To find out, I teamed up with my good friend Joe who just got back from two years living and teaching English in Japan and had now started work with a Japanese moving company here in the States. He went through the same Japanese program that I did at college, but his two years actually living in Japan really rocketed his Japanese skills to new heights. In this article we’ll be exploring his journey for employment back here in America.

FYI Joe’s actual thoughts and words will be italicized for your reading pleasure.

The Experience

Like I mentioned above, Joe majored in Japanese at Ohio State University and then went on to teach English in Japan for two years through the JET program (more info on that and how to apply here). Some of you may remember how mediocre I thought OSU’s Japanese program was, but as with most things – you get out what you put in.

Joe was in a lot of the same Japanese classes as me during undergrad, but since Japanese was his only major, he could afford to put a lot more time and effort into the language than I could (I double majored in Japanese and economics and minored in engineering).

After graduating, Joe started looking for jobs in Japan and managed to land a pretty nice gig through JET teaching English. He was way up on the island of Hokkaido- far, far away from all things English. This was immersion at its finest.

I am like, so immersed right now…

Joe’s stint in Japan really bolstered his Japanese skills and his own confidence in his abilities. But how hard is it to find a job in a country like the United States when most all of your experience is in Japanese? Where do you search? What kind of jobs can you expect to find? Let’s follow Joe’s journey and find out.

The Search

Q: So Joe, why don’t you describe what sort of jobs you were looking for and where you found them. How many did you apply to? How many did you actually hear back from?

A: I haven’t been at it long enough to speak with any great amount of experience, but at the outset I cast a wide net over the internet, just looking for jobs available in Ohio. What I came up with wasn’t much, but it led to my job at Yamato Transport USA (a moving/delivery company) and could certainly lead to more.

There are recruiting companies such as TOP Chicago who actively search for people with Japanese qualifications and try to refer them to their clientele – Japanese companies in America. They did a lot of the foot work for me, and that is what led me to a few Skype interviews and one in-person interview.

Searching is hard :(

While I (John again here) was looking for jobs, I had my own dealings with TOP Chicago as well. I had one phone interview and one in-person interview. The in-person interview ended up not panning out because I was a little misled as to what the actual position was, and the other interview didn’t pan out because I wasn’t actually qualified for the job.

So basically the takeaway here, I think, is to apply like crazy to everywhere. There’s no harm in applying, right? Recruiting companies such as TOP Chicago are a great resource, but definitely do not rely solely on them. You never know what you might find on your own.

The Interview Process

Q: Could you describe the interviews you had? What was the process like?

A: My first Skype interviews were with the recruiters at TOP Chicago, and they seemed to be primarily to get a feel for what kind of work I was looking for, but since these were all conducted in Japanese, they also served the double purpose of testing my Japanese ability to better find a suitable position for me.

(As it turns out, the market here is pretty flush with Japanese majors who taught English in Japan and now want jobs here – I was hired just two weeks after another friend from OSU had been hired for the same position, and another long-term employee had similar qualifications when he started.)

The Job Itself

Q: So, your job at Yamato – could you describe more what the job is like? How is Japanese utilized and how much Japanese skill do you feel you really need there? How much of the day are you actually using Japanese? Is it mostly speaking, writing, reading?

A: For my particular position, it isn’t entirely too necessary to know much Japanese, being that I’m just starting out as a box-moving grunt, except when receiving training, advice, and directions from the boss, who by my second day stopped using English with me.

That sort of job could be considered a promotion actually, and would be a fully integrated mix of reading and writing paperwork and box labels, as well as speaking and listening to customers and fellow employees at the home office.

John again here – for those of you who aren’t already aware, Yamato is the number one parcel express and delivery company in Japan. You heard of takkyubin? Yamato is king. In America, they still do the same sort of stuff, they just get a whole lot of their business from Japanese people since they already know who Yamato is and are familiar with their quality and professionalism.

