Moving to Japan - visa/job advice

Hi there all. I'm a first time reader, first time poster on these forums.
I was told about this place by someone from another forum and it seems to be quite the treasure trove of information about Living in Japan.

It is for this reason that I am posing some questions towards any who are currently residing or have previously resided in Japan.

But first, some information...my situation is this: I am a 22 year old male from New Zealander (caucasian) who is dead-set determined to get over to Japan to live and work for a while. This plan is to take effect in about 6 months time.
I speak and understand enough Japanese to probably get by in day-to-day situations, however i'm nowhere close to being able to speak in casual conversation. Which is why I wanted to move to Japan..... to learn!

My problem is, and i'm sure it IS a problem, I don't have a degree of any sort.
I did a years worth of study at University (doing art & design), but just couldn't get in to the groove of things, and therefore quit out and started working.

This poses a problem. While browsing these forums i've noticed that a lot of you have been saying that 'no degree = no working visa'. Now I know there are other ways to get a working visa. But i'm wondering how I would go about it.

New Zealand (along with a select few other countries) have a Working Holiday Visa programme. Essentially this allows us to travel to Japan, live and work to support ourselves for 6 months (extendable to 1 year). This is almost perfect for me, but not quite. I want to stay longer.

My idea was to pre-arrange a crappy job from here in NZ, (www.jobsinjapan.com seems a bit dodgy, but all I need is some basic work to keep a small initial income with suppliments from my own savings), then once I am over there and have secured a place to live, I could try looking for a job teaching english.

Here is the big hurdle. From research i've done, most places require you to 1. Already have a Working Visa (am unsure if a Working Holiday Visa can be used in its place) or 2. Have a University Degree of some sort (in which case they usually sponsor you to get a Working Visa).

So my question is: What are the chances of me managing to find a job teaching english... say 6 months into my stay.... that doesn't require a degree.
My hope is that some place would be willing to take me on as an English teacher, and then sponsor me for a Working Visa.

I am going to the Japan Embassy at some stage to inquire into the possibility of, when i've secured a job teaching english, transferring my Working Holiday Visa to a true Working Visa.
Of course working as a waiter or bartender isn't probably enough to get a Working Visa on its own. Therefore I am hoping that a job teaching english would add more weight to my case.

I currently work as a second tier IT technician, and have done for the past two and a bit years. I've got a lot of knowledge in the field of IT, but am a huge people person at heart.
I don't do my job because I love computers, I do my job because I love talking to people and helping them. The bonus with IT is that it pays ever-so-well.

Thanks for taking the time to read this all, I would very much appreciate ANY advice you guys could hand to me.

Cheers,
Nannou.

 

Cheers and thanks for the reply.
Getting a real degree isn't really an option for me. I'd have to study at least another two years to get one, and I just paid off my student loan. I don't plan to go back into debt right now. I'm debt free!

I'll definately find a job doing something (maybe a skii field or bar or... SOMEthing) to start off with. But there's gotta be a way to get a job teaching english without a degree, at least to start. Then maybe when i've got some experience, I might be able to get in the door without needing a degree..... maybe.

 

Personally, I'd be down with the marrying a stranger/becoming Jewish options.

 

Then living long term in Japan isn't really in the cards then. Your only other long term options are:
1: Marriage
2: Student. As a student, you can legally work 20 hours (finding a job teaching as a student is easy, but finding one as a college drop out, is not). Nobody really checks the 20 hour limit thing though, so you could pretty easily work 30-40 hours and make a decent living. It is no way to live long term though.

Take my advice, and ignore anyone that tells you otherwise -- get your fucking degree. Trust me, it makes life 1000x easier. This inquisitive post should be the perfect example -- had you gotten a degree, you'd have no obstacles in your way of getting to Japan.

You can stumble through a newspaper at 1,000, and be pretty comfortable at 1300-1400. Of course, any of the standard roughly 1800 are fair game.

