I have N3, speak native level English, have a computer science and engineering degree, nearly 5 years of coding experience (2 years of full time job , 1 year as an assistant, 2 years in college), 3x SAP certified getting paid 2.4 mil.
4 months back I had an interview for a SAP role where I was told that first I need to clear Japanese language test before technical interview, I cleared it. Aced the technical interview, then there was a another interview with HR, which was told to me as a final interview. Week from that I get a rejection email saying my “Japanese is not sufficient”. Except for technical interview everything was in Japanese including emails.
That was not the first time, one time there was this very big consulting company, where they asked for my expected salary and I told 4-5mil.
I said that after doing my research and asked employees of that company what’s the minimum salary in that company and everyone I spoke with told me 5 mil. They told that was not possible and the best they would do is 3 mil. I had to reject such offers, I don’t want to jump for such a low rise. Many other rejection like that.
Another time there was this very “technical” role to which me and my friend applied(he has N1 but he was in sales before this and very new to programming). He got selected for that “technical” role, I was happy for him but deep down I was hurt real bad. Apparently 3x technically certified is not enough for a “technical” role but N1 is. I stopped applying for jobs from there on.
Before coming to japan, I did my research on SAP jobs here, it was very promising when I read articles on the internet but after starting to work here, I am disappointed. My friends in west (EU/US) working in the same field literally get paid 2x or more of mine.
One dude in my shared house works in ikea and is paid 30% more that me, yesterday I saw a poster in a door of local izakaya, looking for a 正社員 and pay 33man per month. That’s 10man higher than my IT job.
For a second I seriously considered that. I don’t know what I should do at this point. Help me, what can I do to sell myself?
13 comments
Izakaya may not have good benefits like bonuses, allowances or room for raises/promotions. Plus izakaya is a Lot of manual labor.
Looking at your situation, I’m inclined to say you should expand your reach to more companies. 2.4M is cruelly underpaid. Try the jobs section of /japanlife, there are numerous resources on companies and their salary range. Also try japan dev they have plenty of offers.
One thing i have noticed is resume, it should be really nice and well made. If you want some help, dm me and i can offer some guidance.
What kind of IT jobs are you applying for that only pay 3 million? Are you in the boonies or something? Base pay for IT jobs is about 7 million in Tokyo if you have a legit degree and skills.
Experience working in Japan is another qualification on par with experience and language. You work 1 year with w/e shitty salary you get then change job after you get 1y of exp with serious salary bump.
N3 isnt high enough, it’s basically elementary/middle school level. Either work other jobs in Japan or do your degree field where there isn’t a language barrier
A couple things:
1. Experience during college does not count in Japan. I think they’re also ignoring your experience as an assistant as well. 2 years of experience, in most cases, is not enough to be considered as mid-career so they are giving you new-grad salary.
2. I would stop looking for consultant positions. Consultants need to speak to Japanese clients and N3 is not enough. N2 barely cuts it. N3 is enough to work in a Japanese environment if you are only communicating with coworkers but they do not want to risk you messing up some keigo and offending their customers. That is my guess.
Good news is, there are plenty of opportunities for you where you do not need Japanese if you have the tech skills and can pay 2x of what you’re looking for.
You should try to get N2 (at least a score in 80th percentile or above) or N1 or BJT above 480-530. N3 is not enough for any role that requires japanese except conbini and restaurants. Just dedicate the next 6-12 months to grinding japanese and you’ll be in a whole different world.
N3 is about 2-3 years of study.
It’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s kind of like your programming ability after taking two years of courses at university.
You don’t have 5 years of coding experience, you have two years of coding experience, and with N3 you’re nowhere near fluent enough.
And I think you missed the point – it’s almost certainly less about speaking (and it definitely isn’t “you’ll insult a client by messing up the keigo”; there’s *zero* chance they’d put you in front of a client).
No, it’s going to be reading and writing: proposals, requirements analsyis, design specs, testing documentation, reviews – if all of that is in Japanese, and your reading/writing is at an elementary school level, it’s not remotely close.
Why not just find an international company where you don’t need to speak an entire different language fluently and also having to deal with Japanese work culture?
Unless you have N1, it’s not worth mentioning.
The lower levels are personal milestones and nothing more.
Check out Tokyo Dev – it is an IT job board for English speakers.
Link: https://www.tokyodev.com/
2.4 million? That’s only $18k..WTF You could earn more in Romania.
If that’s truly what you’re being paid, then how many others are getting this crap wage?
It doesn’t matter if starting pay is low if there’s an obvious pay scale you can advance on. Think more long term when applying for, and especially turning down, jobs. Starting pay is always going to be low until they work out whether you’re incompetent or not. If there’s no pay scale, then that’s a temporary job at best.