Advice needed

[Ghost]

cunt

[Ghost]

I guarantee those qualifications and tests don't mean shit to anyone.

Is NZ degree a bachelor's degree or some kind of technical degree? I ask because your need a bachelor's degree for the visa.

By the way, going to NZ to manage a McDonald's and get a degree in something you don't seem to have much interest in just to get a Japanese visa in the future has to be one of the dumbest ideas I've ever hear.

Its a bachelor's degree as far as i know. Well if I did go to Uni I would be in the same situation but with a huge amount of debt instead. Also I cant take out a student loan due to bad credit rating. Its certainly a better option than marrying some girl just to get a visa, which I know quite a few people who have done this in Japan.

[Ghost]

It still beats moving to Japan to be an English teacher and hoping to somehow magically become good enough at the language in anything less than 5 or 6 years of study to be able to translate professionally all to be with a girl with whom you don't think a relationship would last if you aren't right there next to her the entire time

Talk about twisting my comments round. One of my questions was what type of jobs opportunities are there once you have a qualification in Japanese and can speak the language fluently, are there more types of jobs than just teaching and bar work? I gave the translating job as an example but what were the others. Also I never said that this was all to do with my GF, not at all. I have wanted to move back to Japan for a couple of years now and even if I broke up with my gf tomorrow I would still want to move out there. My relationship has nothing to do with my reasoning for going out there, all I said was was that if I went the uni route for 3-4 years that the relationship would most likely be finished.

[Iraira]

One of my questions was what type of jobs opportunities are there once you have a qualification in Japanese and can speak the language fluently, are there more types of jobs than just teaching and bar work? I gave the translating job as an example but what were the others.

Not to jab another saber into your bubble, but here's the deal. One of the main reasons that a Japanese company hires an English speaking foreigner is that the foreigner speaks English, and often comes equipped with a piece(s) of paper that claims he/she is skilled in certain areas that the company needs. The company would probably rather hire from among the locals, but the locs are not blessed with the mad English skillz (often academic, too).
If your Japanese skillz be great, sure it helps somewhat, but not as much as a powerful degree in computers, chem, med sci, engineering, MBA (I assume), etc, etc. and something that shows some tangible experience. Japanese employers still seem to value the degree, especially when hiring someone with no track record in Japan. Working at an Eikaiwa does not help you really establish a track record in anything but that industry, if even there.
They are hiring you for what you bring with you from your upbringing elsewhere. If you can't stack that list of accomplishments to the sky with anything other than "I speak and read at Level 1", you get the complimentary "We wish you the best of luck in your career." letter.

Best advice I ever got after an interview was from the guy who interviewed me. Told me to focus only on language skills regarding the sciences (my major), as if I could run circles around people with that aspect of the language, I'd be set. Ended up getting the job 6 months later and now, I get to rip on him whenever he is drunk at a company party (often). At the same time I am thankful for the guy actually giving me a kick in the right direction.

By all means, learn to converse in J. Learn all the J you can. But, be a master in the area that you want to focus on, then you, the gf, and your 2.5 dogs can live happily ever after deep in the heart of Ishihara's cement oasis.

[ttjereth]

Talk about twisting my comments round. One of my questions was what type of jobs opportunities are there once you have a qualification in Japanese and can speak the language fluently, are there more types of jobs than just teaching and bar work? I gave the translating job as an example but what were the others. Also I never said that this was all to do with my GF, not at all. I have wanted to move back to Japan for a couple of years now and even if I broke up with my gf tomorrow I would still want to move out there. My relationship has nothing to do with my reasoning for going out there, all I said was was that if I went the uni route for 3-4 years that the relationship would most likely be finished.

There's not really a terrible amount of other opportunity. The first obstacle is the visa of course (work visas are only offered for certain jobs in certains fields) but even if you get a spouse visa, which supposedly allows you to work any job you want, you'll still find there are generally only a certain subset of jobs that are actually open to you.

Most of the foreigners in Japan tend to work in the same few fields, and variation gets even smaller when you narrow down to just the westerners.

The "unskilled" jobs, the ones you can often get some sort of work in without any particular background in a given field are generally (in no particular order really and only the legal ones, so no roppongi DJ jobs or anything):
English teacher of whatever sort
Translator/interpreter/localization (however as mentioned above, having no special field of expertise severely limits job options and pay)
Head hunter/recruiter (for the low end jobs only, the higher end actually require some sort of experience/skill)

Then you get the people with the specific backgrounds who tend to enter:
Finance
IT
Engineering
Legal

I might be forgetting a few, but I'd be willing to bet at least 80% of the westerners in Japan work in one of those (admittedly broad) fields. The people who are successful outside those fields tend to be in the extreme minority, or even unique.

See the recent thread where a lot of people were either surprised or outright disbelieving that a foreigner (a westerner no less) actually worked for the Japanese edition of a major newspaper. After awhile here when you ask another foreigner what they do, it's almost like a multiple choice question in your mind.

