Let's get you a Japanese IT job
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ย. 2024
- Today I want to go over the path for foreign engineers to get a job in Japan.
I'll share how I did it and some alternative ways to get to live in Japan while being on the path to becoming a software engineer. Let me know if you have any questions.
I'm a dev in the U.S., not looking to work in Japan but still interesting to learn about the market over there. Subbed to see more dev / Japan content!
I've worked in both JP and the US. It's a very different system and economic outlook in both countries. Salaries also vary by a HUGE amount.
How did you managed to go to the US ?
Salaries are pretty close to a high income European country from what I've seen (feel free to correct me). It's just that the US pays their devs an insane amount like wayyy above any country. But if they're that desperate to get devs in Japan maybe it's even higher than your average job in western Europe which is pretty cool I guess. @@mattb4625
When I was in college and thinking about if I should move to Japan, one of the biggest reasons I declined to do so is Japan has really entrenched seniority culture. Here in the states, you can get promoted really quickly as long as you demonstrate your skill in the work, and you aren't penalized for job hopping much which means you can go from intern to Principal or Staff engineer in 10 years and max out your salary band. In Japan, it is a lot more slow going and they penalize you heavily for swapping companies it sets you back a ton for promos and you don't see a big salary boost like you would in the states. The pay was also a lot worse, especially if your goal is to live and work in Tokyo. 8 years later i don't regret my decision 🥰
This is true at traditional Japanese companies, but not true at start-ups and most IT focused companies.
@@noseboop4354 I only looked at IT companies. A lot could change in a decade but it was a really bad proposition for me out of college
I'm glad you made a good decision you can live with.
I understand this perception, but it just doesn't line up with what I personally have seen. With that being said, it could've been different when you were looking into Japan.
But, I doubt the negative aspects were completely true. There has been a long history of painting Japan with broad strokes, whether in a good light or bad light. But you have to remember, even if there are some truths in those generalizations, people here are also striving to improve things and don't just go around thinking "let's just live in this horrible status quo". I think Japan is maybe just lagging behind the west in work-life balance, but is headed in the same direction.
Amazing video man. Thank you so much!
This was super helpful. Thanks for this video!
I'm glad you found it useful!
I didn't realize IT jobs are shortage there in Japan. In US you literally have to be a competitive programmer and have system design application like Netflix to be considered for junior dev position.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
There's an IT shortage everywhere. It's just difficult to get hired as a junior
But if you have ~2 years behind you, you're set
There's an IT shortage everywhere. It's just difficult to get hired as a junior
But if you have ~2 years behind you, you're set
@@hundvd_7 nah, job market is bad right now. Even 20+ year experience people can't find jobs for months
This is some pretty good advice.I am self learned programmer looking to find a job there in near future and glad to see this!
I am self-taught too! It's definitely possible if you can get some experience. Wishing you luck!
Bro, dope video love the vibes, excited to see more
Two questions (which are mostly assumptions on my end)
1. I'm assuming most of the companies on those sites want someone who is fully fluent in Japanese? I know there are some other sites that let you filter by language requirement but those usually end up being heavily teaching or 英会話 positions on those websites.
2. Are they only looking for IT/Comp Sci engineers because as a semiconductor manufacturing engineer, I'm curious how many companies would be interested in foreign manufacturing engineers.
edit: nvm to no. 1 just reached the point in the video where you stressed to know Japanese. Already plan on becoming fluent but was hoping to use getting a job as an entry point to immerse and learn Japanese and work towards Permanent residency.
This came for me just in time. Just need to get to Japan and learn Japanese
Great to hear you found it useful!
Hope to see you in Japan soon!
I checked, I have 37 degrees actually
California based dev here with a BS in compsci and 4 years of experience and JLPT N5 hopefully soon to be N4.
I've spent over 3 months in Japan collectively, probably gunna pull the trigger soon. Appreciate the content.
What do you mean? Are you gonna come back to US? If so, why? Why not work longer in Japan?
@ababey1644 I mean I’ve spent 3 months in total across my trips to Japan. I still live in the US (for now) 🙂
Holy crap, dude, that was truly useful information. Moreover, you delivering the information in very concise point.
I take that depend on your education and experience, get into language and programming school. Then you list two very useful website to explore the job market.
You have my utmost respect. I'm following you..
Thanks for your comment! I'm glad you found it helpful. I always think of stuff that I should have talked about after the fact though... so that's probably why it ends up maybe overly concise 😂
Nice vid!
You mentioned in another video that you work for a company that mainly uses Japanese for communication. Would you mind if you can share how conversations go like and some lingo that would be useful? I don't have much problems communicating daily but when it comes to programming related conversations in Japanese it's pretty difficult so I'd like to hear your thoughts (a video about this would be a lot better if you have the time!).
Thanks!
Ok, I will try to make a video about using Japanese in a software engineering setting. Its kind of interesting because most people in the engineering department speak some degree of English, so there is a lot of mixing of Japanese and English, even in the same sentence.
