Hi all, apologies if this kind of post has been uploaded a lot lately, but I’ve been doing a fair amount of research and am still undecided.
As the title indicates, I’m a pharmacist. Just hit 30 with 8 years of working experience in a community setting (majority geriatric population) and hospital administration. I have the bachelor’s degree for it and a license to practise in my home country. I’ve been taking online Japanese classes and my Japanese is at about N5-N4 level.
My reason for moving is that I would like to work or study abroad for life experience. Also frankly looking to escape my country’s tropical climate lmao. I’ve always liked temperate weather and having been to Japan three times pre-pandemic I feel right at home there (the caveat is that I haven’t experienced Japanese summers yet; I’ve read on how bad those can get).
My dilemma is that I’m unsure of whether I should try to find a job there, or apply to do postgraduate studies in a related field. My main concern is that it will be a futile endeavour to get a job there as a pharmacist since it will require native levels of Japanese, plus licensing exams will be near impossible to pass. However, I’ve been wondering if it’s a good idea to use my degree to apply to a pharmaceutical company and tough it out in an office job.
The second option of postgraduate studies seems more feasible to me, but I’m worried that it will be difficult to get in because a) I didn’t exactly have a stellar GPA in uni and b) age factor. I imagine it would be difficult to get MEXT scholarship as well as competition would be high. Would love some insight from someone with postgraduate studies experience in Japan.
Thank you for your time and attention!
4 comments
If you’re American, maybe look at the military bases. I don’t know if non-military people can work as pharmacists, but it could be an option.
Otherwise, a research gig seems the most likely way. I don’t think being 30 precludes you from pursuing MEXT via a PhD or other post-grad work.
I don’t work in anything pharma related, but I have done a MEXT research scholarship. It definitely is competitive, but why not apply? Age won’t count against you unless you are over their limit— which I think was 30 when I did it, but may be 35 now? The eligibility should be easy to find on the web.
If you don’t have the best academic transcript, then compensate with the other parts of the application. Make sure your research plan or whatever is really fine tuned. Get the best letter writers for your letters of recommendation, etc. In my case I also had a professor in Japan ready and willing to work with me, so I think that helped.
Read the previous threads on “pharmaceutical” jobs and being a “pharmacist” in Japan.
* https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/search?q=pharmaceutical&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on
* https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/search?q=pharmacist&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on
I’m here now as a MEXT scholar, doing my PhD (or, rather, I will be; I’m still a “research student” for now).
My marks weren’t stellar either, and I was 30 when I applied. You have to be under the age of 35 at the time of application for a research student scholarship. I followed a ton of guides on how to fill out the best application, and spent a lot of time perfecting my research proposal. I also had the latter checked over by my master’s supervisor as well as my then potential supervisor at my university in Japan.
My field is translation studies, though, and the language pair I’m working with for my research is Japanese/English. I had a really strong argument for why it would be good for me to study in Japan.
That’s what they’re really looking for: “why Japan?”, so make sure your application reflects some passion for Japan as well as some insight into the current trends in your field within Japan.
I think you have a strong shot at the MEXT scholarship, though, if that’s what you want to do (I’m enjoying it so far), especially given your previous travels here. Good luck!