I'm preparing to seek a job in Japan: Who do I call?

[MilesOfSmiles]

I am preparing myself to seek a job in Japan.

As part of this, I need to acquire a college degree. However, I want to make sure the degree is accepted by the Japanese Immigration authorities. When I go to the Bureau's website though, contact is confusing.

Anyone with experience care to chime in?

Thanks.

 

[Mike Cash]

What school do you plan to intend? What do you intend to learn? What kind of job do you intend to get?

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

What school do you plan to intend? What do you intend to learn? What kind of job do you intend to get?

Full Sail: Film.
Looking to get a job in the film industry.

Thanks!

 

[Mike Cash]

Full Sail: Film.
Looking to get a job in the film industry.

Thanks!

Oh, Jesus....

Go to a real school.

Visit your nearest state community college and speak with an admissions advisor or career counsellor.

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

Oh, Jesus....

Go to a real school.

Visit your nearest state community college and speak with an admissions advisor or career counsellor.

I'd like to know why you recommend this.

 

[salyavin]

You need a degree from an accredited four year college or university to qualify for a work visa. You can save money by starting in a community college.

 

[salyavin]

Also you cannot just make a call and get a job in the film industry in Japan or the US for that matter. There are several skilled Japanese speaking foreigners on TV and such. To come over you may need to teach English and network your way into being an extra on something. In addition to the degree you might want to study Japanese here and build up some marketable skills and experience.

 

[Glenski]

Any accredited university will do, but you need the degree. Once you have it, you then contact employers, not immigration. After you go through the hiring process and are offered a job, you and the employer together will apply for your work visa.

a job in the film industry

Could you be a little more specific?
Also, why Japan?
And finally, how's your Japanese ability (reading, writing, speaking)?

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

Any accredited university will do, but you need the degree. Once you have it, you then contact employers, not immigration. After you go through the hiring process and are offered a job, you and the employer together will apply for your work visa.

Could you be a little more specific?
Also, why Japan?
And finally, how's your Japanese ability (reading, writing, speaking)?

You win the prize for the most helpful response and the best interview skills! Thank you.

I have 10 years of video production and post-production experience. My goal is not to be a star of Japanese film and screen, though that would be fun, but to work in the Japanese film/tv industry, probably starting entry level or close thereto.

I have been learning the Japanese language for 1 year, I have a lot of work still to do although I have some basic vocab and reading skills now.

I will visit Japan for the first time next year, plans have been made. The process from here to Japanese employment will probably be 2 to 3 years, eneugh time to continue to work on my language skills and make all other necessary preparations.

As to why, I have had an interest in Japan, it's people, history and culture since childhood. I have a few Japanese friends who I adore, I like they way they think.

Also, I'm open to doing the work, going over, and finding maybe I was wrong about living and working in Japan. I will always come back to film as it is a lifelong passion.

 

[Mike Cash]

I'd like to know why you recommend this.

So you don't end up buried under a crippling amount of debt for a worthless degree from a dubious for-profit school. The accreditation status of the school is questionable at best. Google the name of the school together with "scam" or "scandal".

Frankly, your chances of walking out of even a respected university and into a job in film production in Japan as a fresh hire as a foreigner in your mid thirties wouldn't be worth gambling the cost of the education on it.

Is your entire purpose just to get qualified for a visa to come live and work in Japan? Have you ever been here before? Do you have any idea in which fields you stand the best chances of being employed? The absolute strongest advice I could give you is to make double damned sure that whatever career you spend years of your life and go into massive debt preparing for also has strong career potential for you where you are right now just in case things don't work out for you to come here or in case you come here and decide not to stay. (Very very very few foreigners stay here longer than about three years, max).

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

I a

You need a degree from an accredited four year college or university to qualify for a work visa. You can save money by starting in a community college.

Do you know if it must be specifically a four-year degree? Some Bachelors degrees I am looking at are able to be completed in as little as 2.5 years. I agree, I plan to incorporate starting at a community college to save time and money.

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

So you don't end up buried under a crippling amount of debt for a worthless degree from a dubious for-profit school. The accreditation status of the school is questionable at best. Google the name of the school together with "scam" or "scandal".

