Q & A about moving to Japan/teaching in Japan (cont. from Rezz`s photo diary)

[Revhead]

link no worky

[Sciby]

Fixed.

[DaiOni]

hehe, 35000/50000 - you could fit about 3 tokyo 1dk's in our apartments though

[Sciby]

Gawd... thank god for that.

I'm like 99% sold on going rural for the first year, so all good.

[swankFL]

I've been to Japan twice, just holidays. The expats I've talked to have all agreed JET or JETS (not sure which) is the best. NOVA (I've heard that NO VAcation bit as well) isn't so highly regarded. I have a Japanese friend enrolled at NOVA, they apparently make you put down a non-refundable tuition for a long course, that a lot of times the students don't like. Not to knock those of you who teach at NOVA, but I've seldom heard a kind word about it. They are everywhere though, if location is what your after. Just look for the pink NOVA usagi.

I met a guy who tought at a uni who said it was probably the plushest job you can get, but they aren't easy to come by.

There are also jobs in modeling/acting, and if you're black, hip-hop stores. Most of them seemed to be from the Carribbean islands, if I had to guess.

One of my mates who went with me kept having bad luck with old Japanese ladies, he got attacked by a Shinto nun (nun is the closest approximation that comes to mind), the first trip. But overall, the Japanese seem really patient and helpful with "temporary gaijin" like myself. Keeping an open mind and respecting their culture goes a long way as well. They always seemed tickled when I was able to speak Japanese. But I don't really know much about living there long-term.

Caucasian males might find their popularity with the opposite sex goes through the roof in Japan. I'd try not to let it go to your head, and I imagine it wears thin after a while. I was at a Japanese high school for 3 days at the age of 18, which was well, quite an experience.

[DaiOni]

There are also jobs in modeling/acting, and if you're black, hip-hop stores.  Most of them seemed to be from the Carribbean islands, if I had to guess.  

.

the overwhelming majority are from africa

[Amaru]

Time to ressurect an old thread... basically I am looking at going to Japan for a year or so to live and if I like it stay on longer. My main question is about jobs... are there any IT related jobs for people who cant speak a word of Japanese? Have got alot of hands on experience in IT here in .au, but no university degree (have a few vendor certs though, namely Cisco).

I know I should just come over and see if I can find anything, but on that note if anyone knows these types of jobs are availible it would be helpful

Thanks

[DaiOni]

off the top of my head, the degree is one of the things req for a specialist visa - though you might want to look into that

[Sciby]

From what I've researched (IT guy also, but not looking for IT job over there, quite happy to do the bum english teacher thing), you need a (any) degree so that the jap government knows that you're a capable person. This is definitely true of getting an english teaching job, and appears to just apply to any working visa. Of course, YMMV.

Having a degree is A Big Thing to the nihon-jin. The jap exchange students we get at the uni I work for are very serious about their degrees, often working harder at it than their australian counterparts.

Interesting sidenote... a lot of japanese parents are convinced it costs $100-200kAUD to send their child to regional queensland to get a degree... of course, it doesn't, so the child lives it up, nice cars, nice house, etc etc. This isn't always the case, but there's an amazing amount of students like this.

In regards to the non-japanese speaking part... it will be *very* hard for you to get an IT job there without speaking the lingo. They're a very technology-savvy culture, so there's nothing unique that you can bring to the party... except your ability to speak english fluently. From what I've seen, if you can speak japanese passibly well, you'll be able to get an IT job as a project co-ordinator... or at the worst, an IT-focused translator. The other problem you'll have is that they don't use english in emails or in their native software, so you'll have to practice being able to read japanese (which is a feat in itself) and then being able to type it.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I've looked at it for myself, and it would be not impossible, but very hard, for an australian who can't speak japanese to get an IT job in japan.

[Amaru]

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I've looked at it for myself, and it would be not impossible, but very hard, for an australian who can't speak japanese to get an IT job in japan.

Thats cool, I was after information and you gave me alot of helpful information

[Sciby]

You could always teach english over there... but depends on what you're wanting to do with your life.

I'm currently at the stage where I've had enough of IT, I want a change, and I need to get out of the rut I'm currently in... so... heading to japan for a year seems ideal, and teaching english doesn't worry me... I've been speaking it since I was about two, so should be fine...

[Sciby]

Well, back again after my 4 weeks of holidays and conferences down the east coast of oz, and after a week back at work, I can finally jump back onto SAU.

