English or Japanese-taught degree?

Hi everyone, I'm considering applying for an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. However, I'm still considering whether I should apply for English or Japanese-taught degrees. I only have a JLPT N3 certificate which I know isn't sufficient to apply for a Japanese taught degree. However, because I missed the 2019 intakes I have to wait until 2020. So in the meantime I was considering taking intensive Japanese courses until I could apply for a Japanese-taught program. On the other hand, I also thought of enrolling into an English-taught program and then studying Japanese in my free time then to improve my Japanese. My goal is to be able to work in Japan with enough proficiency in the language.

Can anyone shed some light on the matter? Sorry if the post was too long.

Tl:dr Should I enroll into a :
1) Japanese-taught degree after improving my Japanese
2) English-taught degree and then improve my Japanese
to get employed in Japan

Enroll into an English-taught degree now. Study Japanese at the same time, now, before you go to Japan.

Have you mastered Hiragana and Katakana?

Buntaro said:

Enroll into an English-taught degree now. Study Japanese at the same time, now, before you go to Japan.

Have you mastered Hiragana and Katakana?

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Got it. But would not enrolling in a Japanese-taught degree affect my odds of employment in the future?

Also, yes I have mastered Hiragana and Katakana.

Please excuse the assumptions embedded in this thought process, but isn't the earning of the engineering degree the higher priority? It seems that if you are struggling with adapting to a second language at the same time you are trying to learn how to be a great engineer, you are going to end up short in both fields.

Why not a bit of a compromise and do a 4-year program in engineering in your native language so you are sure to get that solid ground for the engineering work you'll be engaged in in the future, then you might consider going for that extra 2-year program in Japanese for that next higher level engineering degree.

By that time you will have probably gotten yourself much more comfortable with the Japanese language.

But the thing is, the engineering is the key for you, isn't it?

It would be terrible to be a great speaker of Japanese, but a lousy engineer because you didn't focus on the more important of the two in that first four years.

And as I wrote at the outset, I'm making some assumptions in what I am offering, so please excuse my doing that.

TGI-ECT said:

Why not a bit of a compromise and do a 4-year program in engineering in your native language so you are sure to get that solid ground for the engineering work you'll be engaged in in the future, then you might consider going for that extra 2-year program in Japanese for that next higher level engineering degree.

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I also thought of doing my masters in Japan after completing a degree in my home country. While doing my degree I'd also take Japanese classes (also in my home country) to *hopefully* reach N1 by the time I graduate.

Then again I'm still at the stage of thinking of a few possible scenarios and trying to decide on one.

TGI-ECT said:

And as I wrote at the outset, I'm making some assumptions in what I am offering, so please excuse my doing that.

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It's okay. As a matter of fact I'd appreciate any feedback I can get regarding my question.

Maximize your options. Get your degree in English, and study Japanese in your spare time.

Ziggy,

We do not have the answer to your question. You need to talk to mechanical engineers in Japan and the people who hire mechanical engineers in Japan.

Some other good people to talk to are professors who teach mechanical engineering at universities in Japan,

I think that only these people can answer your question.

I did a quick Google search. You need to contact professors at these universities and ask them your question.







Also, universities usually have a Career Counseling and Hiring Office. Engineering colleges in Japan should have such an office. Contact all of them in Japan. Of course hiring offices at engineering colleges in Japan know which are the good engineering companies in Japan. Talk to them.

Then there are the companies who hire mechanical engineers. What are the top companies in Japan that who hire mechanical engineers? Find out. Communicate with them. Ask them your question.

Is there some sort of international fellowship and member organization of mechanical engineers? Is there one in Japan? Does such an international organization have a group in Japan? Join these organizations. Get to know these people. There may be such members in your coumtry that you can talk to.

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Only after you have talked to these people will you have your answer. You may need to visit Japan on vacation just to talk to these people.

Do not make your decision until you have talked to all of these people.

Choosing a major and a career takes a lot of hard work. Get out there and do all of this hard work.

Thank you so much for the suggestion, Buntaro. Really appreciate you going to such lengths to help me.

I'll look into your advice and explore my options.

Where are you from in Malaysia?

You're probably more likely to get a job in Japan if you graduate from a Japanese university. Businesses really need science majors but keep having to hire people who studied humanities because there aren't enough. Even doing an English-language program in Japan is better than nothing at the end of the day, as long as you improve your Japanese enough