Graduate from college if you want to live in Japan.
 

I am going to put it out there straight. There are millions of people that want to go to Japan and live there. (Work seems to be a distraction.)

People that aren't college graduates are not attractive candidates for work in Japan (or any foreign country, for that mater).

If you cannot complete the equivilent of a four-year degree program, then why would an employer in Japan hire you?

People that don't go to college don't get to be international businessmen.

Fair or not, that's how it is.

I think it's also safe to say that most of the people that are wanting to live in Japan really ought to go there for some time before making such important plans. I seem to see a lot of people that dream of living in Japan, purely from stories of a perfect society. I have to say, those people seem rather naïve.

I completely agree with ossan.. living needs money.. to get money you have to work.. unless you came from a rich family, working here in Japan needs knowledge and desire to work more.. you also must have a tolerate manner regarding to whom you're working with.. it is good to get experience in Japan but I think it is better to serve your own country..

Second all that. Being rich will help you to live, but not to stay :)

I am glad that MMM spelled it right out, a lot of kids are dreaming of going to Japan because of the mix culture and the anime/cosplay culture there. How many threads have we seen already with kids asking how they can go to Japan and stay there when they really don't have any skills or academic background to offer the Japanese government for a VISA

MMM - well put. I see far too much turn over in the workplace when it comes to the younger generation and it is rarely as well tolerated in the rest of the world as it is in the U.S. It is especially true of those who have not already invested the discipline of years studying in academia or a trade, and every Human Resource office knows this.

*clap clap*

Well said, MMM.

In addition to employment and work visa issues, when you move to another country you will have to adapt to a completely different culture. You have to be realistic and very determined to endure the stress of the first few years. That's not to say that you won't eventually enjoy your new home, but when the novelty wears off it may not be the dream you expected.

Personally, I just want to be able to visit for a month or two at a time and keep it a refreshing change from my normal life and enjoyable experience. Give me a month each in Japan, Korea and Scotland and the rest of my year at home would a far better way of life. :marusmile:

And also to RESPECT IT and respect yourself. I took a kid, someone I mentored when he was a coop student working for me, he is now 24, he was so immature and disrespectful, I wanted to push him down the shinkansen platform....

Its sad to see how the younger generation like to portrait themselves to the public these days..... in reality, thats not what the general public looks for, and definitely, in Japan, people look for more etiquettecy

It is an unfortunate fact in life, but people that can't graduate from college don't get to be international businessmen.

How many "I didn't go to college, and I don't want to teach English, so how can I live comfortably in Japan?" threads have we seen?

You have to give a little to get a little. I feel no sympathy for those that say "I have no marketable skills, but I don't want to 'lower myself' to teach English."

Guess what. You have one marketable skill. What do you think all the foreigners in Japan are doing?

I thought everyone would jump on me for this thread...I am pleasantly surprised by the positive responses.

I agree (You weren't expecting that from me :p). Whether you go to college or a trade school, you need to be marketable. As Napoleon Dynamite says "Chicks dig guys with skills". I was wondering if the moderator would be able to make this one a sticky. It could serve as a source of good information...maybe rename it to "What must a person do in order to realistically live in Japan" or something like that. We could compile all the information on exchange programs for schools, what would be the best subject to major in while in college if one wants to go to Japan. If college is not an option, what skills or trades are in demand in Japan, how much experience is needed for those trades, etc. Just an idea.

A question about degrees, does anyone know Japan's policy on distance degrees? I know Taiwan doesn't see them as valid. Is Japan the same? If Japan accepts them I think that would be a great alternative to those who cannot enroll in a college full time but still want a degree to go Japan.

Is that like correspondence school? My initial feeling would be "not too highly" but that is probably true in the US, as well.

Having worked for Japanese employers on hiring teams, the first thing the Japanese boss asks about an applicant is "What's his degree?" (Rarely "What's his major?") and the second is "Where did he go to school?"

90% of the boss's decision to hire or not is based on these two questions.

Well put. Helpful.

Are you talking about online universities?

Like UOP and Devry?

Probably. I was wondering the same thing. I went to a Community College years ago, but I'm finishing up my degree online at a four-year university (Ashford University), but since I can't attend full-time offline and work a full-time job, I'm doing their online program.

