How to Move to and Find a Job in Japan! (As a Foreigner)
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2024
- I often get asked what I do for work, and how to find a job in Japan. Well today I am answering all those questions in a video that turned out a bit longer than I intended!
My Insta: / lysa_kay
Music: @ludandschlattsmusicalempor6746
#japan #jobsearch #livinginjapan
00:00 - Intro
00:56 - Different Types of Visas
03:51 - Common Jobs for Foreigners
05:41 - English Teaching
09:24 - Recruitment
11:51 - IT Jobs
14:48 - How to Actually get a Job
15:18 - How to get an English teaching job
18:15 - How to get a recruitment job
19:44 - How to get an IT job
20:55 - My personal story
27:30 - Outro
Quick clarification! You do not need a college degree for language school (a high school diploma is fine), but if you want a working visa, immigration requires either a college degree or around 10 years or experience in a relevant field!
Associates degree count? or only Bachelors ?
@@hedgefundpm 4 yr bachelors degree.
I am Japanese. Please work in Japan and help the Japanese economy
I am currently working in Japan on a short-term contract. My goal is to secure a long-term contract, either through an IT job or a recruitment position. I am still unsure how to begin this process. If my short-term contract ends, I will have to return to my home country. I must quickly find a new job before my contract ends
Aloha from Maui 🌈 Thanks for the very informative video. I am just starting to learn Japanese at 51 and look forward to moving there in a few years after I graduate from University. Never stop learning and embrace life. 😃
If I could do it all again, I would have gone straight to japan for the laguage school visa (which is up to 2 years) and used that school to apply for colleges in Japan. Because in language schools after 6 months students begin to be about N4 level profficiency- which is what you need to prove for university in japan. Anyway, I say that because even with moving costs and language school included, you are gong to save tens of thousands of dollars by going to a foreign university. And if Japan is your goal anyway, then it will be a very fulfilling expereince even before you graduate. (I'm 33 and came to japan last year with similar dreams. It's never too late to learn)
Absolutely! Best of luck for your future!
@@hanksilman4016how much is language school and is it for 2 years?
@@yusukeurameshi5083 about 14k USD for me. I found out after I got here that I got to a more expensive school. But you pay twice a year. So increments of 3,200 every 6 months. Which is roughly the same as my rent here.
@@hanksilman4016 Lucky you ..I need more info about studying Japanese language to move to Japan.. How can I reach you please do you have facebook or instagram
Important note about hiring in Japan - is that it's one thing to hire mid-career and is more common now, but a lot of "big" Japanese companies hire straight out of university after their Shushoku Katsudo/Job Hunting in prep for graduating, and a lot of the time it doesn't matter what your degree / major is in they like to mold grads into the shape they want for the company from graduation and hire onwards.
So mid-career roles are a thing, but a lot more rare than overseas. On the other hand, Junior roles are plenty if you are going to graduate and have decent Japanese ability
0:04
Exhaustive enough and, more importantly, non-sugar-coated overview, very interesting thanks Lyssa.
I liked hearing that you have a cool job (from my perspective anyway), but I also thought that you're so comfortable with the camera (and have a lot of smarts and charisma, imo) that I can easily picture you as a top-shark HR recruiter...
I love to hear more stories about your early life in Japan, thank you for this informative video!, I shall take your advice to heart!
This video is an amazing resource, cheers! (Would definitely be interested in hearing more about those chats!)
Down to earth, engaging video and very practical advice. Thank you very much.
Just found ur channel and I’m obsessed!!! Queen ❤❤❤❤
Great video, keep it up Lyssa!
Thanks for sharing its straightforward and super helpful. Thanks again 😊👍🏼
Thank you for making this video, I really appreciate it ❤
It's a lot of people's dream to live in Japan....not necessirily work in Japan.
Haha this is 100% true
Work remotely in Japan. If you have a visa and work for a consultancy based in Japan you can remote for overseas clients
but earthquakes is very scary
@@duoduoo6732 meh, i've been in a lot of Earthquakes. You get desensitized to them. If you live on the coast, however, it's way more scary. Get to high ground quickly!
Bingo!!
Thank you! That was super informative
Your video was super helpful thank you so so much 🙏🏾
ty for sharing your experience :) this has helped give a great perspective
thank you for the amazingly in-depth video! this video gave the same and even more information than the result of my months-long research into this topic. i'm currently a jet hopeful and i'm waiting on my interview results, so we shall see what the future holds for me but i'm sure the other ideas you presented are also possibilities. thank you for sharing your story! glad you could find a good change of pace to enhance your quality of life :>
I believe you may be incorrect. The most common jobs in Japan for foreigners are in construction, agriculture, hospitality, service, nursing and fisheries.
