Recently Graduated and Wanting to Move to Japan But Need Advice

19 comments

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

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   **Recently Graduated and Wanting to Move to Japan But Need Advice**

   Hi everyone,

   I just finished a summer study abroad program in Japan with my original goal to complete my minor in Japanese. Unfortunately, I did not earn enough credits and I had to graduate as soon as my program finished due to several personal reasons. After returning to the U.S, I have now graduated with my BA in Cybersecurity, and I have also achieved an associate in Business Administration.

   Now what? For various reasons, I really don’t like living in the U.S and I want to plan my future to be in Japan long-term. I have made it my goal to try to move to Japan within a year, but I don’t know what to do.

   I have tried applying to jobs in the U.S to save up money while I look for work within Japan, but even that is proving to be challenging as many entry level jobs here want years of experience, certifications, connections, and or internship experience. I have none of those. From what I have researched in the past, I like that Japanese companies care more about where you go to school rather than your experience. Even though I graduated, I don’t have any skills and I don’t have any idea what I am good at. Jobs in the U.S don’t have patience for people like me.

   Besides my current struggle, I am trying to decide which option is the best for working in Japan with my current background: work for a Japanese company or work for a U.S company in Japan.

   If I work for a Japanese company, I worry about the lower pay and the quality of life. However, being hired and trained would be easier depending on the company. As of now, I am around N3 level of Japanese so I still have much more room for improvement.

   If I work for an American company in Japan, then I have to somehow get hired by one when it’s already been very competitive within the U.S, and I lack a lot of qualifications many jobs want. I also do not know if I would receive healthcare in Japan if I work for a foreign company.

   I am also going to apply for the JET program as that is a very common pathway for foreigners to move to Japan and receive a Visa. But JET isn’t a long-term goal and it is not guaranteed I will be accepted.

   My advisors from my university have recommended me to work at least 2 years in the U.S to build up my experience, but I want to get out as soon as possible. I am not even sure if I will enjoy a job in the Cyber field so I will take anything I can sustain with.

   Please help me with any advice and direction you have. Thank you so much.

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2. If you can’t get a job in your home country what makes you think you can get one in japan where you’re even more disadvantaged. Your career advisors are right but if you want career suicide throw away the potential career in csec and do English teaching.

3. As you have correctly heard, the work culture in Japan is tough. I’m currently working in Japan and it’s been pretty rough trying to fit in. I graduated from a Japanese language school thinking I would be all set to hit the ground running. I wasn’t, I still struggle to understand what my coworkers are saying in Japanese because they speak the colloquial language not found in textbooks or the words are so technical I don’t understand them. Also, I definitely get treated like an outsider, that kind of wears on you after awhile.

   Would not recommend trying to find work with a Japanese company for reasons stated previously.

   I would absolutely recommend the JET program if you’re serious about living here. The few westerners that I have seen speaking truly good Japanese were JET scholars.

   Other recommendation would be to work for an American company in Japan as an expat. But this will require years of experience in an industry in the US.

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7. Here’s my two cents. First off, starting a career in your home country is tough and trying to start a career in a foreign country as a foreigner is tougher. Based upon my personal experience as well as discussion with others, foreign work opportunities are limited but not impossible. You will need to look for opportunities with large multi-nationals, such as Nissan, P&G, etc. My wife’s friend’s husband did a job rotation with Nissan between Nashville and Yokohama, but ultimately moved back to the US after his 2 year rotation. As for the JET program, it is a great opportunity to work in Japan or 2-3 years, but based upon my limited pool of people who went through the program (~10 people), none of them ended up living long-term in Japan. As others have highlighted, your best bet is to build your work experience in your home country, do an amazing job, and find opportunities within your company in Japan. Just make sure your employer has an office in Japan.

8. I agree with the career advisors – suck up a year or two in a job in your field, then jump over. Entry level jobs in Japan are stupidly underpaid, and no one really wants to hire entry-level foreigners who probably aren’t going to stick around.

   For reference – that’s not what I did at all. I went and taught English in Japan straight out of university, then tried to find a software development job. Didn’t find one and eventually went home. Had a good time, but if you’re planning a forever-move, I wouldn’t recommend it. Also, N3 is nowhere near enough.

   If you want to take a year out to do JET, that’s probably fine, but the goal should be to avoid being stuck in a dead-end job as an English teacher with no real qualifications. I would advise not risking that – but also, do whatever you like it’s your life.

9. No matter what, this is going to take longer than just this year.

   The Japanese hiring season is in the spring, starting about one year before students graduate from university. They get a job lined up so that the second they graduate they have work. You did not do this, and it is now moving into off season for hiring in Japan. Very difficult, especially for someone who doesn’t have N2 or N1. You will probably have more luck in the spring if you want to get hired by a Japanese company (set to begin the following spring), however you’d be a year past when they’d be thinking you would have done this and you won’t be in Japan anymore which is also a disadvantage. Since you don’t have job experience, you’re still going with the new graduate (新卒) route. You can apply now but don’t expect the same kind of response you would have had in the spring. Some companies will still have spots left this year (job starting in April) but based on what you wrote, the deck is stacked against you at the moment.

