Is this plan crazy?

7 comments

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

   —

   **Is this plan crazy?**

   Background info:
   I’ve been learning Japanese for a year and I’m at A2-2 level right now. During this year, I have met many Japanese exchange students who I could talk to during tandems and other activities through University. Thus I could practice speaking and talking Japanaese *a lot*. It’s also where I met my Japanese girlfriend, who now moved back to Japan. I recently graduated (computer science) and now have a fairly well paying job. I still attend my japanese classes and meet Japanese students. I spent August in Japan for language school.
   With this background information in mind, do you think it would be crazy to aim moving to Japan for a 5 year working visa in winter next year? I’m still young (23 right now) and want to try it out before I get to comfortable in my daily routines. What, aside from improving my Japanese, should I be aware of?

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2. You can’t “move to japan with a 5 year working visa”. You get a job offer and then the government issues the visa. The length of the visa is totally up to immigration.

   If you graduated CS, then you’re in a good spot. If you know some japanese, you’re in a better spot. Keep learning your Japanese, keep increasing your skills.

3. You’ll prob take a hit to your salary. Around a 30% cut.

   The duration of your visa is unpredictable- you could get a 1 year, you could get a 5. I wouldn’t bank on getting a 5 right off the bat as anecdotally it seems most people get 1 or 3 (speaking from experience). Basically each time you go to renew your visa it’s up to the immigration gods to decide the length of your visa.

   You would also need to start polishing your resume using a Japanese template and aiming for a JLPT N2 equivalent if you want to squeeze into the upcoming hiring cycle. Most companies send headhunters to unis or go through recruiters and hire between December – March with start times from March – May. Or you could see if you could get into a US based company with a branch in Japan (the pay is much higher and you have more time off, caveat is these positions are unicorns and require mid-senior level experience)

   Next winter is probably too close of a timeline, especially since it seems you just started at your current company not too long ago (< 3years); I would caution you to be a bit more flexible with dates and salaries and also ask yourself why you want to move to Japan. What does a job in Japan offer that you don’t/can’t have right now? Are you willing to make the trade off? What is your backup plan should working in Japan not pan out?

4. Your plan is somewhat realistic, but a few things to clear up.

   1. You will be taking a pay cut working a CS job here.

   2. You won’t just magically get a 5 year visa. This all depends on your company, government, etc. but assuming you find a company to hire and sponsor you, you will have no issues reapplying.

   Other than that it’s a fairly decent plan

5. I think you could absolutely get a job here, just as others have said, salary and career progression might be slowed because of less jobs for non natives vs native speakers and of course falling yen value and lower salaries are a thing here but I think you’ll still live pretty comfortably, rent and cost of living in Tokyo is way cheaper than big cities in the US.

6. Check out this page when you start your job search:

   [japan-dev.com](https://www.japan-dev.com)

   You can filter by companies that will sponsor a visa, tech stack, Japanese level and so on.

7. It’s a great plan. Out of all the ways to emigrate Japan this is one of the most feasible other than teaching.

   Computer science is a field with strong demand for foreigners in Japan and I know quite a few foreigners employed in technology fields. Others have posted good watch-outs in their comments. It won’t be easy, but it will definitely be a rewarding experience.

   Its always good to start now by talking to recruiters and get an understanding of who’s hiring including their technical initiatives and willingness to sponsor.

   Good luck.