Advice

Q: So Joe, do you have any advice to offer that wasn’t covered in the other sections? What do you think set you apart that got you hired for the position you landed? Was living in Japan the most helpful? Undergrad studies? Feel free to share anything you wished you had done differently during the process.

A: Living in Japan was an invaluable experience and I would recommend it to anyone (here’s some ways to get there cheap), especially anyone who is interested in the Japanese language or Japan related jobs. If, however, I wanted to do anything differently, it would be to find a non-teaching job IN JAPAN while living in Japan.

To do this you must be very resolute in your search, and have little or nothing to draw you out of Japan (companies don’t want to invest in someone who might be a flight risk) once you get there. The market there has a much higher demand for foreigners who can speak Japanese, while American-based Japanese companies will almost certainly prefer a native who can speak English.

My undergraduate studies in Japanese were also invaluable. I had a wonderful experience in that community within the university and made a bunch of lifelong friends – many of them on the study abroad to Kobe, like John! But again, if I were going to do anything differently, it would definitely be NOT TO MAJOR IN JAPANESE EXCLUSIVELY.

I also very much agree with this.

A double major or a Japanese minor with something else is definitely the way to go here. For example, computer science and engineering and Japanese language double major, or economics/business with a Japanese minor, or some other combination that brings more skills to the table.

Finally – and this could be a whole Tofugu post all on its own (if it isn’t already) (it kind of is) – beware of working for a Japanese company. It is well-known that Japanese people work very long hours for little reward, and that is a distinct characteristic that is not exclusive to their home country.

So, have any of you landed Japanese related jobs in your home countries? What sort of jobs are they and how did you find them and get hired for them? Any advice for those currently on the job search? Please, share your advice in the comments!

I would also love to hear other people’s advice and comments! I’m still looking for bigger and better things!

How to Get a Job in Japan

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azxO12l0mVw']

This guy is all about motivation. And he’s right, you really need to be motivated and serious about finding a position in Japan to get one. You need to set goals, achieve them, and move ahead. A big thing that helped this guy find a job was that he was already living there when he was looking for one. And I agree, this is a big help, even if you’re just staying there on a 90 day visit.

Japanese companies will really appreciate the fact that you are serious enough to live and/or visit there while looking for jobs. It’ll really help you out. GaijinPot is also a great resource for finding jobs. You’re encouraged to apply to tons of places. The more places you apply to, the more likely you are to hear back from someone. You never know, you might get lucky.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZZsb_0FfCE']

This guy is always super genki in his videos. He’s all about being excited and outgoing and exciting. This is especially helpful if you want to teach over there. They really seem to like teachers who look like they can make learning English more fun and interesting for the students.

It’s also pretty much essential that you have some sort of college degree. I don’t think I really need to explain why this would be a boon. This guy’s video is motivational if nothing else. Just go for it!

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXLfhRBzubI']

This “no BS” guide seems more like common sense than anything else, but sometimes you just need to hear these things said out loud. He’s a bit more pessimistic about the prospect of getting to and landing a job in Japan, but again, the main theme here is that you need to be passionate and motivated to really get what you want in Japan. The same can really be said about employment anywhere, but this goes double for finding employment in Japan.

He’s pushing a book in this video, and I can’t comment on it, so just ignore that part. The important message to take away here is that you need to be both passionate and motivated.

Getting a Non-Teaching Job in Japan

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E3Or5zjBLM']

As he says in this video, this is kind of a hard question to answer simply. Like I said in my Monday post, if you’re looking for a non-teaching job, you need to have some sort of skill that would be likely to land you a job in your home country anyway. You just take those skills to Japan and find a job there. You could even get transferred to Japan from a Japanese company based in your home country.

It’s also very important, way more than a teaching job, to be really really good at speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. It’s definitely harder to find a non-teaching job in Japan than it is to find a teaching one.

Jobs for Students

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk7kSKQBLhg']

I’m sure some people are wondering what it’s like finding part-time jobs in Japan as opposed to full blown careers. Maybe you’re studying over there or you just can’t work full-time for whatever reason. There are plenty of odd jobs to be found in Japan from selling things on eBay, to working at a fast food joint, to doing English voice acting for language learning programs.

