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!

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!