Long term career options

[vvx]

I find myself thinking about living in Japan for many, many years.. Perhaps I should give this not a second thought. I've never been to Japan and only know what I read on forums and websites. No way in hell should I consider making long term plans at this time for Japan (I'm thinking like .. uh, going to Japan and just not leaving.. Ya know?) But, I can't quite get it out of my mind.

Now, I'm not totally in the dark on Japan. I've read up on the jobs and realize that only one I'd be qualified for (even after 4 years of college studies in Japanese .. No, I'm not majoring, just minoring) would be the one of English language teacher (in the form of NOVA or whatever.) My Japanese skills just wouldn't be up for more than that, and I've accepted that. I also realize if I want to do something else (I've fancied myself going into IT in the past .. before I had even considered Japan, but I really don't want to spend a few years over here getting job experience, I guess I'm impatient.) it would be difficult to get started in Japan (am I wrong?)

So, the question is, where does the road go? Seeing as the majority of people who go over for English teaching only stay a year or two, long term employment options don't have much said about them online. If you stayed for 20 years as an english teacher, would your wage stay about 250,000/month throughout? Not that I'm complaining about 250,000 being low, it seems I also read that Japanese college grads start at what, half that? I'm just trying to get an idea of what one would expect financially for a fairly lengthy career.

I suppose it doesn't really matter, not right now as I'll go over for a bit regardless. If I find out horrible news, perhaps that an English teacher will never make significantly more than 250,000/year ever and no career paths in Japan exist to advance then I'll just plan on making it a shorter stay. (I'm aware I'd do better financially here in my home country, I just want to know how well one would expect to do there..)

So, I guess I'm a naive newbie, bash away. Try not to hit my left leg, it's still sore from when I fell down some stairs earlier.

[GomiGirl]

I think I mentioned this before somewhere but I can't be assed looking for it..

But in Japan, I know FG's who are doctors, lawyers, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. Seriously there are people doing some amazingly interesting things and some people who are just hanging out having fun. Most people at some stage have supplimented their income teaching English as it allows you some freedom to follow up other interests like music, acting, or other creative stuff that takes a while to get moving and paying the bills. I have taught English and actually found it very rewarding at the time.

I know people that came to teach and then moved off into other areas and are still here 20 years later. I know others that stay for a few years and realise it is not for them and either go home or keep travelling.

If you don't really know what you want to do, take a break from study for a year or so, and head to a place like Japan and just get your shit together.. you don't have to decide the second you graduate what you will be doing for the next 50 years. The labour market has changed so much in the last 50 years that you have alot more flexibility and opportunities especially when new markets and technology appear. For example, I studied Science (Chemistry, Biotech, Math) and Humanities (economics, Japanese, Philosophy, psychology) and I now work in software.. I would never have thought 10 years ago when I graduated from my first undergrad degree that I would be doing this now.

Keep you options open and follow your dreams..

What an essay!!

[vvx]

I'm a long term thinker, so I tend to think long term.. (er, that sounded stupid.) I don't mean that I'm going to live in Japan for the next 50 years (ack, I'd be working til I was 70ish!) but, rather, that it could happen and if it did I'd like to have some idea of what to expect. After all, savings for retirement and other such really depend on some of this. If I decided at some point to change my mind, no sweat.

It's good to know there are gaijin in a variety of fields, but I don't know if that really comforts me that much. If I spoke Japanese and had a skill from before Japan .. perhaps I was fluent in Japan and had 8 years job experience as a super model (super-unlikely sample occupation) I could see finding a job as a super model (okay, maybe a funny gaijin model) in Japan. But, what if you didn't have those 8 years experience.. I'm more concerned with starting a new career I suppose. Say I wanted to get into programming, but have no programming knowledge. Or become some form of engineer, with no engineer experience. Or, whatever.. Ya know?

Well, I guess the fact that you didn't study programming or computers, and now work with them sorta answers that question (I'm assuming you started that line of work in Japan.)

[GomiGirl]

Well, I guess the fact that you didn't study programming or computers, and now work with them sorta answers that question (I'm assuming you started that line of work in Japan.)

No I retrained at a private IT school (6 month course) and worked briefly as a trained monkey in an IT division of a very large company. I was mainly doing hardware repairs, upgrades as well as maintaning the asset database.

I already had the job in Japan before I left.

[kamome]

I'm a long term thinker, so I tend to think long term.. (er, that sounded stupid.) I don't mean that I'm going to live in Japan for the next 50 years (ack, I'd be working til I was 70ish!) but, rather, that it could happen and if it did I'd like to have some idea of what to expect. After all, savings for retirement and other such really depend on some of this. If I decided at some point to change my mind, no sweat.

