Study in Germany or in Japan?

13 comments

1. >I have heard, that German Degrees are superior to Japanese, but If I want to work IN Japan, wouldn’t a Japanese degree be better ?

   Yes, that’s exactly right. Much easier to get a job and create a good network if you go to college in Japan.

2. I wouldn’t recommend it if you don’t know what Japanese culture is like. A lot of people struggle and end up leaving because it’s not the friendliest place for foreigners.

3. Work and travel you mean working holiday visa ? Well yes you need to have some money in you bank account before going, but you can work under that visa. Can tell you that I made at least as much money while in Japan as what that year cost me.

   Did you consider going to university right now? If money is a concern, compare the cost of German University vs Japanese University and if you decide to study in Germany, you can always do a year in Japan as an exchange student (so start to check that the day you start in university). Then you can start looking for a job, both in Germany and in Japan and this time would not be lost regardless as you would build experience and you can save money and do your working holiday year after university. You can also use that time to actually look for a long term job in Japan. And if you end up working in Germany for a company that have office in Japan, then you can check if they doing a transfer is possible.

4. Japan, all the way

5. How’s your Japanese?

   In terms of video games work, how much of a self-learner are you?

6. Yeah, Japan not going to happen for you, live with it.. build up an impressive portfolio in Germany, get some great jobs under your belt and come as expat/senior lvl director etc to Japan, that’s honestly far more enjoyable

7. The video game industry is fairly difficult to get into. It’s very much a field of “passion exploitation”. Tons of young people enjoy video games and want to work on them, therefore companies can easily find enough people willing to work for low wages. This makes the field competitive to get into, and pay less than you otherwise would get in the job market

   Art is even more difficult to make a living on. There are far more people who would like to make a living off their art than there are jobs for it. You have to be pretty good at it to break into the field

   Japanese companies typically only hire foreigners for jobs they can’t fill domestically, or for foreigners they can pay less than domestic labor

   All this to say, you’ll have to be incredibly talented and willing to work for very cheap to get a job as an artist in the Japanese video game industry

   > What would be the best option, if I want to permanently stay in Japan?

   Pick a different area of study.

8. If money is also part of your decision you should go for Germany of course (fellow German here). But be aware what also has been said by other people here: Getting a position in Japan as a foreigner with limited Japanese, because lets face it we simply aren’t native speakers, in a position that does not benefit of foreigners because of their english skills or international experiences will be extremely difficult. Since, depending on the company, they might not even allow foreign applicants without a valid working visa.

   I would go for the work and travel abroad, study in Germany for cheap, get some working experience as an intern and apply for a similar position like what you are thinking of doing in Japan at a possibly Japanese company in Germany.

   You have some video game studios all around and big places like Nintendo. They could potentially support you with moving to Japan as an intra company transferee if you do good work. Until then try to get at least an N2 (and if that is to high get an N3 so you have something) to verify your Japanese skills.

   Also: Work on your portfolio and do some low paying/unpaid work.

   There is a video game studio in Berlin (non profit) where you work without a salary but get everything you need for living (accomodation, food etc). One of my friends is now hired by a Japanese company to work for them remotely from Japan as a service provider after doing good work there.

   So you see: Many paths to take but also consider the possible obstacles.

   And finally: Don’t rush yourself and take your time to collect some experiences and prepare for this step. You are still very young and many people decide to take this step when they are 30 or above and they are still happy 😉

9. Stay in Germany and come to Japan on holiday

10. Take the “long view.”

    1. Go for a German bachelor’s degree (far superior) with a semester(s) abroad in Japan. Study Japanese as an elective or minor.

    2. Start to build a portfolio as an undergrad.

    3. Look for internships as an undergrad in your speciality. Be sure to pick a specialty in high demand with less competition.

    4. Gain experience (maybe through longer internship). Do some outstanding work.

    5. With a few years successful work experience, continued Japanese study, and a good portfolio apply for higher level, better-paid/non-slave, jobs in Japan through [tech recruiters](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/kvfqci/recruitment_websites_have_i_covered_my_bases/giy3b8o/) and directly.

    6. If your degree, portfolio, minor Japanese ability, and experience is not getting you traction in getting a job in Japan: Apply for Japanese grad school. Use your time in grad school to network like crazy (and learn Japanese).

    **Alternatively:**

    Start the “Japan Game” in the hard mode.

    1. Spend 1.5 to 2+ years studying Japanese intensively to get to the N-1 Japanese level to apply to a real Japanese university (programs conducted in English are a cruel joke).

    2. Enjoy beating your head against the wall trying to understand your classes in Japanese while trying to excel at studies and building at least a little portfolio.

    3. Enter the [*shuukatsu*/job-hunting season](https://japandaily.jp/job-hunting-season-japan-shuukatsu-2715/) in your junior year and apply to dozens of Japanese companies.

    5. Via *shuukatsu*, obtain a Japanese job at slave wages and endless overtime. Then work as a slave for 10 years until you get promoted (10~20% chance) or you burn out (80~90% chance).

11. I went to a Japanese University and am currently working in Games. (I left Japan due to low salary)
    For the long run, I would get a German degree in case your goal for Japan changes.

    Job hunting while in university is pretty brutal.
    You start in the middle of your third year and are put up against other Japanese people. This will be hard since some job applications require not only an art test, but an SPI exam. Which is like a school exam with maths, general knowledge which is all in Japanese. (This test is only for new graduates.)

    Also if you go to university and job hunt in Japan, your pay would be significantly lower as the competition is high in Japan. For reference, the average salary for new graduate was about ¥200,000 Before tax deduction. But this was 10 years ago so I presume it has gone up since then.
    Getting a job in Germany first and then Japan would give you a higher salary as you would start with a higher base.

    It would be good for you to get to N3 or N2 level while studying in Germany but there are some game companies that are accommodating and I have personally seen them hire some foreigners with limited Japanese capabity but they had good previous experience in other countries beforehand so it may be good to keep thst in mind.

    Best of luck!

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