@@william_in_japan Thanks for replying! Looking forward to it
I recently moved to the US and have had absolutely no success in finding an entry level position. I have only 2 years of experience, and half of that is freelance work. I do have a bachelor's degree, but it's in Economics. I have a number of certificates in various programming languages and data science, but I don't know Japanese. What are my chances? Unfortunately i don't have any savings at all, so I can't just move over to Japan and study the language, I need a job asap.. I knew the job market was bad, but I never expected it to be this bad. I'd literally work for half the average salary if someone would just hire me, I'm definitely capable of getting things done.. but all these positions in the US have $70-130k ranges.. I'd work for $50-60 if it's a remote position, and extra hours! Now I'm considering moving to a cheaper country, but I don't know the languages..
I have a family member in a similar position, so I know that the U.S. job market is very tough right now for Jr. developers.
Unfortunately, it is going to be very tough to get a developer job in Japan with no Japanese and no experience.
The degree being unrelated is not a problem. Your certificates are definitely a plus!
Do you actually want to come to Japan, or are you only considering it as a way to find a job outside of the U.S.? No judgement either way, I just want to know because if you actually want to be in Japan for a few years to come, here's what I would consider if I were you:
Considering the Japanese developer job market is currently better for software developers and you would like to be in Japan, you should use your degree to get into the country doing any job that you can get. In practice, this would likely mean getting an English teaching job. I have never done one myself, but I have heard that they are very easy to get if you have a degree. The pay is very low, but it would allow you to be in the country while learning Japanese and applying to developer jobs as you make a portfolio to show to potential employers.
edit: Oh I just noticed that you say you moved to the U.S.
Is English your native language? If so, then English teaching is a possibility. If not, then you may have to find some other job that you can get into Japan for.
@william_in_japan yes, I am actually interested in moving to Japan in particular. English is indeed my native language, so that might be an option. Thanks for the detailed reply and suggestion, I'll look into it. I wonder if one needs specialized education to be a teacher though
Picked a bad time, bad market atm
No, from my understanding, you don't need a certain education to be an English teaching assistant here. Look up "ALT teaching in Japan" . Again, the pay will be quite low, but it will get you into Japan for the time being with a place to live. Then, you switch to software development as soon as possible.
@@william_in_japan Thank you for your advice, I will look into it. Generally how honest should I be for an ALT job, like informing them I intend to go for a few years and go into Software Development, etc?
I also do not have much tech experience, actual industry experience would amount to maybe a year for me. If I do this, I intend to build up a portfolio while doing the job, would this still work out?
Good video, sir
Very helpful
Thanks a lot
Hi William. I wanted to ask for your thoughts on something I’ve been considering seriously lately-studying and possibly working in Japan.
Currently, I’m preparing to apply for the MEXT scholarship for a master’s degree in Computer Science, focusing on cybersecurity and software development. It’s a fully-funded scholarship offered by the Japanese government to international students.
However, I’ve been hearing mixed things about working in Japan, especially in tech. Some people say the industry can feel a bit outdated, and others mention the challenging work culture. That’s what worries me: how big of a risk am I taking if I study in Japan but decide not to work there afterward? Will the skills I learn be relevant outside Japan?
Since you have experience in the tech field, I’d really appreciate your perspective. Do you think Japan is a good long-term option for a career in Computer Science, or should I see it more as a stepping stone for future opportunities elsewhere?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! I’d really value your advice.
Take care
I don't even have a degree, so take this with a grain of salt.
But of course your masters degree would be relevant outside of Japan. I see where you are coming from with the outdated nature maybe taking away from what you actually learn. But Japanese universities are kind of outside of that. I mean, there aren't really any external pressures keeping what you learn antiquated. Especially if it's a university that the Japanese government is introducing foreign students to.
I have a friend in graduate school who's studies seem everybody as rigorous as what you would find in the west.
More than that, I would be concerned whether or not the international job market for foreign developers has recovered by the time you graduate. My guess is it will, but you never know. In that case you may be only able to find a job in Japan... but that wouldn't be because of your studies here being insufficient.
As for the work culture. Yes it can be a bit lagging behind the U.S., but there are many good people working on improving things at more tech-focused companies here. Many companies have moved to fully remote or at least partially remote. You will find barely any developer jobs that are fully in office, for example. Along with that, many companies have moved to "flex time", meaning you can set your own hours as long as you put in your time (though meetings can sometimes mess with this).
Don't put too much weight on this outside perception of Japan. Of course there is some truth in it, but Japanese people, just like people anywhere, are slowly pushing for better work-life balance, and I am actually seeing it. In my almost exclusively Japanese workplace at the least.
Ouch. As a data scientist who worked for Indeed in the US and JP, this hurts a bit. I can definitely agree that you should stay away from Indeed JP to get a software job. FYI - Indeed is owned by the Japanese company Recruit.
how do you find using indeed to get any job? i use it in usa but it just seems hopeless. i used to work with recruit in japan so im familiar with the company. but im really finding it not so useful.
