Questions regarding careers in Biology within Japan.

4 comments

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

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   **Questions regarding careers in Biology within Japan.**

   I am aware that working as a Biologist in Japan has been covered a number of times within this subreddit on various occasions. I have a more specific question about Biology in mind. Are only certain fields of Biology possible as a career in Japan? I have seen questions regarding Wildlife Biologists and Marine Biologists, but I have not seen questions ever asked on this subreddit regarding Herpetologists or any type of Biologist that specializes in reptiles and amphibians. I am aware that some higher education institutions in Japan work with some species of salamanders such as the Japanese Giant Salamander since I have seen documentaries before where Biologists at some specific universities are shown working with these types of salamanders. The documentaries showed the Biologists working on breeding the salamanders to release into the wild to increase the natural population but as well as managing the populations of invasive giant salamanders which are a hybrid of the Chinese Giant Salamander and the Japanese Giant Salamander. I am aware that a Master’s degree in some field of Biology such as Herpetology is likely required for these positions and a candidate likely has to enter as an entry-level position initially. I currently am in college studying with a major in Biological Sciences and was wondering if a job in herpetology is possible in Japan for me or should I find a different field of Biology to specialize in. Is there any possibility that anyone could give me some information on this type of job in Japan? Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

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2. Note: I have no direct experience with your field and you can ignore this post.

   One more note: I can give some generic advice that can apply to anyone who reads threads here or is thinking about a “can I be an XYZ in Japan” thread.

   Providing more information in your post that lets others more easily help you with the topic of “moving to Japan” is great, such as whether you have a connection to Japan (family/visa), whether you have language skills (family/study), whether you have any specific experience or background that would alter the assumptions of a generic scenario (in this case you mention being a student, but could there be anything else, such as access to study abroads through your school), and lastly (probably most important) what have you found in your own research on this topic.

   On the last point, how and where you are searching is quite important, especially for niche/specific topics such as this. Are you primarily searching in Japanese (if not, is it because this field is primarily performed in English, even in Japan)? I just threw the word 爬虫類学者 into google and got:

   http://herpetology.jp/index_j.php – Herpetological Society of Japan which has an English version, membership available, and a contact list of people you can potentially reach out to in this field

   https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q13156504533 – essentially the Japanese version of this thread with an individual asking how to be a herpretologist and getting some anecdotal advice from someone with a biology background. Not directly related to the idea of someone coming from overseas, but still gives (in my opinion) practical information on the field

   Anyway, of course from your perspective having someone who has walked to the same path as you and can share thoughts in English would be ideal, and that person just might exist on this forum. But just in case not, I hope the above helps a bit.

3. You should be researching about and contacting individual labs. Cold emails can be tough to receive a response, especially because many labs receive spam from predatory journals and fake offers. Make sure your emails are professional and to the point. Send a follow up email a week later if no response. In person meetings such as conferences and workshops are the norm for establishing connections. See if you can join some meetings in Japan. Introductions are good as well, for example, your advisor to another. It takes a while for people to warm up.

   Are only certain fields possible as a career? It depends on funding, size of that field, what the leaders of that field deem proper career moves, industry vs academia job prospects, and so on. These things change too. Try to get more insight from someone who is directly in the field(s) you’re interested in (see above paragraph). Good luck.

4. No-oppirtunity said it very well, you just need to contact labs/professors directly. Introductions and meeting people in person can only help there.

   Why not look into graduate degree programs in Japan? They are offered in English in many fields, idk specifically about biology. That will certainly provide you with the footing necessary to get a career started here. I think it’s quite difficult to be hired by a lab on a visa straight out of undergrad.