She also harps on being resourceful, having good Japanese, having other useful skills, being motivated, and being presentable. Really, these are all traits that anyone would need to find success in employment anywhere. They’re just things you really need to keep in mind as you search for ways to make it in Japan, even if you’re just trying to make ends meet. She also mentions how teaching English in Japan is really the entry level job for those seeking employment in Japan.

Success Story Interview

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8bKPDg-r2A']

This last video here is pretty long, and I wouldn’t say all of it is relevant, but it’s much more in depth than the other videos here. It’s just an interview of someone who landed a teaching job in Japan and his journey that got him there. Maybe you’ll find something helpful or insightful in this video, maybe not. Give it a watch if you have the time.

Quotes from People John Actually Knows in Real Life

Believe it or not, I actually have friends outside the internet, many of which who have lived in Japan and worked over there as well. Many have only held teaching positions, but others also have some experience with non-teaching jobs. Let’s hear what they have to say.

It’s basically just like finding any other job… put out a bunch of applications and hope someone hires you.

Note, this only applies to teaching English. I think for me, I just rocked the interview and looked into some basic TESL forms in order to put together a sample lesson. Interestingly enough, knowing Japanese was actually a bonus for me because they knew I wouldn’t have to rely on my co-workers to adapt to Japan. (Although sometimes that backfires.)

Other than that I applied to and sent inquiry letters to like, 10-15 different places. Only heard back from two. Also, having a visa and some prior experience will net you a job pretty fast, but good luck getting a visa without a job if you’re an American.

The visa thing is the most important. Also having a driver’s license if you’re applying outside of Tokyo. Obviously work experience helps and usually they want to see that you have some sort of multicultural experience so they know you’re not going to get homesick and leave randomly. “Screw you guys, I’m going home” is generally not a trait they want to see.

I’ve heard it’s really easy to find a job if you are already in Japan. Obviously it’s easier if you have a visa too, but I’ve heard about people getting visa sponsorship for part time jobs like tutoring, English teaching, and bar tending. Then while they have their visa sponsored, they look for full time work elsewhere. This is what I plan on doing once my teaching contract expires. There are a lot of full time jobs that will sponsor your visa, but it seems to be a lot easier if you’re already in Japan.

Of course, I’m talking about it being easier to find teaching work. I don’t have experience looking for any other type of work… yet.

I would like to say that unless you are with JET, coming here and teaching English is a horrible idea. Unless you plan on doing it as a stepping stone to another job outside English, but this doesn’t happen that often since most people come here with degrees in stuff that no one needs. I have met two people so far who broke out, one had a degree in economics and the other in law, they were English teachers only for the work visa and then left mid contract.

I think this is all really good advice. It’s something to think about at least. Also, most all the YouTubers up above are people I actually subscribe to, so I know they’re good reliable sources. Feel free to check out their other videos too. They’re good people.

In conclusion, the takeaway from this is that if you really work at it and stay motivated and do all that you can, you’ll make it in Japan. Making it is kind of a broad term though, and how well you “make it” will depend on your employability and your skill set. But just keep at it, and eventually you’ll find your way.

And I know I asked for it my last post, but if you have any additional advice, or have a success story to share, let us know in the comments! You’ll help out someone else and helping people will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Promise.

1. You Might be Better Off Studying on Your Own

“I’m… I’m learning!”

I think many would assume that if you major in a language, you’ll be pretty awesome at that language after four years of study. This is completely false. I had four years of Japanese language study at college, and even spent 10 weeks abroad studying in Kobe, Japan. However, by the time I graduated, my Japanese skill was about that of a preschooler, maybe worse.