Frankly, your chances of walking out of even a respected university and into a job in film production in Japan as a fresh hire as a foreigner in your mid thirties wouldn't be worth gambling the cost of the education on it.

Is your entire purpose just to get qualified for a visa to come live and work in Japan? Have you ever been here before? Do you have any idea in which fields you stand the best chances of being employed? The absolute strongest advice I could give you is to make double damned sure that whatever career you spend years of your life and go into massive debt preparing for also has strong career potential for you where you are right now just in case things don't work out for you to come here or in case you come here and decide not to stay. (Very very very few foreigners stay here longer than about three years, max).

1) I repeat, I love your brutal honesty. You know this guy gives a damn.
2) I appreciate your knowledge of Full Sail and your opinion on eduction and employment at this time in my life, I will absolutely look into it.
3) Given my experience and goals, would you agree that I would probably do just as well getting a "normal" degree and getting into tv/film in Japan?
4) I am not opposed to starting as an English teacher to get my feet wet (and perhaps finds it's not where I want to be and fly home)

Yes, I will be going soon to give it the visit test.

 

[Mike Cash]

3) Given my experience and goals, would you agree that I would probably do just as well getting a "normal" degree and getting into tv/film in Japan?

I think your chances of getting into the industry in Japan are exceedingly slim, no matter what you do.

I think you should speak with a knowledgeable professional advisor regarding your career goals and the best way to go about getting the education that will help you realize them. The people on state salary at your local community college don't have a personal financial interest in steering you one way or another, unlike the people who work for some for-profit college.

If you were sick, you'd go to a doctor. If your car were broke, you'd take it to a mechanic. You need educational advice, so take your butt to talk to a professional who can give you informed guidance and advice. That's what they're there for.

 

[PatrickNZ]

Interesting - Full Sail have only been a "university" since 2008 and has a lovely Wiki entry listing high debt burden and mediocre graduation rates.

Experience in this area: I know one exceptionally talented person that entered the film industry last year after graduating double major (design related) and they were snapped up by Weta Workshops. They didn't need to relocate town or even learn a new language. They are doing something in the area of image clean-ups for various movie projects.

So, if you are exceptionally talented, have a good degree to prove it (and portfolio), are proficient reading, writing and speaking Japanese to work alongside co-workers, and can secure a job without prior work experience (paid, not doing stuff for fun on your computer at home), then you might be granted a visa.

 

[Mike Cash]

OP, this is a very important page to read and understand:

Regional accreditation - Wikipedia

 

[PatrickNZ]

Always interesting to check where your university ranks. Easy enough to check where places rank internationally.
Search | Ranking Web of Universities

 

[sasaki]

I have no idea ! but I am just writing to wish you all the best in your goals .. don't stop .

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

OP, this is a very important page to read and understand:

Regional accreditation - Wikipedia

Excellent information, thank you... I'm reaching out to my local college admissions dept.

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

Always interesting to check where your university ranks. Easy enough to check where places rank internationally.
Search | Ranking Web of Universities

Great, thank you!

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

I have no idea ! but I am just writing to wish you all the best in your goals .. don't stop .

Many thanks! I appreciate your encouragement.

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

OP, this is a very important page to read and understand:

Regional accreditation - Wikipedia

You mentioned in another thread (Preparing to Teach English in Japan) that if an individual wishes to continue living and working in Japan beyond an English school, they'd better have a plan for their next step.

What is the most important thing I should know about using a program like JET as a stepping stone to another job within the country after 1-2 years?

 

[nice gaijin]

An important consideration that Mike Cash has often brought up in threads like these is that in the fields where your being a foreigner is not an asset (such as teaching), you are competing with native Japanese, and any deficiencies in your language or cultural knowledge are liabilities that you need to make up for in some other way. Being super good at the job you're applying for and being able to showcase that is going to be crucial, but realize that if your language skills aren't up to snuff, you may not get hired simply because it would be too difficult to work past the communication barrier. Study your *** off to minimize that liability, not to mention making life in Japan easier for yourself.