@@underflo43tky The problem with all of the digital job boards like LinkedIn and Indeed is that their business model promotes mass applications. This in turn makes the job of hiring manager at companies harder, so they impose increasingly impossible requirements in hopes of limiting the apply volumes.
The job platforms that act more like a dating website or catered experience are probably better overall.
But the best route to a job is still the oldest - know people or have a network that can help you get directly in touch with the hiring manager.
Awesome concise and informative video, thanks for making it. Any idea on salary ranges you can expect or ask for based on years of experience in general, 1,2,3 yrs etc? thanks!
the 10 years of experience doesn't have to be experience in your exact job either, just the same general responsibilities, so if you did IT support for like 4 years and then became a software engineer for 6, it all counts as engineering since the responsibilities likely have some crossover
Good to know, thank you! I wasn't too familiar with how the 10 years of experience worked.
@@william_in_japan is it arbitrary, and really up to the immigration worker you're working with, but honestly I'd say more often than not you'll probably be fine if you give enough supporting documentation that you worked jobs involved to your field for them to not scrutinize it too heavily. Plus if you have a Japanese company sponsoring you and assisting you with an agency it becomes even easier because they will go to bat for you.
Hi William,
Thank you for sharing the video, it was clear and informative. I really appreciate your insight. I wanted to ask for your advice regarding my situation: I am a self-taught developer with no work experience and will be graduating next month with a major in geophysics. My Japanese language proficiency is close to the N2 level, and I'm preparing to take the exam in July.
I'm looking forward to next year, trying to meet the challenge of lack of experience. Would you advise me to start freelancing or contributing to open-source projects? As you know, the job market-especially in the purification field-is very challenging at the moment, and finding jobs as a new graduate seems to be difficult.
Thank you for taking the time to read my comment, and I hope to meet you in person one day.
I've personally not contributed too much to open source projects yet. I show potential employers a portfolio of small projects that I made myself. So it might be a good idea to do some small projects. Be careful that you don't start taking too long on any one project though, I mean get a minimal finished product at first so that you can actually show something nice in your portfolio.
Freelancing would be good if possible, but considering I had a hard time finding jobs when the job market was good, I think it will be almost impossible now. (I don't mean to discourage you, I just can't imagine it got easier to find freelance work). With that being said, you should be able to use git and know some of the basics of collaboration so you can say that in an interview. Open source would be good for that.
Sorry, what do you mean by the purification field? Since you mentioned geophysics, do you mean decarbonization? If so, I know of at least three such companies actively hiring here. (I got a job offer at one before)
Great job getting near N2, that will set you up nicely!
Hope to see you here in Japan soon.
Please let me know here or on discord if you have any more questions.
i'm a dev from italy, i've always loved japan and their culture since i was little, working and living in japan would be a dream for me
I'd like to work there too but just for a few years
what about Italy? How is the job market over there for tech field?
@@nahidsarker69 the local tech wages here in italy are generally too low
speaking from personal experience, i live in parma, and even good engineers here often earn far less than what would be considered a junior salary in other countries
i switched to freelancing and started working with international clients, which has allowed me to earn a better income and work remotely (something that’s still not widely embraced here)
there are a few good companies in milan offering decent salaries, but breaking into those is extremely competitive and not easy
Awesome guide
Thanks for the info!
Also I need some advice I'm fresh out of college (CS grad from the PH) but severely lacked job experience in the IT field (my internship experience really sucked), what skills should I focus on just to land a decent job in Japan? Also any projects worth doing so I can fillup my portfolio?
Interesting. Im working towards an IT degree, gonna need 4 years, but am very interested in living in JP at some point. Might try learning Japanese in my free time if im not lazy
Hey William, I've studied JLPT N5 a long time ago, stopped because i was busy with my bachelors, graduated and just didn't bother, I'd like to get back into japanese before anything but, how hard is it to land a job with very basic japanese skills? are there any options to learn whilist you work? aside from the language school method?
Just a note, your conversion to USD is way off. The yen has taken a beating in recent years, a 2000万円 yearly salary pre-tax is "only" 130k$ nowadays. And then you get hammered with taxes.
That is still an absolutely awesome salary by japanese standards (especially compared with the 800万円 advertized to japanese salarymen), but not as great to build some wealth if one is planning to leave Japan one day.
Lower housing prices and overall lower expenses may counterbalance that, but that's why you don't see many japanese tourists abroad nowadays - a trip a broad is too damn expensive!
Thank you for your comment! I would like to discuss this in a video sometime, but there are a couple of reasons that I continue to use outdated conversion rates. For one, of course they're easier to calculate in your head when $1 = 100円, and there is the expectation that at some point in the future they will start to converge again. (I personally don't believe that will happen anytime soon)
But the main reason is that if you are living almost exclusively in Japan, the price to lifestyle rate is much closer to the old conversion rate. For example, the "dollar stores" here are 100 yen, the McDonald's big mac set is around 900 yen, etc. The only time that prices will be significantly skewed is when you are buying foreign made goods, Nike, Macbooks, etc. To be fair, there are a lot of foreign made goods; but they aren't things you are buying every day.
