Hello! I’m currently working on my Google IT Support Certification. I then plan on working on getting my degree in Software Engineering. This all sounds great, except I’m starting this at 39 years old!… My goal is to move to Tokyo after graduating. Which should be when I’m 41 – doing a fast track/pace curriculum. Here in the US it’s a bit easier to make a career change at such an age, especially in IT. But I understand that it’s a lot more challenging in Japan to make a career change at that age. When the time comes, I’m looking to apply from the US and find a job the will sponsor my work visa. So:
1)How difficult will it be to find an IT/Dev job in Tokyo at 41?
2)And along the same line, how difficult will it be to find an English Teacher job as an ALT in a dispatch company or Eikawa?
Thank you in advance for your comments
2 comments
> 1)How difficult will it be to find an IT/Dev job in Tokyo at 41?
Not too hard, so long as you get some experience in the US first, maybe a couple of years.
> 2)And along the same line, how difficult will it be to find an English Teacher job as an ALT in a dispatch company or Eikawa?
Also not too hard, but don’t do this as it will only hurt your ability to transition into tech. Especially as a late-career changer, what you really need more than anything is experience, and you’ll get that much much much easier in the US (for much higher pay, too). Go to Japan on vacation whenever you can, by all means, but I’d strongly advise waiting to move there until you have a job in tech.
FWIW I (non-US person) moved to Japan at the tender age of 35 with zero formal IT qualifications and walked straight into an IT job, OTOH at that time I had a) 15 years experience of Japan including N1-level Japanese, b) the interview was like
Q: “*Have you ever heard of [obscure open source project] we rely on?*”
A: “*Umm yeah, check the commit log for my name*” ”
Q: “*When can you start?*”
No idea what Google IT Support Certification involves, but over the years I’ve worked with great and not so great people, some of whom have had IT degrees and stuff, some of whom not (and there’s been very little correlation between competence and qualifications). In all the interviews I’ve been involved in, the formal qualifications have been less important than evidence the candidate has some notion of being able to do real IT stuff; involvement in an open source project is a real plus with that kind of thing, so if you can find something which floats your boat, get involved somehow. OTOH an actual real degree of some kind is pretty much essential for getting a working visa, assuming no Japanese relations by marriage or descent.