This comes to play when switching your status.. Basically tourist to anything, and I'm pretty sure student to anything. Working to spousal does not require trip to Korea. Working holiday to working I believe does.

Noticing a pattern here?

Yes, but your still fucked w/o the degree. It's not like Japan is a magical place where anyone will hire unqualified candidates. Well, the English teaching profession might work like that, but unless you want to teach forever, someone, somewhere, is going to ask you if you have a degree, and very likely turn you down for a position. If not then, then maybe a promotion down the line.

I do have a friend that's got a very successful design business. He lives in a phat house and has lots of cash, but he was dirt ass poor his first several years in Japna -- 5 or so. I remember him telling me he'd buy a pack of cigarettes and sit in his apartment w/ no TV for the last couple of days of each month b/c he was so broke.

 

It amazes me that a university degree is still considered to be something of merit.
What exact benefit would a degree in Computer Graphic Design be when you are teaching english to a group of Japanese children?
Such a degree gives you skills that are about as far removed from written or spoken language as you can get.
Yet this would still put you on top of someone who has perhaps been a trainer for the past 2+ years?
It really does make one think.

Do people simply want proof that you have forked out $30,000 for a piece of paper and 3 years of hard living?
Do they want proof that you can mooch off the government and use loopholes to get as much money out of them as you can?
It's a very odd requirement if you ask me.

Now of course a degree in Linguistics or English would be much more appropriate. Hell even Art History, at least then you are writing essays and stretching your communication skills.

I digress however.
Delaying my exit from New Zealand a further two years is just not on the cards.
I do understand and accept the huge benefit that a degree would give me. But quite seriously, it's not a viable option at this point.

I may well just have to accept the fact that my chances of staying in Japan for more than a year are between slim and none.

My other alternative would be to go work for the NZ Embassy doing..... something. Then i've got government backing, and can sit on a Diplomatic Visa.

 

None what so ever but that's Japan for you. Let me tell you something which is true ! My friend and another guy went for an interview as an accountant. Now my friend has 4 years experience under his belt plus knows what he's doing to a very high degree while the other guy has never done accounting in his life but has a higher ranking diploma. Who go the job? Yep, the fuckwit who knows nothing about the job he's going for. That's life in Japan. Full of pointless shit!! Basically they employ people for what they have achieved in university or what ever than actually employing people who know the job. It's also possible to fuck up all the time and not loose your job as well!! But I have heard that this crazy system is changing but ever so slowly.

Yakumo

 

Well this is going to suck for me, as the highest grades at oxford are ultra hard to obtain. So I will probably come out with a lower grade than someone who came from another (perhaps easier) uni. Ho hum.

Btw, do a-levels count for anything in Japan, I have an English A-level (and 4 others obviously) - would that count for anything?

 

Probably not. I remember showing mine but all they were really interested in was "After school" study. Sometimes I really dislike this country's ideas. They just aren't logical at times.

Yakumo

 

Then again however, it is a degree from oxford, which ranks up there with harvard yale etc. If they've heard of any UK uni it'll be oxford or cambridge, possibly also imperial

 

Oxford, Cambridge and where ?!?

Actually that reminds me of a great line from Black Adder Goes Forth when he's telling Melchart (sp?) about how he found the German spy by tricking them with the "3 great British Uni's" even though there's only 2. Black Adder says Oxford, Cambridge and Hull. Melchart then turns around and says that Oxford is a dump :lol:

Yakumo

 

Awesome line that one. I like to think a lot of imperial as I may well be going there, but its not at the same standard reputationwise as oxbridge. Hence the "possibly".

 

That's most of the world for you. The US is the exact same way. My firm has had problems in the past on getting people visas w/o a college degree. Luckily, the 10-year+ experience card worked.

Once again -- not unique to Japan. This is a classic story in the professional world. Hence, I always push the degree.