If you have 10 years of experience and you're thinking of going back to school just to meet the visa requirement, you might have another path to eligibility. In most cases, the employer doesn't care what degree you hold as long as you can do your job (which is why there are English teachers with completely unrelated educational backgrounds); the education requirement is for immigration's visa requirements. To meet the education requirement you may need to submit transcripts (hence the "4-year" requirement vs. "bachelor's degree"), so for work experience you may need to be able to prove you have that experience in a similar fashion.

JAPAN : visa, immigration, working visa, spouse visa
The Japan Skilled Worker Visa | Japan Visa

But either way, you are talking about competing in an industry that may already be full of competent native applicants, and sponsoring your visa is another barrier to an employer hiring you over someone local. You need to stand out in the crowd, and have a killer sizzle reel/portfolio. Focus on that more than anything, because it'll help you get a job somewhere, if not Japan.

 

[MilesOfSmiles]

Great points. I have read online that the Japanese film industry is very small, closed and focused on domestic narratives (I have no problem with this) but I can see now I need some breathtaking work to showcase, some serious connections and in addition advanced linguistic and cultural knowledge to break into this field.

An important consideration that Mike Cash has often brought up in threads like these is that in the fields where your being a foreigner is not an asset (such as teaching)

I am curious about this statement. Is being an American, native English speaker not an advantage to applying for English teaching jobs in Japan?

 

[nice gaijin]

I am curious about this statement. Is being an American, native English speaker not an advantage to applying for English teaching jobs in Japan?

sorry if my wording was confusing, I meant to use teaching as an example of a field where being a foreigner/native english speaker was an asset, and unlike those fields, you'd be competing against native Japanese applicants for jobs in the film industry.

 

[Glenski]

Looking to get a job in the film industry.
My goal is not to be a star of Japanese film and screen, though that would be fun, but to work in the Japanese film/tv industry, probably starting entry level or close thereto.

Doing what exactly?

I have 10 years of video production and post-production experience.

This is incredibly important information. I don't know why you didn't say this up front. Still, what exactly does that mean you did? Hold the mike? Grip? Clapboard? Anime drawing? "Video production and post-production experience" are far too general terms, especially for people like us who are not in the business.

I asked "why Japan", and your answer was:
As to why, I have had an interest in Japan, it's people, history and culture since childhood. I have a few Japanese friends who I adore, I like they way they think.

I meant why do you want to live and work here? With your current experience, what's not open to you where you live compared to here?

Depending on what sort of work you will end up doing here, you might qualify for one of 2 types of work visas -- engineering or specialist in humanities. For the former, ten years of experience directly related to your field may be sufficient to get the visa without a degree. That means 10 years of related work, or 10 years combination of some college studying plus work. ("College degree" is all immigration states, by the way. It doesn't matter if it's 4 years, 3 years, or whatever, as long as it's a bachelor's degree.) You might also consider getting a trainee/internship visa to test the waters.

Here's the visa (COE) application form: http://www.moj.go.jp/content/001130090.pdf
Go to this page 日本法令外国語訳データベースシステム - [法令本文表示] - 出入国管理及び難民認定法第七条第一項第二号の基準を定める省令 and change the menu box in the top right to read 英語, then click 表示. to see in English all the requirements for visas. Most are listed.

Is being an American, native English speaker not an advantage to applying for English teaching jobs in Japan?

Yes. it is. Most English teaching jobs here go to Americans, followed by Brits. But despite the technology that you might think exists here, most employers for teaching jobs will not do an interview via Skype. So, unless you find those, you'll have to be here to take part in the hiring process. Even if you apply to some places (the bigger eikaiwa, for example) that have offices in your country, you have to abide by their hiring schedules and locations, which may mean spending 1-3 days far from your home out of your own pocket.

What is the most important thing I should know about using a program like JET as a stepping stone to another job within the country after 1-2 years?

All JET does is provide ALT positions. Whether an employer in another country sees that as important for non-teaching work is up to them. The best that I an imagine is that they will favor someone who has survived living abroad and gained some measure of Japanese culture, as long as that suits their business needs. How much Japanese you also learn will help if they want that, too. Otherwise, unless the employer is in the teaching industry, doing JET will probably not serve you well at all (unless someone sees that merely as being ambitious).

When are you planning to come here and visit?