Hey, thanks for reading, this will be a pretty cut-and-dry /r/movingtojapan post with all the credentials dumps and naivete you’d expect. I’m really curious to hear what you think about my situation, and any help is appreciated.
I began studying Japanese in undergrad, for two semesters. Graduated with a B.A. in Economics in 2020. Then worked two jobs in IT Project Management for almost two years, while earning my M.S. in Business Analytics.
At my jobs, I worked with about 30-40% Japanese clients to secure development projects for their medical firms in Tokyo. I did not speak any Japanese in these positions and the relevance of Japan was actually quite small, but on paper, I think it sounds good to have worked with big names.
I was obsessed with Japanese language at the time, and still am, so driven by frustration and desire I dropped my job and went to a language school in Tokyo in April 2023. Picked up the JLPT N5 certification before leaving. I am still here, and will be here until December 2023. I have gotten my Japanese skills up to about N3 level, with conversational skills to match.
In a nutshell, I have:
– ~1.8 years work experience in IT Project Management
– M.S. Business Analytics
– N3-level Japanese
However… I have an exceptional distaste for project management and I’ve never been more depressed than working those jobs. They paid well and provided as much remote flexibility as I wanted, but I am just not built to be a project manager. I’m not organized or authoritative. On the other hand, I lack technical skills except for some intermediate-level Python.
I would like to return to Japan as soon as possible. In the 7 months I’ve been here, I’ve been very very happy, and have a boyfriend of 5 months to whom I would like to return. I have a lot of money in savings, and money/salary are not important to me. Just need to earn enough to live comfortably in Japan. Therefore, I have also been exploring options such as pursuing a PhD in Statistics or another form of data science. I would be especially interested in the opinions of anyone who has debated between university or continuing a career. Thanks.
Edit: Should mention I’m 25 years old and female if it matters at all.
5 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Currently attending a language school and want to put down roots**
Hey, thanks for reading, this will be a pretty cut-and-dry /r/movingtojapan post with all the credentials dumps and naivete you’d expect. I’m really curious to hear what you think about my situation, and any help is appreciated.
I began studying Japanese in undergrad, for two semesters. Graduated with a B.A. in Economics in 2020. Then worked two jobs in IT Project Management for almost two years, while earning my M.S. in Business Analytics.
At my jobs, I worked with about 30-40% Japanese clients to secure development projects for their medical firms in Tokyo. I did not speak any Japanese in these positions and the relevance of Japan was actually quite small, but on paper, I think it sounds good to have worked with big names.
I was obsessed with Japanese language at the time, and still am, so driven by frustration and desire I dropped my job and went to a language school in Tokyo in April 2023. Picked up the JLPT N5 certification before leaving. I am still here, and will be here until December 2023. I have gotten my Japanese skills up to about N3 level, with conversational skills to match.
In a nutshell, I have:
– ~1.8 years work experience in IT Project Management
– M.S. Business Analytics
– N3-level Japanese
However… I have an exceptional distaste for project management and I’ve never been more depressed than working those jobs. They paid well and provided as much remote flexibility as I wanted, but I am just not built to be a project manager. I’m not organized or authoritative. On the other hand, I lack technical skills except for some intermediate-level Python.
I would like to return to Japan as soon as possible. In the 7 months I’ve been here, I’ve been very very happy, and have a boyfriend of 5 months to whom I would like to return. I have a lot of money in savings, and money/salary are not important to me. Just need to earn enough to live comfortably in Japan. Therefore, I have also been exploring options such as pursuing a PhD in Statistics or another form of data science. I would be especially interested in the opinions of anyone who has debated between university or continuing a career. Thanks.
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> have a boyfriend of 5 months to whom I would like to return.
Japanese? If so, congratulations on your upcoming marriage and future spouse of Japanese National visa and living in Japan easily.
Do you seriously think posting this mewl to reddit will make any difference in your life? In a “nutshell” bleh.
Wow! We could be twins in another life lol.
Background:
– 3 YOE as a Data Analyst
– N3>N2 proficiency
– MS in DS
I had the same dilemma as you, but I’m a bit more hard skilled focused so I stayed as a Data Analyst. If you don’t have a niche in stats already picked out I don’t think PhD is the right path. You’ll be behind your peers who have already decided on a field in stats and have published papers as an undergrad/MS grad.
If your goal is to stay in Japan I would say get N2 and work on determining what you want to work long term as – with a MS in BA you could pivot from program management into finance or market analyst. The hard skill minimum is lower in those fields compared to Data Science, ML, and Data Analyst. Or you could bite the bullet and aim for FAANG companies with locations in Japan with senior PM roles. It’ll be tough with <5 YOE, but it doesn’t hurt to throw your resume in the mix.
Its probably not the work/pay you’re looking for, but if you really mean ASAP you could start applying to be an ATL (assistant language teacher) today, from what I understand. You don’t need a TEFL or anything, just need to be a native english speaker. But you may not get to choose where you go (which may not work well with your SO if they can’t come to you or visit)
Good luck with everything 🙂 im planning on moving over ~august next year to teach english. Hopefully it grips me as it gripped you!