Would I even be able to move to Japan?

6 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Would I even be able to move to Japan?**

   A little context (not a sob story): My high school years were a really hard time for me. It seemed like people I loved were dying left and right and I was in a really bad mental state. I barely graduated and my GPA is under a 2.0 (I don’t know exactly what it is, I’m assuming around 1.7).

   Anyways, I want to save money to go to a Language School in Japan for a couple years, but I don’t want that to be a waste so I figured once I finish Language School I should get a job that will provide me enough money to support myself while I spend more of my life there. But the thing is, what job could I realistically even get? I highly doubt I would be accepted into any good colleges, and as far as I know, employers in Japan care more about what college you went to than how well you even did in said college.

   So yeah, I’m not sure what EXACTLY to ask, but does anyone have any advice for me?

   Thanks

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2. Forget about moving to Japan. Focus on finishing your studies, ideally try to find a job you are okay with and focus on growing your career in your own country while going to Japan for vacation instead of work.

   You don’t want to end up alone in a new country in a bad mental state which won’t pay well, especially for fresh grads and foreigners who cannot compare to natives in terms of language proficiency.

   Look for opportunities a few years into your career later on.

3. >so I figured once I finish Language School I should get a job that will provide me enough money to support myself while I spend more of my life there.

   Since you apparently don’t have a degree yet you ***can’t*** stay beyond your language school period. A degree is a requirement for basically every working visa. If you’re not eligible for a visa no one is going to hire you.

   You need to factor a university degree into your savings/education plans.

4. Finishing language school unfortunately is not enough to begin working. To qualify for a working visa, you will need a Bachelor’s degree.

   I think your odds would be the highest if you applied to community college in your area (are you from the US?) and transfer to a 4 year university. You could also learn Japanese in community college too if they offer it (mine did). That would get you a Bachelor’s degree and at bare minimum qualify you for English teaching in Japan. But if you want to do more than that, you will have to either study a more in demand field and possibly gain work experience or get your Japanese up to near native level.

   You should also be warned that Japanese language school isn’t going to automatically make you native in just 2 years. What level you can achieve ultimately depends on how much effort you put into it.

5. Your current plan is untenable, for the fact that, you haven’t provided any information about your finances. Getting a student visa in the first place requires you to have a sizable amount of money in your bank account (think, at least $15,000), and I believe that’s not counting what you actually pay for tuition.

   And *then*, you’re going to pay for college after language school? How? You can only work part time as a student, and you are all but guaranteed to spend it on living expenses throughout. Language school alone isn’t cheap, and then you want to pay for university of top of that? Where’s all this money coming from? You can’t take out a student loan as a foreigner, BTW. I’d ask if you are independently wealthy, but given your circumstances that seems unlikely.

   It’s also worth noting that language schools have zero qualms accepting people that don’t qualify for a visa when they finish language school. I was friends with a guy that finished language school near the top of his class, and was summarily deported for not being able to get a job since he lacked a degree.

6. You can definitely come to Japan. Just make a plan. You will need to hammer out that bad gpa first as your in no shape to come anytime soon.

   A year and half or so of community college focusing on gen eds should be your number one priority.

   Use this time to get a job earn some cash and start learning Japanese as well.