Moving to Japan... job, visa... Opinions? Thoughts? Help maybe

[GeorgeBG]

Hello,
I am 27 year old male, not native English, with a masters in engineering. Currently learning Japanese and let's say I know half of what is needed for N5. I've been trying to get a job in japan for several months now. I'm not in Japan though.
As being non native English speaker and having limited understanding of Japanese I undestand that teaching jobs and those that requre fluent Japanese are out of the question.
I am a positive thinking person, so I guess that I just haven't made the right connections, met the right people yet. Some people do say that it is more important who you know than what you know.
Anyway, I'm looking for a way to move to Japan. Actually the moving part is quite easy. What I need is a job that will sponsor a work visa for me. What job? I'm considering almost anything at the moment. Willing to work outside my field until I can settle.
Like I said, I am a positive thinking person.
So I hope I would receive positive opinions, thoughts ... hopefully even solution to my problem!
I appreciate all the help you are willing to give me!

 

[Glenski]

I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of positive news for you. Teaching is going to be very unlikely. Your language skills are woefully inadequate for doing most other work. I'd say focus on what you are qualified for (something in engineering) instead of saying "anything is ok".

Got any work experience to go with that degree? If not, then try to imagine why any employer would hire you over a fresh Japanese graduate in the same field. Unless you find a foreign employer with a branch office here that doesn't use much Japanese in it, I'd say get more experience and N2 Japanese level.

Have you thought of internships to start with, and then seeing whether you have the qualifications for a work visa?

The applicant must fulfill all of the following requirements; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant intends to engage in duties that require skills and/or knowledge pertaining to information processing and has passed the examination on information processing skills that is designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice or when he/she has obtained the qualification in information processing skills that is designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice, in which case the requirement under item (i) need not be fulfilled.

(i) The applicant must have graduated from university or acquired an education equivalent thereto while majoring in a subject related to the skills and/or knowledge necessary for performing the duties in which he/she intends to engage, or the applicant must have at least 10 years' experience (this includes the period of time spent majoring in a subject related to the relevant skills and/or knowledge at a university, college of technology (koto senmon gakko), senior high school, during a course of study in the latter part of secondary school (chuto kyoiku gakko), or during a specialized course of study at a vocational school (senshu gakko)).

(ii) The applicant must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.
http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail_print

Being in Japan, whether for internship or further language study or even for an extended vacation, would at least give you the opportunity to walk into offices and show your face, instead of letting an employer know you are willing to come but that you are in Europe at the time. Not that many places will do a Skype interview, but you could hunt for those that do (or suggest to them if it's not apparent).

 

[Davey]

How about studying in Japan for a couple of months to learn the language, get the connections you need, and to see if you like it.

 

[GeorgeBG]

Well studying in Japan would be the best option. Even though I would be able to hang on in Japan on my own expense for about 4-5 months, I'm not sure I could do even 2-3 months if I engage into any nihongo lessons.
That's why I thought the best option is to find a job that uses little Japanese like you said, any job, just to be able to fund my life there and learn Japanese to the best I can in the meantime. And when I'm capable enough of doing a job where mainly Japanese is needed... well you know the rest. I'm ambitious and I definitely want to pursue a career.
I've thought about internships. Looked trough some internship in Japan websites, but it was all "paid by me" internships. Didn't find paid internships that didn't require a working holiday visa (which I can't issue), couldn't find even unpaid internships. A internship for several months that could result in a full time job is a very good idea. Unfortunately I haven't found something like this yet.
I have little experience in my field. I participated in a 6 month engineering project, and the rest of my experience is in the IT field. Not much engineering jobs here, and the little there is, you have to have deep connections to be able to work on them. Of course this is not the only reason for my desire to move to Japan.
I will keep trying to find a job, but an idea arises in me. Should I just fly to Japan and try my luck on-site, or not...
I think that if I could find a job there I would be able to learn the language faster than I do it now, becouse I will be exposed to it on a daily basis, and if I don't worry about the funding that would be perfect.

 

[Glenski]

Well studying in Japan would be the best option. Even though I would be able to hang on in Japan on my own expense for about 4-5 months, I'm not sure I could do even 2-3 months if I engage into any nihongo lessons.

Don't bother using words like "nihongo" here. Unnecessary.

As for 2-3 months vs. 4-5 months, if you are Bulgarian as your flag avatar suggests, you can stay only 90 days as a tourist.
MOFA: Exemption of Visas [Guide to Japanese Visas]

That's why I thought the best option is to find a job that uses little Japanese like you said, any job, just to be able to fund my life there and learn Japanese to the best I can in the meantime. And when I'm capable enough of doing a job where mainly Japanese is needed... well you know the rest. I'm ambitious and I definitely want to pursue a career.

