Hi all,
Looking for some advice here. My current plan before the end of the year is to take a break from my current role as a Software Developer/DevOps Engineer and go to a language school in Korea or Japan. Currently I’m leaning towards Japan but I am still looking at Korea. For the last few years with Covid and lockdowns I’ve been situated as is, just working away. I’m currently fully remote and I was planning early last year to do a few months in another country in Europe while working remote, but I ended up doing a part time post-grad course which has just ended.
I’ve applied to Yamasa Institute for the October start. With the current plan to do their Japanese language course for at least 6 months. By the time it comes around to October I’d expect to have over €40000. I want to try living in another country, and I think learning the language is an important part of this. There’s no plan to stay or look for work after the course unless I really enjoy my time over there.
Some questions:
* I’ve asked friends of mine in the Software industry, and they think a 6 month sabbatical should be fine. I think this should also be asked here.
* Is €40000 enough for 6 months or even a year in Japan?
* If I enjoy it there, is there a possibility to find a job in software – is switching from a Student Visa easy? If not that is fine.
The alternative to this plan, is to look at buying a house. Although this is a big commitment, and likely would blow through all my savings. I’m just wondering if I might have some regret down the line of not trying to live in another country.
5 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Language School + Sabbatical**
Hi all,
Looking for some advice here. My current plan before the end of the year is to take a break from my current role as a Software Developer/DevOps Engineer and go to a language school in Korea or Japan. Currently I’m leaning towards Japan but I am still looking at Korea. For the last few years with Covid and lockdowns I’ve been situated as is, just working away. I’m currently fully remote and I was planning early last year to do a few months in another country in Europe while working remote, but I ended up doing a part time post-grad course which has just ended.
I’ve applied to Yamasa Institute for the October start. With the current plan to do their Japanese language course for at least 6 months. By the time it comes around to October I’d expect to have over €40000. I want to try living in another country, and I think learning the language is an important part of this. There’s no plan to stay or look for work after the course unless I really enjoy my time over there.
Some questions:
* I’ve asked friends of mine in the Software industry, and they think a 6 month sabbatical should be fine. I think this should also be asked here.
* Is €40000 enough for 6 months or even a year in Japan?
* If I enjoy it there, is there a possibility to find a job in software – is switching from a Student Visa easy? If not that is fine.
The alternative to this
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€40K (¥5.7mill) will be enough probably anywhere in Japan as long as you don’t go crazy and pay a ton for an apartment (with a job, possible; as a student, avoid).
For the student visa, depending on the length of the course, you need to prove you have at least a certain amount of income from the last 2 years + savings (or someone to sponsor you who meets the requirements). For a year and a half, ¥2mill yen savings and an income of at least ¥2mill a year for the last 2 years. So for 6 months/one year I expect no issues with over ¥5mill.
Finding a job as a software engineer in Japan with decent experience is not impossible and sometimes doesn’t even require Japanese. Check out japandev for more info. If you ask me, try to find a job first and see if they’ll sponsor your language lessons.
But experiencing Japan as a language student will be a lot less stressful and more fun no doubt!
English teachers get paid half that for a whole year, so yes you will be fine.
switching to a work visa from a student visa is very easy.
>The alternative to this plan, is to look at buying a house. Although this is a big commitment, and likely would blow through all my savings.
Buying a house does **not** convey any residence/visa status in Japan. Thus you cannot buy a house and expect to live in Japan for any longer than a tourist visa (waiver) which is 180 days in a 12 month period. Additionally, getting a housing loan is nearly impossible without [permanent residency](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/wiki/visas).
> • I’ve asked friends of mine in the Software industry, and they think a 6 month sabbatical should be fine. I think this should also be asked here.
Yes, though you may want to look for a new job regardless. Why go to a language school? Don’t you want to use Japanese in your daily life? There are plenty of SWE jobs that involve dealing with Japanese coworkers or clients.
> • Is €40000 enough for 6 months or even a year in Japan?
You could live excessively and luxuriously for 6 months. Or mildly frugally for a year.
> • If I enjoy it there, is there a possibility to find a job in software – is switching from a Student Visa easy? If not that is fine.
Yes, it is common