I appreciate much more now being Argentinian and having the work and holiday visa! I thought every country will have it as well!
I’ll be arriving in september with a college degree in PR I’ll definitely be looking for those recruiters!! Great video!
Your situation resonates with me quite a lot. A mechanical engineer, a couple years out of college, and I'm starting to have those thoughts in the back of my head too. "Is this really all there is to look forward to for the rest of my life?" etc. etc.
I'm so glad I was recommended this video. Time to start looking into language schools... thanks!
We got a little Lyssa lore!! I'd love to hear more about the part-time jobs. Is the modelling job where you met Sarah? or was that in the language school. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge!!
Definitely would like to hear some of your stories from your past jobs there! Thanks for the video.
Thanks for the video, It was pretty informative! I didn't know about working holiday visa, though it look like the applicant usually needs to be below or 30 or 26 (depending on country).
Representing 3 as thumb+index+middle is the way Germans do it, and it does indeed look cooler. We start with just the thumb at 1 and work our way down the hand.
My favorite kanji is 灰 (ash), since it looks like "the square root of fire."
Your story is literally the exact same feeling I have omg. I’ve been working finance for 3 years (boring unfulfilling work) and now I’m planning to start language school in 6 months
Best of luck! I loved my time in language school! (Well besides the kanji test)
Preloading these Anki Core 6k reps to ease the pain before I go@@Lyssakay
Thank you for the fantastic video! It's important to note that the Working Holiday Visa has an age requirement, specifically, applicants must be between eighteen and thirty years old, inclusive, at the time of application.
Yes this should have been stated upfront, with printed on the screen. I find this kind of chatty delivery a bit annoying because you can't get to the structure of it. To be helpful generally it's necessary to have more structure and make it clear which visa is appropriate. The audience is 18-20/30 but that is just assumed.
The visa for school seems like a good idea, but many companies have internal hiring policies with age limits. Perhaps with the skills shortage and aging in Japan they may relax the rules but not betting on it.
Great video!
CZcams is an excellent job for foreigners in Japan as fast as I can tell so who knows…🤗
Thanks for the video tho
Great video 😍😍😍
Thankyou for your very enlightening feedback. I'm struggling with whether or not it's the right decision for me to even move to Japan to work (I'd be able to do a WHV), go to a language school/work or just continue to visit japan on holiday every so often based on where i am in my life right now. It was nice that your video was really informative and very little cutting.
Thank you so much! Obviously I don’t know what the right choice for you is in your life, but when I was deciding I basically asked myself, at the end of my life what is the path I will most regret not taking? In my opinion it’s better to regret doing something than never trying it at all!
Wow, I'm already a daycare teacher. Had no idea there was a chance getting a job at a daycare as a foreigner. It's not a job for everyone, taking care of little ones is quite draining, but I do love children... Might look into this further. Thank you for such a detailed video. Loved it and subscribed.
You could absolutely get a day care job with your experience, no problem! You could have your pick!
Your story it’s same as mine and your video was very inspiring, I’m currently on my 6 months student visa 😇
This is so helpful! I’m moving with a student visa in July, & this is video has been very insightful! Also same feels on the working holiday visa as Filipino 😂
Really really loved the video and your sense of humor, it was highly informative
Thanks for sharing your experience, I am already thinking of moving to he Japan by next year
love the video, cheers from Cold America!
Very nice
Thank you i saw youre blog watching🇵🇭
*Thank you for sharing.*
this vid doing mad numbers for u, ill sub
I just sent my resume on a company here in ph for it staff as my first job. This video is very helpful and relatable coz i want to live in japan too someday to find a mangaka that i can work with. I need to learn nihongo for starters thank you for the vid keep it up maam!
Good video! I have been throwing the idea around lately... I would have to get a Business manager Visa to HSP at his point for it to be worth it.. The problem I am running into is the thought of having to hire people for the reqs... What I do is really technical (Accounting/cybersecurity) and I am unsure how well what i do specifically would play out in Japan.... without first trying to network into Japan from here in the states to begin getting some foothold.
I have also been looking into the news of the new Digital Nomad VISA coming in march... I could stay for 6 months out of the year and work remote.
