So almost 3 years ago I made a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/l2ugl7/asking_advice_want_to_eventually_move_to_japan_3/) asking for advice on moving to Japan. Well this was when I was planning to move, but realized I am not ready yet and need to make a new plan going forward. I have a new plan but wanted to ask here for general advice before I try to fully commit to it.
For some context about myself, I work in Software Development and want to stay in that field of employment when moving. I also have around JLPT N4 in understanding of Japanese. Finding employers willing to sponsor have been hard to find mainly due to my lack of industry experience and Japanese level. So I intend to fix both.
I thought I was addressing these issues back in 2021 when I decided to stay in my home country (US) for 3 years to get both work experience and Japanese experience. However it’s almost the end of 2023 and I wasn’t able to get either. I have some work experience but my last job before I was laid off (alongside everyone in that department) wasn’t very much, so my resume isn’t great. My Japanese also hasn’t improved much over this time period, staying roughly the same as when I graduated college in 2021. I know a lot more words now (Anki today says 6k while back in 2021 it was 1k) but I still cannot understand the majority of Japanese (almost zero spoken).
So my current plan as of now is to again, remedy these problems. Finding a job here in my home country and work experience; as well as continue learning Japanese (to N2) in another 3 year time period. On paper I think it sounds good, but if anyone takes a quick look at my post history it’s easier said than done. It shows that I struggle immensely with the language part, so suffice to say I’m not super confident about my plan. I’m hoping that my 5-6 years of experience will be enough to market myself better but to be honest I’m kind of lost as to what to do; hence the post.
Is there anything I should do to better my marketability? Language advice? Life advice? Pretty much anything is appreciated since I feel like I’ll be on this “3 year improvement” cycle indefinitely until I change *something*. I know that market even domestically here is hard on software, but still I’m struggling to find anything abroad.
by thechief120