I've done a lot of reading about the whole teaching english in japan thing, and it's safe to say that the rose-coloured glasses are off.

http://www.bigdiakon.com is a good place to start for stories from ALT's (assistant language teachers) and the problems they face (racism, housing problems, lack of shags, how to do their job).

http://www.jetanuki.com - A japanese-american's journal. He's had somewhat of a good run, except for housing. He's made a lot of friends, but I suspect this may be because he's of japanese decent, making it easier. Anyone in japan care to comment on that side of things?

http://www.yesicanusechopsticks.com - Another american's page, which I found applicable to me, because he's 30 (I'm 29), he's physically large (6'3" like me) and he's got little japanese language skills (like me)... if you can find a journal for someone who's similar to you, it'll help. Thanks to that guy, I know now that very little available clothing will fit me over there.

At the moment, I'm trying to find reviews/opinions on the big english teaching companies/paths over there, will post in here when I find stuff out.

[Polski]

hey Sciby, i'm glad to see another person as keen as I am. been taking my free time lately to search up info on the whole deal as well.

I guess after reading a hand full of good and bad stories, theres really no point of reading anymore but just going to experiencing it myself ! but its great theres so many webpages which give you tips for pre departure preperation.

I'm set on going to Kobe, as I'll have accomodation sorted out there for the year. and I'll have someone to show me around / help me out when i need it.

I've heard having a TESOL or CELTA certificate is almost necassary now to get a job without looking for a long time. pitty the damn things cost over 2K AUD ; ;

maybe one of the resident japan guru's can fill us in on which one they think companies prefer ? TESOL or CELTA , or even something else ? I've seen a few job's advertised through the main gaijin webpages specificaly asking for the 2 mentioned so I'm assuming they are the two most aknowledged.

Also, if a friend wanted to sponsor my VISA from Japan, what is the minimum income I would have to recieve for a work VISA . I've read different numbers on diff. pages, and i've also read there is case by case scenario now? is this correct?

Sciby, will have to meet up for some sake in Japan

[Demon Dave]

 

I've heard having a TESOL or CELTA certificate is almost necassary now to get a job without looking for a long time. pitty the damn things cost over 2K AUD ; ;  

In my experience having some kind of teaching certificate, is a bonus but certainly not a pre-requisit. It took me less than 7 days after arriving here to find a job, using only newspaper and magazine ads - I didn't have any teaching experience, no teaching qualifications and no idea what I was getting myself into...

a lot of getting a job comes down to timing - I (by chance) happened to arrive in Japan during the last week of March, just before the new school term began. Many schools have usually hired their new teachers by that time, certainly most of the big national schools have, but many, many other local schools may have last minute vacancies and if you're a foreigner looking for work, have a uni degree, are in Japan and able to got to an interview and most importantly can start work on short notice, they really don't care about certification....

[Sciby]

Minimum wage, I believe, has to be 250,000y, and it depends on what kind of job. Very few working visas are given for jobs in Japan beyond 'government' office jobs, teaching/training and 'humanities' jobs... if they're related to the humanities students at my uni, you'll just wear a lot of black, smoke a lot, write bad poetry. and mumble "Satre" and "Jung" occasionally.

Sake, yes, for sure. Hoping to get all the SAU gaijin together when I'm over for a cruise or a weekend of merriment...

Personally, I want to go to a rural area... I have logic for this: 1. I come from a rural area already, so I'll be familiar with how (some) things work. 2. I'm not crazy about HUGE crowds, so rural would be better for me at first. 3. It's cheaper. 4. Because most people applying want to be in the cities with the nightlife and action, good rural slots may not be filled... I would like a good rural slot.

[Streeter]

good rural slots may not be filled... I would like a good rural slot.

5`9", 50kg, long black hair?

Im sorry that was lame.

[Sciby]

No no, it's right on the money, just put the age at between 20-30 and I'm set.

[Sciby]

http://www.yongfook.com - Diary of an ALT in japan, pissfunny writing. A good read.

[Sciby]

The JET application package for 2005 has been released:

http://www.japan.org.au/Jet.htm

Suddenly I feel very nervous and I don't know why...

[Demon Dave]

The JET application package for 2005 has been released:

http://www.japan.org.au/Jet.htm

Suddenly I feel very nervous and I don't know why...

nice read

I noticed in his photo albums he's got quite a nice R33 GTSt