In 2020, I was slated to study abroad in Japan for 6 months, but it was cancelled due to covid. I ended up graduating that year instead and going to work in the tech industry again. I’m based in the US and went to a US university.
I have a few years of industry experience in tech at this point and am considering the following options for getting back
1. working in japan in an english-speaking company (line, mercari, google, etc.).
2. grad school (would apply for scholarships)
3. language school
My main goals are
* learning japanese
* forming groups of friends / having a fun life in Japan
* experience what living in jp to make a decision on whether I want to stay
I took language for 2 years in college and am currently self-studying, though my level has deteriorated since college.. I would say I’m around N4 right now. I’m thinking I could be n3 by the end of the year. I don’t plan on moving until sometime next year.
pros of working in jp
* making money (not a huge priority, but not irrelevant)
* experience working life (in an international env, not a japanese one). I know most people have a negative conception of work life in JP but I don’t plan to work in a japanese company. I have some friends who managed to do it via an english speaking company with good pay and decent WLB and I’d be going for that.
cons
* harder to find time to study
* harder to form social groups
pros of grad school
* easiest to form lasting social groups
* enjoy school life! I like being a student
* degree (of questionable value? I would probably study something non-technical for fun like international studies for east asian studies. I hold a minor in japanese studies so it’s not entirely foreign to me.)
cons of grad school
* returning to grad school at 27, and programs in jp last 2 years. seems like a bit of a setback from a life perspective? maybe I’ll be relatively old?
* cost (not a huge factor, but I could be making money instead)
* mostly it’s a big time investment for questionable value
I don’t know much about language school, but I feel like it’s probably the best for language learning but it might be harder to make friends at a similar stage in life. I could be wrong. The nice thing about it is that it’s a much lesser time investment than the other 2 but I also feel like the quality/experience can vary heavily. Can language school students work part-time jobs?
I’m looking for insight or comparisons on any of these options that I haven’t considered, alternatives I haven’t considered, and just general advice. Thanks!
3 comments
One of the things to remember is graduate school in the humanities is largely based on your individual research, so while you’ll meet people, it’s not necessarily true that you’ll form some sort of lasting social groups.
Also, people tend to scatter to their jobs after graduation, so you may not see them much after graduation. This is especially true if your program is largely in English, as it will mostly be other foreign students who may go off to other countries when finished.
> Working
Social life would really depend on you. If you work in a foreign company, then social life would be fairly easy, since you have many like minded peers. But studying Japanese would be hard, since you mainly use English and would have little time to study as you stated. But you could probably get Japanese studies via work, many companies offer some form of study time, either at company time or by paying for study materials. It’s probably the best option if thinking objectively.
> Grad school
If you want to do grad school, I definitely recommend doing it in a subject that would be of value, either in your current career or if you want to change direction in your career. While studying something valuable, you can still get the fun social life as well as learning Japanese, since most universities also offer Japanese courses.
Your age would only be a con if the degree is completely useless in a career perspective. If it’s within your field, the 2 years gap wouldn’t be too much of a big deal, since you’d be doing relevant studies. If you value fun social life, then this is the best option.
> Language school
In you situation, I wouldn’t really consider it. Instead either do Japanese studies while doing work or grad school.
> maybe I’ll be relatively old
“We all have two lives. The second life starts when you realise you only have one.” 🙂