Is a good portfolio enough??

[soulkraka]

finishing up my certificate program at sessions.edu. My concentration is web design and my portfolio is starting to look pretty good, I gotten some nice compliments from the instructors as well.

In the US its pretty much all about your portfolio when applying for a job in this field. If its good and they like you then your in...unless you apply for some corporate job. Ive been checking around on a few web sites that FG links to and it seems every job requires a BA....Is it really all about the degree here? Am I just looking in the wrong place for web design/multimedia jobs?

BTW, I have a spousal visa.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Can you speak, read, and write Japanese?

[soulkraka]

Can you speak, read, and write Japanese?

oh ya, shoulda mentioned that Ive only been here about 6 months and am figuring I'll have to wait until at least my speaking ability rises a few notches......so to answer your question "not really".

[Charles]

finishing up my certificate program at sessions.edu. My concentration is web design and my portfolio is starting to look pretty good, I gotten some nice compliments from the instructors as well.

In the US its pretty much all about your portfolio when applying for a job in this field. If its good and they like you then your in...unless you apply for some corporate job.

Uh, no. In the US, it's not about the portfolio. If that were the case, the students I used to tutor from places like CalArts, who sometimes spent upwards of $10,000 just printing their portfolio, would all have the best jobs. Well actually, they DO, but that's not because of the $10k portfolios, it's because they have actual talent. If they got the best jobs, it's because their portfolios showed their talents to best advantage.
The point I am trying to make, is that if you rely solely on your portfolio, you will always be at a disadvantage, because there are always people with better portfolios than yours (especially if you are a new grad without a lot of professional experience). You need some other way to stand out from the pack, (especially with the current glut of computer design geeks) and that means one thing: talent. In your circumstance, that would probably be Japanese literacy. So get to work on that.

Ive been checking around on a few web sites that FG links to and it seems every job requires a BA....Is it really all about the degree here? Am I just looking in the wrong place for web design/multimedia jobs?

BTW, I have a spousal visa.

The BA requirements usually are because that is the minimum requirement for a work visa.

[soulkraka]

good portfolio=talent contained therein.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Seriously dude, you should enter a full-time language study program once you get to Japan. You could teach English parttime to pay for it. The sooner you learn Japanese the sooner you'll be albe to do something with that portfolio. Of course, you should apply for design jobs while you're doing all that. I'm sure there are some jobs out there for good designers who aren't necessarily fluent in Japanese.

BTW, I have to agree with Charles that it's not all about the porfolio even in the US. Raw untested talent only gets you so far no matter what the field. Experience and connections get you a lot farther.

[Socratesabroad]

good portfolio=talent contained therein.

Japanese ability=Ability to explain portfolio and negotiate salary

[soulkraka]

good portfolio=talent contained therein.

Japanese ability=Ability to explain portfolio and negotiate salary

hehe...excellent point.

samurai & charles, I agree that I need to take learning japanese a bit more seriously and will pursue it now that I have a some spare time.

thanks

[FG Lurker]

samurai & charles, I agree that I need to take learning japanese a bit more seriously and will pursue it now that I have a some spare time.

Speaking Japanese is critical to getting many jobs in Japan. Even inside Tokyo this is true, but once you get outside of Tokyo Japanese ability is required for 95% or more of non-teaching jobs available. This cannot be emphasized enough.

That said, just being able to speak Japanese will rarely get you a job. You ideally want a combination of Japanese + English (or other language[s]) + desirable skill.

Where in Japan are you planning to live?

[soulkraka]

Where in Japan are you planning to live?

takao...have a house lined up already. 80,000 per YEAR, believe it or not. Bit outside the center but for the price, and the beautifull area, its worth it. It will be a great chance to just work a bit part time, study my ass off learning japanese and getting my portfolio in tip top shape (not to mention going out and picking some fresh baby bamboo

[FG Lurker]

Where in Japan are you planning to live?

takao...have a house lined up already. 80,000 per YEAR, believe it or not. Bit outside the center but for the price, and the beautifull, area its worth it. It will be a great chance to just work a bit part time, study my ass off learning japanese and getting my portfolio in tip top shape (not to mention going out and picking some fresh baby bamboo

Sounds like you're well set up. Great deals like that can be found if people look hard enough. I know a guy who pays 10,000yen/month rent for a large-but-older house in Osaka. He's 25 or 30 minutes from downtown.

Good luck with the Japanese study. It's a never-ending subject though!

[soulkraka]

thanks man

BTW, if you or anyone can recommend a good school in the area that would be great......say between takao and shinjuku (hachioji, tachikawa etc etc)

[Socratesabroad]