Such a helpful video! Interested to hear more about the chat host job / teaching classes that you did, sounds like a good way to ease into teaching! Did you have any teaching experience prior? :)
Thank you! I absolutely had no teaching experience prior, but teaching experience is rarely a requirement to teach English in Japan!
Very nice and honest video! I'm graduating in Computer Science next year (in Germany) and currently am semi-actively learning Japanese on the side (whenever the time allows for that). Hoping to work in Programming in Japan soon!
Best of luck! Programming is a very popular field these days!
I grew up as an expat kid in Bangkok, Jakarta, and Singapore in the 90s, where my father worked for the State Department. Returning to the US for college, I found it amusing how different the culture was-less friendly and welcoming compared to Southeast Asia. Experiencing diverse cultures early on shaped my perspective, and I'm grateful for it. Shout out to Bangkok International School. Btw - any native English speaker can get a job anywhere in Asia teaching English. There are so many companies hiring. That’s the easiest way to get a working visa -
Hi Lyssa. I actually found your channel from watching @seerasan's videos, and hers by just having interest in being a foreigner living in Japan and her channel coming up in my feed. II've spent a lot of time in Japan, in fact the better part of 2 years in Tokyo when I worked for Toshiba, I recently took my sons to Tokyo last year to visit, and my 21 yr old son fell in love with Japan. He'll soon graduate and is thinking about either taking some gap time there, finding a job there, studying there, or some combination of the above. Your video covered literally all of that. Plus, he's planning to go into IT, so you covered that, too. Your video couldn't have been better. Your video is the first one I've seen that gives actionable advice and actual paths to making living in Japan a reality, I also found your own story really interesting, and would love to hear more on really all the above. Just wanted to say your videos are hitting the mark. Please keep it up, and Thank You!
I really really appreciate your response! I wanted this video to be helpful to at least a couple people! Best of luck to your son!
@@Lyssakay Arigato gozaimasu! You also mentioned that you didn't want to stay at HPE for 40 years - I can certainly appreciate that sentiment lol. I'm sure many feel that way but don't decide to move to Japan. I'd be curious to know what really drew you to Japan specifically. Also, I'd be curious to hear how living there has met your expectations in terms of what you were looking for when you came to Japan. Maybe that could also be a future topic for your channel? Have a great week ahead.
Hi Lyssa,
Thanks so much for the video.
I really am struggling with finding recruitment roles etc that don't require business Japanese on linkedin or gaijin pot etc.
As for Japanese language levels, its important to note that: English teaching usually doesn't require any (unless you are in the country side on the JET program and have very little support system). In IT, some companies need it, some don't. Its also one of the few industries that does not frown on job hopping. Rakuten is a great stepping stone to Amazon for example. There is a LOT of finance IT work here as well. Spend a few years there, then jump "up" to better companies.. For recruitment, its basically a necessity to have "business level" Japanese skills, speaking, reading and writing. You should have at least N2, but most will be pushing you to get at least an average score on N1. You have to interact with the reps from Japanese companies, most of which hired YOU to hire foreigners because they cant speak English. So, once you make connections, you spend the bulk of your time being a business level translator to onboard the new hire into the company.
Well you should clarify a bit… Japanese language skills aren’t required to apply to be an ALT on the JET Program… just for CIR. Support system… eh… it depends (like a lot of things on JET). One of my college friends who I met from taking Japanese together and studying abroad to Japan together, applied to JET as an ALT and ended up on an island of 500 near Hiroshima. Yeah. OTOH, I applied to JET as a CIR and was in Yamagata Prefecture. We had a number of JETs in my city and quite a few in the prefecture in general. Yamagata JETs of my time were a pretty tight knit group. So yeah… there is no telling what your circumstances will be on JET (during orientation that’ll often tell you YMMV), but at least the terms of your contract are standard and most people find that their office or teachers are very supportive.
i really enjoyed this video lyssa! your story resonated a lot with me because it's somewhat similar and is what i want to do. i graduated uni in 2022 and did 1+ year of working as an analyst at a company i interned at for 15 months during my undergrad. but in late 2023 i had the same feeling of "i dont want to do this for the next 40 years" and quit my job to apply for a language school starting april. it's kind of scary but im also really excited to go to japan. i hope to study there for 2 years then land a job just like you did.
also, curious as to what your japanese is like after the 2 years?
