Hello all,
I have been teaching in eikaiwa/ALT positions for the past 5 years. Some days I enjoy what I do, but I can also see that English teaching can be a good job, but isn’t the best career, at least in my opinion.
I am interested in moving into another field, specifically IT, in order to find a better/more stable career. My experience with IT is minimal. I have no certifications, but for work experience, I worked at an ASUS factory in the US as a computer repair tech. I also worked in the military as signals (the militarys version of “IT”)
I have heard that in Japan it is hard to change career fields especially if you are over 30.
So if I spent time and money to get IT certifications, would I just find myself getting denied entry-level positions because of my age? Is it possible to change career fields ?
I am married with a baby on the way, so I am considering this in order to give my family a better future.
4 comments
do you speak japanese?
Most places require you speak japanese, which is why they suck. Those who have put that on the bottom of priorities have had better success in their endeavors, particularly in web programming.
Still, you’ve not listed any skillset…. or location.
I’m in my late 20s in senior year of uni. My degree is IT related and I still get turned down because of my age and nationality. Make of that what you will, but I think it’s gonna be tough for sure, especially since everyone seems to try jumping ship to IT these days.
If you speak good Japanese, you will find something. The IT skills gap here is big. A big contributor to the gap is a lack of skills based pay grades. This translates to the possibility of you finding yourself being payed less than someone in your team that posesses few technical skills.
Yes. Japanese plus IT and you will do fine. You will also have a better chance of being able to leave Japan at some point should you want to.