And, as you eluded to, if you told someone here you were making 1000万円, that would be a very solid salary, and 2000万円 would be absurdly high.
So when I say I think and talk in dollars, I guess I mean that I speak in cost to lifestyle equivalence. But, it would probably just be easier to say everything in yen from now on.
@william_in_japan you make a good point that you probably get the equivalent of 100 yen = 1$ in terms of purchasing power when you live in Japan 👍The stagnation is real. Maybe I missed that explanation in one of your other videos, but as your public is probably mostly outside Japan is would probably be interesting to make that explanation.
It's crazy when you compare to how strong the Yen was back in 2011 vs USD, and then has been on a freefall since. I left in 2019 after seeing how my wealth/purchasing power from a global point of view had been stagnating over 10 years (and after also seeing how trying to raise more than 1 kid in Tokyo is a great way to become poorer).
That why I like to watch those type of videos to see how things are going over there!
I haven't explained it yet. You are right I need to cover it for the audience outside of Japan.
It is crazy how rapidly the yen took a nosedive. But the Bank of Japan is pursuing a very bad monetary policy in the name of stability. I personally have no confidence in them getting things back on track, and some of my smarter Japanese acquaintances have similar feelings. So it is kind of a "make money while you can" situation in my mind.
I could not imagine trying to raise more than one kid actually IN Tokyo. Aside from the cost of living it seems a bit stifling for children, but I guess we would get used to it if we knew where to go.
I also feel that it will be very difficult for the yen to get back to a more reasonable level.
Being dev as a foreigner and having the ability/power to negotiate definitely puts you in a great situation, much better than the average salaryman.
Hi, thank you for the video it was quite informative! I have 2 years of experience and an N3 certificate and writing the N2 in a few days🤞
I wanted to know about Japanese resumes and some recruiters have provided me with templates that are basically like forms, I'm not sure if that is the norm or is there an updated meta of it.
Is there any demand for device driver or imbedded systems programmers in Japan? Im sure a bulk of the workers they need are in web development but i have no interest in that kind of work; I like to get down and dirty with the metal. I am not far enough along in my Japanese studies to read the listings myself, so any sort of input there will be super helpful!
How do you feel about the job market for cybersecurity jobs in Japan? Are these sites useful for that or only developer positions?
Currently I work in a SoC for a North American company remotely and I’m studying Japanese at the moment so I’m curious about that.
Can you share a bit more about the interview process of a japanese tech company? I am already in Japan but I am working for a subsidiary company of my home country so I have no experience about the interview process of japan tech interview
I went to japan without a degree through the student visa route. Despite having dev working experience and going far into a few recruitment process, I was always ultimately rejected because of visa issues as the visa couldn't be sponsored without a university degree.
Did you graduate from somewhere in Japan?
I wonder what IT jobs like network engineering look like out there. Have more than 10 years experience, principal/exec level.
Hm, so I basically have a Master's degree in IT, but my programming skills definitely aren't that great yet. I'm currently in the process of creating my own portfolio with like at least 3 projects, which I can show to companies on my Github account. I already have JLPT N1 as well. I'm currently working in the IT field, but it doesn't have too much to do with web development.
Do you think I'd still have a chance to get a job via one of those two websites ?
I wonder if software eng job could be considered into international service category in a Gijinkoku visa app so that only 3 yoe needed instead of 10 for those w/ degree 😅. I mean the tools/platform/syntax are mostly in eng sooo
Hey Will great vid! I'm currently thinking about switching career paths (I'm 25 and didn't enjoy my degree or the work I do currently) I currently am around N3 level and have been studying for 2 years and am planning to go to language school but also am interested in IT. Is it viable to start off a new career working as a junior dev without experience immediately out of language school? I've been teaching myself front end stuff for around 3 months and plan to build a portfolio for myself while im studying at language school and then transition into an IT job but wondering if this is kind of a long shot since I have no experience working IT at all and don't have a BA in comp sci or IT (I have a Bachelor of Arts) thanks man appreciate you sharing this knowledge.
Yes, that definitely sounds like a viable plan to me, especially if you go to language school first and get up to N2 or N1. Actually, you might be able to go directly into some jobs with N3, but there will be fewer positions available.
I am self-taught also, and don't even have a degree, so if you can show some ability and willingness to learn, many companies will consider you.
Having the degree is mainly needed because sponsoring someone's visa is much easier if they have a degree, even if it is in an unrelated field. In any case, I think your bachelor of arts can be considered very related to front-end work.
If you have the resources, I like the idea of going to language school for you because you can increase your language skills while building up your portfolio since you're still just three months in.