A degree is a degree, and the fact that you will be able to answer "yes" to the question "Did you graduate from a 4-year-university" is going to keep 95% of the doors from slamming in your face. I wouldn't rush to say you earned your degree online, though.

As the others have said, well put MMM-san. I couldn't say it any better.

Japanese employers don`t really care about correspondence schools - as long as the school is accredited it is valid. If it`s one of those "Receive a degree overnight based on real life experiences!" scams, then no - it will never be valid anywhere in the world.

If you`re going to be teaching English, they don`t really care WHERE you got your degree either, as long as you have one. It`s more for visa purposes than any real educational expectations. I have a feeling that if most of the big name English schools could get away with it, they`d hire those without degrees so they could pay them less.

I literally had 6 schools jumping to hire me as soon as I had a valid visa - which was before I had my degree. The thing is, I was married so had that valid visa - not really something anyone can do.

If you`re going to be teaching English, the only cases where employers care where you got your degree is if you were in an especially important position (which is pretty much...never?), or if you received your degree in Japan. (Or, obviously, if you`re Japanese.) Even then, a degree is a degree in most cases.

Absolutely correct, as always. The employers I worked on hiring committees for were a bank and a translation company. For English teaching, as long as the degree is legit, WHERE you graduate from becomes less important...just as long as you graduated, and are visa-worthy in the eyes of the government.

Well said MMM. Seems the majority of people wanting to live/work/whatever in Japan only know what they want to know.

To move to any country requires research. Know what you're getting into and want to accomplish. A dream is nice, but that's all itll ever be if that's all who want it cares to see.

the main reason i want to live in japan is that im in love with the culture and the people. and plus whats the use of living in the united states? they say we are free but we are no where near being free. so i dont see any reason to stay here. i hate were i live and probably always will hate it. and i know that im going to go to japan no matter what. and also you dont have to graduate from college to go and live in japan.

Want to know what gets you freedom?
Money.

Want to know what gets you money?
A college degree.

Do you live in the united states? Have you ever lived here?

I do live in the United States, and if anything I have more freedoms here than in Japan.

well you must live way far from me then. and where i live you have like no freedom. in the united states you dont have freedom of speech, religion and so on even tho they say we do we dont.

The US isn't the only Country like that. It's hard for any country to be a country and have it's people be completely free. All Country's have their own pros and cons, but I too like Japans culture and past.

They aren't saying it's impossible, they're saying it is near impossible, and I understand where they're coming from, though I don't like it.

Kenpachi, I am going to guess you are a high school student. I know it's hard, but the experiences you are going through now are not universal, and do not stay that way.

Right now you don't have a lot of freedom, that is true. But you also don't have a lot of responsibility. As you get older both of those things grow, no matter where you live.

yes i am a high school student and im in the 10th grade but i know alot about the government and how stupid and how many tyrants are in there. they take away the death penaltiy until like a month ago when my state was the first to do it again and it was lethal injection. I really dont see how the death penalty is bad i mean if you kill a person they only get like 20 years and when they are release they do it again.

I'd rather stay on topic than talk about the death penalty.

In terms of government, American people have much more faith in their government than they do in Japan. Change is slow there, and scandals are an almost daily event.

yea well i dont have faith in our government but why do i care im not going to live in the united states?

Just out of curiousity, if you are 16, why have you already decided you are not going to college? If you want to be an international traveller/worker, things are going to be a LOT easier with a degree.

Orodreth, and I am not trying to discourage people to try to live in Japan, I am trying to encourage to start that quest with a degree in hand.

It's a lot easier to build a house with a hammer and nails than just with your bare hands.

What makes you think Japan is so much better?

You aren't more free in Japan. Especially not as a gaijin.

Also, I'm curious to what your plan is in order to live in Japan. Sure, it's possible without a degree, but a high school graduate isn't going to have the skills or experience necessary to do so.

No, I wasn't trying to say that you were discouraging people. I meant, that i didn't like the fact that it is nearly impossible to get to live in Japan without 4 years in a college.

But, I too have decided that I don't want to go to college. I might just go to a community college for a couple years, and during that time perfect my japanese, and if worse comes to worse, transfer from the community college for 2 years at a university.

