Q abt masters degrees in Japan

What's worth more for a Japanese person with these following masters degrees earned from, say, a highly regarded foreign university:

Master of Economics

Master of Accounting

Master of Interpretation and Translation

Master of Psychology (clinical psych or counselling psych)

Master of Education

Master of International Business

Master of Business Administration

Oddly enough, many Japanese avoid obtaining advanced degrees because they can be career killers in many cases. In the private sector it often brings the "Sorry, you're overqualified" response during job hunts.

Yup, masters degrees tend to relegate you to being an academic right off the bat.

I beat 200 other applicants, quite a few with bachelor degrees, masters and one bloke had a phD to a nice job, while I have 3/4's of a year of part time (half-load) university under my belt. Why? I have the experience.

I hate uni, you cant be taught everything and some things just need to be experienced. 4 years of uni education or 4 years in the workforce? Which do you pick?

Thanks for your responses!

I get the impression from you that the academic qualifications doesn't matter beyond the bachelor degree.

I'm asking for someone who already has an undergrad arts and childhood education (teaching) degree from Japan. She's living in Australia at the moment and is considering a career change, hence the masters options listed above because these higher degrees allow for full entry into these professions without the relevant undergrad majors.

For her sake I wanted to know what her job prospects are when she goes back to Japan though. She is considering working for a few years in Australia after graduation, then going back to Japan. So I suppose in that sense, work experience wouldn't be a question.

I understand that the psychology profession isn't very structured in Japan at the moment?

The importance of business degrees goes without saying in Japan but is there a chance of saturation?

A career change is rather different to the 'progression within a area of expertise' that your first post suggested.

Your second post opens up several cans of worms. What exactly does your friend want to do?

Psychology is definitely one profession where just having an undergraduate qualification is going to severely handicap you in the job market.

mr.sumo.snr said:

A career change is rather different to the 'progression within a area of expertise' that your first post suggested.

Your second post opens up several cans of worms. What exactly does your friend want to do?

Psychology is definitely one profession where just having an undergraduate qualification is going to severely handicap you in the job market.

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Sorry I should've clarified the circumstances from my first post. About that friend of mine, she basically finished her arts/education degree at Tamagawa Uni in Tokyo, then came to Australia with a working holiday visa. She loved it here and is currently staying here with a student visa learning English. I suppose the cultural difference and easy-going attitudes in Australia really made her feel like a load off her shoulders and the sky's the limit.

So the degrees I listed above were the ones she was considering (I advised her to study "upwards", as in Grad Dip, or Masters, as opposed to starting all over again with bachelor degree). The Master in Psych is the only degree in which she would have to go for a GradDip first, then Masters.

We tried searching on the internet to find out about the work climate in Japan but most websites contained info for foreign visitors only (ie. teaching english).

So here I am, wondering if anyone has any advice or personal experience?

MeAndroo said:

Yup, masters degrees tend to relegate you to being an academic right off the bat.

Click to expand...

To be an academic at university level, you'd have to go all the way through a PhD, into your post-doc?

can anyone help?

Sorry - took a while to reply. University-level teaching requires at least a Masters level or equivalent qualification. That's because such positions are more-or-less a buyers market, and the buyers want their applicants to be as well qualified as they can (looks good in the university handbook!). A doctorate is fine too, bit overkill for a first academic position - secure it whilst working. Post-doc is just pure research and publishing - you need to have sponsorship or a steady income to feed yourself.

You're right to always think onwards and upwards. You only ever do a Bachelor's once - unless you're just studying for the sake of it.

But if your friend is content to live in Australia why not try and find a means for her to continue doing so. I can almost guarantee post-graduate study there is far more enjoyable than in Japan.

mr.sumo.snr said:

Sorry - took a while to reply. University-level teaching requires at least a Masters level or equivalent qualification. That's because such positions are more-or-less a buyers market, and the buyers want their applicants to be as well qualified as they can (looks good in the university handbook!). A doctorate is fine too, bit overkill for a first academic position - secure it whilst working. Post-doc is just pure research and publishing - you need to have sponsorship or a steady income to feed yourself.

You're right to always think onwards and upwards. You only ever do a Bachelor's once - unless you're just studying for the sake of it.

But if your friend is content to live in Australia why not try and find a means for her to continue doing so. I can almost guarantee post-graduate study there is far more enjoyable than in Japan.

Click to expand...

Hi Mr Sumo Snr,

Thanks very much for your reply!

Myself, I work at the University of Melbourne in Australia. As I understand it, the university system in the western world requires at least a PhD qualification for entry into a university academic position. Because of the research focus of all good universities, a post doc would be preferable and would certainly look good in the resume. The only exception is in the field of law. A lot of law academics (particularly in the Commonwealth system) only possess a Masters degree.

From your post, I gather the Masters degree is the norm in Japanese universities? I was under the impression that a PhD is a prerequisite into the academic profession there as well.

But anyway my friend is not interested in pursuing a PhD. She intends to work in Australia for a couple of years but she will eventually want to return to Japan permanently, her family is there and she'll need to return to help look after her parents. She was a little concerned at what kind of masters degree would give her the most job opportunities when she goes back to Japan. We tried looking to the Japanese job market but as I was saying, most websites I find are made for temporary job opportunities for foreigners.