My husband and I recently married and are set to move to Japan in 5 years. He is unhappy here in America and wants to be near his family. We reached an agreement together to wait 5 years so I have time to prepare and settle some things here for myself. He will have no issue finding work when he returns home but I am feeling very lost as far as how I will spend my time and can contribute financially after the move. He insists he will be able to support the both of us but I want to work. He supports me in that but hasn’t been much help as far as directing me in what I should pursue. He says I will be discriminated against and will have a very hard time. Saying that my only chance is if I acquire advanced schooling and even then it will be difficult as a foreigner.
I only have a high school degree and have spent the last 10 years in customer service. I am aware that this will be completely useless in finding a job overseas. It has been a very long time since I have been in traditional schooling and feel very intimidated. I was never a star student. I know a bachelors degree is considered the bare minimum from my reading. When I google what education would be useful I see medical degrees, teaching degrees, economics, computer science etc. but all of those seem extremely difficult for someone like me.
Does anyone have any suggestions? It would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
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**Education that will help me find work as a foreigner in Japan? Moving in 5 years.**
My husband and I recently married and are set to move to Japan in 5 years. He is unhappy here in America and wants to be near his family. We reached an agreement together to wait 5 years so I have time to prepare and settle some things here for myself. He will have no issue finding work when he returns home but I am feeling very lost as far as how I will spend my time and can contribute financially after the move. He insists he will be able to support the both of us but I want to work. He supports me in that but hasn’t been much help as far as directing me in what I should pursue. He says I will be discriminated against and will have a very hard time. Saying that my only chance is if I acquire advanced schooling and even then it will be difficult as a foreigner.
I only have a high school degree and have spent the last 10 years in customer service. I am aware that this will be completely useless in finding a job overseas. It has been a very long time since I have been in traditional schooling and feel very intimidated. I was never a star student. I know a bachelors degree is considered the bare minimum from my reading. When I google what education would be useful I see medical degrees, teaching degrees, economics, computer science etc. but all of those seem extremely difficult for someone like me.
Does anyone have any suggestions? It would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
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If you’re coming as the spouse of a Japanese national then there are no restrictions on the work you can do, nor do you need to shoehorn yourself into the sorts of work that companies sponsor visas for.
The best thing you can do is learn Japanese. The better you can communicate, the more options you’ll have for both work and leisure.
Pick something that interest you? Are you techy at all? Bed side manor I think is the hardest thing to teach, and I would rather have someone with minimum (but still workable) tech skills but has amazing understanding and patience with your client in the IT space.
Most of my team I use to run was horrible to work with because they had zero empathy and compassion with our clients and users, but coming from CS I assume your ability to handle tickets, take notes, relay that to your supervisor and team mates are already ingrained into your daily work.
It’s five years take a breath and work on your goals that you can resolve now and don’t let your husband scare you that you will never find a job. You have been successful already up to this point, Japan isn’t too different. Handle issues one at a time and don’t worry about the five year mark choices yet.
Most of those education marks are for people who are trying to move to Japan where a college diploma is a minimum requirement. I’m assuming your husband is Japanese, so those are not requirements for you on a Spouse of a National visa. If he’s not Japanese, or doesn’t have residency there, then VERY different discussion.
Luckily thing is if you went with IT, this is something you could move into realistically in the USA and get a lot of experience with ZERO formal education in the states.
It sounds like your husband is saying working is not important so take this as a rare opportunity to work towards something you WANT to do, because I can’t imagine CS is your life dream. Sit down and make a list of what’s valuable to you, what you want, and what you are willing to give up. Then see what you can do in the states to start moving towards that goal.
The advice to learn Japanese is the best. If you are happy in customer service and you don’t want to go back to school, it would be silly to waste the money on a degree unless your family needs two higher income earners. You can work customer service jobs in Japan, assuming your Japanese gets to a decent level.
You could also look into online customer service positions in the US. They’re becoming more common as work from home gigs – though the hours would be weird here in Japan.
Hello, been working in Japan and 8years mostly in Japanese companies.
No you won’t have hard time or being discriminated if you speak Japanese.
Most of jobs here do not value diplomas THAT much and are willing to train motivated people including foreigners if they show motivation and appropriate manners
Of course having a uni diploma would be better but as you won’t have visa issue and experience I would recommend that you get JLPT N2 and learn about Japanese way of thinking and working ethique so you don’t get surprised when things go differently from your home country
I insist : learn Japanese WELL and everything will be fine (of course you can have bad experience also but that’s part of life and happens everywhere)
The bachelor’s degree is only relevant for immigration purposes with certain work visas and is not your concern. ‘He is unhappy here in America and wants to be near his family.’ I can only draw conclusions and assume that your husband is a Japanese citizen from your information. Therefore, you will be under the spouse of a Japanese national visa, which is the most advantageous visa to hold.
Your education does not matter for this visa, and I assume you are a native English speaker, so there will always be roles for you. ’10 years in customer service’—do not sell yourself short. Even if you think this is a waste of time, those 10 years represent valuable communication skills that can serve you well.
People may mock teaching, but if you enjoy working with people, be it adults or kids, it is a good career path.
Do not be too hard on yourself to match your husband’s skill set or earnings. I will say this as a single adult man: a good life partner can make or break you, and the support you provide is invaluable.
At the end of the day, evaluate the country and find out what it needs that you can contribute as an American. As I said, English teaching is often mocked, but being a native speaker from the USA with no need for a visa sponsor and roots in the country already makes you very desirable to international schools and private teaching companies. You can earn a good living while providing something the country needs.
It’s very normal to be a housewife here. I think having real numbers would help you understand the financial pressure of needing to be a two income household. Take a trip to Japan make a budget, talk to a real estate agent, go to grocery stores, clothing stores, etc to find a budget. I think you might be surprised how affordable most parts of Japan can be. There are a bunch of cost of living websites you can check alternatively.
Most “dependants” for tax purposes try to keep their income artificially low under 1.3 million yen per year so pension and health insurance would be significantly cheaper. So any job under the sun would probably fit your purposes.
Like everyone else said learning the language will 100% allow you to access more of society here not just for jobs, but friendships, and probably most importantly being able to do adult things without needing your husband to be your 24/7 translator. Getting to N3 will give you a good foot in the door for most entry level jobs. Without japanese language ability it’s pretty much childcare, entry level restaurant work or teaching English.
I think your experience will depend on your expectations. It’s normal for fresh graduates to apply to a hundred positions and only get a couple of interviews. It’s also normal for employers to assume a woman of a certain age will just get pregnant soon and will factor into a hiring decision. Your skills are you speak English and want to work, it is what it is. If you come in knowing you’re not very employable with your current skill set, but are willing to put in the work to make yourself so it can be a “decent” experience.
Idk what customer service means. But if it’s hospitality, I might try to get a job at a company with offices / branches in Japan. I’d also consider living near a us military base if you’re a US citizen and doing jobs on base, the pay will likely be higher than if you worked at a comparable japanese company.