a Master student here going through the regular japanese job hunting process (就活) which was brutal without understanding japanese.
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Anyway
I received a job offer as an engineer from a Japanese company. Although I don’t speak Japanese and I have no experience, they’ve presented the following terms:-
In the first year, the annual income will be 3.9 million JPY.-
From the second year, with the inclusion of bonuses, my income will increase to 5.2 million JPY.-
This does not include bonuses from frequent overseas business trips, which they have mentioned.
Is this a good offer? should I be happy with it and stop looking? what say you?
23 comments
Yes that’s quite good and be happy you got a job offer in the first place, as you said shuukatsu with no japanese is brutal. This is a no brainer to accept. 5.2 with bonus is really good for new grad.
If you think you can do better despite no japanese there is no harm to continue to job hunt. You can always renege on the offer tho avoid this as much as possible.
In any case not accepting is foolish
It looks like 320k ish per month with 4 month bonus comes to exactly 5.2m. It’s a bit slightly suspiciously high for master 新卒. Make sure to check for if minashi zangyo is included in that amount.
It sounds like a good offer, but it’s important to consider all of your options before making a decision. Do some research on other companies that are hiring engineers, and compare their offers to see what’s the best fit for you. You should also think about your long-term goals and what kind of career you want to have. If you’re interested in working in Japan long-term, this offer could be a good way to get started. However, if you’re not sure if you want to stay in Japan, you may want to consider other options that offer more flexibility.
You are lucky to have received a job offer. At this point you should accept unless you have better prospects in the pipeline.
In 5 or 10 years when your Japanese and engineering skills are better, you will have more options. Right now, it’s about getting your foot in the door. A lot of people aren’t as fortunate as you.
If it’s a well known company then absolutely take that offer and stop looking.
If it’s not a well known company then still take the offer, but keep looking.
ive read bad experiences with “promises of pay increase after xx years” so I would double check with any Alumni/people from linked in you can contact with
No Japanese and new grad? Yea I’d take it no problem.
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Good and bad depends on personal opinion. I had a similar offer from Hitachi Limited straight out of masters and no job experience. But I was also considered 正社員. I am not sure if your situation is the same or as a contract worker.
As a new employee (and if you work for a Japanese company), you will typically expect about that income. I am sure you could probably make double or more in another country (say the US) or with some additional job experience.
We all have our reasons for being in Japan. If you are happy with that salary and can accept working in a Japanese environment, I would say go for it! (At least in the short term.)
You can always change jobs later. If you do decide to get international work or study experience (like an MBA) it could put you in a competitive place and perhaps support other opportunities in Japan someday
You may end up with slightly less than they mentioned 3.8 and 5.0 or so, but still pretty decent. They will train your Japanese, will send you on trips to other countries, build your resume, explain to you how to work for a Japanese company. Just go with the flow and focus on one extra skill (get JLPT N1 for example or some other certificates) After 2-3 years you should be able to jump ship if your salary/workstyle is not what you want. (There are definitely benefits to staying as well if you like it.)
Read the fine print. Bonuses are not usually given for an overseas trip, after omiyage, etc., you end up losing money.
Yo, like others have said this is good but I’m interested when you say engineering.
DM me if you’re interested to hear more. For ref, when I started 新卒 at 23 offer was at 6M (exempt) for a foreign company. Engineers is such a rare breed these days I’m actually having a hard time hiring. This is for Automotive engineering related position.
How big is the company?
I suppose the real questions are “What are your other options?” and “What are your financial obligations and living costs?”
The salary you mentioned is enough for a single adult to live in a small apartment in Tokyo. It is not high. For an engineer in the USA, it is extremely low. But Japan has low salaries.
5.2M from the second year is more fitting for a new grad engineer in Tokyo. 3.9M is rather low, but the norm for a Japanese company.
If you have no other offer, take it.
But you will very soon be able to get the same or even more without the scammy bonus system. Just 6M pure salary split into 12 months. But the current IT market is harsh and many lost their jobs. So take your chances and focus on improving your skills.
Take it, it is not a bad offer for someone without Japanese. Like others have said, this is your foot in the door. You can grow at this company from zero and have even better options in the future. Wishing you all the best!
If you do end up taking it, id recommend to look for a better paying job in 3 – 5 years and probably looking for a foreign company personally but do what you prefer.
My husband only got his undergrad, entered a typical japanese company, hated it and went job hunting 3 years later. Got 3 companies fighting for him and ended up going from something like 3.6 million to 7.5 million, raising to 8 million in his second year and still room to increase (absolutely insane jump but part of it is because we had to move from Osaka to Tokyo and another part of it was the fact that 3 companies wanted him and he leveraged that so they were trying to outbid each other) and is way happier in his current job since Japanese companies, he says, are inefficient and yell at you for shit that literally isn’t your fault and that you have no power to control (like the actions of others).
So just getting a bit of experience should set you up nicely. As someone with a masters in engineering, I’d assume your options should be quite nice too especially if you pick up some japanese. I should note my husband primarily uses English at his job (he’s Japanese, so the work environment just prefers it) and I think his boss doesn’t speak Japanese at all.
So yeah, take the job but I personally think you should be looking for better in a few years.
New grad, no brainer to accept it unless you have something better in the pipeline. Consider it a cheap internship and a chance to learn Japanese because they know you don’t have Japanese skill now. Work hard at learning and it will pay off later.
If it’s permanent employment (seishain (正社員)) get that shit locked in for now at least. My first job was contract-to-contract and when the shit hit the fan with the pandemic they decided to just not renew. Everything else sounds pretty reasonable for starting.
If you are a software engineer I think you should consider other options, that’s a bit low, even without experience.
If you are risk averse, just go with the job presented to you unless there are some red flags and you think it’ll hurt your career and have a bad WLB.
Depends on a few things. What kind of engineering job is it? Do you have any work experience at all? Where are you located (Tokyo or another big city or somewhere in the country)? Is it a large company or not? Are they offering any kind of housing assistance? etc
In my line of work (software engineering), this kind of compensation would be kinda low even for someone with no experience at all. It would be possible to get a better offer from startups or other smaller businesses (as a general rule, the pay at large Japanese corps is absolute bottom of the barrel).
This is a great offer for someone with zero Japanese. I’ve also taken a similar offer recently however double the salary and a management position (mid hire). Like yourself my Japanese is null (N4).
I can manage a brief basic conversation so I was surprised to discover the company I applied for was willing to hire international experience to teach them technical skills (mechanical engineering specifically refrigeration / aircon).
like other commenters mentioned it’s a foot in the door. To prove yourself useful is the main point here. Most new hires start around 2.5mil/ year so pat yourself on the back and take the offer!
That’s good for shinsotu, a lot of shinsotsu salaries tend to be 2~2.5 mil a year. 5 mill can go a long way in Japan if you’re not in Tokyo as well. If your Japanese is that bad then yes you should be glad you have a job in the first place.
How do get a job without knowing Japanese ? Most job required them even in my field. What engineering are you in right now?