I know ALTs are hated on here so I will just get it out there that yes, I was on the JET Program for 1 year. Roast me all you want. Having said that, I realized how much of a dead end job it is career wise and left as soon as my contract ended. Joining JET right out of college has kind of fucked me though because now I have no marketable skills or job history. I have passed the N2 but that really has no bearing in a country where Japanese is the default language. It’s at best the bare minimum.
My major was in business administration management. I’ve been trying to find even entry level jobs in any field but English teaching. My biggest challenge right now is changing my visa. I have met a couple people from companies that wouldn’t mind hiring even as part time but the instructor visa category is really trash and no one wants to touch that with a 10 foot pole. Realistically what are my options for someone who has no job history and minimum level Japanese?
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Why would you leave JET before figuring out what you want to do and before finding another job?
>Realistically what are my options for someone who has no job history and minimum level Japanese?
Go home learn some skills, get some experience and come back?
If you have the money you can change into a student visa and go to uni here.
>I know ALTs are hated on here so I will just get it out there that yes, I was on the JET Program for 1 year. Roast me all you want.
Hey, calm down. People aren’t gonna start shitting on you just because you’re an ALT. No need to come in here loaded for bear.
Anyway, I’m in the same boat as you. What I recommend doing in the meantime is registering with Hellowork. Even if you don’t find your job through them, they’ll at least lay out some options for you and give you a good idea of what many companies want. They’ll also work with you and see if there are any skills/experience you may have that you can leverage. Another great thing is that they’ll help you write a CV and you can do mock interviews with them. That should help get the ball rolling
You can get a special permission to engage in activities outside your visa. You have to write why but seems like not finding work us a good enough reason.
So, I don’t get it? You shit on yourself for no reason and now you’re expecting others to respect you?
First of all, get rid of that shitty attitude, that’s 100000% why you’re having trouble. The “Instructor” visa means nothing. Any worthwhile job will help you change to the status you need. If they aren’t willing to help, (it’s literally filling out 2 short pages), they probably aren’t going to be a good employer.
I did 5 years on JET, improved myself and my skills immensely, which got me a direct hire job at a city hall doing international relations (similar to but not quite CIR) and now I do medical stuff. JET is only a waste of time if you made it that way yourself. I did all the CLAIR stuff, went to conferences, was asked to do presentations at the JET Orientation in Tokyo, ran AJET stuff, etc. All skills that helped me get a good job immediately after finishing my last day on JET.
I also took the step of doing all of this before finishing JET… seems silly to just quit JET and have absolutely zero plans. Should have renewed your contract while looking for other stuff.
Smart people ride out JET and build skills during their downtime, and get a decent job secured before leaving.
I know of plenty of jobs in factories, which is realistically all you’ll be able to get.
Salary is shit, but the work is not going to dry up anytime soon. Plenty of overtime available.
Your Japnese will get better (if you put in the effort), and you won’t have to worry about your contract not being renewed (like most ALTs year to year).
You won’t get a job in Japan doing “business administration management”.
Wait, so you did JET right out of college for one year, and you now think you’re fucked? I’m assuming your 23 or 24? You’ll be fine.
There might not be an easy and fast path to the exact job or visa you want, but nobody cares if a 24 year old doesn’t have “job history”. Half of them haven’t worked anything but shitty part time jobs, even if you don’t want to do it long term teacher is an actual job. If you’re effectively fresh out of college, a lot of companies will expect you to be half useless to start and then train you.
The fact that you did JET isn’t going to automatically get you interviews and a great paying job, but it isn’t completely useless experience either. In addition, it is documented proof that you can live in Japan for a whole year without committing any crimes or starving to death. Don’t just ignore that. Its relevant to a company’s willingness to hire you and to immigration’s willingness to give you a visa.
You are right that having a different visa is better, but something like 技術・人文知識・国際業務 is quite broad and widely applicable. A lot of companies could write you a job description that would fit in its scope. Your business degree is something resembling 人文知識. Your N2 and experience abroad qualify you for some varieties of 国際業務. I of course can’t guarantee this will work, but its certainly within the realm of possible.
Make sure that companies know that they aren’t your sponsor, they just have to give you a contract that you can show to immigration that will prove they give you enough money to live off of and will be within the legal scope of your visa.
As for where to work, Japanese and foreign could both have benefits. Established Japanese companies, especially ones with a significant amount of employees, capital, turnover, and history, offering you a work contract (*particularly* if you can convince them to designate you 正社員) could have a lot of weight with immigration. Foreign companies will likely have significant operations in English and will also have some experience in handling foreign workers.
It at least sounds like there are places willing to give you a job? Do they like you enough to give you a livable 新卒 salary and think you could function in their company with English and N2 Japanese? You can hire an immigration lawyer to help fill out forms and compile supporting documents if you don’t know how to do it.
As a piece of general advice, if you have an active instructor visa, don’t outright dismiss the possibility that you teach short term to pay the bills and keep you residency status above board. Sometimes jobs don’t need to be a dream job. If you think its “below you” or whatever and that leads you to be broke, unemployed, and flailing, it doesn’t help you in short, medium, or long term.
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I will warn you though, don’t assume that everything will definitely work out and you will both find a job and get a visa. Keep in mind that this isn’t because you “fucked up”, but because Japan doesn’t have the most liberal immigrations policies to begin with and you’re here without a plan in place. You may need to switch to a student visa and enroll in a school (a language school would be happy to get you a student visa if you pay tuition, and that could pump your N2 up to N1 or better). You may need to go back home and get a job there for a while.
My first job after teaching English was proofreading documentation at an electronics company. Japanese reading skills weren’t required – just conversational Japanese OK – the main thing they wanted was ‘native English’ for the proofreading. Product manuals, building signage, research thesis on semiconductors, a book about the history of tennis in Japan (!), you name it, I proofread it. Explore all the avenues, contact all the recruiters, get yourself a professional looking profile on LinkedIn, put the word out through friends, something will come along if you get yourself out there. Good luck.
I can’t believe it’s been 3 full days that we’ve had no questions on this subject.
wait I don’t get it. you majored in business administration management and presumably graduated since I think you need a degree for JET? so then how can you say you have no marketable skills? what did you do and learn during your studies? how did your degree not give you marketable skills?
When I was in your situation, I went for 販売 jobs.
I sold clothes to rich obasans, improved my Japanese A LOT.
It was only when I became good at Japanese was when I was considered for 営業, which gave me a bit of stability and a more solid career path.
Imagine giving a fuck about what people in this sub think about you…
Comparing your life to others is a guaranteed path to disappointment. Be happy with your choices, and if you enjoy teaching, own it.
Your mistake was leaving JET before you had any kind marketable skills. Go back to English teaching and get some skills in your free time. Or go back to school and get some skills. A degree in business administration management won’t get you a job in Japan that will sponsor your visa. There are millions of Japanese who can do that job better because they are fluent in Japanese.
JET is the perfect job. When I was an ALT I usually only worked a few hours a day and had tons of free time to do whatever I wanted. Use that time to get certifications, job skills, whatever.