Questions concerning moving to Japan.
 

I've always known that I'd end up in Japan for a while, if not forever, but, I've always been unsure of making the leap. The teaching programs, (JET,etc.) always seemed to be a viable solution, but due to monetary constraints and family dilemma, i was unable to finish college, thus, ruling out what i would consider the "easy" way that is teaching.

What other avenues should i explore?
I can read/write/speak Japanese on an intermediate level, but what sorts of jobs, aside from manual labor/factory work will i be able to realistically obtain?

To be honest, without a degree in anything it will be very hard for you to find a job. These are some jobs that come to my mind for which you don't really need to have any degree:

- modelling: But I don't know how good this is paid. Depends on the agency you are at and the amount of tasks you get (pretty unstable job)

- teaching: As you said it might be impossible to get with JET or NOVA a teaching job with no degree, but there are always schools out there looking for English teachers trough another way. Your chances are very slim though, but if you can overwhelm them with a good (preferably showing your good japanese skills as a surplus) interview, you may still get the job.

- work in a store or supermarket: Never heard of any foreign people doing this but I think it should be possible..again if you can show them that you are able to help out people in Japanese.

You can also attend an international language school in Japan (one for which you don't need to have any degree; there are quite alot out there). In this way you can choose to live for maybe a year or 2 in Japan, while studying Japanese and eventually get fluent so your chances on getting a job increases. Ofcourse these things aren't for free, but if you take a school that have own accomodation it might lower your expenses.

Your problem is that you can't work legally in Japan without a work visa. To have a work visa you need to find a company that will sponsor you. It's a lot of red tape, so generally that is done by companies that need foreign workers. What companies need foreign workers? English schools. What do English schools require? 4-year degrees.

Your best bet is to marry a Japanese person, then the visa issue is settled.

Perhaps you can finish your degree someday, maybe just a class or 2 at a time until you're done?

Get a loan, go back to school. This is about the only option for US citizens outside of marriage. And remember, marriages for visas often, maybe never, work out in the end.

ps~Drink a Cheerwine for me, will'ya? It has been almost a year since I was home in NC.

Oh yeah, other option. Join the Navy or Air Force and pray that you get stationed here.

£500 gets you a CCNA cisco certification. You will be in demand in any modern country. Try for CCNP and you can live on a good wage in any modern country, about £45k+ or $90k+