So I have a degree in Japanese... now what?

[RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS]

So I've gone through getting a degree in Japanese in a US university, a year of monolingual Japanese study abroad, JLPT1, etc., but now here I am graduated and to be honest I don't know what I am supposed to do with these skills. I'd really like to work in translation, but it is completely opaque to me how you're supposed to get into that industry. I am also interested in working in Japan, but I'd rather not be an English teacher if I can avoid it. And I have recently found it humbling, job searching, how little I really know about businesses in the real world.

So far, my list of bright ideas consists entirely of applying to be a CIR in the JET Program, but surely there must be other possibilities to employ high proficiency in Japanese?

(I realize there are somewhat similar threads that have been posted here, since I have looked at them, but I think my situation is a little different insofar as I really have no marketable skills whatsoever besides Japanese ability and I am already out of school)

TIA

[GomiGirl]

You haven't mentioned any other skills or interests that you have. Do you really think you have no other skills than speaking Japanese?

Well perhaps there is a job as a TV tarento - most of those guys have little skills.

[FG Lurker]

So I've gone through getting a degree in Japanese in a US university, a year of monolingual Japanese study abroad, JLPT1, etc., but now here I am graduated and to be honest I don't know what I am supposed to do with these skills.

This is going to sound pretty harsh ('cause it is), but...What skills? Speaking Japanese on its own is not really a marketable skill. You need something to combine it with.

To get an idea what I mean, imagine a Japanese person showing up in the US and saying, "I speak English, hire me!" Unless they have something else to combine with their English and Japanese abilities there aren't a lot of jobs.

Your best bet is to build up some other marketable skills that you can combine with your language skills. IT is one area you can consider, business and finance are another couple. I'm sure there are others.

If you'd really like to do translation work (bores the fuck outa me but some people enjoy it) then coming to Japan and teaching while you build up enough translation work to support yourself is probably your best bet.

[Taka-Okami]

Poor choice of languages. Japan is finished. You should have learnt Chinese instead, something I regret, but japanese will have to do for me as well I guess.

The big dollars is in business and finance/banking. The closer you are to the source of money the more you get paid. I know of one person on 32 million yen a year managing cash flows and scheduling on large infrastructure projects.

[Ganma]

So I have a degree in Japanese... now what?

Congratulations! You have earned yourself a well deserved place in the dole que!

So far, my list of bright ideas consists entirely of applying to be a CIR in the JET Program

Why not. It will give you a chance to check things out over here and weigh up your options.

[nottu]

[Samurai_Jerk]

I hope you find your way but whatever you do DON'T teaching English in Japan or anwhere else for that matter.

[Mulboyne]

As GomiGirl says, you haven't really told us much about yourself. For instance, do you think the fact that you are inclined towards translation mean you prefer to work alone?

The course of your working life isn't necessarily set in stone by personality traits you have now. I know socially inept people who became effective salesmen because they worked out what the job required and trained themselves to do it. Nevertheless, your current interests and personal preferences ought to guide you towards what class of work you might find enjoyable.

What would be your plan of action if you had no Japanese? The danger of letting your Japanese determine what you do in life is that you may be closing down options which are more suitable. It's generally much better to be thought of as the capable employee who happens to speak Japanese - which may turn out to be a useful bonus - rather than the Japanese-speaking guy who ends up helping everyone else do a bit of everything.

I would caution you about working in a Japanese company. If those are the only jobs initially available to you then fine. Be warned, though, that Japanese companies don't generally train you to be good at anything other than working in that company. If you are starting with no other skills then you won't learn any in that kind of environment. The novelty of working for a living might keep everything interesting initially but, chances are, three years will flash by and you'll realize you've wasted your time. You might be lucky and find a Japanese company breaking new ground and new markets but there aren't many of those around today.

There was a time when other companies would headhunt foreigners at Japanese firms in finance, manufacturing, game software and commerce. Nowadays, they are more likely to target the Japanese employees if they bother at all.

[gkanai]

Honyaku mailing list.

[nottu]

[IkemenTommy]

So I've gone through getting a degree in Japanese in a US university, a year of monolingual Japanese study abroad, JLPT1, etc., but now here I am graduated and to be honest I don't know what I am supposed to do with these skills.

Do you have a pair of tits? If so, you're in luck because they are hiring.

Q. Do they speak Japanese only?
A. No, everyone speaks both Japanese and English. Because, being bi-lingual in Japan guarantees a job in a coveted position like this.

But other than that, as others suggested, don't teach Engrish. Those days are long over.

[Zeth3D]

So I have a degree in Japanese... now what?

Dude, Im in the same boat. Despite having a degree in mathematics, electrical engineering, and minors in japanese and east asian history, I still find it difficult to break into any area japan. So, as you may have heard oft throughout your life, its who you know who counts. Unfortunately for me, I dont know anyone.....

Go for a doctorate in something, thats what i am working on, I hear its easier that way.