I know I’m biased but I think you made the best choice! I’ve never regretted moving to Japan for one second! Language school can be whatever you make of it. The best advice I can give someone learning Japanese is to just be fearless speaking it. Use it every chance you can, mistakes and all! Honestly I wish I was more confident when I first started learning. To answer your question I’m okay now and can get by day to day in Japanese, but I know I’d be way better if I wasn’t so scared to make mistakes at the beginning.
If you want to work in Japan, definitely aim for international companies. I have worked for both Japanese and international companies in Japan and it is so much batter working for a international company.
You are saying working for a Japanese company or not?
@@BleakDeath I am saying that working for an international company is best. If you work for a Japanese company, they have many rules like not being able to take more than a week's leave at a time. Also, expectation for how long you stay in the office is more at a Japanese company.
@@johnforde7735 ahhh gotcha okay I’ve heard this lol same as in China my gf tells me "never ever work for a Chinese company lmao" gotcha thx makes sense yeah the guilt pressure is real in these countries to where they don’t even speak out against their bosses.
THIS! Big pay disparity as well. I strongly recommend to stick with international/foreign companies in Japan over Japanese companies.
Do you have any website recommendations? All the ones I ever see require Japanese. I don’t mind learning but to get your foot in the door it seems hard to find
Hi, you can get a student visa for a language school without college degree, and for a work visa, you can try to get it without a college degree if you have 10 or more years of experience on the job you are applying to. Thanks for the info!
Great video and well organized and well thought out! Your communication skills are exceptional. I remember that video you made with Sarah on the train ride to Kyoto and you two played those games to past the time. I thought you were so charismatic and charming and thought how a nice person you seem to be. Have you thought about opening your own tourist business there in Japan? What about arranging tours for Japanese people to visit the U.S.? Going to American baseball games, Formula One races, etc.
Thanks for this, Lyssa! Insta-sub, for sure. :3
Great video :-)
Curious about housing once you arrive :O Maybe make a video on that?
Would enjoy hearing about being your time as a chat host? Seems like a crazy job depending who came in to chat.
One thing you missed and should look into are visas for entrepreneurs and investors. Instead of looking for work, if you have some seed capital you can create work. Just like a big company can open up offices and transfer foreigners, you can also have a start-up open up a new business in Japan. I know your focus was on those looking to find jobs, but this is also valid as well.
Any chance you'd know what the typical starting salary is for an IT job in a company like yours?? Great video, had a lot of REALLY helpful insights, so thank you!
another type of job is at your countries embassy. i was in the UK embassy for a few months during the Oympics
How did you get this role? Apply somewhere?
For visa, long-term employment, credibility purposes, my best suggestion would be attending a prominent university or graduate school in Japan. Education is how one becomes fluent and acclimatized to culture/society. (This would apply to any foreign country.) For those who are looking for corporate jobs and sponsored work visas, bilingual universities/grad school candidates will often attend events such as the "DISCO Career Forums." The most famous one is held in Boston in fall, but there are similar/smaller events in Tokyo, Osaka, LA, and London. In the Boston event, you will see the most famous Japanese and foreign financial institutions, IT firms, Management Consulting, Accounting firms, etc, etc.
Really informative thankyou. I am a senior datacomms engineer and will be looking for work in that field .I also have 5 years experience teaching English when I lived in Bogota colombia .would love to talk some more if possible
No
I had no idea that foreign models was a thing in Japan! That's so cool
It’s going open up for many ppl from other countries in the future ..
Sounded like a lot of the work options have the hen or the egg issue.
they want you if you're allready in japan, but to get to japan you need a job but to get a job you need to be in japan.
Also interesting didnt know you worked in IT, just kinda assumed you where a model or something xD
(Met you at Ians event we ended talking at the restaurant with Pete)
I came for a IT project assignment from the HQ of an international company as in-house-consultant to Japan and after project finished basically “stuck” in Japan. Retire in few years after > 20 years being here. I was lucky how it turned out.
There is one more useful visa for Americans, the Designated Activities (Long Stay for Sightseeing and Recreation). I think it was originally styled as a rich people tourist visa but, because of the fall in the value of the yen, proving you have about $200k somewhere, like a retirement account, isn't as crazy as it once was. You just need to prove you have this money somewhere. This is good for 6 months to a year. Probably not easy for the early 20-something, but in your 40s, it becomes an option.
