How many years of experience do I need to get working visa as digital illustrator?

I want to become a 2D/3D digital artist/illustrator who draws for game companies (similar to League of Legends artworks, for example). i'm fully committed to learning Japanese and drawing skills in the next 6 years until I can become good enough. But I don't have a bachelor in art. I would love to get a bachelor but studying in Japan is too expensive. And if I study in my country It would take several years to work and save money, and 4 years university ofcourse.
So, I want to ask: how many years of experience do I need to work in Japan as illustrator? I know to get engineer visa I need 10 years, international services 3 years. But I have no ideas which category does illustrator fall into.
If I need 3 years then I will just work, faster than 4 years of Bachelor. If I need 10 years, then I will study.
Sorry If this question is familiar to some out there. But I want to know this specific information and I have searched all the pages of google and terms that I can think of without any answers.
If anyone who knows, or any illustrator working in japan happened to read this and can answer, I couldn't thank you enough.

Have you researched the salary range for this job in your own country, along with the prospects for advancement, working conditions, etc.? I ask because you want to know what your Plan B is if Japan doesn't pan out.
If you're okay with your prospects in this field in Japan and in your country, then I'd consider doing the BA. You can go for the prestigious school that blows open doors in this field, or you can go for the "bang for the buck" school. Note that "bang for the buck" doesn't mean the absolute cheapest. It means the best value - a good blend between reasonable tuition and a reasonable curriculum and credibility. The degree will make visa considerations so much easier, and not having a degree will keep some doors closed.

Do you understand that "years of experience" means "years of experience WORKING in a field". Your spending six years doodling. In a notebook won't count.

At the end of spending the next six years LEARNING to draw you will be no closer to your goal than you are right now.

Mike Cash said:

Do you understand that "years of experience" means "years of experience WORKING in a field". Your spending six years doodling. In a notebook won't count.

At the end of spending the next six years LEARNING to draw you will be no closer to your goal than you are right now.

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Yes I know. In 6 years i can either go to university or learning at home then working for a company in my country, depends on which way is better as my question above.

Mike Cash said:

Do you understand that "years of experience" means "years of experience WORKING in a field". Your spending six years doodling. In a notebook won't count.

At the end of spending the next six years LEARNING to draw you will be no closer to your goal than you are right now.

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Yes i have done some researches on working condition in japan and my country. If i cant go to japan then i can still live with this job anywhere else. But my greatest priority is to live in japan so i want to know the alternative ways that maybe quicker than going to university like 3 years experience? If they do exist, of course.

What's your rush?

Mike Cash said:

What's your rush?

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I'm 23 now. Overall I need 4 years to learn japanese and 4 years more to get a B. A or 3 years of working experience. I will not be young at the time I finished all those stuffs. If I can save some money not going to university or just 1 year it would be great. After all a year is still a long time.

My advice is to ask the Japanese consulate or embassy in your country. Like Mike said, "experience" means actual work experience in your desired field.

Your profile says you are 22 now, so my first question is this: what are you doing now for work?

Have you also considered a training visa or an internship visa? I ask this because, like Mike Cash, I am wondering why you have such a priority of working here. Vietnam is geographically close to Japan, relatively speaking, but please tell us whether you have had any experience being in Japan or learning Japanese. And, why do you want to live and work here, compared to Canada, U.S., U.K. or any other country that has positions like the one you want?

Glenski said:

My advice is to ask the Japanese consulate or embassy in your country. Like Mike said, "experience" means actual work experience in your desired field.

Your profile says you are 22 now, so my first question is this: what are you doing now for work?

Have you also considered a training visa or an internship visa? I ask this because, like Mike Cash, I am wondering why you have such a priority of working here. Vietnam is geographically close to Japan, relatively speaking, but please tell us whether you have had any experience being in Japan or learning Japanese. And, why do you want to live and work here, compared to Canada, U.S., U.K. or any other country that has positions like the one you want?

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I am aware that experience means real working experience. And I really love Japan. Because my country is close to Japan, I have learned from them all my life and really want to live there. I know all the bad sides of their culture and work life, but my personality is perfectly suitable to live there. I'm learning japanese right now. Actually i got a scholarship from Ritsumeikan uni, but i dont like finance cause my job now is in finance and its super boring. My passion is drawing since 7 year-old and after 5 years of thinking really hard, I still love doing that. I still draw everyday. I'll be 23 in 2 months and already working in finance for a year.
I know japan embassy can give a good answer, but someone who already experienced all the hassles of getting a working visa as illustrator or know one will be better. Since embassy may think illustrator as some kind of design engineer and may give the 10 years answer. I have heard people with 10+ years and a B.A got engineer visa, while someone with 10+ years without B.A got a humanity/services visa. it's really confusing. While some japan companies hiring international graphic designers only need at least 3 years of experience and willing to hire housewives/ working at home. That made me think 3 years of experience is enough to get working visa. This visa thing is really complicated.

mikephan said:

i'm fully committed to learning Japanese and drawing skills in the next 6 years until I can become good enough.

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mikephan said:

If I need 3 years then I will just work, faster than 4 years of Bachelor.

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If it is going to take you 6 more years to learn how to draw well enough to get hired as an illustrator, then how do you plan to get 3 years work experience as an illustrator in less than 4 years?

mikephan said:

Overall I need 4 years to learn japanese and 4 years more to get a B. A or 3 years of working experience.

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No, you don't need 8 years to to learn Japanese and get a B.A. And you're still left with the problem...How are you going to get 3 years work experience when you don't draw well enough to get a job yet?

mikephan said:

I know all the bad sides of their culture and work life,

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No, you don't.

mikephan said:

but my personality is perfectly suitable to live there.