[Screwed Up Eyes]

So I've gone through getting a degree in Japanese in a US university, a year of monolingual Japanese study abroad, JLPT1, etc., but now here I am graduated and to be honest I don't know what I am supposed to do with these skills. I'd really like to work in translation, but it is completely opaque to me how you're supposed to get into that industry. I am also interested in working in Japan, but I'd rather not be an English teacher if I can avoid it. And I have recently found it humbling, job searching, how little I really know about businesses in the real world.

So far, my list of bright ideas consists entirely of applying to be a CIR in the JET Program, but surely there must be other possibilities to employ high proficiency in Japanese?

(I realize there are somewhat similar threads that have been posted here, since I have looked at them, but I think my situation is a little different insofar as I really have no marketable skills whatsoever besides Japanese ability and I am already out of school)

TIA

Wow, bad timing. It's hard to refute any of the advice people have given (except Tommy, who suggested you try for the job looking for people with great tits, but judging on the successful applicants so far, you won't even need them).
If you can afford it, maybe it's a good idea to continue studying, but perhaps pick subjects that have greater practical application in the workforce in fields like IT, engineering, finance, science, etc. JET is also an option, but as Mulboyne pointed out, you aint gonna learn much in a Japanese workplace.
As for translation, the bottom has fallen out of the J-E market over the past few years, and that's including for people who've built up contacts and results over a number of years. If you're masochistic and want to try it out cold, specialize in a field, with most of the remaining money in patents, pharmaceuticals and, to a much lesser extent, law. It's really tough without knowing anybody and no prior work experience to back you up, though.
Finally, even a doctorate is no guarantee. I'm starting one next year, but it's probably not going to guarantee me anything better than the translation McJob I am currently in but about to be laid off from because of the dearth of work going around...and that's with prior experience as a lecturer at a couple of Japan's better-known universities.
You know a bit of kanji...try and parlay that into Chinese fluency. The market over there may be like Japan was a couple of decades ago, when language skills alone were enough to find something decent and the opportunity for more down the track.
Feel free to PM me if you'd like to get some more detailed advice.

[Yokohammer]

You know a bit of kanji...try and parlay that into Chinese fluency. The market over there may be like Japan was a couple of decades ago, when language skills alone were enough to find something decent and the opportunity for more down the track.

I have to agree with this. If you're young enough to take on an additional language, by all means do it. Proficiency in Japanese and Chinese (and of course English) would be more of a door-opener than Japanese alone. I've actually thought of tackling this myself, even at my advanced age, because I think that being able to peek into the Chinese mind as well as the Japanese mind would be a hell of an eye-opener as well.

[waruta]

So I've gone through getting a degree in Japanese in a US university, a year of monolingual Japanese study abroad, JLPT1, etc., but now here I am graduated and to be honest I don't know what I am supposed to do with these skills. I'd really like to work in translation, but it is completely opaque to me how you're supposed to get into that industry. I am also interested in working in Japan, but I'd rather not be an English teacher if I can avoid it. And I have recently found it humbling, job searching, how little I really know about businesses in the real world.

So far, my list of bright ideas consists entirely of applying to be a CIR in the JET Program, but surely there must be other possibilities to employ high proficiency in Japanese?

(I realize there are somewhat similar threads that have been posted here, since I have looked at them, but I think my situation is a little different insofar as I really have no marketable skills whatsoever besides Japanese ability and I am already out of school)

TIA

How is your accent? Are you completely fluent or is it all textbook-based skills...aka JPLT1, can read a newspaper but can't hold a conversation with a native-speaker? I have a job opening, send us your resume and we'll see what we can do for you.

[RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS]

How is your accent? Are you completely fluent or is it all textbook-based skills...aka JPLT1, can read a newspaper but can't hold a conversation with a native-speaker? I have a job opening, send us your resume and we'll see what we can do for you.

I spent a year in Japan doing a monolingual Japanese program and talking to a lot of Japanese people, so I'm fairly confident in my accent and my ability to keep up a conversation in Japanese.

I looked in your profile but I don't see any contact information, unless you just want me to copy and paste my resume into a private message (also, I don't seem to have permission to send private messages, I guess because I registered so recently).

[RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS]

This thread garned replies a lot faster than I expected. Thanks a lot. To answer some of the previous posts:

I was underselling myself a bit, I suppose. I am also proficient French and Spanish (although these both seem like really dime-a-dozen talents, and conversation in those languages isn't as easy for me as it used to be since I went to Japan). I'm also fairly computer-inclined (I can write HTML and simple bash shell scripts, for example), although I don't think I am really at the level that I could do, say, IT without a lot of training. I'm also fairly talented at writing, I am told.

My undergraduate thesis was a medium-length literary translation, so I do have a bit of experience doing translation, although I'm aware that the kind of content I would be translating as a professional translator wouldn't be literary. I like writing translations a lot because there is a certain "solving a puzzle" feel to coming up with a good one and because I really like manipulating phrasing, I suppose.

As for my interests, I suppose the biggest ones would be foreign language in general, news/politics, literature (especially avant-garde stuff), and (although I am a bit embarrassed to admit this) video games. This doesn't really suggest a career path to me, but you may be a bit more clever than I am.

Anyway, thanks again.

[Tobacco Taro]

[quote="M Bison"].

... working with Japanese people sucks arse.
it's like working with a load of children.