I was asked about my grades once. The guy basically said, "Okay, U of Texas - good school. Were your grades good?" I told him I finished w/ a 3.0 and he left it at that.

 

I am also supposed to get a degree (or partial one) from a japanese university in my fourth year as well. I personally think that will count more for me in Japan.

(As for the adder, well old steven fry was from cambridge and Rowan atkinson was from oxford. Oh and yale is lower than oxford in the world league tables!)

Nannou - the easiest way to get a degree in England is to do a quick religous studies degree at a religious college, you WILL graduate, you WILL be accepted and the fees are low, you can do it mostly part time, so you can have a decent job as well. Maybe there is something similar in NZ. Sounds like you should just do a quick IT degree at a small uni or something - two or three years max.

 

yeah, I know the degree angle is the best way to do it. But quite frankly I don't have the time for it. If I don't act on my need to travel now.... it'll either kill me, or never happen.
Shooting myself in the foot perhaps? Seems like it.

I'm in my current job with no degree and no formal qualifications what-so-ever. Yet I'm paid 30% more than the average IT graduate that leaves University and tries to get a job. How? I just got lucky. I knew the right people, and had the right personality and experience.
Of course I don't really know too many people in Japan... heh.

My brain has been going a mile a minute lately, and i've concocted all sorts of other crazy ideas that may (but probably not) be an option.

Do those crazy Japanese businesses favour the TESL/TEFL/TESOL qualification at all?
Or would it be more like the icing on the cake for someone who already has a degree?

If it would increase my chances of landing an english teaching job even by a fraction, i'd consider doing it.

My other idea was to go over and do a Japanese course over there, say a 3 month one, then if i've got the money, I could go on to the advanced option, and end up with a Certificate in... well.... something. SOMEthing.

Ugh, I need a break. *faints*

 

What about if you have a work-related qualification, like A+, MCSE's, MCP's etc? my school qualifications aren't great (only did high school and some token college courses, but I can get the above in a week of hard slog.

 

If you want to teach English, I suspect a TEFL qualification is essential, especially if you don't have a degree. An intensive course will last about four weeks full-time. I'm planning to do one this summer on the basis that a) it will boost my JET application and b) if I don't make it onto JET, I can always work for a private English school.

If you're in a hurry and have some savings you could spend, then I think a TEFL course would be the way forward (although this is based on my research, not personal experience).

 

DUDE! IZ MAH CHANCE!:lol:

Now honestly, I'm about to finish a small degree in game programing and it would be soooo cool to land on nintendo, sony or Sega in japan without getting fired all the time.

I should call my cousin: he graduated with honors in accountancy, but he can't find a good job cuz most of the companies out there want cheap guys, most of them subqualified. That's why the mob always gets the best guys:rambo:

And what about a degree in history of art? aparently every idiot in the world in need for a quick degree goes for one of those...

 

Have you ever taken an art history course? Hard as hell. you have to have a godlike memory.

And I feel the need to say that having a degree makes life easier.

On a sidenote, as an English and Spanish major, I'm feeling pretty good about my Japanese chances (should I ever feel the need to go)! Edit: Come to think of it, it's something I should seriously consider as I have no fucking clue what I want to do with my life.

I'd like to write television, but wow, that's hard to break into...but I'll leave my aspirations for another post.

 

I was kinda joking in there, but I do have a good memory, in fact I almost end up going to law school.

Anyways, english and spanish major? dude, if you don't have nothing to do then go for it: move to japan.

About Tv, don't even try: I kno talented people, people 10 times funnier than any comedian right now and they got chewed and spitted.

If you want to be succesful in show business you've to be:

*a cokehead
*a whore
*someone's bitch
*no individuality at all!


If I were in your shoes I would sell all my stuff, go to japan and spend everything in games:typin:

PS: I don't want to sound like a nazi but, jews in japan?! and selling diamonds? like in here? I though japanese were kinda closed to other religions. You kno, for the whole "we are closed for the next 600 years" issue.