[ramchop]

Its a bachelor's degree as far as i know. Well if I did go to Uni I would be in the same situation but with a huge amount of debt instead. Also I cant take out a student loan due to bad credit rating.

http://www.varsity.co.nz/study/student-loan-guide.html
[quote]The following things DO NOT matter:

•]

Student loans in NZ are interest free. It's almost a case now that you'd be stupid not to get one (if you don't need it just plop it in the bank and collect the interest).

I'm not sure that you'd qualify on citizen/permanent resident grounds though.

[kamome]

http://www.varsity.co.nz/study/student-loan-guide.html


Student loans in NZ are interest free. It's almost a case now that you'd be stupid not to get one (if you don't need it just plop it in the bank and collect the interest).

I'm not sure that you'd qualify on citizen/permanent resident grounds though.

ramchop - you're back? Haven't heard from you in a while!

[ramchop]

ramchop - you're back? Haven't heard from you in a while!

Yeah just here on a two month junket. A lot quieter up north than it was in Tokyo.

[Ghost]

http://www.varsity.co.nz/study/student-loan-guide.html


Student loans in NZ are interest free. It's almost a case now that you'd be stupid not to get one (if you don't need it just plop it in the bank and collect the interest).

I'm not sure that you'd qualify on citizen/permanent resident grounds though.

One problem with that, Im not a kiwi.

[Ghost]

There's not really a terrible amount of other opportunity. The first obstacle is the visa of course (work visas are only offered for certain jobs in certains fields) but even if you get a spouse visa, which supposedly allows you to work any job you want, you'll still find there are generally only a certain subset of jobs that are actually open to you.

Most of the foreigners in Japan tend to work in the same few fields, and variation gets even smaller when you narrow down to just the westerners.

The "unskilled" jobs, the ones you can often get some sort of work in without any particular background in a given field are generally (in no particular order really and only the legal ones, so no roppongi DJ jobs or anything):
English teacher of whatever sort
Translator/interpreter/localization (however as mentioned above, having no special field of expertise severely limits job options and pay)
Head hunter/recruiter (for the low end jobs only, the higher end actually require some sort of experience/skill)

Then you get the people with the specific backgrounds who tend to enter:
Finance
IT
Engineering
Legal

I might be forgetting a few, but I'd be willing to bet at least 80% of the westerners in Japan work in one of those (admittedly broad) fields. The people who are successful outside those fields tend to be in the extreme minority, or even unique.

See the recent thread where a lot of people were either surprised or outright disbelieving that a foreigner (a westerner no less) actually worked for the Japanese edition of a major newspaper. After awhile here when you ask another foreigner what they do, it's almost like a multiple choice question in your mind.

Thanks, thats more or less what I had thought. Oh well, looks like I will have think about moving out there in 4 or 5 years time then.

[Ghost]

OK, I have a couple of friends that are doing online degrees and i was thinking about maybe doing one myself at a later date as that option is much cheaper than paying out 15 grand a year to study at a foriegn university. My question is are they worth looking into? From what I have heard they are more flexible, you just do the work when you have the time and you can fit it into your schedule. But are they worth the same as a normal university degree and would I still be able to use one for obtaining a visa if I needed to in the future?

[ttjereth]

OK, I have a couple of friends that are doing online degrees and i was thinking about maybe doing one myself at a later date as that option is much cheaper than paying out 15 grand a year to study at a foriegn university. My question is are they worth looking into? From what I have heard they are more flexible, you just do the work when you have the time and you can fit it into your schedule. But are they worth the same as a normal university degree and would I still be able to use one for obtaining a visa if I needed to in the future?

This is really not meant to be smartass, but:

If they were "worth the same as a normal university degree" do you think people would still bother paying the extra time and money for the normal ones?

[Ghost]

This is really not meant to be smartass, but:

If they were "worth the same as a normal university degree" do you think people would still bother paying the extra time and money for the normal ones?

Well yes as with normal university courses you have tuition classes and all the equipment you need plus everything structured out with deadlines ect. Spoke to another friend about it and he said they were ok but wasnt sure whether the japanese embassy would except it for visa applications.

[Guest]

Just wanted to say, you do not need a University degree to get a working visa in Japan.

[Mulboyne]

Just wanted to say, you do not need a University degree to get a working visa in Japan.

No-one disputes that but the main alternatives are extensive work experience or some other specialist qualification and they will only get you into that particular field.

[kamome]

[aquamarine]

What is 'Bing Bang Boom' club?

Are you speaking from experience? If you got a working visa without a Uni degree, then how did you do it?

Self-Sponsor. It was I was about to do before I lost my fucking passport. Five buddies did the same as they only had what I had at the time (technical degrees from trade-schools in Canada) and since they made enough money, they were able to self-sponsor.

[Taro Toporific]

What is 'Bing Bang Boom' club?

Are you refering to Bing Bang Boom' club?

[FG Lurker]

My question is are they worth looking into?

Depending on you and your personality type they could be a good choice.

