Being a teaching assistant as a gateway to job in IT?

Hi everyone, first post here.

I have a life goal to immigrate to another country and I have settled on East Asia, I've narrowed down my list to Japan and Malaysia. Japan might be preferential because I like the history and so I wanted to ask, if I got a JLPT1 exam, is it very hard from within Japan to find a decent job?

I am aware of gaijinpot.com but that's has job postings for specialist roles, for example, if someone in Japan wants to hire a car mechanic they probably don't need to advertise that position to foreigners. I have I.T. qualifications but the IT jobs I see are in regards to computer programming and coding rather than server maintenance.

So I ask because I've come across two people now who started teaching English and went on to change careers from within Japan, is that common? I'll be satisfied if I end up working in translation (Ideally IT) or any general work provided it's not a waiter/toilet cleaner.

Regardless, I would suggest that you watch your language and not say "proper job". People might say the same thing about server maintenance, and then how would you feel?

I have done research online and while some people are passionate about the job the majority of individuals seem to agree that it's a job with poor pay and little chance to create a more substantial career.

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Did your research also show that one of the main reasons for that is not the fact that eikaiwa and ALT jobs are fairly dead end, but that to move up to higher paid jobs (or jobs that command more respect from some people), you have to have a degree and qualifications more than what entry level eikaiwa demands? That takes time and money, and people your age (and slightly older) are the ones who find themselves in that situation a few years after they've moved here and have decided they want to stay and move "up", but so many are not willing to put in what it takes. For university jobs nowadays, even for PT, a bachelor's degree and language skills and experience aren't enough; you also need publications, and that's a big barrier to people who never even knew what a research journal was before they came with their BA in geology in hand.

To answer your original question, having JLPT1 is an excellent thing to help get a job here. I see you are 28 and are in IT, but do you have a college degree in that field? You'll need it for the work visa. If you want to start here by becoming an ALT then shift to IT work, you'll have to get a different visa for both position. That's not hard to do as long as you have the qualifications, and for non-teaching jobs that means a "proper" college degree.

is it very hard from within Japan to find a decent job?

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The difficulty lies in many factors pretty much as it does where you live now. Skill set, experience, degree, language fluency all enter into play here, but so does your timing. Most jobs in Japan begin the fiscal year in April, just so you know. That means hiring will often take place 1-3 months previously. There may be a slight surge in early fall.

I'll be satisfied if I end up working in translation (Ideally IT)

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I don't see the connection between translating Japanese docs to English ( or vice versa) and doing server maintenance. Can you explain what you meant? Moreover, translating is really boring lonely work, so do you really know what you'd be getting into?

What is your JLPT level at the moment?

Sorry guys, it's not really meant to be about me, I was just curious to know if any of you have started teaching English and gone on to do something else or if you know others that have, is it rare or is it common?

I'm not committed to anything just yet and Japan is only an idea that I've been researching as I do have some language ability and IT experience.

I will edit this thread to remove all gumph, choose your words more carefully in future.

You should really focus on the qualifications issue. This isn't a minor point, it's about whether you're even eligible for a visa to work in IT. If you are , and with the right (in demand) skillset you may be hired directly from overseas.

People sometimes use the English teaching route as a way to get legally into the country for a couple of years, in the hope of finding a job more relevant to their qualifications. They still need to fit the visa - so if you couldn't get a visa for it from outside the country, it doesn't help to be in-country. It's only to do with things like opportunities for networking, easier job-searching, availability for interview.

ConanTheKing said:

Sorry guys, it's not really meant to be about me, I was just curious to know if any of you have started teaching English and gone on to do something else or if you know others that have, is it rare or is it common?

I'm not committed to anything just yet and Japan is only an idea that I've been researching as I do have some language ability and IT experience.

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Yes, there have been a great many people who have taught English for a while before moving to something else. I taught for a couple of years.

You do understand the numbering system of the JLPT, right?

Yes its possible to go from an English teaching job to a different job. Probably not that uncommon. Things that help the transition; excellent Japanese skills, wide circle of contacts, financial resources to survive for a while as you search for work, being single and available to relocate.
Concentrate a bit more on the career goal rather than the location goal. Having a life ambition to live in another country is a bit like having a life ambition to live in a treehouse.

Still waiting for answers to my 2 questions. They are useful to give you further advice.

And, yes, despite your claim, this is actually about you. Like Majestic wrote, I'll parrot and say that many people drift into other jobs from teaching, but "many" is just a qualitative word, and I don't think you're going to find any quantitative answers. It's all about whether you qualify for the job (and visa) in the first place.