Moving and Working in Japan @ 41

Hello! I�fm currently working on my Google IT Support Certification. I then plan on working on getting my degree in Software Engineering. This all sounds great, except I�fm starting this at 39 years old!�c My goal is to move to Tokyo after graduating. Which should be when I�fm 41 - doing a fast track/pace curriculum. Here in the US it�fs a bit easier to make a career change at such an age, especially in IT. But I understand that it�fs a lot more challenging in Japan to make a career change at that age. When the time comes, I�fm looking to apply from the US and find a job the will sponsor my work visa. So:

1)How difficult will it be to find an IT/Dev job in Tokyo at 41?

2)And along the same line, how difficult will it be to find an English Teacher job as an ALT in a dispatch company or Eikawa?

Thank you in advance for your comments

I think the toughest hurdle would be to find a willing employer to sponser your work visa. Next would be the language barrier, not sure if you speak any Japanese as you didn't mention. If you aren't already taking classes, I would recommend to start asap.


1)How difficult will it be to find an IT/Dev job in Tokyo at 41?

I do not have any experience in the IT/Dev industry but I reckon it would be about the same as any other field - the more experience you have the better, plus if you are already in Japan with a valid working visa all the better. I've no idea about language requirements, might be worthwhile to browse job portals etc to gain a better idea. No idea about your age and whether it will affect your chances in this line (we're the same age btw), traditionally it would not work in your favour but being IT/Dev but I'm not entirely sure.


2)And along the same line, how difficult will it be to find an English Teacher job as an ALT in a dispatch company or Eikawa?

Probably the easier route into Japan to be honest, though don't take my word for it, things might've changed now. The issue here is the salary package and more companies are looking for a bit of teaching experience/some kind of teaching-related qualification. I

I'm sorry that I'm unable to provide more useful advice, perhaps someone here would be able to shed more positive insight into the industry you're interested in. For the record I started studying Japanese when I was 30, came to Japan when I was 33 and have been here ever since.

Regarding finding work and a sponsor for a visa in Japan...

I know from first hand and my daughter's recent experience that this is possible.

A couple of examples... do 2 different searches... locate companies and schools that hire foreign nationals, particularly English speakers on a regular basis such as the international K-12 schools in Japan like ASIJ, CAJ, etc. as they are always looking for staff of some sort and then there are a number of orgs such as international chambers of commerce and similar like the American Chamber of Commerce Japan, Tokyo American Club (where my daughter got her start) and so on.

There are companies in the USA and elsewhere that also recruit for these international organizations specifically so search for those too and see what the opportunities may be.

I had a career in global management consulting in IT and had opportunities to live and work in Japan etc.

Look for opportunities like above and you MAY, won't say for sure, be able to locate an IT job of some sort in one of those types of organizations.

Hope this helps...

S

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions�c The reason for my questions has less to do on HOW I can get a job, but more on IF I can find a job in Japan as a new grad @ 41 years old - both applying here in the US and once living there�c.

Again, here in the US it�fs a bit easier to make a career change @ 41, especially in IT. But I hear it�fs a lot more challenging in Japan to be hired as a new grad @ 41, even in IT, both cuz of how it�fs viewed in the Japanese culture but also because of having no corporate/professional experience at such an age. Nothing in life is impossible, even in Japan, but I want to have realistic expectations.

To repeat, I�fm 39 now and will be working on getting my bachelor degree in Software Engineering. I should graduate at 41 years old. My desire is to move to Tokyo right after graduating. I�fll be working hard to acquire some experience and skills in IT while I�fm attending schooling, and I plan on taking online Japanese classes/courses to have some Japanese conversation skill (hopefully N4 or N3). But I doubt that I�fll have much corporate/professional experience under my belt by the time I wish to move to Japan @ 41 years old. I�fd be willing to go the English Teacher route just to get my foot into Japan. Once in Japan, I�fd work hard as teacher during my first year contract, but also work hard to apply to as many IT/Programming jobs as possible for the last 3-6 mnths of my teaching contract to land an IT/Programing job. I�fm fully aware that I�fll have a better chance of getting a job in IT/Dev if I get 1-2 years of experience in the US first and then apply for jobs in Japan, but I want to move as soon as I graduate. So again, as a fresh new grad @ 41:

1)How difficult will it be to find a job that will sponsor me here in the US as an English Teacher in Tokyo as an ALT in a dispatch company or Eikawa as a new grad @ 41?


2)And how difficult will it be to find a job that�fll sponsor me for an IT/Dev job in Tokyo as a new grad at 41?

