Trying to get to Japan

[wonderful]

Hello,
I am trying to find a why to Japan other then teaching English. I am still in school and it is hard to find a study aboard or exchange program that will allow me to take graphic arts course and honestly I can't afford to take any course that don't relate to my major. So my questions are after I graduate are there any programs that I can get into that will allow me to go to Japan. And my other question is do you think that a year off will hurt me in finding a job after I return to the US. I'm wondering this because if I went to Japan to teach english for a year how would I explain my new employer.

Thanks for the advice to whom ever respond

[Gaijin de Moscu]

I know there are some university exchange programs, and Osaka / Tokyo daigaku may have some post-grad studies.

Another way is what I did - got a job with a multinational, and requested a transfer to Japan. Had a wonderful, well-taken-care of, all-paid-for, expatriate experience.

[madmaxxam]

And my other question is do you think that a year off will hurt me in finding a job after I return to the US. I'm wondering this because if I went to Japan to teach english for a year how would I explain my new employer.

Thanks for the advice to whom ever respond

I've met one or two people in the past who came to Japan for a year as an English teacher, and tried to enter the job market in a different field upond returning to the states, and yes, taking time off to teach English in Japan did hurt them, especially in the current economic conditions.

[wonderful]

So should i just save my money and just go when i have some free time.

[wonderful]

IS there a website that I can go to help me plan a trip to japan on my own.

[paulh]

IS there a website that I can go to help me plan a trip to japan on my own.

Do you want to come toJapan as a foreign exchange student or come here to teach English?

They require different visas. I can give you advice on teaching and finding jobs here if you come here by yourself but it depends of what you are looking for. There are not many things you can do outside English teaching unless you have some fluency in Japanese.

Graphic arts courses at universities will likely be taught in Japanese.

[wonderful]

Do you want to come toJapan as a foreign exchange student or come here to teach English?

They require different visas. I can give you advice on teaching and finding jobs here if you come here by yourself but it depends of what you are looking for. There are not many things you can do outside English teaching unless you have some fluency in Japanese.

Graphic arts courses at universities will likely be taught in Japanese.


As far as Japanese goes, Im taking this online class and its a good startbut it wont get me to level 1 so I am currently looking for other ways to study Japanese. If you know any, please feel free to tell me.

With teaching English, I don't mind doing it but I was wondering if that would effect me job wise when I graduate. What I mean is will teaching English in Japan hurt me in trying to get a graphic design job in the US. I would like to work in Japan as a graphic designer but I know that I need to develop some kind of work portfolio beforehand.

[paulh]

As far as Japanese goes, Im taking this online class and its a good startbut it wont get me to level 1 so I am currently looking for other ways to study Japanese. If you know any, please feel free to tell me.

With teaching English, I don't mind doing it but I was wondering if that would effect me job wise when I graduate. What I mean is will teaching English in Japan hurt me in trying to get a graphic design job in the US. I would like to work in Japan as a graphic designer but I know that I need to develop some kind of work portfolio beforehand.


Obviously you are going to have to sort out your priorities and from where I stand they appear to be mutually exclusive.


Your goals are

1. Learn Japanese
2. get a job in Japan as a a graphic designer
3. get a job in the US after teaching English in Japan
4. You want to teach English here.

To get any none teaching job here you are going to

1. Need Japanese ability
2. Have the right visa and connections

If you work full time as a language teacher, forty hours a week (which is what you will need to live on) you wont have time to study. To achieve fluency in Japanese will take 3-5 years of study which you cant do if you are working, so you either teach English or study Japanese.

Plenty of ways to study Japanese. Do you want to self-study, take a class, enrol in a 6 month course in Japan?

You want to be a graphic designer, which is hardly a background for teaching English but you want to do it becuase you are a native speaker and 'anyone can teach English' Essentially what you want is the same thing in reverse. Do something in Japan that has no relation to a job or career back home.

teaching English is only good for Japan, no where else unless you get a Masters degree in TESOl and find a teaching job back home. 2-3 years in Japan you will take yourself out of the market and networks back home, and essentailly fall behind the latest trends. A teaching stint will mean absolutely zilch to an employer back home, but you will have picked up some Japanese and you may learn something about the business while you are over here. You really have to make the most of your opportunities but i really dont think teaching at a conversation school, in a completely unrelated field will help one way or the other.