If I were you, I would be applying to jobs while I'm in language school, and hop out at the end of the semester whenever you have a job lined up that will sponsor your visa change.
@@william_in_japan Thanks man thats great info hopefully I can make it work but yeah a 完全日本語の面接 might be a bit tough for me atm but hopefully 1-2 years in language school will get me to a functioning business level. I'll keep the grind up thanks for the help!
Oh, if you're going to language school full time (half a day for 5 days a week), you definitely won't take two years to get to N2. It may take you up to a year. But from N3 I think you may pull it off in 6 months.
N2 should be fine for getting hired. Once you're in a job, you'll learn rapidly.
Also, engineering interviews can often be arranged in mostly English. My company currently offers fully English interviews for foreign candidates. (Even though some Japanese is required in the job)
@@william_in_japan Ah interesting thats good to know man. Hopefully I can make it work.
まあ、本当に役立つ情報をありがとうね
*Learning japanese certainly hasn't been "easy".*
Hi,
I have a bachelor and master degree in an unrelated field but I have a certificate in software engineering. I have 2 years of experience as a backend developer. I use C#. Is C# popular there?
Hello. Im not a dev but im a designer. Im entering a japanese language school in tokyo next year. What do you think about the getting a designer (UI/UX) jobs in japan?
First time to your channel, William, and great video. Thanks for sharing all of this information. Those two sites look great. I'm an American that lived and worked in Japan for a while, but am back in America. With Trump set to take the White House again though, Japan is looking pretty appealing again. Actually, truth be told. I've always wanted to move back to Japan, but ironically enough, my Japanese wife prefers America for the most part. Although again, things may sadly change for the worst with Trump.
I have a degree in different field but I'm working in a startup atm? Wouldn't that work
Hey William, loved the video, just wanna clear something, a 2 year vocational school degree is enough to get a work visa or does it need to be of 3 years? Also if i already have N2 proficiency do i need to go to language school or can I skip it?
You don't need to go to language school if you have N2 proficiency, unless the school explicitly requires N1.
In my understanding, a two year school should be fine (I think the majority are two years). Please check with the school if any other foreigners have went on to work afterwards.
@william_in_japan Yup, will do. Thanks for the reply.
Dude you are awesome I'm about to finish college as a developer and might go for a bachelor's after, if there is any way to keep in touch or if you keep making videos you might be a lifesaver
Thank you for your comment! I just now made a discord to discuss things in, so feel free to join it! (the link is in a comment on this video, sorry I can't pin comments yet)
Otherwise, I'll reply to any questions you have here in the comments too
What are Japanese companies looking for portfolio wise?
Have you seen the same amount of availability for Salesforce roles? Thanks for the video!
So if I understand correctly if you don't have a degree you can do to a Japanese vocational school for visa to work
Very helpful, thanks. You said that many companies want foreign engineers, any particular reason for that?
There are mainly two reasons.
1. Nowadays, Japanese software companies are usually looking to expand overseas eventually. By having international engineers, they can more easily handle localization, both in language and in adjusting the software to societal norms.
2. More foreign capital is now flowing into Japan, and overseas investors like to see globalized teams. Probably for both the expansion potential and showing that the companies are forward thinking and not too different from the companies that they are used to investing in.
What would you say are the most common languages (software-wise) sought after at these companies?
Im fortunate to have a job and a wife who also has a job, but if things were to go sideways I'm still not sure about working in Japan. How do you know which companies are black companies and how to avoid death marches? The culture surrounding work in general is so different
The thing is, black companies typically take advantage of people who don't have other options. For a normal salaryman fresh out of college in no specific field, getting a new job would be very challenging. That is not the position that most software engineers here are in. In fact, there have been people applying to my company who were changing jobs because their other job had them working too much, and they were already having interviews with several companies.
Especially towards the start of your career here, the goal is to get several offers towards the same time, feel out each company for the culture, and choose which one seems best. Worst case scenario, you can go back to the other companies if you don't burn those bridges.
Also, it is getting much harder to make people work late with remote work taking off.
does age matter when they consider applicants? Im 27 atm considering going to senmon gakko for IT and hope to work in japan but I'll be 30/31 without experience by that time. I do have 4 years experience in a trade but im not sure about pursuing a career in that path in japan as pay seems low.
I'm the same age as you, and I avoid telling my age because I don't want them thinking I'm too young to receive the pay I'm asking for. I think writing your age is fine though, especially at just around 30. There are some people in my company that did a career change and got a job coming from an unrelated field. If anything try to spin some of your previous work experience as something positive that you can use in your new job. For example, communicating expectations, working well with others, etc.
what are the interviews like?
That was super helpful for me. Thanks. I'm intending to try and move to Japan after I'm done with school in the US, and this answered several questions I haven't had the time to find answers to yet. Any chance you have any insight on security related IT roles in Japan, very generally? Web development related or not. I'm about to start a Computer Science graduate program and focus on security. Thanks regardless!
