Is rocket science a necessity?

I don't know if the rumor holds true, but I heard that engineering math concepts in Japan are taught at very early stages of high school.....

Actually I heard that for students in Japan, english is harder a subject than math and physics which in my case is the opposite.... A career in Japan might be a worthy investment though.....
Heres my situation:

1) My calculus and physics suck though... back in high school I got only 48% at best...

2) However, I have no problem with all other maths though... Finite, I did okay though.

3) Ironically even though my engineering is poor, I can understand and operate computers very well enough for me to work in an IT field working with servers, security, programming etc..

4) The best I can manage are probably: finance, accounting and IT.

5) Academic wise, I can't get into the "famed" colleges many Japanese dream of getting in.

Simply put: An average Joe from a internationally recognized BUT average college, with an average grade of 73%-80%.

Now the Questions:

1) Is competition for white-collar jobs (IT, finance) really so tough that I need a degree from MIT or Harvard to make it through the day in Japan?

2) How well does a salary of $45K US dollars a year in Japan fare. Will this be "poor" or "low-middle"??

3) Will my lack of engineering skills be a heavy burden in Japan?

1) I worked in IT in Japan for 2 years, have been working in the states for 10 years, and I've got my education in Japan. IT field kind of sucks in Japan for hardcore programmers, people with the degree from MIT in CS usually don't want to work in Japan. But it is not hard to get in, and as you speak English fluently, you will be handy in American and other foreign companies. If you don't mind management side of the business in the future like in 10 years, and want to work in a different culture, working in Japan can be an option. If you are more techy type and like to code big applications with C, C++ and/or Java, I wouldn't go to Japan with your background.

2) I don't think it is hard to make $45k in Japan, I probably made that much in my second year, but you need to work really long hours. You might hope you would make less and work less, but for some reason, that's usually not an option.

3) My major was International Culture. You get the idea.


Anyhow, good luck to you.

soykan said:

1) Is competition for white-collar jobs (IT, finance) really so tough that I need a degree from MIT or Harvard to make it through the day in Japan?

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Competition from other foreigners or from the Japanese? Ask www.daijob.com/en (Terrie Lloyd).

2) How well does a salary of $45K US dollars a year in Japan fare. Will this be "poor" or "low-middle"??

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At today's exchange rate, that's about 4.5 million yen. A recent survey showed that the average Japanese person makes about 5.5 million. Most starting English teachers make 3 million.

3) Will my lack of engineering skills be a heavy burden in Japan?

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If you plan on getting a job in engineering, then obviously yes. Skills aren't the only thing needed, though.

people with the degree from MIT in CS usually don't want to work in Japan.

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The first foreigner to work for Toyota in Japan (as an engineer) is from MIT. The jobs are here, you just need to be a rock star.