Please I need some advice, I am contemplating whether or not to quit my shinsotsu job where they are going to make me work swing shifts (days where I would work for up to 12 hours, days where I work night shifts). I work at an American company, as a data center technician. My managers are all Japanese, my colleagues are nice, but I noticed how most my coworkers have stayed in their position for years without being able to change departments because no job openings within the company. I realized I don’t want to work such a schedule as I already have mental health issues, and I even asked my manager if I can just work a normal nine to six, in which he refused very sternly. I want to study for certifications but I feel it’s impossible with such an irregular schedule, but I heard that if I quit a job so early as a shinsotsu I will basically be committing career suicide. I am completely at a loss as to what to do, I’ve been applying to work from home jobs doing it support, but I since it’s a no name company I don’t know if I’m taking a big risk. My mom is ok with me moving back home but I don’t know if I’m being irrational and stupid. I am completely alone I. This new place, I have been having psychosomatic symptoms caused by my stress and anxiety. I don’t know what to do and I feel like my life is already over. I don’t want to ruin my health.
by unfunnypieceoftrash
10 comments
Newbies in IT usually get stuck on late shift. Use it as a chance to better yourself. Be the best night tech they have. Bust your ass there, and getting a better job will be easy.
You have some tough life choices to make.
You can tough it out in your company for a couple years and move somewhere better, or you can quit because it is hard and go work at the convenience store.
Ok, first of all, your life is not already over.
Even if you quit and it would mean ‘career suicide’, there are always ways to get back up.
I’m a foreigner and didn’t go through the whole new grad job hunting system so I’m not too familiar with it but my advice would be the following.
Start looking for a new job right away, job hunting while having a job is always better. Sure, they probably will ask you why you want to change jobs so quick but just be (like 80%) honest and tell them it’s not a good fit etc. but don’t start mouthing off about your current company/boss – that is never good.
Also, not sure if you’re aware of this, but in Japan there is actually a system/term for this called 第二新卒 so you could also look for jobs especially in this category. There are also recruiters who help with these kind of jobs, I think one of them was doda? Not 100% sure though.
You mentioned that you want to do some certifications. Best would be if you get your current company to pay for them or for them to give you some time during working hours, so you could get this to better your chances during job search.
If all fails you could work some dispatch jobs, they can be found in I believe all bigger companies and if you make real good impressions can lead to direct full-time contracts with that company after a while. That way you could get back into a possible career.
Last but not least, if your family is open for you to go back, you could do some job there which probably won’t lead to a great career but there are always ways to climb up a bit and who knows maybe it will lead somewhere in the future. But it’ll probably be better than to ruin your health.
Hope this helps!
Dude…why you signed the contract without checking the shifts?
Well it definitely doesn’t look good on your resume to quit your first job at a major company, as a shinsotsu, within 3 months. So if you intend to work at other normal companies in the future, this would likely hurt your future career prospects.
If you intend to pursue a career path where you aren’t a permanent employee at a company (eg. freelancer) then you might be okay long-term if you can find stable ground, but these routes have their own heavy challenges and responsibilities, and unless you are extraordinary motivated and driven you might end up dropping out and being left with few career options.
Having mental health issues in general usually isn’t great in maintaining a stable long-term career, unless you have them fully under control.
Spending extra effort to work on your mental health issues might be a good starting point before taking any action. I am aware that Japan has more stigmas about mental health treatment than other countries, so it can be hard to know how to find help, but if you’re really on your own in this aspect, I would absolutely suggest looking for a good counselor/therapist or whatever kind of professional that would be able to help you.
Otherwise, as quitting your job without a solid backup plan is a massive future career risk, it might be good to do job-hunting on the side and not quit your first job until you manage to receive a second offer at a different company and finalize the contract.
Edit: On the plus side, due to Japan’s demographic collapse and diminishing workforce, if you aren’t picky about what kind of job you do, there will always be a job somewhere for you. So if a high-pressure IT career is too much for you, it might be easier to do a simpler and more repetitive job until you can get back on your feet, such as working on a farm, working at a hotel, or doing standard office work. You just need to stay afloat until all our jobs get replaced by AI in the near future anyway, we’re all going to be in the same boat at that point 🙂
It’s not as uncommon as you think in 2024. You’ll be fine.
Sometimes things aren’t what they seem, you realized it and decided it wasn’t for you.
In Japan where there is more jobs than humans can legally do. I am sure you will be just fine in getting another job. Your mental health is more important than “career suicide” which is no such thing. Next time take your career path more seriously and ask yourself what do you want to do in life.
I remember at 19 (dropped out of college and moved to Japan). No one would hire me, so I started my own tech company. Grinded for years slept under my table and had no social life but eventually sold my company for $50M four years later.
Looking over your post history, it’s pretty clear your job isn’t the problem. But it’s probably not the solution, either.
I started my career working the night shift at a datacenter- it’s pretty common to start on night shift and have to work your way to a sought-after day shift position. The nature of 24×7 operations makes this somewhat unavoidable: datacenters need overnight staff, and the people most likely to be willing to accept that are the new hires, many of whom will transfer to day shift as existing day shift workers move on to other roles. Swing shifts are also exceedingly common, especially among American DC companies. I’ve personally seen it at Equinix, Digital Realty, CyrusOne, and QTS. So you’re likely going to have a hard time finding a standard 9-5 in the datacenter space.
Start looking for work, and be open to finding a new field entirely. In the meantime, get some help with your underlying mental health issues. They’re not helping your career, and no job on earth is going to fix them either.
Eh. I switched jobs 6 months into my shinsotsu nikkei. The next chapter was a super gaishi one so they don’t care/accepted my reasoning not wanting to go further with nikkei. Been 10 years since..
Don’t worry too much, switching companies are normal.
I would say maybe your mental health is the priority. Why don’t you just go back home, work on yourself, and then try again? Job offers there will be always. But staying at a foreigner country (specially one as demandant as japan) either mental issues… I’m not sure if that’s the best option. 🙁