It is curious to me that you would decide to close doors on your future by not going to college, especially if going to Japan is a goal. If you plan on taking over your father's business or something like that, I understand, but it's a little like saying "I want to be a policeman, but I don't want to go to the Police Academy" or "I want to be a lawyer, but don't want to take the Bar Exam".

If that's your life plan, then I'd make it a plan to marry a Japanese person. Then you can apply for any job you want in Japan (as long as they don't require a 4-year-degree).

Well since it is my goal, if I have to(as i just stated) I will get a 4 year degree.

I personally just see no point in me going to college(atleast at the point that I'm at) when I have no career that I am interested in going into, and i do not want to go to college only to spend money to learn about something I may have no passion in.

Whats the point of moving to a country without a plan? If you're so determined to go but dont know what your doing, might as well just do it as a visit instead of something more permanent.

Wow, I wish I could go back to my teenage years and say something like this.

Maybe you should start living by yourself and see how hard it is to earn money and pay your bills on time.

Then, you will realize how a college degree could help you earn more money. Yea, it's just a credential but that's how today's society functions.

Earning a bachelor's degree shows that you can be committed to something for at least 4 years not run away and avoid it.

So many people waste their time wondering around but at the end, most people feel the need to come back and complete their degree so you might as well do not when you are young, when your time is less valuable in the job market.

Plus, bachelor's degree mean almost nothing anyways as many people are getting their master's.

Time is ticking fast my friend.

You think you are only 18, the next moment you will be 24 and all of the sudden you feel behind in your life.

Japan is a rough place to survive.

Graduates from top American universities end up teaching English for years just to stay there so you can imagine how difficult life could be in Japan for those without college degrees.

Take a year or two to decide what you want to do. But know that if you are determined to live in Japan, chances are you are going to be an English teacher.

If you don't know what you want to be, but are determined to live in Japan, do what I did: major in Japanese.

:) hmmm, maybe I will do that when that pittance known as social security kicks in. I could actually enjoy teaching English and it gives me a few years to learn Japanese.

MMM, on that topic, Kenpachi was the kid who started the thread about his special skill being welding and he demonstrated that in his shop class by setting himself on fire, therefore the Japanese should offer him a job as a welder

Orodreth, I think its fine if you transfer from college to a university degree. As MMM pointed out, a degree is a degree, as long as the degree is legit and is not one of those "Buy your way through university".

Half these kids who debate over this issue are refusing to accept reality. Talk to anyone who live and work in Japan, and they will tell you how valuable a university degree is to get a decent job in Japan. Or better yet, a JOB that WE, as foreigner, can get.

My cousin and his wife, they are both NATIVE LOCAL JAPANESE. Both of them graduated university, but a 3 years degree. They have monkey jobs. They are not doing BAD, I mean, they were able support the family and such, but they don't live an extravagant life

My other cousin, really my cousin's cousin. She is from Gunma, finished a 4 year degree, did a 6 month exchange program in Vancouver to study English. She works as an office clerk making slighly higher than minimal wage doing data entry work.

My fiancee's best friend. Finished a 4 years engineering degree in Toronto, did a 2 years master degree. Found a job as an entry level IT analyst, making minimum wage in Roppongi Hills. Her fiancee, finished a 4 years engineering degree in Toronto, can't find a full time job. Got rejected by University of Tokyo, Tsukuba University and Waseda. Got a part time job at a private institute as an assistant instructor, now he is doing a part time MBA on the side hoping to get something better

My fiancee, finished a 4 years Mec engineering degree in Toronto, did a 2 years master degree. Not a single phone call yet.

I finished a 3 year electrical engineering diploma, did a 3 years master in IT, with a load of other related certification under my belt and 10 years of experieince in the field. So far I have two calls, one from Panasonic (Yokohama), the other is Toyota. In both cases, I was rejected after the phone interview.

My point is, listen to others, especially ones that have experieince in this area, if you really want something, you have to work hard for it. What MMM stated may not (again just a MAY), be 100% accurate, I can't say for sure, but its a guideline that can give you better "hopes".

All things in life is about what you want vs what you have to offer, be it buying something, a relationship or anything. If you can't offer them what they want, then the don't want you. Plain and simple

I got no chance then lol
anyway i know LOTS of people living in japan that havent finish college.
a cousin of mine for example only finish HS, well most of them are businessmen though particularly import/export