degree in Japanese??

[akatsuka]

As you may have read in my past posts, I'm looking into gaining another WHV. But, with that option draining away fast, I'm also looking at other options, one being studying in Japan. I would love to be fluent or at least JLPT 2 or 1 fluent in Japanese. In London I dont get much opportunity to speak Japanese but wonder what kind of job I might be able to get if I did speak a decent level of Japanese.

I am a Graphic Designer at the moment, and although I enjoy it, its something that my heart isnt in anymore. Call it a midlife crisis, I'm looking for another career path! If I was to do a degree in Japanese in London as a major and something else as a minor - could I get a job in Japan/UK with it? What kind of jobs are available? Also, for a working visa, you need a degree right? So if I did do this degree, would I still need a company to sponsor me? I guess so. So that means I need to find a job in Japan in London??! Isnt that a bit impossible?

Another option is studying in Japan, but again, the same questions arise. (It wouldnt be a degree, just a normal language school in Japan.)

I know that I want to do something different with my life, and if that something envolved Japan it would be perfect, it just I dont know what I could do. I'm not into business or politics. (which cuts out a large section i guess...)

Any advice on a Degree in Japanese?

[drpepper]

Speaking, writing, fluency or whatever in Japanese only facilitates you doing what you do in Japan and is not a real qualification to do anything. The only "career" / Job that would be based on Japanese proficiency would be translation work. As someone with some experience there... not a terribly lofty goal to have. If you got real skills for real work I suggest you persue that.

[akatsuka]

yeah, i kind of thought someone would say that, and, I kind of agree. Thanks for the reply its another wonder that I can cross of my list and forget about!!

[akatsuka]

[Mr Doricar]

Hi there,

I'm also in the same situation as yourself. I've just moved over to South Australia from the UK and I'm thinking of starting a Asian Studies Undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Arts, or Internation Studies). As part of these degrees you have to include an Asian language which obviously Japanese would be the one to go for. The Uni here also has 6 month exchange programmes with most of the well known Japanese Uni's such as Meiji in Tokyo, Kansai in Osaka and Okayama Uni.

I basically wanted to move to Japan straight away on a 3 month tourist visa and then look for work and apply for visa extension while in Japan but I think that's not very likely. So my plan now is to study in Australia for 1 year starting in June '08 then go to Japan on an exhange programme for a year OR just put Uni on hold and use my 1 year of study to hopefully be accepted for a working visa to teach Engrish.

It's not very easy but my options are much easier now I'm out of the UK.

That's my 2p worth

[GomiGirl]

My 2p's worth is, language skills are great but make sure you have other skills. You might think that being able to speak Japanese is really cool, but to an employer, you are just a non-native speaker out of 140 million native speakers. So big deal!! (Note - for translators etc this is a different story)

You need to be able to bring something else to the table other than just being able to speak Japanese.

[kusai Jijii]

language skills are great but make sure you have other skills.

Too true. Its great to be proficient in Japanese, but to go places, make sure you are a "Japanese speaking something" (insert vocational qualification)

I found this out the hard way.

[FG Lurker]

I'll third this.

To see this from a different angle, imagine someone showing up in your country and saying, "I speak English, give me a job!" Just language skills are not enough

If you can combine English + Japanese + ______ valuable skill, then you can do quite well here.

[Greji]

If you can combine English + Japanese + ______ valuable skill, then you can do quite well here.

As a valuble skill, I recommend blackmail. Get something on your boss and tell him you're going to dime him to his boss, or his wife and you have a ready made, long and prosperous career.

[Iraira]

As a valuble skill, I recommend blackmail. Get something on your boss and tell him you're going to dime him to his boss, or his wife and you have a ready made, long and prosperous career.

You said you wouldn't tell everyone our little secret of how to get ahead in Japan.

[ttjereth]

My 2p's worth is, language skills are great but make sure you have other skills. You might think that being able to speak Japanese is really cool, but to an employer, you are just a non-native speaker out of 140 million native speakers. So big deal!! (Note - for translators etc this is a different story)

You need to be able to bring something else to the table other than just being able to speak Japanese.

Just my two cents but this is generally true for translators as well. Except for the simplest of translations there is "lingo" that you have to know in both languages when translating and knowledge of whatever topic the translation material is on is always helpful.

As a freelancer or agency translator in particular it is always better to have specialized fields of knowledge and a lot of times winning a big contract from a larger client over other prospective translators comes down to having actual first hand knowledge and work experience in relevant fields.

You can have great language skills, but when you get a translation where the original document contains tons of inexplicable katakana (the wonderful ones where the katakana is not even remotely related to the English word and doesn't show up in even the most specialized of dictionaries) or Japanese contractions of field specific terms and even slang that you won't find in any dictionary or in online sources you are screwed.

My main focus was on language with varying degrees of study in several other liberal arts fields and the only thing that manages to keep me working as a translator is that I had a extraordinarly varied career up until now and have so-called "professional level knowledge" of my target fields without having actually undergone any formal study.

[Mr Doricar]

Absolutely. Without a trade or a skill you're a nobody who happens to be able to speak the native language And without a degree in Japan you really are a nobody.