Hey everyone! Just wanted advice as I’m planning to move to Japan next year through the language school route once I’ve saved up enough. Basically, I’m torn between upskilling and learning Japanese during my free time. I do also have to say that I want to move as soon as I can because I do not want to waste youth, and to see if Japan is right for me or not as soon as possible, while I still can and have the means to.
A short background:
* I have a Bachelor’s in IT Specializing in Web Development.
* I have an IP ITPEC certification which is an IT Passport Examination for different Asian countries, Japan, one of them.
* 3 Months of Internship experience in Philippines. Currently in a 6 months internship in a sizable real-estate company in Dubai. Both as a Web Developer. Will leave after getting 1 year of total work experience.
Now here’s the catch. My work experience hasn’t been all great career-wise. While I’ve had “dev” experience, they were nothing fancy, complex, or difficult. During my previous internship I just built static pages, and in my current internship, the methods we’re using aren’t really proper, no Git, no frameworks, we use a CMS, and I don’t code much. In 3 months so far, I’ve developed one feature that they used which was only a basic calculator with dropdowns. I don’t mind these by the way, but it worries me that these experiences won’t land me a job in japan.
That said, that is why I’ve decided to take the language school route. Juniors most likely won’t be get hired just by applying overseas to Japan. Employers won’t risk that. And basing on my research, achieving N3-N2 will open up many doors in this field, especially for juniors. I also plan to still upskill while in language school, but I don’t know to what capacity since it’s going to be intense if I’m aiming to be N2. Do note that I’ve started learning Japanese before I got my current job but have slowed down tremendously after starting.
Now I’m torn between Japanese, or upskilling so that after I graduate language school, I’d secure a job. I don’t have time for both, because if I did, I wouldn’t be making this post. Right now I’m still learning Japanese, but my career is always at the back of my mind. Any advice?
Thank you!
TLDR: Torn between learning japanese or upskilling before moving to Japan next year as a junior web developer.
by Kr1tz