Moving Advice.....

Hi All,

I am new to this site/forum and looking for a bit of advice as it seems a bit confusing online.

I have always wanted to live in Japan, so i went for a month in November and fell even more in love with the place, I've made the decision that i HAVE to move there to work and live and settle.

My background however i feel may hinder this, I have worked in IT for just over six years, i am an IT Systems Administrator in the UK, unfortunately i do not have a degree as i never went to University, could someone please help with explaining what choices i have or what the best route would be, i have applied for quite a few jobs online however never get anything back, whether that be because i am based in the UK or because i don't speak Japanese i don't know.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks again.

Tom

Not speaking the language is a big barrier. The majority of jobs in Japan will require some Japanese proficiency, as you would need to talk to the other employees and clients.

A work visa in Japan requires a bachelor degree, unless it is a job where a degree isn't needed/useful; e.g. chef, artist, photographer.

You could consider changing job fields. The easiest way to get a work visa in Japan is to teach English, but even then most jobs may require you to have a degree, or they will hire someone who does have a degree (a degree proves you had education in English, as well).

You could travel there on a student visa and spend a couple of years in a language school learning Japanese, and then try applying for jobs once you know the language. However, language schools are expensive and you need to pay the fees upfront.

A work visa in Japan requires a bachelor degree, unless it is a job where a degree isn't needed/useful; e.g. chef, artist, photographer.

That's not correct. In almost all cases, including for skilled technical work (the former "Engineer" status), sufficient experience in the field also qualifies. In this case, that's 10 years.

Short answer: it is hard.

Longer answer:
Pluses to be able to get a job are having a degree, being able to read/write/speak Japanese, already being resident.
Negatives are low pay, long hours, living is not like visiting and a host of other things.

Many companies will not bother to respond if you are not already living in japan (can you go to an interview tomorrow?) and will conduct their business in Japanese, so for a technical occupation that means knowing your stuff in the language of your employer/customers.

As a simple test, turn your computer settings to Japanese - how do you do? It can be fun or frustrating.

(Just on the low pay aspect, my daughter graduated CompSci and her starting salary in a small web devt company was higher than most of the people I know in Japan.)