You really have to decide what is important for you, learning Japanese, working ina Japanese company (which requires you having skills and experience they cant get over here) as well as a proper working visa. Trip Hop knows more on this than I do, but I would say with no Japanese your chances are low to non-existent in a Japanese corporate setting. remember this will be in a non-English business environment where all meetings, faxes, memos, documents are in Japanese.

working at a conversation school is far removed from working at a big Japanese graphics firm and its unlikely you will make the connections you need or have the time to study Japanese to make inroads or develop the networking skills, especially if you lack solid experience.


Sorry if this is long winded but you have to decide which is more important to you, working in Japan, working in the US, and learning Japanese. What you win on the swings you lose on the slides, as they say.

[wonderful]

I pretty much understand that I need to be able to speak Japanese and that I need some professional graphic art skills. I guess my priorities are as stated

1. Finish my degree in graphic arts, while studying Japanese
2. Get employed in the US , while studying Japanese
3. Get a job in Japan

Honestly, I just want to come to Japan. I guess I can go on a vacation there but I don't know where to start.

Now as far as studying Japanese, I would like to enroll in a 6 month course in Japan but since Im still in school that is not an option. I would like to comprehend the language, not just passing the proficiency test. So if you know of any other online classes and/or books that I can use, please let me know.

[paulh]

I pretty much understand that I need to be able to speak Japanese and that I need some professional graphic art skills. I guess my priorities are as stated

1. Finish my degree in graphic arts, while studying Japanese
2. Get employed in the US , while studying Japanese
3. Get a job in Japan

Honestly, I just want to come to Japan. I guess I can go on a vacation there but I don't know where to start.

Now as far as studying Japanese, I would like to enroll in a 6 month course in Japan but since Im still in school that is not an option. I would like to comprehend the language, not just passing the proficiency test. So if you know of any other online classes and/or books that I can use, please let me know.

Now we are getting somwhere

You will need a degree anyway as most work visas here require a university degree or unless you have specialised trade skills and experience. Some visas require you have up to 3 years experience in the field if you dont have a degree (Humanities visa).

Cannot give you advice about working in the US as im not an American. All I can recommend if you want to learn Japanese is you are going to need to learn how to read (not necessarily write)speak and hear Japanese. Language and vocabulary will improve through lots of reading and lots of input. Speaking to OK but there is only so mcuh you can learn in daily conversation nad you have to learn polite language, business Japanese and trade jargon. Dialects are also a consideraation as no one here speaks like a text book, and Tokyo Japanese is different from that spoken in Osaka or Fukuoka.

If you pass Level 1 or Level 2 of JLPT it shows you have a pretty good understanding of Japanese- Level 1 requires learning nearly 1900 kanji and 10,000 vocabulary. About the same level as a Japanese high school student. i have level 2 myself.

You can come here as an exchange student to a Japanese university while you are studying. See if your university offers programs to study at a university in Japan. Many foreign students study here and the Japanese government will actually pay you money to come and study here, about 180,000 yen a month, as a way to attract foreign students.

Do you want to learn to speak read or write Japanese?

there are a number of books on learning Kanji and most bookstores will have basic texts on learning to speak Japanese or you can order off Amazon. I cant think of any off hand as everyone is different and it depends on what you are looking for.

Let me know where your interests lie and what your learning goals are.

[wonderful]

You can come here as an exchange student to a Japanese university while you are studying. See if your university offers programs to study at a university in Japan. Many foreign students study here and the Japanese government will actually pay you money to come and study here, about 180,000 yen a month, as a way to attract foreign students.


I would love to do this but my school doesn't offer any classes that will go towards my major and I tight on how many credits I can spare.



Do you want to learn to speak read or write Japanese?


All. I would like to speak,read and write. I acutally learning hiragana right now.