Interesting to hear your job stories. Actually Python and Power BI are very familiar ones. Do you manage with basic programming or does job require object programming side of Python? I was just curious and checked European Holiday Work visa and then I noticed that it has age limit 18--30 years (so I am too old for that 🙂) But anyway, it would be nice to hear your stories from your past jobs! I remember you from Sarah's videos!
Thank you this helps a lot. I’m planning on moving at the end of the year, and have spent a lot of time figuring out what that will actually look like. My biggest hurdle is I have a small dog that just can’t be taken care of by anyone else (it was severely abused for years before I adopted it) and have already begun the arduous process of animal importing. It’s quite a mess honestly.
I just started the dog moving process too (from canada). one more shot + the titre test, then the 6 month waiting period :') Im hoping to move in October of this year (maybe november depending on if everything goes smoothly). Good luck with yours ! I know how daunting the process is.
Can you maybe do a video on basically cost of living?
Thanks for the advice! What level were you able to speak after 2 years of language school? I want to do language school in a year or two to try and begin my move to JP
Your video was seriously helpful and showed up at just the right time for me, I’m basically in the same boat as you were, I’m a woman in IT (programmer) and want to go to Japan but there’s so many options and I hate making big choices.
I heard being in Japan already is important and saw that as criteria on a few job listings I have skimmed before but the amount of times you hammered the point in was educational to say the least.
Also, until now I thought my options were either finding a job while teaching English, finding a job from abroad, or attending a normal uni but in Japan. Today I got an ad about schools you can just learn Japanese at that will have you on a student visa and they can prepare you for N2/1 and help you find a job. I wondered if teaching wouldn’t be something I’d like to try out but didn’t want to fully commit to JET or something so knowing I could do a part time gig like you is great. I’m thinking I’ll stay at my company for another year or so then go your route.
The working holiday visa is something I could do too but idk why I would, I’d need to find a way to earn money and get housing and I might as well do that with the help of a network of people at a Japanese school while also improving my Japanese.
So overall, thanks! Really informative and funny video with a comfy vibe as well ❤
I really appreciate your comment! I will say that choosing to move to Japan was scary for me too but it was easily the best decision I’ve made in my life and I knew i would have regretted it when I’m older if I had never even tried.
Japanese school (if you have the money saved up) is a really great way to come to Japan because it gives you a good chance at learning the language and can open so many doors! Best of luck and I hope you can move here someday!
@@Lyssakay thank you :)
8:50 don't forgot international english schools too, like ASIJ, although not many of them
we understand japanese is a difficult language, but the continuous “TRYING” on the learning i feel wasn’t needed in the best way possible! it could be discouraging to some! one can very much learn if they are determined. so we don’t have to keep emphasizing the “trying”.
I was a student last year, when the yen dropped, finding a job that'd extend my visa became even more difficult. I tried the recruiting route but they decided not to hire anyone because of the recession... I want to come back to Japan eventually after getting a further degree in tech but my real goal is to work for one of the law firms.
Just FYI programming and IT are not the same thing, IT usually means systems and network management or cyber security, maybe help desk type stuff
Honestly, the best 'How to get a job in Japan' video I've seen. To get a tech job, do most require JLPT certification?
I can’t speak for every job but a large amount don’t! Mine required none at all!
Thanks for the reply! Was your interview all in English?@@Lyssakay
You can use Wantedly as well to get a job in Japan 🗾
In Australia our working holiday visas come with the requirement to do farm work if they want to extend their visa.
Oh my god, amazing haha
I'm annoyed I didn't know about the working holiday visa until the pandemic and wen Japan opened up I was just over 30 so could no longer use it.
What are reputable modeling agencies?
That new Digital Nomad visa is looking real nice right about now…
America doesn't have a working holiday visa, because it is reciprocal. They would have to offer the same to Japanese people in the US.
thank you so much for the video! Definitely helped a lot, i am planing to move to Japan in the future, i have pretty much a similar set path to what you did, i want to go to a language school and hopefully move from it to get employed.
Im also on the IT sector and have been working on my country for 4 years so I hope that helps me leverage.
One question, you mentioned you extended your stay at the school from a year to two, was this difficult? From how you described it seems it was originally just 1 year (which is what im planning for now). Assuming I need it that may be something i can consider as well
It’s not difficult at all! In fact most language schools will help you extend your visa and do most of the difficult work for you! Just tell them you want to extend your visa! (They want you to pay for an extra year after all and will always help you do that haha)
@@Lyssakay okay thank you!