From what I have heard they are more flexible, you just do the work when you have the time and you can fit it into your schedule.

No, this is generally not the case. Well, with any serious program it won't be the case anyway. You will have courses and deadlines.

But are they worth the same as a normal university degree

This depends a lot on the institution in question and the way they issue their degrees.

Some normal fully accredited 4-year universities also offer online (distance) education and degrees. In this case the degree you get might actually be identical to the degree a normal attending-every-day 4 year student would get. In this case the degrees will have similar sorts of values in the workplace and certainly be equal as far as getting a visa in Japan goes.

If the school in question is not accredited as a university then the paper is worthless. Don't waste time or money on a place like this, you may as well buy a fake degree in Thailand. The Thai degree is probably more valuable actually!

If the school is accredited but does not offer "normal" classes (ie where you attend for 4 years) then you can probably get a visa but the degree isn't likely to carry too much weight with any employer who checks into the university.

[GomiGirl]

[Greji]

Some normal fully accredited 4-year universities also offer online (distance) education and degrees. In this case the degree you get might actually be identical to the degree a normal attending-every-day 4 year student would get. In this case the degrees will have similar sorts of values in the workplace and certainly be equal as far as getting a visa in Japan goes.

Accreditation is the key. Although under the right circumstances, you can still get a visa approved with a Diploma from Mrs. Mollie Brown's Storm Door Company and Airline School. But, then again, it could be refused out of hand. If you are given your druthers, it's better to have one from an accredited institution for either on campus, or on-line study.

This listing from the US could possibly be of interest for you.

[ichigo partygirl]

There is no way that an "online degree" could be equal to that of a regular degree unless that degree was a distance learning course from a good university, and even then you would probably have to do some on-campus study. Getting a degree through McDs isn't a stupid idea since they are
paying for it (btw is it a degree or is it like a NZQA level certificate/diploma) as long as it is going to further your career goals.

Going to Japan to get a job which will give you a working visa is tough; I am finding it hard enough and i speak average Japanese and have a postgrad degree. BUT in saying that there are plenty of people on this board who have succeeded. What i believe that most of them have in common is: good Japanese, work experience, univeristy qualification, contacts, and work ethic. I think these are the most important things anyone needs to succeed in Japan(or anywhere else minus the Japanese language).

[Ghost]

Depending on you and your personality type they could be a good choice.


No, this is generally not the case. Well, with any serious program it won't be the case anyway. You will have courses and deadlines.


This depends a lot on the institution in question and the way they issue their degrees.

Some normal fully accredited 4-year universities also offer online (distance) education and degrees. In this case the degree you get might actually be identical to the degree a normal attending-every-day 4 year student would get. In this case the degrees will have similar sorts of values in the workplace and certainly be equal as far as getting a visa in Japan goes.

If the school in question is not accredited as a university then the paper is worthless. Don't waste time or money on a place like this, you may as well buy a fake degree in Thailand. The Thai degree is probably more valuable actually!

If the school is accredited but does not offer "normal" classes (ie where you attend for 4 years) then you can probably get a visa but the degree isn't likely to carry too much weight with any employer who checks into the university.

Ah ok, thank you. One of my friends who was doing a long distance degree was working part time as well as being a mum with 3 kids to look after, hers was a 4 year course but she said that it was pretty flexible and when you can complete it depends on you.

[Ghost]

:hehe: Are you refering to Bing Bang Boom' club?

Thats the one, actually I was quite lucky because a month after I left the company they went bankrupt and most people didnt get their last months pay. Job was ok though and was much better than GABA.

[kusai Jijii]

regarding online degrees, this might be worth a look...

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=sJq8rqr4IcQ

[Guest]

[omae mona]

[Guest]

Imanori-kun, while much of what you say may be true, some of your information seems to be off, to me.

Not unless policy has changed drastically. We all know Eijuuken applications are case-by-case, but last I heard, the common wisdom is that they normally won't even accept your application until you've been resident for 10 years, or 5 years if you're married to a Japanese national. Where did you hear about them granting permanent residence after 4 years to residents with only a work visa? I'd be very interested to hear about this.

Yes, in some cases it is 10 years to get an
Eijuken is some cases, here are the other cases, I think some prefectures might also me stricter than others. Here is thes list for Nagoya]Somehow I don't think that list you posted is the correct list of requirements for an engineer (unless maybe it's a sound engineer for a touring rock band)![/quote]

That list I posted was off the Japanese consulate in the UK website. As I said it might be different for the country you are in or originally from. What is wrong with it?

[omae mona]

[GomiGirl]

That is fascinating. Do you have a link to where this information came from? If it's an official government site, it will be the first time I've seen any requirements in print.

I wish there were proper websites with the correct information. It seems they like to keep it secret and requires many trips to speak to lots of different people. If the guidelines were clear and published and the forms downloadable it would save so much time and effort for the Immigration Staff as people are just so confused.

Being so secretive really only makes their jobs harder but allows them to reject people they think are undesirable.