I have a B.S. in Computer Science from a notable school in the US, I graduated a few years ago but I have not yet worked in my field yet for various reasons. But now, here in the US, the software dev and tech situation is pretty bad and it’s extremely hard to get hired, I’m wondering what its like in Japan? I have some personal projects but nothing jaw dropping. I have been learning Japanese on my own and have basic every-day conversation skills (N3-N2 level).
I did some of my own research but a lot of the stuff I come across are a few years old or pre-pandemic. How is the current dev/tech market in Japan looking like, especially for someone like me with a degree but no experience? I’ve seen some people recommending Rakuten, Paypay, Line, etc but I’m not sure if I would be qualified for an entry level role.
It seems like traditional Japanese companies are unaffected but I’m not exactly a fan of the killer hours for only 5-6M. I’m mainly wondering if someone in my situation can realistically get hired, or what the situation will be like in the next few years.
Also, any general advice is appreciated, like if I should look into other career paths or anything!
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Dev/Tech work with degree but no experience**
I have a B.S. in Computer Science from a notable school in the US, I graduated a few years ago but I have not yet worked in my field yet for various reasons. But now, here in the US, the software dev and tech situation is pretty bad and it’s extremely hard to get hired, I’m wondering what its like in Japan? I have some personal projects but nothing jaw dropping. I have been learning Japanese on my own and have basic every-day conversation skills (N3-N2 level).
I did some of my own research but a lot of the stuff I come across are a few years old or pre-pandemic. How is the current dev/tech market in Japan looking like, especially for someone like me with a degree but no experience? I’ve seen some people recommending Rakuten, Paypay, Line, etc but I’m not sure if I would be qualified or not for an entry level role.
It seems like traditional Japanese companies are unaffected but I’m not exactly a fan of the killer hours for only 5-6M. I’m mainly wondering if someone in my situation can realistically get hired, or what the situation will be like in the next few years.
Also, any general advice is appreciated, like if I should look into other career paths or anything!
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From experience doing a job search in JP very early in my career (didn’t go well) vs now with 4 years experience (successfully), it’s pretty hard with little experience
The good places want >= 3 years, they’re not just looking for more pairs of hands, they’re looking for experienced people that can hit the ground running per say. The companies you probably want to work for (more western style) are going to want experience. I was told this explicitly by a very helpful recruiter who gave me a reality check back then.
My advice? Get at least 2 years tech experience on your CV working where you are now, and then talk to some recruiters. You will probably have a much better time.
Rakuten is one who WOULD be interested in someone relatively fresh, but you don’t want to work there, believe me. (The staff are forced to sell mobile contracts to their friends, even developers). Only do that if you’re really desperate to get a visa
The problem with Japan is they want experience but they refuse to pay for it. To be honest its probably the dumbest place for an experienced IT professional to work. They are no longer capable of maintaining an experienced IT workforce and it shows with some of the more recent outages.
So to answer your question is it easy. Well lacking any Japanese language probably going to be a bit rough of a job hunt but definitely not impossible. It can be a good place to grab a couple years of experience but it is not a place to stick around.