This is not due to poor study habits or anything like that. I was a pretty good student, and I actually enjoyed my Japanese classes so I really tried hard and also tried to make the most out of them. But the thing is, most classroom Japanese just goes too slow and you really don’t learn all that much considering how long you study it. Of course this depends on the school and the curriculum, but I feel this to be true on the whole. I think I learned the most when I was actually in Japan just talking to people – not in the classroom doing lessons.

Therefore, as far as learning Japanese goes, you might just be better off studying on your own, going at your own pace, and learning Japanese the way you want to, learning the Japanese that is helpful, interesting, and useful to you. At the very least, you should be supplementing your classroom Japanese with your own self-study. Use WaniKani, or Textfugu, or Anki, or just anything that works for you. You need to supplement. Do not expect to become fluent in Japanese just because you major in it.

Some people need the Japanese classes just to have that motivation and a definitive schedule for learning, and I can understand that. But if you’re really going to learn the language and have it be beneficial and worth it, you’re going to need to put in plenty of study time on your own, outside of the classroom.

To be honest, you really don’t need the classes at all and could be spending that class time learning something more valuable instead. But if you do find yourself in a Japanese classroom, make sure you make the most of it. Remember, your Japanese fluency is up to you and you alone.

2. Other Languages are More Useful, for Business Anyway

In the 1980s and 1990s, learning Japanese was a great thing to do for business. Japan was starting its worldwide takeover, and knowing Japanese made you super-duper employable for the business. These days French, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and even Russian and Portuguese are all languages that rank higher than Japanese as far as being useful in the business world. Japanese just isn’t as valuable as it used to be.

Japanese is still very popular though, because, well, Japan is awesome. Some people want to learn Japanese because of all the cool anime, manga, and video games that come out of Japan. Other people just love the language and the culture and some even want to live there. I don’t blame them. But if you want to learn a language to be successful in the business world, you can certainly do better than Japanese.

Now, I’m not trying to say that Japanese is worthless for finding a business job – not at all. There are plenty of jobs to be found at Japanese companies such as Honda and the like, I’m just saying that you might have better success with one of the other languages given the competitive job market these days. Plus languages like French and Spanish are easier to learn than Japanese, but more on that later.

3. Limited or No Jobs

“Did you guys major in Japanese too?”

Speaking of finding jobs, the job market really sucks for Japanese majors these days. Sure you can teach English in Japan (which is BS, btw) through a program like JET or something, but where are the advancement opportunities there? Plus, you don’t even need to know Japanese for most of those teaching programs!

You could also teach Japanese, but you’re not going to be able to teach past your skill level, and as we covered in #1, the skill level of the average Japanese graduate probably isn’t that high. And since it’s not that high, you’re not going to be able to get jobs like being an interpreter, translator, or anything cool like that. Also, there really aren’t too many job opportunities for you if your Japanese is your only marketable skill, but again, more on that later.

4. Debt

Student debt is a huge, rotten issue. Depending on your parents, your school, and if you have any scholarships or work during undergrad, you can graduate with no debt, or a lot of debt. If you graduate with a lot of debt, you’d be best off landing a job that will pay you a lot of money. Most likely, whatever job you get with your sub-par Japanese (as per #1) isn’t going to be all that great or pay that well.

Being in debt sucks. Life and everything in general is just so much more stress-free and easy when you don’t have to worry about debt. I don’t know about you, but if I was in debt, I’d want to get out of it as soon as possible. Now, I’m not saying that you should do something you hate but pays well just to get out of debt – it’s just something to think about. Think of your future and plan accordingly.

5. It’s Hard

“Japanese gone done broke my brain!”

I’m sure you’ve heard it before and I’m sure you’ll hear it again. Despite what some may say, Japanese is still pretty hard comparatively. I’ve studied both French and Spanish before, and let me tell you – it’s so much easier to get the hang of than Japanese, especially for a native English speaker. The biggest part for me is just the writing system. If it was just the speaking part, I don’t think it would be that bad. It’s the written Japanese that’s the killer.

