Those who don't speak English as native language

[Ioan]

Hello everybody,
I have been interested in Japan and hope that one day I will be able and live quite little life, perphaps in a village or small town. I've always read articles about Japan and watched videos and many other things because I like to get as informed as possible about a certain matter I am interested into.
However everything I've read or watched seems to be made only for native English speakers and that is actually really annoying because not everybody had the chance to be born in an English speaking country. I for example am Romanian and speak Romanian as my native language. I'm in college right now, studying English and German and as I said before hope to be able to get a job in Japan and eventually move there.
I want to be a translator after college and maybe even get some writing related job at a publishing house or newspaper or something but considering that most translators work on a freelance basis that doesn't really help with the visa problem.
So my question is, what other jobs can a non native speaker of English with a degree in English and German get in Japan and how hard is it to get one? Of course by the time of moving to Japan I should be able to speak and write Japanese pretty good.

 

[Glenski]

Hello everybody,
I have been interested in Japan and hope that one day I will be able and live quite little life, perphaps in a village or small town. I've always read articles about Japan and watched videos and many other things because I like to get as informed as possible about a certain matter I am interested into.

Being as informed as possible is always a good idea. However, you should actually come to visit first, perhaps more than once and for as long a period as possible before you commit to living here the rest of your life. Wouldn't you give similar advice to someone who said the same thing about coming to live in your own country, based only on video and book information?

However everything I've read or watched seems to be made only for native English speakers

How do you mean? I would disagree with that.

I for example am Romanian and speak Romanian as my native language. I'm in college right now, studying English and German and as I said before hope to be able to get a job in Japan and eventually move there.

A person doesn't have to be a native English speaker to work here. Where did you get the idea that you did?

I want to be a translator after college and maybe even get some writing related job at a publishing house or newspaper or something but considering that most translators work on a freelance basis that doesn't really help with the visa problem.

Most? Are you sure? Many companies hire translators to convert documents for them on site, and many translation companies exist as well.

So my question is, what other jobs can a non native speaker of English with a degree in English and German get in Japan and how hard is it to get one? Of course by the time of moving to Japan I should be able to speak and write Japanese pretty good.

Having a strong command of Japanese (spoken and written) is a necessity for the majority of non-language-teaching jobs here. It is not enough most of the time, though. You will need some skill, background, technology, or work experience to set you apart from the Japanese locals. A degree in English and German will just not cut it. Pretty much any non-teaching job is open to any nationality as long as they have the language skills and work skills. So, other than translation, what type of work seems to interest you as a long-term career (whether you work in Japan or not)? Do what you want/like, not what you think will be needed. Enjoy life. You're going to spend at least 1/3 of it at a job.

 

[WonkoTheSane]

Pretty much any non-teaching job is open to any nationality as long as they have the language skills and work skills.

One caveat I know of is that many health related fields are closed off unless one does the degree in Japan. I'd have to redo my graduate degree at least (I didn't bother to check on undergrad) if I wanted to work clinically with the local population. I'd also have to pass the Japanese board exams. Which are, of course, only in Japanese.

This certainly doesn't negate anything Glenski said, it's just something to keep a close watch on when considering options.

 

[Glenski]

One caveat I know of is that many health related fields are closed off unless one does the degree in Japan.

Not to mention passes the licensing exams.

Just mentioning "degree" forces me to tell loan that university degrees are pretty much required for any work visa. Heads up.

 

[WonkoTheSane]

Yep, that's what I meant by board exams.

I think your point about finding something you enjoy doing and then find a way to do it wherever you want to be is probably the best advice. A crappy job is no less crappy in Japan.

 

[jamesshaffer85]

I totally agree with you that finding ourselves is more important than finding the best place for living. After all, confortable enviroment and good climate and social policies are not enough for happiness, but a caring family and a rewarding job are. Therefore, the first step to better living is to keep your soul. Just liek with any othe rquestion in life, we'd rather start from ourselves and think twice if moving to anotehr country really can make us happier.

 

[Zgarbas]

Your degree is in Philology.
Philology is generally only used in academia.
So you can either be a teacher (for which you'd need a pedagogy degree most likely), or stick with the academia for life (for which you can do anything you want as long as you don't mind being a student forever).

Translations are serious business, and a degree in philology does not mean anything. Get your language and teaching certificates in order =). Also, the problem with translations is that you need a target for them; I doubt that there's a target for translating from German to Romanian in Japan.