I am a foreigner with Japanese Citizenship, but I’m Having trouble finding non-degree jobs

5 comments

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

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   **I am a foreigner with Japanese Citizenship, but I’m Having trouble finding non-degree jobs**

   I am a foreigner that has both Canadian and Japanese citizenship. I currently live in Toronto but want to gtfo ASAP. I do not have a degree. The highest education level I graduated from was high school. I know I am limited in terms of what work I can do because I don’t have a degree. I’ve been doing my research and I see that all of the full time english teaching jobs say they require a bachelor’s degree. I know that Japan values degrees more, maybe more so compared to western countries, but I know here in the west, people encourage you to apply to jobs even if you don’t meet their requirements.

   Are there any other jobs that will pay a decent salary in Japan other than english teaching that doesn’t require a university or college degree? I’m wanting to get a job in Japan not as an end but as a means to an end. My goal is to do music full time as a performer there and when I first arrive into Japan, I’m not gonna have any music work coming to me so I need some money to come in to support me. Over time, as I meet more people and network, I will eventually get people to start calling me to do gigs and other music work. But not at the beginning. Once I get enough music work to support me, then I will quit the job and dive full time into music.

   Thanks

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2. I am curious about your strategy of ‘get people to start calling me to do gigs’. Are you planning to support yourself by playing live houses?

3. >I see that all of the full time english teaching jobs say they require a bachelor’s degree.

   For ALT or Eikaiwa this is an immigration requirement. As you do not require a visa this limitation wouldn’t apply to you.

   >Are there any other jobs that will pay a decent salary in Japan other than english teaching that doesn’t require a university or college degree?

   Depends on your Japanese language ability really. If you can work in Japanese then there are plenty of opportunities. Have a look at TownWork or Indeed.

4. If you’re looking for jobs outside of the country (especially if you’re looking in English), the companies are assuming you need visa sponsorship and that’s why they require a 4 year degree.

   If you’re in the country and looking for job postings here, there are all sorts of jobs that don’t have any college degree requirements. They might not be the most exciting jobs, but there are all sorts of job postings for factory, farm, construction and retail jobs.

5. One thing I recommend is getting your terminology right when you apply for jobs, because this is self-contradictory and will confuse the heck out of people:

   >I am a foreigner with Japanese Citizenship

   In all formal and informal usage I see, the word “foreigner” literally means you don’t have Japanese citizenship. You can’t be foreign and a citizen at the same time. In fact, you’re not foreign. I’d suggest using standard terminology: you’re a dual citizen living abroad.

   By the way, good luck with the plan. It’s a rough road ahead – I have tons of friends who are musicians. Only a tiny fraction can fully support themselves with just performing. A few can get by via teaching on top of that. But the vast majority need a totally non-music related “day job” to make ends meet.