Hello everyone, I’m currently on my first trip to Japan and am loving it a lot. Coming from a third world country(India), it has been a wonderful experience.
Now to my question, I am a Software Engineer working with Android for about 3+ years. Currently in a SDE 2 position with salaries among the top 1% in my country. My country is cheap, but the taxes are high. The return on those taxes is negligible. The roads are in worse conditions, traffic is worst, pollution is at its peak.
I let go of an opportunity 2 years back to move to Japan when I got an offer from Line Fukuoka(7.5M base, 1M sign-on bonus, other benefits). Reason was covid and a similar paying job in my country with remote benefits. Not to say that I am regretting it a bit now.
Fast forward 2 years, my job is no longer remote😅. Working hours have increased, layoffs have been happening.
What do you think should be a fair compensation for someone with 3+ years experience in Android development? Can I target 10M+ since I got 7.5M 2 years back?
I will be trying for opportunities next year(2024) for something in Tokyo(other cities would also work). My Japanese level would be N5 at best, will also be focusing on that. Tech stack would be Kotlin and KMP.
4 comments
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**Android Developer looking to move to Japan**
Hello everyone, I’m currently on my first trip to Japan and am loving it a lot. Coming from a third world country(India), it has been a wonderful experience.
Now to my question, I am a Software Engineer working with Android for about 3+ years. Currently in a SDE 2 position with salaries among the top 1% in my country. My country is cheap, but the taxes are high. The return on those taxes is negligible. The roads are in worse conditions, traffic is worst, pollution is at its peak.
I let go of an opportunity 2 years back to move to Japan when I got an offer from Line Fukuoka(7.5M base, 1M sign-on bonus, other benefits). Reason was covid and a similar paying job in my country with remote benefits. Not to say that I am regretting it a bit now.
Fast forward 2 years, my job is no longer remote😅. Working hours have increased, layoffs have been happening.
What do you think should be a fair compensation for someone with 3+ years experience in Android development? Can I target 10M+ since I got 7.5M 2 years back?
I will be trying for opportunities next year(2024) for something in Tokyo(other cities would also work). My Japanese level would be N5 at best, will also be focusing on that. Tech stack would be Kotlin and KMP.
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Tokyodev has a salary survey you can use as a rough idea. The 2023 survey I think is coming soon? It closed Oct 31.
https://www.tokyodev.com/articles/software-developer-salaries-in-japan
There are a few sites you can check, like [https://www.tokyodev.com/articles/software-developer-salaries-in-japan](https://www.tokyodev.com/articles/software-developer-salaries-in-japan), [https://japan-dev.com/blog/software-developer-salaries-in-japan-the-ultimate-guide](https://japan-dev.com/blog/software-developer-salaries-in-japan-the-ultimate-guide), and [https://opensalary.jp/en/roles/software-engineer](https://opensalary.jp/en/roles/software-engineer). It looks like the median around 7.5M but given that you already got a 7.5M offer 2 years back so 10M sounds achievable to me.
It definitely depends on the company. I know of a mobile engineer who recently got an offer in Tokyo for 8.5M plus a sign on bonus for a senior mobile engineer role.
You probably need to shop around but maybe you can find 10M if you get lucky! I think there is a lot of competition so if you apply for a mobile role really try and emphasize your mobile experience and not just software in general. Have some good reference projects or something to set yourself apart. If they do a code assignment put extra effort into documentation. That’s always a plus with me.
Good luck my friend!