I’m a computational biologist working for an AI drug discovery company in the UK and I’m interested in hearing from anyone who works in Japan in a similar field.
My husband is Japanese and it’s our long term goal to move to Japan. I would love to make this a reality but the blocker is my career.
I have a PhD (Oxford) and experience working in academia and industry, currently a biotech start-up. I’m a British woman, I’ve been learning Japanese but I think I am limited to working in English due to my domain expertise. I recently tested out remote work while staying in Japan but found it unsustainable for me for the long term.
I’ve browsed LinkedIn a lot but found most tech jobs aren’t in the drug discovery domain or are for Japanese speakers.
Much of the advice I’ve had is outdated or not relevant to my field. It would be so helpful to hear any experiences from anyone who works in Japan in a similar field. Thank you!
4 comments
If you want to come over immediately find university work. It’s competitive but you’re definitely adequately qualified.
If you want a better paid, probably more fulfilling job take a few years to obtain Japanese fluency and then come over working in your current industry.
I have a master degree, not PhD, this year I have spent 7 months looking for jobs in Japan. The first 5 months I have sent applications by my own, I have never been offered a single interview (except from “スカウト” services).
Then I used an agent specialized in computer science related jobs, and out of 4 applications I got 3 interviews. And I pursued one of them up to a job offer for a permanent contract.
So looking by yourself companies that you may like working with, and then try to get an agent.
The good thing is Japan is highly brain drained. There is always a need for qualified technical expertise in many fields but at the cost of lower wages and crappy work life balance which led to the issue in the first place.
Try checking the jrecin website. It’s in English and there are both academic and industry related positions. There might be something with your background.
I just completed my PhD (life sciences) in January, moved to Japan 4 months ago for wife’s (non-Japanese) work and it was definitely a struggle finding work. I was lucky in making a few connections and found a research position at a university who was willing to sponsor me. I don’t know any Japanese, still learning, so that made it difficult for any companies wanting to hire me. Try to network as much as you can! It’s a long uphill battle.
Best of luck!