By the way? How early should one be applying for the overal process? I do need to sort of some stuff in my life but wanna be on time to like possibly go the first half of 2026
You have plenty of time if you’re aiming for 2026. I’d say on average from when you apply to when you attend your first day of school in Japan is roughly 6 months. For example I first applied around July and my first day of school in Japan was January that upcoming year.
Hey Lyssa, thank you so much for the infos! As an IT guy thinking about moving to Tokyo, do you lead a comfortable life with your salary? The pay for an IT job in Japan is quite lower than in Europe and in the US after all, which is what worries me the most.
The pay is lower on average for pretty much every job in Japan compared to the west! However there are a lot of aspects about living here that balance it out. For example rent and housing prices here are way lower than what you would expect of a city of Japan’s size. Plus tipping culture doesn’t exist here! (Eating out is so so so cheap) overall you can definitely live a comfortable life here on an IT salary.
@@Lyssakay Thank you so much for giving your opinion. You might be the little push I needed to try and move there. Keep up the great work, love your videos and your dry humor!
I would love to try the language school option! Do you know where I can sign up and how? I always wanted to learn Japanese and I've already got my bachelor's. Don't have $10000 in my bank lol but most definitely something I want to try a year or 2 from now!
Thanks so much for sharing all this information! My daughters both want to move to Japan (we are in Australia 🦘🦘🦘 lol) and live and work there and probably get married there Lol..oh my gosh... Anyways...I do have a question...seeing as you have great connections...what if the applicant to live there has their own small business (successful, of course)... Would that qualify them to be using a working visa, or is there a different one they need? You're really on point with your info and cultural nuances, thanks for sharing.
v 😮😢😮🎉😢😮😢😢😮😮😮
How did you get started with Python? and later on that IT job?
Is there now a business visa? Where if you set up a business you get a visa to do it 🤔 I got my eye on some ideas in kanagawa
Are you going to make another video about how to move to Japan and get a job if you aren't a foreigner?
Would love to hear about the crazy modelling stories!
Hahaha, Would love to share I have so many!
❤ Japan but use due care and caution
Sadly
Google
Lucie Blackman rip ❤
She resembles her -that’s deep 😮
Could you elaborate on why we shouldn't come to a Japanese university? I have already applied! Thanks in advance, cool video~
I would just like to point out that the Working Holiday Visa is available ONLY for people between 18 and 30. No others
Yama is the only kanji i rmemeber from taking japanese classes about 10 years ago. It really is the eqsisest 😂
Thanks for this video very informative and clear. One question, can you specify to your recruiter that you want to work for a company that's more western working culture and use more english?
No
So for me as a network technician, I could still do that in Japan without knowing Japanese? I just need to teach english for a while first? :)
Thanks for the info. Do you know if an associate degree would count or does it have to be a bachelor degree and up? Also I work from home doing cad work for construction companies. Could your job be with a company in the USA or do you have to work in Japan only? Last thing if you please, can you just have enough money so you can retire there and not work at all? Thanks again.
I’d love to know more about your work as a chat host.
This is the first I'm hearing of needing a college degree for anything visa related besides maybe a work visa.
I really enjoyed this video, thanks for sharing your insight. Do you know of any other helpful job hunting websites similar to YOLO Japan? I’m looking for entry level / no to basic Japanese language proficiency construction jobs (building houses), YOLO often advertise these kind of jobs. Visa is no issue, my wife is Japanese 👍🏻 Thanks in advance 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I work for a Japanese company in the US and I’m hoping if I learn Japanese they’ll transfer me for 6 months 😩 they offer Japanese classes and I hope everything works out how I want it to
I'm coming to Japan on a WH visa this year (sorry!). I noticed you mentioned Mechanical Engineering, I've worked in Engineering for 10 years. Just wondering if you know how easy/difficult it is to get jobs in that line of work.
With 10 years of experience your odds should be pretty good! My advice would be to target the larger more international companies. (Assuming you don’t speak Japanese) those are the ones that won’t have any problem hiring foreigners. Also finding a good recruitment agent who knows the current job landscape would be a big help!
I was hired from Canada to an Osaka Company, after finding rate of pay I had to think for a few days as I told that to the Company owner, realizeing the Expense compared to wage, I turned it down, beware not all is glitter, we are all different some, like, love, estatic, and some don't
Don't forget about one year or one semester exchange programs. I know Sophia University and Temple University are popular schools that host a lot of college students from abroad. Temple is an American university that's in English.