Possible careers

[fuzzyice]

So, in grade 9 I started learning Japanese as my second language. things have been progressing nicely, good grades and good cultural understanding. It hasn't been until recently that I've asked myself, where can I go with this career wise? my resume already notes that I have an introductory level of Japanese, which is a bit dated, but I'm only 17 years old and still have a year or so left of school. so my question is, where can I go with Japanese as a second language? I have a huge interest in Japanese culture and language. I also live on the west coast of Canada, where theres quite a bit of tourism; so I already know tourism is an option. I prefer not to deal with people, but even so I think I have good people skills. I have an easy time understanding other cultures, and hold an interest in learning about them. I'm interested in traveling, but mainly to places in Asia. I'm more of a hands on kind of person, I hate the idea of sitting in an office for 8 hours day in and day out. I'm also open to possible jobs in Japan other than teaching English; and I know you need a bachelors degree for a foreigner to work there.

I've probably left out a lot of details about myself, but any suggestions you could give would be great. I'm having a real hard time thinking about a career.

[kaelazors]

well, like you i started learning japanese in the 9th grade, and now i'm even thinking about going into international law

[Ronin4hire]

I'm also a Japanese student who has asked myself that question. My suggestion is to not stress about it too much.

For me, I don't really care if my future job is Japanese related or not as long as I enjoy it and am not stressed out by it. I mean I prefer it to be Japanese related and when I graduate from university that's the sort of direction I want to take however I think I will be studying Japanese for the rest of my life so see it more as an interest subject than a springboard for my career.

If you're still looking for options though.

The only jobs I can see being directly related to Japanese are

-Japanese language teacher
-English teacher in Japan
-Translator

However many jobs that a second language is helpful in include

-Police officer
-Immigration officer
-Customs
-Foriegn office (or whatever government department is the equivalent in your country)

[yuujirou]

Originally Posted by fuzzyice

So, in grade 9 I started learning Japanese as my second language. things have been progressing nicely, good grades and good cultural understanding. It hasn't been until recently that I've asked myself, where can I go with this career wise? my resume already notes that I have an introductory level of Japanese, which is a bit dated, but I'm only 17 years old and still have a year or so left of school. so my question is, where can I go with Japanese as a second language? I have a huge interest in Japanese culture and language. I also live on the west coast of Canada, where theres quite a bit of tourism; so I already know tourism is an option. I prefer not to deal with people, but even so I think I have good people skills. I have an easy time understanding other cultures, and hold an interest in learning about them. I'm interested in traveling, but mainly to places in Asia. I'm more of a hands on kind of person, I hate the idea of sitting in an office for 8 hours day in and day out. I'm also open to possible jobs in Japan other than teaching English; and I know you need a bachelors degree for a foreigner to work there.

I've probably left out a lot of details about myself, but any suggestions you could give would be great. I'm having a real hard time thinking about a career.

A personal story x]

During my 6th grade year, I had begun developing a mild interest in Japanese culture. During my 7th grade year, I began studying bits and pieces of Japanese. I started by picking words out of a dictionary. It wasn't until 8th grade that I actually started studying the grammar and other aspects of the language. I continued this on and off until 9th grade when I stopped almost completely. Anyway, all that studying earned me knowledge the equivalent of a J2 student.
The summer of my senior year of high school, my Dad hooked me up with a local sushi-ya in Houston (Miyako for the Houstonians in this forum x]). Thus beginning my career a sushi chef. Eventually, I moved from the back of the kitchen too the front of the house working at the bar. The sushi-ya, being owned by a Chinese and being aimed towards American clientele, naturally attracted very few Japanese. So I started noting all the Japanese that visited and chatted with them in my broken Japanese. Eventually, the son of my current boss dropped by Miyako for a few drinks. I started talking too him and after a bit he noted that he was going too Japan for a few months and that his parents might need a little help running the bar since his dad was the only chef working there. I took him up on it and paid the sushi-ya a visit.
The sushi-ya, Teppay (google it), is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that is run by a Japanese family with a classically trained chef. Anyway, they hired me and now I'm an apprentice under THE best Itamae in Houston, Texas.

