How difficult is it exactly to get a Programming Job in Japan as a Foreigner?

8 comments

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

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   **How difficult is it exactly to get a Programming Job in Japan as a Foreigner?**

   So I was just wondering how has the market in Japan changed for Programming Jobs. The title is a bit vague so let me go into detail. By the way, not looking for a Job in Japan but just curious because I’m a programmer and currently on vacation in Japan.

   Getting a Job as a Programmer as a Foreigner (from experience) can sometimes be easy or very hard. There’s a lot of things that come into play I.e. Visa Sponsorship, Salary, Relocation, Language Barrier etc. But seeing as how Japans Birth Population is declining further and further, it seems that they need as many foreign nationals as they can get. Like I’m in Osaka now and (compared to last time I visited Japan in 2016) I’ve never seen so many foreigners and tourists.

   My Canadian friend who lived in Japan for 12 Years said: “If you’re working in IT in Japan you’re going to be mostly competing with Filipinos and Indians. And the problem with them is, they work for a really low salary and almost no benefits.”

   I personally love Japan to visit but wouldn’t want to live here. Pay will be a huge downgrade compared to what I’m currently getting. Work Culture doesn’t fit me, but again I’m just asking outta curiosity. Maybe someone else can benefit from this post.

   So what’s the success rate of finding a programming job in Japan as a foreigner, with visa sponsorship and speaking little to no Japanese? Oh and hiring from overseas. Any detail helps.

   To make it easier, here’s my resume. 7YOE, Full Stack (JavaScript and Python), Computer Science Degree, Japanese is at a Conversational Level (I did a 3 Month Internship in Fukuoka in 2016).

   What are the chances for someone with a resume like mine?

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2. 7YOE and a CS degree? You’d have a much easier time than most. Japanese isn’t completely necessary, but it helps a lot.

3. Your Canadian friend sounds a bit racist. They are probably in denial about their skill level. They are competing against junior or mediocre developers who are paid below average. Nationality has nothing to do with this. I had/have skilled Filipino coworkers in big international/Japanese companies who are paid well above average and are quite skilled.

   With that said, your experience is more than good and if you are really interested in moving here, you should make a plan and start looking for jobs. It won’t be the easiest thing in the world since you are not in the country but it’s doable.

4. Is your Japanese at least N3 level? If so, I’d say you got an OK chance.

   Full stack and 7YOE and N3 Id reckon the average salary is around 7.5M a year with a standard deviation of 0.7M.

5. The “Filipinos and indians” thing I heard specifically from an engineer who worked at Rakuten, which pays on the lower end for a company that has a lot of English speaking teams. The multi nationals (google, indeed etc) pay a lot more and employ a lot of English speaking engineers from western countries, but I think a lot of these companies have slowed down or frozen hiring.

6. Salaries are overall lower but COL is ridiculously low compared to any city in Canada. A fraction of somewhere like Vancouver or Toronto.

   You could probably get work somewhere like Mercari or Rakuten. You can find plenty of jobs posted online from both, and they recruit from overseas. Assuming skill compatibility, your salary would be in the 8m to 12m range at Mercari, depending on your role. Rakuten seems to pay less.

7. with your years and stack I’d say you will be fine but keep in mind the market right now worldwide is the worst its ever been I moved here on working holiday visa because recruiters told me if Im in the country with 3 years of experience it’ll be pretty easy to secure interviews (spolier alert it wasnt) and now I cant get any interviews and Im just sorta existing and doing some upskilling but companies here especially seem to want it all.

   I interviewed with a company where I matched the tech stack and skills 100% aswell as years of exp, we chatted for 2 hours about my previous company and I felt like this was gonna be more or less the same job but alas they said no because they cant “teach me what they need” whatever that means but I also “wouldnt be able to progress as a developer with them”???

   But yeah Ive had numerous times something like this happened. Im gonna stick it out here till march or until I find something nice in europe because this country isnt as desperate for “developers” as your average “recruiter” will tell you.

   Also to add to your point they may need foreign talent but they wont budge, this is still a country with the mentality that they are the only ones on the planet so as long as all the old folks are still kicking it in the government you wont be seeing immigration opening up anytime soon.

   With all that said just go dash out some CVs on job sites and see what comes back, you could also just go to some meetups while your here and see if you meet anyone who can hook you up. Ive had no luck but that doesnt mean you wont.

8. I think you have a great resume, you should have no difficulty in finding a good job. There is a severe lack of experienced people here in IT.