A couple questions about the whole proccess
 

Hello!
Let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Will and I'm currently a freshman in Highschool who is living in the USA. It's always been my dream to go too Japan since I was little. I love the culture, the customs and the sights. It seems like a place I would enjoy waking up and going to work everyday in.

So, I have spent countless hours reading different blogs and looking at different info about living in Japan. I have worked out what I think is the best plan to get me over there and living in Japan:

Right now I'm taking Japanese in highschool and I can take it all four years I'm there, so that should be enough studying to get me where I can pass level 2, maybe even level 1 of the JLPT. I'm planning on going to college and getting my MBA and, if the 4 years highschool japanese isn't enough, maybe a couple more japanese classes. Somewhere in between college I'm going to try and find some time to visit Japan, an exchange program or something perphaps? After I finish college I'm going to try and get a job in business through old fashioned job searching. If that doesn't happen I'm going to try and get in JET so I can get over to Japan and start networking and meeting people and integrating myself with Japanese society. Hopefully I would have found a job that would sponsor my visa by then. I think that pretty much covers it. But I have a few questions:

How did you guys making the transition from an English teaching program to getting a actual job in the japanese work force? Did you just keep your eye out and talk to as many people as you could?

How much do you think an American with an MBA and JLPT level1 certification will be in demand? Will I have a rough time beating out other Japanese who want the same jobs?

And lastly, do you notice any glaring problems with my plan? Is there something that I'm missing that is really important?

Thanks

I think your plan sounds good. I know a lot of Canadians who followed a similar course of action and they're currently living in Japan working at huge multinational corporations.

BTW, there's a yearly job fair in the US where Japanese companies converge to look for new grads from North America. They'll sort through tons of resumes, perform interviews and if you're lucky, you'll get an invitation to their office in Japan to try and lure you in. Well, at least that was the case years ago... but I'm pretty sure they still have it.

In any event, times are always changing and you still have years and years to go. Good luck with the studying and remember to take some time to re-evaluate your goals and ambitions!

Thanks for the response!

Do you know the name of that job fair? I looked on Google but nothing showed up.

Here's the link.

And yes, I found it using Google. :D

CFN | New York Career Forum 2009

Four years of high school Japanese isn't enough for you to pass the JLPT Level 1 Test. Four years is equivalent to being in the second year of university level Japanese. If you've studied hard and aced each Japanese class in high school, you should know between 90~250 Kanji depending on your school. Be prepared to take some Japanese courses at a university if you want to build fluency. High school courses are mostly busy work, so you won't learn enough useful Japanese until college.

I am currently studying Japanese as well, this information helps alot.

4 years of high school Japanese is a great start, seriously. It begins easy (maybe a little difficult if it is your first introduction to Asian languages, but studying often should cure that) and progressively gets harder as you go along, especially when you come upon honorifics (be ready for that). I knew around 400~450 kanji at the pinnacle of my studies, but that'll depend on your classes. You'll have a decent vocabulary by then, and depending on how hard you worked on your speaking, you'll be able to hold your own in a conversation, and most importantly, be able to ask questions. That is key for any language. If you don't know, be sure to know how to ask XD If you study hard, I'm sure you'll be able to pass the JLPT level 1 exam.

Your plan is good by the way. Good luck, work hard! ;]

@spicytuna: Lol, thanks. I'll read more later, but from what I saw it looks pretty interesting.

@saaxu: Is this also taking into consideration studying through the summer? During sumer break I'm going to keep studying and will either get a tutor or go to some classes.

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Wait, aren't you a guy who said Mutsu, a guy who's from Japan, doesn't know anything about Japan? So if you're so knowledgeable, shouldn't it be us asking questions of you?

No.

I never said he doesn't know anything about Japan, I said don't listen to him. I meant that people shouldn't listen to him being such a dick. Which seems to be the only thing he does in threads.

If you have problems with what I said, say it over there. Dont drag it into another thread.