Hmm, I'm pretty uninformed about specifically security related positions here, so take this with a grain of salt. The only thing I can say is that I personally haven't seen many specifically security related job listings. I see more infrastructure engineer "インフラ" listings, which I would assume it would be seen as a huge plus to have security experience when applying for. At my current job specifically, we hired one such engineer to audit our system, and they fixed various security related issues.
Basically, an infrastructure engineer is mainly responsible for anything surrounding cloud resources (think AWS or Google Cloud Platform). From the security perspective, you would be making sure that all of the settings for various services are secure. Firewalls, access permissions, etc.
I used to live in rural Japan and have worked in Japanese businesses in gaikoku for over a decade. My japanese is business conversational and even better when I'm there. I heard tsmc is in kumamoto and the prefecture is poised to be a tech hub (used to live there and love kyushu and hate kanto). I am now a fullstack dev with about 8 yrs of industry experience. I would love love love to come back to Japan and work. Only problem is i have a wife and child. Any advice???
With all of your experience, you should be able to get the "high skilled professional" visa. Your work will be tied to you working in the industry, but you'd be given preferential treatment in many ways over a normal work visa. Also, I think after three years you can apply for permanent residency, after which you would be free to do anything in Japan (your visa would be untied from working and your stay would be indefinite). You can also bring your wife and child over.
As for the tsmc, I also heard about that, but I don't know much about it yet.
Do you have any Japanese ability? Even without it, with your years of experience AND having previously worked in Japan, I think getting a job will be very easy for you.
@@william_in_japan In terms of ability I know a fair of bit N2 level content and usually don't have much problems in a japanese language work place as I know how to pick up new vocab and get people to explain things to me conversational japanese so I can grasp whatever。My kanji reading could be a lot better though.
Also re wife and child, are you saying I can bring them over after the three years + application or do you know/have you heard about the process of companies facilitating that? Also thanks for your response. 本当に感謝します
Sorry, no I meant you can bring your family over with you right away. I just meant you wouldn't have to be tied to an employer forever. It should be a part of the visa I mentioned.
If you almost have N2, try to get that certificate so you can get more points towards that visa I mentioned. You can calculate your points based on if you have a degree, your current salary, years of experience, etc. JLPT certificates also get you points, but you may have enough without them.
Anyway, you should be set up pretty good to get back to Japan and in a nice job if you choose to.
質問は他にあれば答えてみます！
Or skip the vocational school stuff and marry a local. saving +-3 years worth time 😅
Yep, that's what I did 😂
Speedrunning life any %
Am doing a bachelor's degree of 3 years it's called BCA (bachelor's of computer applications) and also planning on doing masters of mca will i get a job
If you have a bachelor's degree you can get a company to sponsor a work visa. You will need some Japanese ability though. Are you planning on studying Japanese while you get your degree?
@william_in_japan i passed n4 and by the time i finished my master's will probably pass the n2
@@william_in_japan i passes jlpt n4 and by the time i complete my master's i will probably pass n2
Unfortunate that I can't afford college; that puts me out of most Dev jobs I've been able to find. How much do you reckon I would need in savings with living expenses for language schools?
College is not a requirement, but you will need to build some kind of experience to get your foot in the door.
It has been a bit since I went to language school, but I think I paid 700,000 yen per year for the tuition. Then of course you'll need to pay rent, which you should be able to get for 70,000 yen per month if you live a bit outside of the city center and are ok with a small apartment. Then, your food expenses and other expenses will vary a lot depending on the person. The good thing is, the language school I went to was only in the morning, so in the afternoon there was plenty of time to take up a part-time job. So that can offset your rent some.
It's hard to say how much in savings you would need to feel secure during the whole time, but hopefully you can calculate based on the tuition and rent price along with what you think you would spend on food (based on how much you eat out, etc.)
I might talk about language school prices in a later video. Thank you for your comment!
is it possible to work remotely for an company outside japan and still live in japan being a non-decendent?
i could for example do some freelance jobs for japanese companies as well but as much as i want to live in japan i want to get paid in dolar so...
The short answer is no unfortunately, you need to have your visa sponsored by a Japanese company.
If you are a contractor for a Japanese company, they can sponsor your visa. But I don't think many would be willing to do that if you are not already living in Japan.
Dang I've been wondering this for a while thanks for sharing!
How would you look for a job if you didn't know any Japanese... Do those software engineering jobs exist in japan? I know you mentioned working with a recruiter if you dont know japanese and you are looking for a job. Where would someone go to find a recruiter that can help with this?
Thanks again William!
yo, im a student that is currently in a student exchange in Japan. i've asked my seniors about it, they said many japanese company that is interested in hiring foreigner or international worker will usually do a remote work. Some usually will give you japanese class there while also still working. That is all that i understand
Yes, jobs that don't require ANY Japanese definitely exist, but I think they'll be mostly at larger companies and will require probably a few years of experience (hiring at least mid-level engineers). For strictly English jobs, you can search "Japan Dev" and it will have some job listings. But these are way more competitive because people from around the world are looking at them instead of local listings.
