Hello! First time posting here, so let’s see how this goes. I’m in the states & currently I’m in community college but plan to transfer to get a BFA in graphic design. I wanted to know, what’s that field and overall work experience like in Japan? Is it hard to find a job? Even for Ui/Ux designers? In these years of college what could I start doing to lay a foundation for the potential or opportunity (if possible) to move to Japan and get a job as a designer? Even post college what should I be doing overall? Should I seek specific companies or design certain things on the side? So far I know I’ll need experience first, so my goal would be to work hard so I can get a job (hopefully in New York) and at least get 3-5yrs under my belt. I also can so-so read hiragana and katakana and want to continue learning the language. But I know if there is a plan and it’s possible I’ll have the motivation and know this goal isn’t a waste of time. I know Japan isn’t gonna be sunshine and rainbows, I’ll have to put in hard work. But that’s why I ask so I can do exactly that. don’t worry about rose glasses on this topic, thanks!
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**Graphic design / Ui ux design career Japan?**
Hello! First time posting here, so let’s see how this goes. I’m in the states & currently I’m in community college but plan to transfer to get a BFA in graphic design. I wanted to know, what’s that field and overall work experience like in Japan? Is it hard to find a job? Even for Ui/Ux designers? In these years of college what could I start doing to lay a foundation for the potential or opportunity (if possible) to move to Japan and get a job as a designer? Even post college what should I be doing overall? Should I seek specific companies or design certain things on the side? So far I know I’ll need experience first, so my goal would be to work hard so I can get a job (hopefully in New York) and at least get 3-5yrs under my belt. I also can so-so read hiragana and katakana and want to continue learning the language. But I know if there is a plan and it’s possible I’ll have the motivation and know this goal isn’t a waste of time. I know Japan isn’t gonna be sunshine and rainbows, I’ll have to put in hard work. But that’s why I ask so I can do exactly that. don’t worry about rose glasses on this topic, thanks!
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Talking from my wife’s experience on same field like you its possible to find a job.
She is working in one of the biggest companies here in Japan, she have like 7 years experience and really good salary. Overall you just need years of experience and you will be fine IMO. About the language will be a must you have a good level because in daily you will need to communicate a lot between teams and coworkers.
You have the right mindset and a solid plan! I would also add you should probably start working on a website now to showcase the projects/designs you’ll work on at a Uni. Do a breakdown of the tools you used (HTML/CSS, Java, C/C#/C++, etc.) for each project and keep your GitHub up to date. Consistency is key – work on a project for 4-5 months, showcase it, take a 1-2 month creative break and then work on your next project. One of the things I regret in my HCI class is that I didn’t transfer my projects immediately after taking the class. I ended up going back after 3 or so years to see what was relevant and by then I’d already forgotten what the prompt was for some of the projects.