Learning Japanese isn’t for everyone. If you’re going to try and conquer the problem mentioned in #1, you’re going to have to tough out how hard Japanese is to master and work hard on your own to become fluent. If you want a job, and a job that pays well, expect to work really hard at mastering Japanese. Unless you’re a language savant, it’s going to be a rough journey. Probably.

Times When Majoring in Japanese Would be Okay

In my opinion, there are at least two cases when majoring in Japanese would make sense and be okay for someone to do. Those two things are: you’re really good at it, or you major in something else too. First, let’s explore why being really good at Japanese would make majoring in it acceptable.

You’re Like, Super Good at It

If you’re really good at Japanese and you love it so much that you study your brains out on your own time and really devote yourself to the language, there’s a good chance you’ll be super good at it by the time you graduate. Maybe you’ll even be so good you won’t have to deal with the intermediate plateau. Maybe you won’t even have to do anything. Good job.

Since you’re fluent, or near fluent in the language now, you’re much more employable. You can teach at a higher level, get jobs in the government, be a translator, an interpreter, or anything else of the sort.

Since most people aren’t at this level when they graduate, you’ll be head and shoulders above the rest, and that’s great. The only problem is – you don’t know if you’re going to be good at Japanese or have what it takes to really study your brains out for those four years before you actually start doing it. So like I said before, if you’re planning on going this route and you want to succeed and make money, be prepared to stick it out and really dedicate yourself to the language.

You Have Other Useful Skills

The other reason why you might consider majoring in Japanese is if you already have another marketable skill, or if you’re majoring in something else (that’s useful) as well. This way, even if your Japanese isn’t that great when you graduate (like mine) you’ll still be able to find a job and get dat money, son.

My undergraduate journey was kind of a wild one (six years long with many major and minor changes), but by the end of it, I graduated with a double major in Japanese and Economics with a minor in Engineering. If I had just majored in Japanese, I would probably have a terrible job right now, but I don’t. I get to help out with all this Tofugu stuff, and for my day job I work as a Chemical Information Specialist. It’s pretty great.

Majoring in economics gave me tons of writing practice, and I’m sure all that practice helped me land this position with Tofugu. Plus, I worked IT for three years in undergrad and I love computers, so it was really easy for me to get the hang of WordPress and all the other tech stuff going on behind the scenes here on Tofugu/Textfugu/WaniKani. If Japanese was all I was really good with, I probably wouldn’t be here.

Same goes for my other job. My computer skills and engineering mindset helped me land this position, and I don’t even use any Japanese at all. If all I knew was Japanese, I would most definitely not be where I am today. Plus, for most jobs I interviewed for after I graduated that had a Japanese requirement, my Japanese wasn’t good enough. Take Honda for example.

After I graduated, I applied for a position with Honda at a large research and development facility. The position was an IT position, but this was no problem since I had three years of IT experience under my belt from working at my university. However, they also needed someone who could help troubleshoot the machines of the Japanese employees who would be more comfortable talking things out in their native tongue.

Everything went great until the Japanese part. It was actually really embarrassing. While I never really felt super confident in my Japanese ability, this really made it crystal clear that my Japanese just wasn’t up to snuff and that my college courses really didn’t prepare me for landing a job where Japanese competency was needed. Needless to say, I didn’t get the job. They even cited my lack of Japanese competency as the reason why.

In Conclusion

So the bottom line is: be prepared. If you’re not really, really good at Japanese and you don’t have any other useful skills, life after graduation might just be abysmal for you. So don’t put all your eggs into the Japanese basket unless you’re confident that you’re going to be the most bestest Japanese speaker that there ever was.

If you know you’re not going to be that awesome at Japanese by the time you graduate, do yourself a favor and develop some other employable skills as well, or double major, or at least make Japanese a minor and choose a more lucrative major. But that’s just my two cents. Everyone is different and opportunities and lucky breaks are bound to happen, so things might work out for you even if you don’t agree with how I feel. You never know!

