7 replies to this topic

[Wild Style]

I am a network administrator with 7 yrs of experience, I also have a degree in computer info systems (bachelor). I want to know is it hard to get a job in the I.T. field in Japan and what pay I will be able to fetch over there.

I plan to take japanese for a year or two before I even think about moving over there.

[El Norteño]

Wild Style, on Jun 8 2007, 08:44 PM, said:

I am a network administrator with 7 yrs of experience, I also have a degree in computer info systems (bachelor). I want to know is it hard to get a job in the I.T. field in Japan and what pay I will be able to fetch over there.

I plan to take japanese for a year or two before I even think about moving over there.

I have not gone to Japan, but I can advise you , I have gone to china and language is very important.  If you cannot speak the language at the level of an educated person, it will be very difficult for you.  Also, japan is not easy for foreigners they say...but I do not know from experience...
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Yo no he visitado japon, pero si he visitado china, asi te aviso aprender el idioma muy bien.  Para trabajar de profesional se exige hablar al nivel de una persona bien culta.  Si no puedes, entonces sera muy dificil para ti, especialmente en japon, donde los extranjeros no son bienvenidos ...o asi se dice... pero, no he visitado aquel pais, tal vez estoy equivocado...

[ShapeShifter]

El Norteño, on Jul 6 2007, 09:27 PM, said:

I have not gone to Japan, but I can advise you , I have gone to china and language is very important. If you cannot speak the language at the level of an educated person, it will be very difficult for you. Also, japan is not easy for foreigners they say...but I do not know from experience...
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Yo no he visitado japon, pero si he visitado china, asi te aviso aprender el idioma muy bien. Para trabajar de profesional se exige hablar al nivel de una persona bien culta. Si no puedes, entonces sera muy dificil para ti, especialmente en japon, donde los extranjeros no son bienvenidos ...o asi se dice... pero, no he visitado aquel pais, tal vez estoy equivocado...

Thats weird, I heard it IS easy for foreigners (that only speak English). I have two grandparents that live in Japan. The nice thing about working for a company in Japan is they can't fire you; only embarass you by repremanding you in public or giving you a lower position in the company.

[Raintree21]

A friend of mine lived in Japan for 2 years with her Japanese husband and said she hated life. She said she couldn't find work because she didn't know the language well enough and that it was a necesity if you were to live there. The only reason she was able to get by was because her husband supported her. She said that she could find people to talk to because the Japanese people were always looking for someone to practice their English with but when it came to business, fluent Japanese was a must.

[monsoon]

ShapeShifter, on Jul 6 2007, 10:54 PM, said:

Thats weird, I heard it IS easy for foreigners (that only speak English). I have two grandparents that live in Japan. The nice thing about working for a company in Japan is they can't fire you; only embarass you by repremanding you in public or giving you a lower position in the company.

It may be easy for visitors but for people working in most corporations in technical jobs they are going to need to know some Japanese.  In addition, not only can foreigners be fired from a job there, when it happens the work visa also disappears and they have to leave Japan.

[orulz]

If you want to go to Japan as an English speaker with essentially no Japanese language skills, essentially your only option - outside of a US military base - is to teach English, or be in a position somehow related to the instruction of English.

If you have moderate Japanese language skills (fluent, but not native-level fluent) you may be able to find a job at a Japanese office of a foreign company, most likely in some sort of position interfacing between the local office and the headquarters. If you are looking to truly integrate within a Japanese company, you need to have pretty much native-level fluency.

[Nashville_maestro]

orulz, on Jul 30 2007, 03:03 PM, said:

If you want to go to Japan as an English speaker with essentially no Japanese language skills, essentially your only option - outside of a US military base - is to teach English, or be in a position somehow related to the instruction of English.

If it still matters I'd like to say that it's virtually impossible o get a job teaching english there simply because that every other forigner that moves there tries doing that so you REALLY have to luck out with a position opening to do that. More realisticlaly, your visa will expire before that happens.

If you really want a smooth transition there your best bet is to get a job here in the states that you know has offices over there and look for open positions available for transfer. Not only will your legality already be secure there but a lot of companys -especially the larger ones- will even provide you with housing until you get on your feet. Sweet deal...

I'd also like to say that its pretty tough moving there. It's hard to get in unless you have strings already pulling for you over there (i.e. a buisness, school, etc) and once your there, with the exception of tokyo, they are in fact pretty hostile of forigners. Tokyo isnt much better either. I've known a few people that moved there and one of them actually moved back because she was so fed up with getting discriminated against. I've also read some pretty bad stories as well such as people refusing to sit near you in the subway, calling you "ignorant forigner" in japanese thinking you cant understand them, etc. Not trying to discourage you though! I say go for it!

[joeDowntown]

I'd agree with Nashville here. I have been to Tokyo three times and find that many Japanese cannot speak a lick of English (so if your Japanese language skills are not great, good luck).

Also, it is very hard to get into Japan unless you are sponsored by a company. My company wanted to move someone to Japan who's wife was Japanese, and we still had to sponsor him.

Personally, I think most Americans would be miserable living in Japan. I could see it being a very lonely place if it were not for the fact that people *have* to watch over me and entertain me.

Singapore, on the other hand, seems like an ideal situation if you want to work in Asia. Booming economy, English is the official language and the Job market is *ridiculously* tight. And, every other car you see is a BMW or Mercedes. Things must be going well.

Joe