Quote:
Originally Posted by mzamike
It's pretty discouraging to learn that I would have to wait up to 5 months to be placed in Japan...if hired, I estimated to leave by the end of the year or latest January. Is this being too hopeful?
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It probably is a little too hopeful. Remember, you are being hired to fill a position, and you must wait for that position to open, they simply can't open positions for the convenience of applicants.
5 months is not an eternity. In that time you can get a lot of useful things done, like study up on your Japanese, save money, and take care of loose ends at home.
It takes up to 2 months to get through the application and interview process, and an additional month for them to process the visa. That's a minimum of 3 months. In my case it took 4 months from the time I submitted my application to the time my flight departed for Japan.
You are talking about a major change in career and lifestyle. Beginning a new profession in a foreign country is not something to be taken lightly, nor is it something which should be rushed. You would be surprised at how many people decide at the last moment that they can't do it, and drop out of the process before they leave for Japan, or at how many arrive in Japan, work for a month or two, and decide that they don't like it here.
At the beginning they are very "gung-ho", they can't wait to leave. They endure the interview process, pay for the airfare, say their goodbyes, and prepare for a new life. Then they arrive and find that they don't fit in. They don't know the language, they don't know the food, they don't know how to get around. Everyone around them is a stranger, including their students and new coworkers. A lot of them freak out, suffer culture shock or severe homesickness. Some people realize that Japan is not anything like they imagined it to be, and find they dislike it. Some people actually hate living and working here (though they tend to find this out after a few years rather than immediately).
Don't be in a hurry, take advantage of the time to fully prepare yourself.