Hello, I would like to apologize in advance because I know by a simple search that these posts are a dime a dozen. Thank you to everyone who reads posts like these and replies.
I’m currently living in inaka Japan as an ALT. It’s not something I’m particularly interested in; I joined simply because my former Japanese professor recommended it. (She was also previously an interviewer, so she probably thought I was a good fit?) I’ve been one for about a year and a half but I’d naturally like to leave this career for greener pastures. (I think all ALTs are but lol)
I have two degrees, one in Japanese and one in a sort of media studies thing that I try to pretend is relevant to whatever job I’m applying for. I studied radio, film, social media, media economics, editing, writing… almost everything under the sun. I’ve got some social media certifications, etc.
I’ve been a middlingly successful YouTuber for around seven years. I post on TikTok, YouTube, whatever. (ALT YouTuber… daring today aren’t we?)
I also write and act in a local television program in English and Japanese.
Additionally, I was the sole developer of a free indie fan game that received over 50,000 downloads. I was the director, writer, social media… just about everything aside from the graphics. I’m developing another game in my free time as well but it’s too early to show anything yet.
Regarding my Japanese language ability:
I have N2 and am working towards N1. That being said, my speaking skills are incredibly lacking. To be blunt, my current job is speaking English. I’ve had my coworkers get mad at me for speaking Japanese which not only infuriates me because of the whole ‘exchange’ part of my job, but it also means I’m not improving. Living in the inaka you would think there would be opportunities abound to speak Japanese but these people are obsessed with covid. No events, no nomikais, no kenkou mahjong, nothing. There are no bars/izakaya where I live and if I would like to visit one to practice I would have to take a long train ride and stay in a hotel… My Japanese has hit a wall. For example, I can understand more complicated grammar and translate them with no problem but speaking them is a different story.
My current speaking level makes me interested in a language school but I’m not sure if, monetarily speaking, paying out the ass to practice speaking and then mostly reviewing would be the greatest decision. That being said… speaking this stuff is obviously unbelievably important.
I would like to work and live in Japan for the time being. I personally feel like my resume/skills are as wide as an ocean but as deep as a puddle. It’s just all over the place. Breaking into popular industries like games/entertainment seems like an insurmountable task. Am I selling myself short?
If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
5 comments
If you could create a game, could you look into coding for future IT related jobs?
[Start applying to dev jobs](https://old.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/10d3q7l/how_did_you_find_your_itrelated_job_in_japan/). If you can code games you can code pretty much anything with a little bit of research and practice. Market is pretty tight right now for junior devs but you can do it.
Most people are 100% breadth with 0 depth, so the good news is you’re not alone.
In terms of getting hired though, it’s very hard to do so as a generalist, because job titles are almost always very specific.
The other commenters mention getting a developer job because you can create games, but it reaaaally depends how you created the games. If you want to get better at Japanese and you know that you won’t take the time to learn by talking with people relentlessly, then a language school is totally a viable choice. Sure it might not be the highest quality education, nor the best return on investment if speaking is all that matters, but if there’s one thing I learned in life, it’s that it is almost never a bad idea to use money to invest in yourself.
So whatever you do, do it with 100% of your ability, even if your motivation fades and you end up jumping ship into something else. What matters is doing that something else with 100% too. You’ll eventually stick to something, because you don’t want to be a generalist forever. 🙂
Honestly at this point, I’ve met so many people from a variety of backgrounds to know there’s always *a chance* to get into certain industries that most people would say is impossible, but you need to find that “chance” or be really, really lucky it finds you.
That said, you mentioned developing, and if we’re talking actual coding there’s certainly a thriving industry of foreigner devs in Japan. It’s one of the more viable options aside from teaching English. But you do need the skills and someone to take a chance at you.
You could take the path I am currently treading on. In the process of relocating my family to my home country, starting at an entry-level job there, going to grad school (probably an MBA), then coming back to Japan after skilling up and getting more certs/quals.
And I say this as an ALT who signed on straight out of college. I have hit a similar wall as you and concluded that going back and doing a soft restart would be the most sensible course of action for me.
Your N2 qualifications would look nice to employers, but you coming from an ALT background might be a red flag for some of them.
Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.