[paulh]

INow as far as studying Japanese, I would like to enroll in a 6 month course in Japan but since Im still in school that is not an option. I would like to comprehend the language, not just passing the proficiency test. So if you know of any other online classes and/or books that I can use, please let me know.

Cant think of any online sites at the moment

Only one I know is http://www.kanjiclinic.com

Best way to learn spoken Japanese is to talk to people and practice what you learn. Hang around any foreign exchange students at your university and make friends with them. Offer to take them places if you let them speak Japanese with you (most of them will speak Japanese to each other but English to non-Japanese, trust me, most have a phobia about their Englsih though)


Systematic Japanese. A Simple, Effective Method for Self-study. by Gene Nishi, Shufunotomo Co., Ltd., (255 pages), 2000, 2500 yen
Nishi graduated as an engineer from Waseda U, then worked as a technical advisor and instructor in telecommunications systems for the U.S. military before joining IBM. He has a very logical flow to his teaching of grammar, and although the book teaches largely with English instruction, it has lots of romaji and Japanese text.

Japanese for Everyone. A Functional Approach to Daily Communication by Susumu Nagara, 1990, Gakken Co., Ltd., (383 pages), 2900 yen
Most grammar books are just about the same in their content. Nagara's book starts in the same way as others, but covers a bit more ground. I liked that because I couldn't find a suitable book as a "second stage" text without going over my head. Be prepared for lots of Japanese text, but this is an excellent book.

Basic Kanji Book, Volume 1 and 2
by Chieko Kano, Yuri Shimizu, Hiroko Takenaka, & Eriko Ishii; 1989, Bonjinsha Co., Ltd., (228 & 262 pages), 2400 yen and 2500 yen
I haven't found a perfect book to self-teach kanji, but these are very good. The high school where I work uses them for exchange students who are taught on an intensive system. Each book offers 500 kanji with a nice semi-pictorial format to describe how each one was derived. There are many good workbook style examples that build on each other. By the time you reach Vol.2, you'll have to know how to read instructions in Japanese.

101 Japanese Idioms by Michael L. Maynard and Senko K. Maynard; Passport Books, 1995
Mixed with Japanese and English. Some of these will surprise your Japanese learners, but let's face it. Even westerners don't know all of their own idioms. A handy book with two nicely organized indices.

On The Move In Japan. Useful Phrases & Common Sense for the Traveler by Scott Rutherford, Yenbooks, 1995, (159 pages), US$8.95
This is a pocket-sized book, and I think it's terrific. It doesn't cover every situation, but it's extremely useful. Good phrases with fill-in word lists make this quite practical, and it shows English, romaji, and Japanese text, so you don't have to worry about fluency if all you want to do is get an idea across to someone. It's not a grammar book, just a handy phrase book for the traveler, as the title says.

[wonderful]

tha paulh for the book suggestions. i will go to my local bookstore and look for them.

back to question on moving to japan. do you know where i can find information on what i need to do to come to japan for a vacation during my summer break. are the month may- august good times to come to japan.

[paulh]

tha paulh for the book suggestions. i will go to my local bookstore and look for them.

back to question on moving to japan. do you know where i can find information on what i need to do to come to japan for a vacation during my summer break. are the month may- august good times to come to japan.


YOu need a suitcase a plane ticket a visa and enough money to tide you over for 3 months. For the average person coming over for 2 months looking for a job I recommend $2000-$3000 but if you will be sightseeing, traveling around the country, eating out most nights you will want more. Its not cheap to live here.If you have somewhere to stay you will be OK.

June-July is rainy season and it gets rather wet. August you are in summer and it gets pretty humid 75 degrees or more.

A lot depends on what you want to do and see, I think.

[trip_hop]

A copy of the Lonely Planet GuideBook to Japan will also help, to give you a better idea of current Japan, travelling, touring, and the rest of the country. AND the costs involved in travel.

If staying in Tokyo, a copy of Kodansha's Bilingual Tokyo Atlas will enable you to travel stress free around the city, as the book fits easily into a pocket or bag. Equiv. available for Osaka/ Kyoto, but not as good.

A Japan Rail Pass will give you reasonably cheap travel for the duration of the pass, but you need to have an itinerary worked out to get the most out of the pass. Of course you can always get more than one pass and validate them at different times, but once in Japan, they are not available.