I�fd appreciate comments from individuals who�fve been or know someone who�fs been in a similar situation as the one I�fm describing. Please forward this post to others in hopes that it�fll land on the lap of someone who can comment on this. And for anyone else reading this post, please feel free to comment on it. Thank you again for those that have commented already, and thank you in advance for any and everyone who makes an additional comment

Counter question:
If the answer to your question would be that it will be very difficult to find a teaching / IT job in Japan, what would you do? Stop your current IT studies? Study something else that has for sure no possibility to finding a job in Japan?

IT is one of the two job areas in Japan, where you generally don�ft need Japanese (or at least there are a considerable number of jobs w/o that requirement). The other job is English teacher. So you are already going in the right direction.

You can�ft wind back the clock and be an 18 year old.

The only way I could see of you increasing your chances of finding an IT job in Japan would be if you do your IT studies in Japan rather than the US. It won�ft guarantee you a job, but you might find some connections and maybe a relevant student job. And if it doesn�ft work out you still have your IT degree and can use it in the US.

One of my relatives (Japanese) has worked for many years in the IT field in Japan, who told me about their hiring practices (just general information, and also a few years back - when one of my non-Japanese acquaintances was looking for a job). He told me most companies tend to hire people up to mid-40s, depending on the candidates�f skills and experiences. You might just make it, but the difficulty might be that you will be fresh out of college, with no IT work experience.

Yet since corporations and the government is promoting �gre-skilling�h in Japan lately (for their own convenience, but anyways), things might change gradually.

Also - how is your Japanese language? While doing IT development work itself might not require too much of the language, of course you do need to be able to communicate with your colleagues and clients. At least N2 would be considered �gworking level�h Japanese.

(By the way, eventually this acquaintance of mine found a job at a Japanese company, with almost zero Japanese language, but this company was one of those that was trying to make English their official language, so that helped, and this guy had plenty of IT work experiences.) Best wishes.

@Phillip M

I'd just go for it to be honest mate, plan as best you can and give it your best shot but you must have a plan B, i.e. a backup plan in case all else fails.

I never thought I'd make it either, given the odds stacked against me; e.g. not looking the part of an English native speaker for one, and the fact that there were close to no recruitment drives of any sort in my home country amongst other things...

Thank you everyone for your comments. I think I understand. It�fs definitely doable, but I have to realistically understand that it�fs gonna be hard. Need to have a plan B in case things don�ft go as expected, but be bold and go for it�c Truthfully, the easiest route is to just wait a year or a year and half after graduating to get experienced in IT, and then apply for jobs from here and then move. Meanwhile I can take a certified Japanese language courses here that�fll allows me to achieve N3 - the online Akamonkai course is a certified course approved in Japan. This way it can help me stand out from other candidates, or it can help me go to a Japanese language in Tokyo, and use that as my opportunity to move to Japan - since immigration I hear immigration has gotten alot stricter with those over 30 going to Japanese Language Schools. However, I just want to move to Japan as soon as I graduate at 41 vs 43 with experience under my belt.

So Plan A will be to apply for entry level IT jobs in Japan from here in the US after graduating, Plan B will be to apply for English Teaching job (I have experience working with kids), Plan C wait a year or year and 1/2 to gain experience in IT and then apply. I�fll also take online Japanese courses while living here before moving to Japan to help me stand out in the job market, be able to enroll in a Japanese language school after graduating college, and to better acclimate to Japan because of knowing the language. What are your thoughts?

Frankly I think you need a Plan D that hasn�ft you living in Japan.
Its good to have various plans to live in Japan, but even though you have 3 plans, still none of them may work out.

There�fs really no need for plan D cuz it would mean staying here in the states. But it would also mean giving up. I�fm not about that. I know for a fact that my situation isn�ft original, many have been able to move to Japan much older than me. And we�fre talking two fields that I know is in high demand anywhere, especially with experience. If worse comes to worse then it would mean just staying here in the United States, which isn�ft a bad option at all. But the whole point is to move to Japan to be somewhere different. I�fm confident it�fs possible even at my age

There�fs really no need for plan D cuz it would mean staying here in the states. But it would also mean giving up. I�fm not about that. I know for a fact that my situation isn�ft original, many have been able to move to Japan much older than me. And we�fre talking two fields that I know is in high demand anywhere, especially with experience. If worse comes to worse then it would mean just staying here in the United States, which isn�ft a bad option at all. But the whole point is to move to Japan to be somewhere different. I�fm confident it�fs possible even at my age