Forgive me for saying this, but you are perhaps too ambitious. With your current level of Japanese and only 2-3 months of study (even 4-5 on a student visa), you are not going to be up to a fluency "where mainly Japanese is needed". Intensive study 2-3 times longer than that will be needed at a bare minimum, depending on the exact job you could get.

I've thought about internships. Looked trough some internship in Japan websites, but it was all "paid by me" internships.

I thought you said you could afford 2-5 months on your own. If you are looking for an internship that will pay anything, it will be only for food, maybe also lodging, but nothing more since that constitutes work and a different type of visa. Keep looking for internships. There are plenty.

I have little experience in my field.

All the more reason I say you are unlikely to be competitive here. Get your language skills up and more experience under your belt. Otherwise, best chances you have are as follows IMO:

1. student visa and a lucky break at PT work
2. internship that might lead somewhere
3. intracompany transfer visa, which means you work at that company outside Japan for a year first, then come here to work at their branch (no guarantee on how long it will be, but doubtful that it would last more than 1-3 years)

I will keep trying to find a job, but an idea arises in me. Should I just fly to Japan and try my luck on-site, or not...
I think that if I could find a job there I would be able to learn the language faster than I do it now, becouse I will be exposed to it on a daily basis, and if I don't worry about the funding that would be perfect.

You will probably have to stay in a guesthouse or someplace like LeoPalace21, because most apartments require a guarantor (usually employer). Yeah, you could come here to sniff around, but your credentials right now preclude much luck. My advice is to save your money.

 

[GeorgeBG]

Thank you for that information.
About the more than 3 months stay, I was thinking of the fly-to-korea-and-back scheme.
I feel like I have been somewhat misunderstood.
Anyway I would appreciate it if you would consider posting some internship links. Maybe you know some I haven't seen already. PM me if the forum rules prohibits such posts.

 

[Glenski]

The old fly to Korea and back routine is as old as the hills. Immigration is tighter these days. Beware that it may not work. Everyone's mileage varies, but if you get turned away at the airport, it's your pocketbook that pays for the flight home.

Here are the links I've collected about internships. Not all may apply to you. Not all links may be active, either.
TJP
Temple Japan Study Abroad: Semester Internships
Internships in Japan | GoAbroad.com
Shiramizu Japan Karate Internship
Caltech Division of Engineering and Applied Science | Not Found
MIT Japan - Internships
Japan Intern
Jobs@Agilent | Internships in Japan
Study in Japan
Japan Internship
http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/JICCintern.pdf
JHIP_Start your hotel career in Japan
http://japan.osu.edu/applications/saitama.pdf
Study Abroad Links - Japan Internships and Experiential Programs
Internships in Japan
http://www.jaims.org/MBA/MBA_Internship.html
Japanese Internship and Entry Level Job sites | Entry Level Jobs in Japan
Online Business Degrees
http://www.lexlrf.org/exchange/Job_Description.pdf
http://www.pazjapan.org/Internships.htm
Advice on preparing for an internship in Japan - japan internship | Ask MetaFilter

 

[zeroyon]

This thread is now a bit old... but anyways....
My situation is not the same as yours, but I thought I would chime in since I also majored in Engineering. I only received a bachelor's degree though.

If you want to eventually land an engineering-related job in Japan, it will be extremely difficult to do so unless you improve your Japanese skills to around the N2-level. Almost all engineering-related jobs in Japan are going to require at least business-level Japanese, or they wouldn't have the jobs in Japan. Japan is an expensive place to live and have people work.

I recently landed an engineering job in Japan (which I start soon), but it required me to study Japanese as a minor during university, study abroad in Japan for a year, then work in my engineering field in the USA for 2 years before any companies in Japan started calling me back when I applied for jobs. I will work for an international company where there is a lot of English used in the workplace. If it were for a purely Japanese company then I imagine it would have been much harder.

If you want to get over to Japan immediately and become immersed in the culture and language, getting an ALT job might be an option, even if you aren't a native speaker of English and your English is good enough.
I really enjoyed teaching English there before, so I applied for two ALT jobs last year since I was considering switching careers at one point. I was interviewed by both companies and offered jobs at both, but I turned both of them down because the pay at ~2,500,000yen was less than half of what my pay was at the time in the USA.... and I wasn't completely sure I wanted to make such a drastic career change, among some other reasons. If you go this route though, then it might be difficult to transfer to an engineering position later on, as you will never get the opportunity to get the work experience required for an engineering job in Japan. They will probably just pick the Japanese people that apply instead, or people with years and years of engineering experience that are applying from abroad.... but you might get lucky.

If you haven't lived in Japan for several months before and have only been a tourist... I would recommend studying there first. You can either do a language-immersion type study, or go to a university that teaches courses in English (such as Temple, etc) and get an MBA or something to further your resume. You should really know what it is like to live in Japan before making a drastic life or career-changing decision.

Hopefully I helped a little... pretty much everything I said has been mentioned though ^^;