If you speak even a bit of Japanese and are willing to learn more, many more companies will open up to you. Some are willing to sponsor your Japanese lessons.
The thing is, most Japanese developers speak English to some extent, so there will always be someone on the team who can take you through the hiring process, train you up, etc. But if you need to talk to anyone outside of engineering, Japanese will be needed, which is why it is currently very desirable to be bilingual.
@anassn8384
You are right about the Japanese lessons! As for the remote work, do you mean within Japan or from abroad? Many Japanese positions are fully remote or partially remote nowadays, but I'm not sure if they would hire someone fully remote from overseas. They would likely need to just work as a contractor in that case.
I recommend to not hope to get an English speaking IT job in Japan. There are just very few large companies here do that because they want to hire people around the world with very good coding skills so English-speaking candidates is the only way for them. Whereas any other companies, from medium-sized companies to smaller ones, they really don't have any reason to do that.
Sys admin here. Know anything about where I could look for a role? I am N3 proficiency which seems to be not quite enough
Just want to ask you for advice. I have a degree that is not related to IT, but I currently have a job as a software engineer and studying part time degree about Web Technologies. My Japanese is N5 or lower because I think I need the Japanese environment in order to get better at it.
So according to your video, I will have to get through language school for a few years in order to have a chance to get an IT job and live in Japan?
I am trying ask because it will take a very long time for me if I really want to come, I will need to finish my part time degree, gain experience as a software engineer and save some money (since my pay is pretty low when i saw 1000万円 yearly)
No, if you already have a degree, you do not need to go to language school. Even if it is not related to software engineering. The language school in your case would just be for language ability, not to get your foot into Japan.
Even if you went to language school, it should not take years. You should be able to achieve N2 within a year if you study well.
How many years or months have you worked as a software engineer? If you just add a bit of Japanese ability, you should be in a great position.
Also, you will not be making 1000万円 unless you have a few years of experience already, even though that is a normal salary for U.S. software developers.
@@william_in_japan I graduated from my degree more than one year ago, and work as a software engineer for 6 months. I said coming to japan will be something to plan for a while because i would like to finish the IT part time degree (which is around 2027), and gain more experience as a software engineer. So if i want to work in japan, it will be 3 years later and if i need go to language school, it will be another year.
If that's the case, do you think you can bump up your Japanese to N2 or just N3 within around two years? I think you can do it, but I know it will be very busy for you.
Either way, you'll be in a great position if you start planning now and hopefully get some projects in a portfolio.
@@william_in_japan I can create a routine and spend some time to study bit by bit.
For projects, I built a few projects in my company from scratch by myself, and I feel like my side projects will not be as good as the application I developed during work time. Is it a good idea to address the projects I developed for the company in my portfolio?
No, projects that you did at a company you are working for are better suited for your resumé. You outline what you did for the company and how it contributed to the company's output or profit.
i hope to move to japan sometime in the next few years and this is great. i have about ~25 years of xp so this setup is great.
That is a tiny desk
It 'only' estimates your yearly income potential above half a million, and you're making significantly more? Software engineers in Japan make more than in Silicon Valley?
No, half a million yen is much less than a U.S. software developer would make.
Salaries here are dramatically lower than Silicon Valley.
The market is too bad for it to make sense for me to take a leap of faith by spending my savings on language school + living expenses.
I will keep learning and racking up experience. Sooner er later I will look for a local job at a company with an office in Japan that I will ask to transfer to eventually
Understandable!
This is mainly meant for people with developer experience already or who really want to be in Japan (like I did).
With that being said, the job market is very good in Japan. Not just for developers - across the board.
@william_in_japan thats both me. Im closing in on 2 years of experience, and I really want to live in Japan for a year or three before I settle down somewhere.
I wont go unless Im walking directly into a job though. All else would be economical suicide
@@william_in_japanwhat about game development jobs? That’s my ba. Have 13 yrs it experience
@TheMusiclover133
I honestly have no clue about game development jobs for foreign engineers. I will have to look into them.
My gut tells me that they may be at least slightly harder to get into because of how much local-targeted content is in Japanese games.
I have seen developer listings for Unity game development before though, but not on these sites I introduced in the video.
With 13 years of experience, you would probably be able to get in if there were any (depending on language course).
Like I said in some other comment, you may be able to get the "highly skilled worker visa" depending on if you have a degree and your current pay, and some other factors.
@@TheMusiclover133 I know this Indian TH-camr (Ajay Pandey) who lives in Osaka and works at a gaming company. I believe he does 3D character design and has designed characters of many popular games. You might get information at that channel although everything is in Hindi lol
when coding there? is the language japanese or is it on english?
If you mean the code itself, it is in English - even the variable names.
The comments will be a mix of Japanese and English though.