*The main reason they hired me was because I speak some Japanese*
x]

Point of Story:

With a little bit of luck, a bit of perseverance, and just the right connections you can go quite a ways with your Japanese; I sure did.
lol x]




^---Yes, that's my success story, lol xD.... in progress

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by yuujirou

A personal story x]

During my 6th grade year, I had begun developing a mild interest in Japanese culture. During my 7th grade year, I began studying bits and pieces of Japanese. I started by picking words out of a dictionary. It wasn't until 8th grade that I actually started studying the grammar and other aspects of the language. I continued this on and off until 9th grade when I stopped almost completely. Anyway, all that studying earned me knowledge the equivalent of a J2 student.
The summer of my senior year of high school, my Dad hooked me up with a local sushi-ya in Houston (Miyako for the Houstonians in this forum x]). Thus beginning my career a sushi chef. Eventually, I moved from the back of the kitchen too the front of the house working at the bar. The sushi-ya, being owned by a Chinese and being aimed towards American clientele, naturally attracted very few Japanese. So I started noting all the Japanese that visited and chatted with them in my broken Japanese. Eventually, the son of my current boss dropped by Miyako for a few drinks. I started talking too him and after a bit he noted that he was going too Japan for a few months and that his parents might need a little help running the bar since his dad was the only chef working there. I took him up on it and paid the sushi-ya a visit.
The sushi-ya, Teppay (google it), is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that is run by a Japanese family with a classically trained chef. Anyway, they hired me and now I'm an apprentice under THE best Itamae in Houston, Texas.

*The main reason they hired me was because I speak some Japanese*
x]

Point of Story:

With a little bit of luck, a bit of perseverance, and just the right connections you can go quite a ways with your Japanese; I sure did.
lol x]




^---Yes, that's my success story, lol xD.... in progress

Damn that's a cool story!

[Paul11]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

I'm also a Japanese student who has asked myself that question. My suggestion is to not stress about it too much.

For me, I don't really care if my future job is Japanese related or not as long as I enjoy it and am not stressed out by it. I mean I prefer it to be Japanese related and when I graduate from university that's the sort of direction I want to take however I think I will be studying Japanese for the rest of my life so see it more as an interest subject than a springboard for my career.

If you're still looking for options though.

The only jobs I can see being directly related to Japanese are

-Japanese language teacher
-English teacher in Japan
-Translator

However many jobs that a second language is helpful in include

-Police officer
-Immigration officer
-Customs
-Foriegn office (or whatever government department is the equivalent in your country)

I have used Japanese to interview subjects in attempted murder and domestic violence cases. There's not a huge call for J-speakers, but it's definitely something that could get you through the door and you'll be the only one able to do so.

[noodle]

What about journalism? You can either work for a Japanese news channel as a correspondent in an English speaking country, or work for an English channel as a correspondent in Japan. Either way, if you're fluent in both languages, that would fulfill a few of the points you've stated in this thread... You'd get to travel a bit (especially if you're a correspondent for a Japanese news channel), you'd hardly ever be in an office, you'd get to live with different cultures etc...

Unfortunately, I don't have any more information, but you can easily do a bit of research and contact some news channels... Before this summer, I thought I'd want a career in IT, so I decided to get a job in IT this summer. Now, I've realised that IT isn't the right path for me. You needn't worry about the future. All you have to do, is get as much experience as you can so that you learn more about yourself, thus letting you know what you'd like to do for the rest of your life.

[Kai13]

I'm 16 (almost 17) and

I Have that same question as well, but I think I'm not so well positioned as you, since my native language is not english but portuguese. I'd like to work using my japanese/mandarin/portuguese (and maybe english) habilities for a living, I'd rather finding a work in Japan, but I'm already looking in another countries such as the USA, UK and China.

But first I have to do my bachelor and masters degree(s) (a total of 5 years).

My dream job would be working for an embassy, international relationships, translating, interpreting. And journalism too, but I highly doubt I can get a job at this since I never saw a portuguese journalist in Japan, and it's rare to see japanese news in the news, only about earthquakes.

[Paul11]

Originally Posted by Kai13

and it's rare to see japanese news in the news, only about earthquakes.

In a newscast they tell the country and city. I've noticed in America that everytime there is a story out of Japan they never mention the city or region unless it's Tokyo or Hiroshima.

[fuzzyice]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not limiting myself to only Japanese speaking jobs, but I was mainly wondering where could I go. Does any one know if theres some sort of position in the Canadian navy that I could use Japanese? I know the navy here does do exercises in the pacific and sometimes pass through the sea of Japan.

I'm always open to more suggestions