   It would probably be easier and better overall to get a job at a U.S. company and transfer to Japan within the company. If the company doesn’t operate in Japan, then Japanese companies would likely want to see a minimum of three years of work experience at one company to be able to go the regular 転職 (mid-level job change) path. It would also give you more time to get at least N2 level Japanese.

   You could also consider getting a master’s degree in Japan starting in the spring, do that and try to get N2 in that amount of time, and job hunt properly as a new graduate after your first year of the degree. Degrees are cheaper in Japan than in the USA.

   You’re gonna want to make sure you know what you’re signing up for though. Good luck.

10. Try to work at some Japanese company in US first ! Nintando might be one of your choices. Once you have 1-2 years of experience then you will have a higher chance to work in Japan.

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12. I wouldn’t rush it. Start in the US, get experience, and work your way over to Japan in a few years. I say this as someone who had nearly 10 years exp in my field before I moved to Japan— the job I have now is the best job I’ve ever had & I love it so much. Getting through daily life in Japan can be difficult for foreigners, especially those with limited Japanese, and if I had a shitty job on top of it I think I would have had a nervous breakdown 😅 it’s hard to enjoy the place you live, even if it’s somewhere like Japan, if you’re spending 45 hours + every week in a miserable job (and yes some jobs require more than that, especially when you consider commutes, etc).

    Get a job in the US, ideally in your field or one where you can move into your field after some exp. In your free time, work on your Japanese and getting whatever skills/certs/qualifications will make you more competitive. After a few years of this you’ll be in a much better position to make the move!

13. I worked 3.5 years in Singapore (home country) at a Japanese company before I transferred to Japan. I was 30 going on 31 by then (military service + masters degree). Moving to Japan within a year is a bit unrealistic, like what many have already said. I also interviewed at Japanese companies based in Tokyo before settling on one in Singapore, and even then I continued to keep my options open.

    3.5 years was a long time to wait before I finally got transferred but it turned out to be the most straightforward path. Oh yea, and try to get N1 before you even move to Japan. I’d say it’s the bare minimum and still I had a lot of learning to do.

    I left the company and now work at a different one. Been here in Tokyo (and partly Chiba) since 2016. Let me know if you need further advice.

14. Best advice is always:

    1.Find a job in your own country and excel at it.
    2. Learn Japanese during that time.
    3. Apply for a job in Japan.
    4. ????
    5. Profit.

15. Although I have no advice, thought I’d say my thanks for making this post. I want to get out of the US too, but I was still unsure. This post along with the comments are very imformative. Thanks.

16. As someone in the cybersecurity field (currently went back to school for my MS) who one day plans to work in Japan for a few years. You will have virtually zero chance in getting a job in Japan with no experience. Not trying to crush your dreams but just being realistic with you. You will first need 2-4 years experience minimum before any Japanese companies (or international) will sponsor your visa in Japan. Additionally you will need ideally N2 for a international company and N1 (w/ the ability to discuss complex security terms in Japanese) for a non international company.

    Now unfortunately cybersecurity is notoriously known for not being an entry level job so finding your first job will be rather hard, but just keep applying and you will get there.

    Lastly if you are dead set on Japan, there is a way you may be able to get there sooner than 2-4 years, and that is the US federal goverment. There are security jobs on Military bases in Japan as well as third party defense contractor around Tokyo but this requires a security clearance (I. E. You haven’t done drugs [at least in the past 1-2 yrs] , have decent credit, and no criminal history). But these typically also require experience. What I would recommend is going on Usajobs.Gov look at federal cybersecurity jobs, see if there are any in Japan if not just look for any that seem interesting. Once you start working for the federal goverment it will be way easier for you to transition to a position overseas. Additionally security federal jobs rely way more on education so they are easier to break into compared to the private sector which values experience.

    If you have any questions feel free to ask.

17. Hey! Recent grad here (N2 and graduated from japanese uni) and working in Japan as a UIUX. So i am going to be honest with you since I also used to intern in a company working to connect foreign students and japanese companies.

    I can only advice you few things:
    -get N2 or possible N1 (N3 is nothing, they wouldn’t even look at it) most companies asks for native japanese level
    – gain more experience in America while study Japanese
    -get scouted in linkedin or do networking ( my colleague has less than one year of working and got invited, he also cant speak Japanese) he’s an engineer atm in a startup. But this is super rare (the only reason he got in is he used to work with the current lead engineer in another country (key: networking))
    -think about what u can offer (if u work bus admin here with no experience, u would need to be able to speak japanese. Why hire u when there are japanese with business background etc), cybersecurity would work the best tbh

18. Its hot af in summer

19. Hmmm I wouldn’t think of going to Japan as “finding a better life.” I think a lot of people set themselves up for disappointment in that regard. The only real lucrative markets you will be able to get hired from overseas -> Japan is if you have a degree in IT or experience (and also a degree) for teaching English; or if you are a translator. Like others have said, if you barely have professional experience under your belt in your own country, that’s going to be severely held against you in Japan. Don’t rush-work on a set of skills now while you save up and continue to study the language so you have something solid you can offer in the future. You don’t want to just grab any menial job, end up broke and miserable in Japan and have to go home and start over. I highly recommend doing research on the career fields in high need in Japan and polish those skills because even when you’re ready, you will be up against hundreds of other applicants. Best of luck!