It's good to know there are gaijin in a variety of fields, but I don't know if that really comforts me that much. If I spoke Japanese and had a skill from before Japan .. perhaps I was fluent in Japan and had 8 years job experience as a super model (super-unlikely sample occupation) I could see finding a job as a super model (okay, maybe a funny gaijin model) in Japan. But, what if you didn't have those 8 years experience.. I'm more concerned with starting a new career I suppose. Say I wanted to get into programming, but have no programming knowledge. Or become some form of engineer, with no engineer experience. Or, whatever.. Ya know?

Well, I guess the fact that you didn't study programming or computers, and now work with them sorta answers that question (I'm assuming you started that line of work in Japan.)

If you're just starting a career, DO NOT do it in Japan (unless you just want to teach English). I have learned this the hard way. Being fluent in Japanese is not a prerequisite to succeeding here; having good home-grown skills will overcome language deficiencies on the job. After all, there are unlimited Japanese speakers in Japan (obviously), so what Japanese employers want from a gaijin are the skills you developed in your home country-Japanese is just an added plus. That's why you should definitely build up your expertise at home first and then think about becoming an FG.

[vvx]

Sounds rather drab. So, how far does english teaching go? 250,000 + a little?

[hanabi]

I agree with kamome that you shouldn't start your career here. Too many other poor schmucks are doing the same thing, trying to get out of teaching English with experience *only* in teaching English. Strangely, a lot of the other jobs open to foreigners require applicants to have the exact same experience as the job requirements dictate. I don't know if that makes any sense. But what I'm trying to say is that rare is the employer who is willing to train you and help you grow into a position. They expect you to leave in just a few years, so they're going to suck as much out of you as possible.

Once you do gain experience in your own country, even if you hadn't studied Japanese at the same time (though you should), you could continue a pretty decent career here. As was mentioned earlier, there are gaggles of gaikokujin doing all manners of work, many of whom self-sponsor their visas so that they won't have to be slaves to The Man.

I know you think in long-term. But try to plan just the next five years and see how it goes from there.

(By the way, teaching for conversation schools, etc. starts at 250,000 and it's difficult to find anything that pays more, unless you take on a bunch of part-time posts rather than one full-time. Also, fwiw, I believe that has remained the minimum salary for foreigners for well over a decade.)

[Taro Toporific]

Sounds rather drab.

http://japaninfo.esmartweb.com/kyudai2.jpg
http://japaninfo.esmartweb.com/kyudai.jpg

So, how far does english teaching go? 250,000 + a little?

Single, without a car, in 1DK shoddy aparto, little savings and no party-time ... 250,000yen is fine. Married, kids, real housing, a car, saving money for retirement... 250,000yen is scraping.

[vvx]

But .. but.. the NOVA site promised me advancement opportunities! Can't I make millions in Japan!? hehe.. (er, yeah.. I guess I could make millions in japan.. just not USD)

[stevemcgee99]

How does one do this?

[Neo-Rio]

How does one do this?

Start out at the bottom layers, and eventually work your way up to the level of NOVA usagi character creator (who must be rolling in it).

Even then that thing isn't a rabbit.... it has a BEAK for crying out loud! A BEAK! It's like some rabbit, chicken hybrid that's PINK, and can grow it's ears back anytime they get ripped out.... and yet NOVA calls it a *rabbit*.
(Then again it's pretty hard to insult anyone's intelligence in this country. For some reason it doesn't work.)

Some bunch of bored English teachers must have been doing a lot of drinking and pot after hours to have come up with that thing.

SO... to rise in the ranks, you must lose your mind over successive years of saying "I'm fine thank you, and you?" and drink a lot of beer, and probably hook yourself up with a drug supplier as well to go those extra miles.... and one day... ONE DAY.... you will create another NOVA usagi chan... and EVERYBODY will be mindfucked into going to NOVA.

...all because of a pink thing.

(By the way, if you are following me this far and don't think I am off my trolley, you are hereby certified for the mental institution they call NOVA)

NOW... if you want to get other jobs in Japan, complete this sentence:-
"It's not what you know, it's.........."
English teaching enabled me to get my foot in the door.

[stevemcgee99]

I wasn't clear. The the "this" mentioned in my my question "how does one doe this?" referred to the title of my post, "Self-sponsored Visa".

How does one self-sponsor a visa?