, if I don't speak Japanese. So what kind of job could I possibly do in Japan beside cleaning staff, or working at hotel, or.. I don't know what else.. Let's just say visa is not a problem..

Let's just say visa is not a problem.

A visa is really your only problem. But assuming that isn't an issue, then the main thing that holds you back is your lack of language ability. Without it your chances will be relatively small.

Seriously though, the visa is the main issue and you'll have to resolve that first as it affects what type of jobs you'll be able to qualify for.

yes, the language is the main problem here..

I have a girlfriend in Osaka and she actually wants to go with me to Czech republic, after we get married. But i don't think this is a good idea. She haven't even visited my country yet..

but there are other problems. she haven't finished high shool and her english is even worse than mine. ^_^

i just think i would have better chance with my language skills in Japan than she would have with hers in Czech republic.

and of course, regarding money.. i have relatively well paid job in cz. but still, i think in japan we would be able to earn more money than in cz..

i don't really know what to do. i'm just trying to think about all possibilities..

"i think in japan we would be able to earn more money than in cz.."

Yes, but you likely will have to spend a lot more on housing,food, transportation etc.

When I moved from Western Europe to North-America my salary went up...
However, in my birth country I was able to rent a furnished 3 bedroom house,with a garden for 1/10th of my low salary, and walked to work.

In North-America my whole salary wouldn't have been enough to rent an unfurnished 3 bedroom home, without a garden.

Renting a furnished studio (only a few old bits of furniture), paying for utilities etc. and transportation by metro and buses cost me each month nearly 1/2 my monthly net salary. Eventually it got better, but it took years.

Renting your first place in Japan will likely cost you 5-6 months worth of the monthly rental fee, to be paid at once.

You say you have no worry for a visa, yet you have a girlfriend, not wife or fiancee. Having a girlfriend would not get you a visa, and marriage does not automatically get you a spouse visa. You are 31. How old is your girlfriend and why did she not finish high school? Hopefully she is not so young that she is still IN high school as she would likely be too young for marriage. I think it would be very difficult for you to work in Japan with no degree and no language proficiency. Skill alone is not enough in Japan. Maybe you could go to language school in Japan but I do not think you could get a visa with just a high school education and a girlfriend. Even if you marry, just being married is not enough as the government will want to know how you will be able to support your wife BEFORE they grant a spouse visa. Will her parents support the two of you? Depending on where you will live, finding a very small apartment for you will probably cost more than you could afford if you can find work and get the visa. I study now in the US and housing is cheaper than Japanese cities.

Monkey see: of course you're right. We have to consider different living expenses. I already have some idea about how much can the transportation and food cost. (and there's not so big difference in food prices) Well, my salary is a bit fluctuating, but usually, rent is like a 1/3 of it. And that's just for a small apartment.

As I said.. a lot of things to think about.. i just don't know where to start, or what to focus on..

hirosumi: she is 35.. as for not finishing the high school, she said it was too difficult.

Well, i know this is probably hopeless.. but I think I still have a bit better chances in Japan than she would have in my country, especially without high school and with bad english..

Do you realize you cannot even work in a fast food? I hope you do.

BTW: Unskilled manual labor jobs cannot get you a visa. There is no "unskilled worker" visa.
If you think that getting a work visa is easy then it just tells us you have too much optimism bias and you know very little about this country.

Do you realize you cannot even work in a fast food? I hope you do.
BTW: Unskilled manual labor jobs cannot get you a visa. There is no "unskilled worker" visa.

The OP has said that he and his Japanese GF plan to marry first so we can assume that a visa will not be a problem. And there are no restrictions on what job a spouse visa holder can work in. So yes, the main problem will be hireability, and a lack of Japanese will be a significant hurdle. Getting a job may not actually be all that difficult, but getting the right job is the real challenge.

Another thing that many of the posters here are not taking into consideration is his Japanese partner. As a couple, their prospects may indeed be better in Japan than in the Czech Republic. But it's too difficult to tell from the limited info that we have. Just like any international couple, the OP and his partner are going to have to weigh all of the pros and cons of living in either country.