@@william_in_japan Yeah, the code itself :D Just to add.... is .NET popular there in japan?
Thanks William!
@@william_in_japan Just to add in... is .NET popular there is japan?
What about the engineering teams, in general? I speak enough japanese to order some curry but at my current level there's no way I can discuss the need for unit tests 😂
vocational school is like a boot camp?
Here to know the wages 😔
I might be able to go over some salaries in a different video someday, but for now you can sign up for that website "findy" and see the salaries pretty quickly!
3:56 has OBS open lol
Yeah, I didn't want to deal with it at the time 😂
Next video I'll use it though
"Every japanese company on this site wants foreign engineers."
(Site is only in Japanese, no English or Chinese)
Ahhh, the typical Japanese paradox.
I know right 😭
But, I should have said that they would be happy to have foreign engineers, but aren't necessarily looking for them on these sites. I personally get messages on linkedin from foreign talent recruiters who try to set you up with Japanese companies. I would imagine that is how most foreigner hiring is done.
So you basically you want to do all this so that it becomes bad for the people there and the same problem which is occurring in America, happens there too ig (supply
How did you know? I dislike it so much that I am actively deciding to live here forever.
Why do they want foreign engineers more than natives?
I replied in another comment, but I will answer briefly here:
1. To be able to expand globally in the near future
2. More foreign capital is coming into Japan
I'm engineer in Europe, not looking for job in Japan at the moment, but its nice to see what it would look like if I wanted to turn my dreams to reality :D However please don't mistake software engineer or in fact any engineer to IT... Its very insulting coming from someone who is supposed to be one of us.. XD
Words exist with cultural context.
I thought I was going to get berated for using the term "engineer" because some people think that it undermines the meaning for engineers in other fields. I don't care either way. As long as the meaning is understood there isn't any need to give too much power to words.
Don't worry too much or take offense. In Japan, I think you will find software engineering can definitely be called "IT". In fact, many forms asking what your job is will only have this as a fitting option for developers.
Also, let's think of the word itself: "Information Technology"
I think it is very clear that at least on the surface level, software engineering falls within this, even if the word is moving towards a more specific usage.
Thank you for your comment!
@@william_in_japan You're definitelly right and since working at big tech, I've seen many people from Asia call all sorts of distinguishable jobs "IT". I don't care if its someone from marketing Japanese branch, noone should care - but if you know how much everyone gave up in their life to pursue software engineering (5-9 years of education, unpaid interships while another paid jobs, etc.), I don't want to be labeled as profesional linux user capable of restarting things in IT. Regardless of education or whatever, we have to maintain our pride in this to silence the underlining truth of how pointless it all has been :D :) Thank you for this nice video.
What if you have degree without any experience?
If you don't have experience, you might be able to get a job, but you will almost certainly have to know some Japanese, and I think that your salary will be about the same as your Japanese peers (pretty low by U.S. standards). Companies that hire from overseas with no experience tend to hire foreign workers because they can be cheaper since they really want to get to Japan. That's what I’ve seen anyway
No, hurry and delete this before all the Americans apply to Japanese jobs! 😂
I did think while posting it "is this going to increase my competition on these sites?" 😂
But I think there will still be very few qualified candidates that will actually make it here, and the ones that do are the more dedicated ones that I would probably like to work with.
Im getting my degree next year
What if I'm black (real question)
I think you'll have companies that are willing to hire you if all else is the same. I.e. you have a degree, some experience in programming, etc.
I'm white so obviously I can only say from my point of view, but I think you will still have an edge over other foreigners because at least you'll stand-out as a foreigner, unlike other east asians who are more likely to have a rougher time from what I've seen. I think that the country you're from will have a bigger impact on the hiring process.
Brother, you are not a victim. If you are good enough, nice to be around, you dont give up and learn from your mistakes you will get a chance eventually.
Good luck 🫡
@@JegErN0rsk I know there's issues of racism and stuff in America, just wondering if it's the same over there as well. Im trying my best and learning as much as I can in this period so that I can be ready for whatever opportunities come by 👍
@@william_in_japan Thanks for the response, I'll keep working hard 🙏
@@MenyeMC You might want to check out the blogs or channels of other Western and black expats living and working in Japan. I only know of the old "Gaijin Smash" blog, but there are probably a bunch of TH-camrs that fill that niche if you search. Some definitely have had negative experiences that were specifically tied to the fact that they were black and not just general "anti-foreigner" sentiment, but as you said, you can encounter that just fine in America. That said, the majority of people are going to treat you politely, provided you make an attempt to fit into the culture (and this comes with its own set of issues). Provided you have a marketable skill, the most important factor is proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. The better you are at this, the better you can fit into Japanese society and culture, no matter your skin color.
Basically just adding on to what others have said already - racist people exist everywhere but most people aren't assholes and will give you the benefit of the doubt. There are black expats living and working in Japan with Japanese families. You'll be fine.