I'd say you pretty much nailed it there, mate !

[Ganma]

I have to agree with this. If you're young enough to take on an additional language, by all means do it. Proficiency in Japanese and Chinese (and of course English) would be more of a door-opener than Japanese alone. I've actually thought of tackling this myself, even at my advanced age, because I think that being able to peek into the Chinese mind as well as the Japanese mind would be a hell of an eye-opener as well.

Originally Posted by Screwed Up Eyes
You know a bit of kanji...try and parlay that into Chinese fluency. The market over there may be like Japan was a couple of decades ago, when language skills alone were enough to find something decent and the opportunity for more down the track.

Interesting thoughts. I have several years of Chinese under my belt and even lived in Taiwan for a while, but moved to Japan because I couldn't stand the pollution. Chinese is an easy language as far as conversation goes but getting to the point where you can read the newspaper is tough, tougher than Japanese. But that is food for though anyway. Maybe I should hit the books again ...

[IkemenTommy]

How is your accent? Are you completely fluent or is it all textbook-based skills...aka JPLT1, can read a newspaper but can't hold a conversation with a native-speaker? I have a job opening, send us your resume and we'll see what we can do for you.

Oh god.. I hope you're not another sleezy head hunter gaijin..

[waruta]

Oh god.. I hope you're not another sleezy head hunter gaijin..

Ah me so sorry mista IkemenTommy-sama, but no, we are a respectable European IT company with a Japanese client that we have an exclusivity contract with, I'm leaving the company but I don't want to leave them high and dry without support so I'm doing this last favor and finding my replacement before I go.

Sorry to disappoint ya, but I know the feeling about the head-hunting, cold-calling, boiler-room watching bastards you talk about.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Hey, I'm a headhunter...I hunt for wherever I can get some head. [color="White"](Totally fucking unsuccessful 99% of the time, though...)[/color]

[Iraira]

Hey, I'm a headhunter...I hunt for wherever I can get some head. [color="White"](Totally fucking unsuccessful 99% of the time, though...)[/color]

I like it when we get back to basics.

[nottu]

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Nottu's advice is absolutely outstanding...if you've got the business skills.
While I advocate further study if your earning prospects are bleak, just FYI I possess one of the aforementioned advanced degrees and am about to embark on a doctorate...and they're all fucking useless.
I now make less than what I got in my first job in Japan in 1989, lost my job yesterday (albeit with two months' notice) and prospects of future employment are fairly bleak, even when I can be called doctor. When I last freelanced, calculating my hourly wage worked out to pay less than McDonald's. I'm largely to blame because I am such a terrible businessman and have a tendency to tell it like it is, regardless of the consequences.
But if you can shoot the shit, have something to sell and work hard to do it, being an entrepreneur is the way to go.
In the meantime, I'll be smug in the knowledge that when I ask someone "Would you like fries with that?" I know the psycholinguistic and socio-economic implications associated with the question that I am putting to them...for a whopping 800 yen an hour.

[McTojo]

Poor choice of languages. Japan is finished. You should have learnt Chinese instead, something I regret, but japanese will have to do for me as well I guess.

The big dollars is in business and finance/banking. The closer you are to the source of money the more you get paid. I know of one person on 32 million yen a year managing cash flows and scheduling on large infrastructure projects.

Well said! Finance sector is worse than Eikaiwa, believe me! You will not even have a minute to call your own in that industry. Basically, the OP, you are the dumbest. Didn't you have any career advisor in your university? Didn't anybody inform you of your job prospects before undertaking such a major?

[McTojo]

I like it when we get back to basics.

Who is that model in your avatar?

[RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS]

For some reason none of my posts are showing up in this thread. But yeah, I don't really feel like more education is gonna be the answer to my woes, although it'd be fun.

[travlr1134]

For some reason none of my posts are showing up in this thread. But yeah, I don't really feel like more education is gonna be the answer to my woes, although it'd be fun.

My first post on this site. You need to use language as a tool to get ahead. But that cannot be your only skill. Be good at what you do in addition to speaking a foreign language. Just being fluent in a language only qualifies you to translate, which does not pay well.

[Taro Toporific]

For some reason none of my posts are showing up in this thread...

To prevent spamming and random trolls, the initial posts of new members have to approved by the forum moderators. During the weekends, the moderators are often out having fun and not sitting around waiting to approve new member posts. Don't worry, come Monday the moderators will be bored at "work" and approving posts more promptly.

I don't really feel like more education is gonna be the answer to my woes, although it'd be fun.

As far as having "a degree in Japanese... now what?"...
As many have implied before, Japanese is a degree in unemployment. A real degree in something useful PLUS a Japanese degree is fine. Ditto for 5-10 years of real technical experience and a Japanese degree.

Unless you have some high powered connections in Japan or wildly good luck in the middle of these crappy economic times, just a Japanese degree is gonna get you nowhere.

Ideally, you should find a job in a multinational corporation with large Japanese branch (or less ideally could find a job in Japanese company overseas), and then transfer to Japan as a valued, skilled employee on the increasing mythical "Package.":rolleyes: [color="Gray"]Rots of ruck. [/color]