Even if you marry, just being married is not enough as the government will want to know how you will be able to support your wife BEFORE they grant a spouse visa.

That presumes that the GF doesn't work, but she could very well be the primary breadwinner in their situation. But its a fairly low hurdle. A spouse visa will be practically automatic as they have a reasonable income and a support network.

Depending on where you will live, finding a very small apartment for you will probably cost more than you could afford if you can find work and get the visa.

I'm not sure why everyone thinks the cost of living is so high here. There is plenty of affordable housing in Japan. Not everyone lives and works in the heart of Tokyo.

What kind of job doesn't require any education, experience, or Japanese language skills? The only job I can think of is teaching English.

I believe salaries for English teachers range from 180,000 to 300,000 per month. With your qualifications, you should expect something on the lower end of that range.

You're already in your thirties. If I were you I would keep the well paying job that you have now.

I hate to intervene, but I kinda understand what's happening here, and with my fiancé and I being married in a few months, we explored all our options.

I wanted to move to Japan because I love the country very much. However, like OP, I do not have the language skills to survive at all. Fortunately, my fiancé knows English very well, and even graduated from university in Australia as an English major with high honors. The problem was me moving there, and she right away told me about it. I don't know if she is right about jobs being extremely difficult to obtain, and she told me the bias there would be among foreigners and Japanese applying for a job opening. Again, whether it's true or not, I don't know.

I have a very good paying job here in America, and I recently got promoted. Because of her knowledge of English and my well paying job, she is willing to move here to America, where she's never been to the mainland before, and begin her life here. She tells me that even though it is a sacrifice, it's the only choice we have right now, it something out of our control right now, but she doesn't mind it.

Anyway, whatever it is that you decide, good luck in what you decide to do! :)

If you get married, you should be eligible for Spouse visa, provided - if your wife-to-be is not holding down a good job - some form of support from her family is available, and/or your work experience so far in your country places you in a promising position for a job.

Since you say you are from Czech, I am assuming that you are not what is considered a native speaker of the English language. So language teaching would not really be an option.

Even with Spouse visa (which by th way takes away the "bachelor's degree or 5 or more years of relevant work experience" Immigration requirement), your chances for actually finding a job would be slim in the field of your expertise - machinery inspector/mechanic - without the Japanese language skills. In fact, cleaning or fast food staff kind of jobs would be difficult without the language skills. When it comes that, there is no reason any shop/establishment would want to hire you over a local, right?

Things sound difficult. Best wishes. Please explore all options, and reason with her... getting from Japan to Europe is not easy for one thing, and particularly without the language...

yllwsmrf:

Another thing that many of the posters here are not taking into consideration is his Japanese partner. As a couple, their prospects may indeed be better in Japan than in the Czech Republic.

Yes, that's the main problem we are dealing with. Thank you for pointing it out.

AK:

Please explore all options, and reason with her... getting from Japan to Europe is not easy for one thing, and particularly without the language...

Yes, I know. She is a bit unrealistic about this, wanting to go to Czech.. But again, in Czech, she would probaly have the same problems as me in Japan, if not worse. Even if she spoke english well, a lot of local people don't speak english anyway.

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Wherever we decide to live, Japan or Czech republic, one of us will be always in the same situation - limited to very few job possibilities with minimum wage. We're just trying to figure out which place would be better for us as a couple.

Who has the better paying job now? That person should be the primary breadwinner in the short run, and until things change.

You need to study each other's languages asap, and then you can re-assess in the future.

Well, I have about 4.7 USD per hour now, which is far below minimum wage in Japan. But in cz, it's a bit above the average, and yes, we could live both from this money here.

As for her learning my language.. I don't think this is possible. She can't even speak English well, despite English being probably the easiest language. Difficulty of czech language is comparable to japanese, except that we don't use kanji.. ^__^

Regardless of what you end up doing, you need to start studying Japanese so you have more options. Who knows - with some delays in marriage and visa, etc., you might speak decent Japanese in the near future.