I’m currently applying for new jobs and I’m considering the move to Japan.
I’m a 28M mid-level engineer currently based in London on a salary of £70k at a FinTech job. I have roughly 6 years professional experience and a degree in CompSci.
I know I’m very much an average engineer, I don’t have the patience to grind enough leetcode (although I’ve done most easy-medium and am comfortable with technical interviews) for FAANG / Tier 1 companies and I’d be happy with an average – slightly above average salary.
Based on what I’ve read so far I’d be taking a pay cut in Japan as software dev isn’t highly regarded and that I should be avoiding Japanese companies and aiming for multinationals / startups for work-life balance.
I’m just wondering what the difficulty is currently for getting visa sponsoring jobs outside of FAANG / Mercari etc. and what sort of salary I should be aiming for to live a comfortable life within central / outskirts of Tokyo?
I’ve been to Japan 4-5 times in the past, and as I’m still young & have no responsibilities, I’d like to make the jump before all that changes and experience more of life.
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This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Considering moving to Japan as a software Engineer**
I’m currently applying for new jobs and the I’m considering the move to Japan.
I’m a 28M mid-level engineer currently based in London on a salary of £70k at a FinTech job. I have roughly 6 years professional experience and a degree in CompSci.
Based on what I’ve read so far, I’d be taking a pay cut in Japan as software dev isn’t highly regarded.
I know I’m very much an average engineer, I don’t have the patience to grind enough leetcode (although I’ve done most easy-medium and am comfortable with technical interviews) for FAANG / Tier 1 companies and I’d be happy with an average – slightly above average salary.
I’m just wondering what the difficulty is currently for getting visa sponsoring jobs outside of FAANG / Mercari etc. and what sort of salary I should be aiming for to live a comfortable life within central / outskirts of Tokyo?
I’ve been to Japan 4-5 times in the past, and as I’m still young & have no responsibilities, I’d like to make the jump before all that changes and experience more of life.
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for a average job it required JLPT N2 (or equivalent level of Japanese)
Do you have any Japanese language ability? Multinational companies (especially in the software field) tend to have lower expectations for Japanese language, but it’s still highly favorable to have higher proficiency.
If you’re in finance, having Japanese language ability will help a lot. Then again fintech is very broad so you might rarely liaise with business often but I couldn’t imagine finding a fintech dev role at a non startup that doesn’t require N2. I’m thinking banking at big international banks though I have 0 knowledge of what it might be like in other areas.
I’ve been researching the same thing!
* [japan-dev.com](https://japan-dev.com)
* Lots of postings for remote, hybrid, flex, and traditional positions available. Some may require you to be in the country already though.
* [Good post about cost of living](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/wg2z3u/cost_of_living_in_tokyo_2022/)