And just to be sure, I am in no way trying to put anyone down or make anyone feel bad and I’m certainly not trying to tell people to not follow their dreams. I’m just trying to get you to think about the best way to achieve them. I have some friends who really regret majoring in Japanese, so I’m just trying to get you thinking about things so the same thing doesn’t happen to you if you’re considering it. I want you all to succeed and be happy!

So tell me, are you majoring in/thinking of majoring in Japanese or have you graduated with a degree in Japanese already? How was finding a job? Share your stories, tips, and advice in the comments below and maybe you can help someone else out on their journey! Thanks!

Structure of the Japanese career system

In the United States, your career growth is primarily dependent on a few assets, but two of them are arguably the most important: the degree of specialization of your skills set and your performance. Typically, you develop yourself in a single market, moving from job to job, to develop specialized skills in order to move up the ladder and/or fatten up the paycheck. Your pay increases as you develop a highly specialized skill set, but eventually tapers off when you hit the limit of your progression. Your employment remains secure as long as you are productive. You have the option to jump from company to company, job to job, and obtain a position you are qualified for.

On average, an American goes through 5-8 different jobs and 3-4 different occupations in their lifetime. In other words, we are nomadic when it comes to who we work for; Short-term workers in a sense.

The United States style of career progression heavily contrasts that of Japan’s.

There are a few concepts that distinguish the Japanese from the United States style of white collar career growth

1. 終身雇用 (しゅうしんこよう; shuushinkoyou). Life time employment. A hired professional under the 終身雇用制度 (しゅうしんこようせいど; shushinkoyouseido; lifetime employment system).
2. 年功序列 (ねんこうじょれつ; nenkoujyoretsu). Seniority by length of service. Salary is dependent on individual’s status under the 年功序列制度 (ねんこうじょれつせいど; nenkoujyoretsuseido; seniority system).
3. 人事異動 (じんじいどう; jinjiidou). Constant job position changes within the company, not necessarily tailored to one’s skill set.

Once out of school and hired on, the expectations are for the employee to commit themselves to the company until retirement. One life, one employer.

Requirements for getting hired by a firm are usually an excellent set of general skills, and an attendance at a reputable university under your belt (for example: University of Tokyo, Keio University, Kyoto University, etc.). No skill specialization is required early on because the company will ensure you get the training you need throughout your career. The trade-off for this is a low entry-level salary.

The loss of salary during the entry-level phase is made up later in the career. Unlike the U.S. system where salary is based on performance and specialization, the Japanese salary is increased by length of service. Late in their careers, the growth percentage of a Japanese salary tends to be greater than the U.S. counterpart. Additional benefits are also given based on length of service. For example, after reaching a certain seniority level, the employee may be offered free company paid housing near the office.

The importance of the general skill set is emphasize throughout the career of the Japanese employee. Human resources will assign the individual positions in various departments, and a lot of times the position given will in no way match their education or current skill set. In the end, the employee will be able to play out many hats and understand the company as a whole. This is great for shaping employees into managerial roles.

Promotion to a higher status position is based on length of service. Job performance and skill set are secondary when it comes to promotion time for the employee. Higher level positions tend to be filled from within. Thus, it is not easy to leave a company for another because doing so essentially resets your “seniority counter”, which will stall your career growth and salary.

While it is great that experience is valued, the downfall of the seniority system is that upper level positions are filled with aged workers (the old guard), regardless of their productivity levels and qualifications. How the system is set up, firing low productivity workers is difficult. This puts younger, more capable employees at a disadvantage, since they have to wait in line behind everyone else in order to be promoted to a higher status position. In addition, having all been trained under the same system, the culture doesn’t lend itself for “radical” or “outside” ideas.

On the upside, the Japanese career structure builds a strong loyalty culture amongst the company. Having everyone commit to one company in their careers and without the fear of being laid off, people tend to trust each other more. It is like being a part of a second (or third) family.

P.S. Are you a hip, new lackey in the Japanese corporate cog? Share it on Twitter.
P.P.S. Perhaps you are part of the old boy’s club? Let us know on Facebook or Google+.