Design..teaching..JLPT..what should i do?

[akatsuka]

Hi, this is my situation..

I want to go back and live in Japan again. (I lived there as an English teacher for a while, but had to come home, as visa expired) Im currently in England, in a job that feels like a slow and painful death, in a city I dont much like.

Seeing as I have no University qualifications, my prospects for getting a desent job in Japan is bad. However, I'm not willing to give up my evil job in London to go back into education to get a degree, that wont help me in the UK, and with no guarantee itll help me in Japan.

My job in the UK is as a Creative Artworker. I would like to find a similar job in Japan - is this possible? Where do I look - I've looked on various websites that you sent me before (daijob, gaijinpot, career cross, jobdragon, jobs in japan, tokyo connections... you name it ive been there) but theres not many opportunities for graphic designers/artworkers.
Seeing as there are millions of design agencies in Japan I find this hard to believe.

So, is my best bet to go into teaching again? I enjoyed it before and I think I'd enjoy it more with training. (I can do an evening course in the UK for 3 months before departure).

I passed JLPT level 3 2 years ago. Level 2 still seems a way off... Would I increase my chances of being employed if I can pass JLPT level 2? Which is harder - JLPT2 or business japanese? ...which is more useful?

Basically, what are my chances and what will i need to do now to increase my chances? Would a teaching qualification help? (even if its just an evening class thing?) would JLPT2 help? is there opportunities in design? is it about who you know?

..thanks.

[Mulboyne]

Would you mind saying how old you are?

[GomiGirl]

It has been said before that people are not hired in Japan based on their level of Japanese as there are 120 million native speakers to choose from. Certainly if you have a chosen field that you have skills that are valuable to an employer and the company is Japanese then certainly language skills are a must. But you are not going to be hired on Japanese ability alone (translators not withstanding).

On the other points, I will let others who know more about your situation answer them.
Good luck.

[akatsuka]

Im 22. Is my youth something going against me as well? Gomigirl - thanks for your comments. I guess knowing Japanese helps but they are not going to employ you only because you speak Japanese right, you have to have something else to offer. Therefore I guess my lack of a major qualification in design is a disadvantage... Geez... its hard...

[gomichild]

Just some points - not to be negative or disuade you! - but to give you some goals to aim for.

(my background - I am a designer here)

- You don't have a degree. This means it is very difficult for you to obtain a visa. It is a requirement.

- As GG said Japanese is not essential - but you will most likely have to work with it if you go into design here. This means you have to know how to layout Japanese text (which is not like laying out English), know about available Japanese fonts and so on. If you do find a job with a company they will likely request that you have level 2/business Japanese. I've found that you don't need your test results - just to be able to prove you can communicate at a high enough level.

- Most jobs involving design are not advertised. It is usually word of mouth. Also many designers (such as myself) work freelance. However to do that you need to have a visa which will allow you to do so.

- Portfolio - how much of a portfolio have you built up already? If it's not extensive you will need a fair bit of time to establish yourself, probably working in some other field and doing free/cheap work to build it up.

So perhaps think about leaving your evil job and focusing on how to can improve your design skills/build a good portfolio/get a piece of paper to get a visa. You are only 22 - you've got lots of time to be able to establish yourself as a designer somewhere they won't deport you first - and then think about relocation.

[TobidashiChui]

However, I'm not willing to give up my evil job in London to go back into education to get a degree, that wont help me in the UK, and with no guarantee itll help me in Japan.

Considering that having a Bachelors Degree is a requirement for obtaining a Working Visa in Japan, I don't see how you could claim that there is no guarantee it'll help you in Japan. You might not be able to obtain a job with the Bachelor's Degree, but you will be able to obtain a Visa]still [/B]be required). You could get the "Working Vacation Visa" get a short-term job with some Eikaiwa, and then parlay your limited freetime into some kind of job search. Be aware that most firms will require you to have a Working Visa OR a Bachelor's Degree; as such, your job opportunities will probably limited to under-the-table temp work.

Regarding the JLPT thing, passing the 3-kyuu is of no real interest to any company. Its when you pass the 2-kyuu or the 1-kyuu that the companies begin to take notice. Additionally, many firms are requiring a new proficiency test which tests the taker's working understanding of "business Japanese."