I know that as student visa holders, you will only be allowed to work a maximum of 28hrs a week. However, I know it’s not as simple as that if you have other factors to consider.
Few questions:
1. Say coming in as a language student, is the wage you get from working part enough to live comfortably?
2. Are you still able to save (ex: for language school tuition fee cost if you did not pay full on enrollment)?
3. Is managing language school studies + working 28hr per week truly realistic? I read someone’s experience that while that is the max allowable hours, in reality some can only work 20hr per week (since schedule is tight, burnout, etc.). I have come to realize that I should also consider scenarios like these as I prepare – I know personal experiences and thresholds vary but I’d like to know more from those who had actual experience.
Thank you so much!
3 comments
Unless you get 2-3x the minimum wage, no, you can’t live comfortably on the part time job income alone.
>Say coming in as a language student, is the wage you get from working part enough to live comfortably?
No. The student visa working allowance is designed to *supplement* your savings, not negate the need for savings. Working a part-time student job won’t cover all your expenses, much less “live comfortably”
>Are you still able to save (ex: for language school tuition fee cost if you did not pay full on enrollment)?
No. See above.
Also: If you’re concerned about saving to pay for tuition, do you even have enough money to get a visa? Immigration requires proof of financial support before they will issue a student visa. That generally takes the form of 1.5 million yen (~$15k USD) in savings.
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Is managing language school studies + working 28hr per week truly realistic?
That depends on how much you need to do things like sleep. Working 28 hours, plus 20-ish hours of school, plus homework is a path to burning out.
I was briefly pushing about 25 hours a week making 1500 an hour, and that was just enough to cover all of my living costs, not including the tuition. I was too burned out, and my studies were suffering, so I cut the hours significantly and I’m doing much better now.