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Question about jobs/places 2009/8/22 07:04
Hello, I have a question about getting a job in Japan. At the moment I have a three years career (Technical Engineering in Computer Systems) and two years experience. My work is not suited for my country, that's the reason 'cause I want to move, and Japan seems to be an interesting place.
I'm already studying japanese and improving my english, so I'm making money and looking for some recommendation about where a foreigner should go. (I will travel to Japan before, maybe that place isn't suited for me).
I know that if I want a job I should try Tokyo, but It's overpopulated and I don't like it at all. I'm not someone who like excitement too much, I like to live my life in peace. I've heard that Kanazawa, Kobe and Osaka are excelent but I would like to read your opinion, maybe these places are good but I won't get a job there that easy... Could you help me?
By the way, I don't know if a 3 years career is enough to get a working visa.

Thanks for your time ;)
by OtokoNoHito (guest)  

career? 2009/8/23 08:20
Do you mean a three-year degree? To work in most fields outside of teaching, the requirements are a bachelor's degree (doesn't matter if it's three or four year), or 10 years work experience in your field.

Unless you speak fluent Japanese, I am afraid that the majority of companies which hire foreigners for IT jobs and have English as their working language have their offices in Tokyo, so saying that you don't want to live and work in Tokyo is removing about 90% of the job opportunities for you.

I don't know why you have heard that Osaka is so different- it is another big, busy city, not that much different to Tokyo. Kobe is basically a suburb of Osaka, whereas Kanazawa is such a small city that there are unlikely to be any job opportunities for you there other than English teaching.

If you do have a bachelor's degree, are a native English speaker and would like to teach English then there are plenty of jobs in smaller cities and more rural areas. If you want to work in IT though then Tokyo is about your only choice, with Osaka a distant second.
by Sira (guest) rate this post as useful

thanks 2009/8/23 18:46
Thanks for your answer.
Yes, it's a three-year degree. Japanese is not a problem, I would visit Japan when I know japanese.
10 years experience is a lot... I'm gonna have to work and study as I thought. Well, at least I only need to study another 2 years.
I'm not a native English speaker, so I can't teach it.

Thanks again ;)
by OtokoNoHito (guest) rate this post as useful

not an easy language 2009/8/23 22:07
When you know Japanese... it takes the average person at least two years of full time study in Japan to reach a point where they can speak, read and write enough Japanese to work in an all-Japanese working environment, and that would be for a person who is a very quick study. For someone living outside Japan it takes longer.

Since you already have the degree and the experience, you would be better off coming and starting work in Tokyo or Osaka and then looking around for jobs in smaller cities. You will also learn Japanese much faster in Japan, obviously.

Unfortunately with Japan having an all-time high employment rate right now, with IT particularly badly hit (my husband works in It and his co-workers are still being laid off), now is not the time to be job-hunting, so you would be better off waiting a couple of years anyway.
by Sira (guest) rate this post as useful

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