Hello,
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I am an international university student that is going to graduate this May. I recently accepted an offer to join Rakuten as an applications engineer, and I have a few questions about moving to Japan and Rakuten in general.
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From what I have seen online, working hours and culture differ from team to team. What is the probability that I get placed in a good team as a recent grad? In other words, Do most teams have good managers that maintain a healthy culture?
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Regarding housing, my recruiter informed me that there is an employee dormitory that is similar to sharehouses for 85k yen per month (bills included). Would anyone who has lived/currently living there recommend that I choose that over a normal apartment? Also, After deducting taxes and rent, I will be left with around 160k yen, is that enough to live comfortably in Tokyo?
4 comments
>In other words, Do most teams have good managers that maintain a healthy culture?
“Healthy culture” is not a phrase that’s typically associated with Rakuten, in any team or department.
>there is an employee dormitory that is similar to sharehouses for 85k yen per month (bills included)
That’s quite expensive for a dormitory. You can get an actual sharehouse in Tokyo for 40-60k.
>After deducting taxes and rent, I will be left with around 160k yen, is that enough to live comfortably in Tokyo?
That depends on your definition of “comfortably”. That’s not a huge amount of money. You won’t starve (assuming you don’t eat out every night), but you won’t be living it large in Roppongi every weekend either.
I have never heard good things about Rakuten. My advice is to use that first job as a stepping stone. Start applying to better companies with higher pay after a year.
I honestly think that Rakuten is overhated. Just like most people on this sub, I’ve heard a lot of bad things about them, but the people I know that actually worked there all said the company is so so, not great but not that bad. Personally, I’ve interviewed there, and while their offer was nothing to write home about, it’s honestly not all that bad. In my opinion they are middle of the pack, an ok stepping stone. And I always chuckle when someone says they are the worst employer in Japan.
But I and most of my circle are not from developed countries, so perhaps our standard is lower.
>From what I have seen online, working hours and culture differ from team to team. What is the probability that I get placed in a good team as a recent grad? In other words, Do most teams have good managers that maintain a healthy culture?
This is a coin flip and anyone providing you an answer is guessing. There is no way to know until you are there. Manager and team members change all the time. Not to mention working dynamic between people varies greatly. Good luck!
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>After deducting taxes and rent, I will be left with around 160k yen, is that enough to live comfortably in Tokyo?
Depends on your level of comfort. If you’re someone that like to go clubbing, eating out often, and hitting up a maidcafe every week, then probably not.