I was homeschooled, spent my 20s traveling the world, and after living for 4 months in Tokyo, it’s the only place I can see myself growing old or dying.
However, I’ve never worked, and my lifestyle makes the prospect of taking 6 month every year vacations to Japan attractive. I receive a disability pension which is just enough to live in Tokyo. And I can spend the rest of my time in Taipei, Seoul, or with partners in Europe. Despite that, I’m extremely drawn to Tokyo, and I’ve been in the process of applying to a language school for 2 years. I’ve decided that I want to spend 6 more months in Japan before proceeding with that.
When I was last in Japan, someone who was doing very well for themselves had mentioned going to 専門学校 offhand. I just randomly remembered that and did some research. I’m now wondering if spending 2 years at a vocational school may be better than spending 2 years at a language school. I’m physically clumsy, have no sense for art, and am not prepared to study STEM, so being an office worker and doing secretarial or clerical work is the only career pathway I would consider. It seems like there are vocational schools with programs specialised for that: https://www.neec.ac.jp/department/it/business/secretary/
Would completing a course such as that allow for a work visa in Japan, even without a bachelors degree? I have read with mixed results that a 専門学校 diploma or senmoshi obtained in Japan is sufficient to replace a bachelor’s degree, but I’m unsure which schools offer that, whether it’s really required, and whether clerical work would be an allowed pathway.
4 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
—
**Senmon gakkou 専門学校 instead of language school?**
I was homeschooled, spent my 20s traveling the world, and after living for 4 months in Tokyo, it’s the only place I can see myself growing old or dying.
However, I’ve never worked, and my lifestyle makes the prospect of taking 6 month every year vacations to Japan attractive. I receive a disability pension which is just enough to live in Tokyo. And I can spend the rest of my time in Taipei, Seoul, or with partners in Europe. Despite that, I’m extremely drawn to Tokyo, and I’ve been in the process of applying to a language school for 2 years. I’ve decided that I want to spend 6 more months in Japan before proceeding with that.
When I was last in Japan, someone who was doing very well for themselves had mentioned going to 専門学校 offhand. I just randomly remembered that and did some research. I’m now wondering if spending 2 years at a vocational school may be better than spending 2 years at a language school. I’m physically clumsy, have no sense for art, and am not prepared to study STEM, so being an office worker and doing secretarial or clerical work is the only career pathway I would consider. It seems like there are vocational schools with programs specialised for that: https://www.neec.ac.jp/department/it/business/secretary/
Would completing a course such as that allow for a work visa in Japan, even without a bachelors degree? I have read with mixed results that a 専門学校 diploma or senmoshi obtained in Japan is sufficient to replace a bachelor’s degree, but I’m unsure which schools offer that, whether it’s really required, and whether clerical work would be an allowed pathway.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/movingtojapan) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you’re planning on only spending six months of the year in Japan your problem is not a degree, or a senmon gakko, or a language school. Your problem is ***getting a job***, and thus getting a visa.
No company is going to hire a clerical worker who’s only going to be around for 6 months. Nor will they retain an employee who tries to take 6 months worth of vacation.
If you already speak Japanese then yes the senmon gakko is probably better. If not, you’ll need language school first, then senmon gakko.
If you go to senmongakkou,you become elegible for a work visa,but it’s a different visa than the one for people with bachelor’s degrees.People with a BA have basically no restrictions when it comes to the type of work, when you have a senmonshi, you can only work in areas related to the ones you studied during the course.
And if you want to apply directly to senmongakkou they will probably ask you a for a JLPT N2.