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You have no way of knowing that.

mikephan said:

Actually i got a scholarship from Ritsumeikan uni,

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They just came to your house one day and offered it to you? Or did you APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP from them and now want to turn your nose up at a free education and a college degree that would get your foot in the door for a visa to live and work in Japan and to learn Japanese at the same time? If the latter, I find that more than a little foolish.

mikephan said:

My passion is drawing since 7 year-old

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But after 15 years at it you still need 6 more years to be good enough to get a job drawing?

mikephan said:

after 5 years of thinking really hard

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Maybe you should have been DOING something with those 5 years instead of just thinking really hard.

mikephan said:

I know japan embassy can give a good answer,

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Then contact them.

mikephan said:

willing to hire housewives/ working at home.

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What does that tell you about the nature of the work and how much it pays?

You're going to need a lot more than just drawing skills if you're going to be a 3D illustrator. You're going to need to learn the computer skills and industry software for doing that kind of work.

My son is a game programmer in Tokyo. He spent 3 years at a technical school learning game programming. He studied with and did projects with other students who studied exactly the kind of illustration you want to do for a living. I think after graduation most of them ended up NOT getting jobs in the fields they had spent years preparing for, because there are too many people competing for too few job openings.

Go to Ritsumeikan if they are offering you a scholarship. Study. Get the degree. Learn Japanese while you're doing it. Get qualified to live and work here. Japan is famous for its university graduates going to work in jobs that are barely related to what they studied in university. A degree in finance wouldn't mean you are doomed only to work in finance.

Mike Cash said:

If it is going to take you 6 more years to learn how to draw well enough to get hired as an illustrator, then how do you plan to get 3 years work experience as an illustrator in less than 4 years?



No, you don't need 8 years to to learn Japanese and get a B.A. And you're still left with the problem...How are you going to get 3 years work experience when you don't draw well enough to get a job yet?



No, you don't.



You have no way of knowing that.



They just came to your house one day and offered it to you? Or did you APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP from them and now want to turn your nose up at a free education and a college degree that would get your foot in the door for a visa to live and work in Japan and to learn Japanese at the same time? If the latter, I find that more than a little foolish.



But after 15 years at it you still need 6 more years to be good enough to get a job drawing?



Maybe you should have been DOING something with those 5 years instead of just thinking really hard.



Then contact them.



What does that tell you about the nature of the work and how much it pays?

You're going to need a lot more than just drawing skills if you're going to be a 3D illustrator. You're going to need to learn the computer skills and industry software for doing that kind of work.

My son is a game programmer in Tokyo. He spent 3 years at a technical school learning game programming. He studied with and did projects with other students who studied exactly the kind of illustration you want to do for a living. I think after graduation most of them ended up NOT getting jobs in the fields they had spent years preparing for, because there are too many people competing for too few job openings.

Go to Ritsumeikan if they are offering you a scholarship. Study. Get the degree. Learn Japanese while you're doing it. Get qualified to live and work here. Japan is famous for its university graduates going to work in jobs that are barely related to what they studied in university. A degree in finance wouldn't mean you are doomed only to work in finance.

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That is why i need 6 more years to be good enough. To learn all the softwares they use in the field and to creat something at high level that they are willing to offer a job in that hard environment. 15 years of drawing on paper still isnt enough. But if i dont have B. A or a long enough expeience i wont get a visa for that field. I can only get visa for working in finance related fields if i continue to learn. My plan is: 4 years of learning japanese then 4 years of bachelor of arts if getting a bachelor is the only way. Or 4 years of learning japanese while improving my drawing skills at the same time, then work for 3 years in my country if 3 years experience is the alternative for B.A.
And about Ritsumeikan, my friend got a scholarship 4 years ago there. So i applied for it to get into japan and learn japanese, while doing finance with the thought of changing into illustrator someday, but the visa requirements need a B.A or experience in related field, not finance. So i didnt use that plan anymore. Graduating from Ritsumeikan can get me a job in finance, but i dont have a way to get illustrator visa.

Having lived in both places I can tell you right now that unless you've lived in Japan you don't know the positives or negatives. The cultures are vastly different. That's not to say you won't like it, I don't know, but I can say for absolutely certain that right now you don't know either.

The smartest thing you can do is take that scholarship to Ritsumeikan, get to Japan, learn about the country, get a good education, and leverage all that into opportunities in other fields.

WonkoTheSane said:

Having lived in both places I can tell you right now that unless you've lived in Japan you don't know the positives or negatives. The cultures are vastly different. That's not to say you won't like it, I don't know, but I can say for absolutely certain that right now you don't know either.

The smartest thing you can do is take that scholarship to Ritsumeikan, get to Japan, learn about the country, get a good education, and leverage all that into opportunities in other fields.

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If you have time, can you list some differences in culture between Vietnam and Japan? If its something negatives will be better for me to prepare. Hearing from real person like you is better than reading on the internet.

mikephan said:

If you have time, can you list some differences in culture between Vietnam and Japan? If its something negatives will be better for me to prepare. Hearing from real person like you is better than reading on the internet.

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I tried to respond a few times, but, honestly, the countries are so vastly different as to be almost opposite. Trying to describe it falls flat. You should take that scholarship, go to Japan, experience it, and find out for yourself.

Please strongly consider taking the scholarship. As I said earlier, there aren't enough Illustrator jobs for the Japanese people who graduate from a Japanese school with training in that field. There are too many people competing for too few jobs. Even if you spend a few years learning the skills, the chances of turning that into a job in Japan aren't very large.

Take the scholarship. It is a wonderful opportunity for you.

I know japan embassy can give a good answer, but someone who already experienced all the hassles of getting a working visa as illustrator or know one will be better.

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You don't need to know the hassles. You just need to know which visa matches the field you want to enter. Contact them.