[mmiissp]

There has been some well thought out and helpful advice offered but ill add some more - just come over!

a person who spent a year in japan teaching english would be less employable than some dude that spent the same year making coffees for everyone at some arthouse. Really??

someone who ahs lived overseas for a year or so, studied a foreign language and experienced different cultures would be more employable in terms of responsibilty, maturity, ability to adapt to new situations etc etc id think.

you are still in school. id expect that your goals ll change when you finish school. if you lived in japan for a year or more that once so shiny, glowing design studio that you ride the bus past everyday will lose all significance and youll set ur goals much higher.

you CANT study japanese outside japan - it doesnt work! get here, teach and travel and study!

kanjii is a pain at first but thats why its so interesting, you can do it in a couple of years if u try.

anyway good luck!

[Gaijin de Moscu]

I don't think teaching Japanese slows down your career. I have an example of my best mate - he came to Japan to teach for a few years, then got an MBA in France, and then got transferred back to Japan once or twice with the company, as he spoke Japanese.

He's making quite a good career, all things considered.

Another friend came to Japan to teach for a year... that was 20+ years ago. He loved it, and stayed, and went into another area of business (Japanese art) and is now doing very well. I rarely have seen a more 'complete' person.

So I agree with those who say it's not a slow down. It's the way you spin it in the later interviews, anyway - can draw a lot of stories from this experience illustrating your problem solving, decisiveness, resorcefulness, personal leadership and what not. Employers would love it.

[LGM]

I agree with the last two posts which argue that a year in Japan teaching english will not be considered useless in finding a job upon returning to your home country.

I will be in Japan starting in January and when I return home and begin interviewing for new jobs, I plan to highlight the skills and experiences that I have gained through teaching abroad and show my potential employer how these new skills can benefit his or her company. Independance, self reliance, ability to work with people from different parts of the world are just a few of the skills that I will be able to speak of when I return.

So please do not be so pessimistic and try to say that a year teaching in Japan will be useless or will hurt someone when they return to the states, it all depends on how you portray yourself to the interviewer.

[wonderful]

Well do any of you have any recommendation on what English programs I may want to look at. I notice that the JET program has a CIR program, which require you to have a simi-advance level in Japanese.

[madmaxxam]

I don't think teaching Japanese slows down your career. I have an example of my best mate - he came to Japan to teach for a few years, then got an MBA in France, and then got transferred back to Japan once or twice with the company, as he spoke Japanese.

He's making quite a good career, all things considered.


Not to put your friend down, but the fact that he went back to school after Japan and got an MBA sort of means that in terms of finding a job, the MBA was most important, not what work he did or didn't do after undergrad. It all depends on what type fo career you want. If you get an engineering degree, for example, come to Japan to teach English, and then return to the states to get a job in engineering, you can bet the companies will be a bit skeptical about why you were teaching English with that degree, about whether your rusty after taking a year off before getting real life experience, etc.

[Glenski]

Well do any of you have any recommendation on what English programs I may want to look at. I notice that the JET program has a CIR program, which require you to have a simi-advance level in Japanese.

You are probably not going to have a strong enough level of Japanese to be a CIR, but why not explore the ALT options? At least with their work schedule, you might have the free time after school to make contacts. Look into what Earlham College offers in a similar light.

Other options are practically endless. Big chain conversation schools like NOVA, GEOS, AEON, ECC, and Berlitz hire from overseas and provide visa sponsorship. (Hmm, does Berlitz?) Only JET pays your way here, so don't count on these CSs to do that, but some give you an end of year bonus that amounts to the same. Problem with the schedules in most CSs is that you work from noon to 9pm, so if you simply want to make contacts here, your day is practically spent in the office, not outside. But, life is what you make of it. There are other CSs that hire from overseas and provide visa sponsorship:
James English School
Altia
Peppy Kids Club
Language House
Westgate Corporation
They all have web sites except LH.

BTW, I think Paul has underestimated what it would cost you to live here in 2-3 months. You should really plan on more like US$4000. Whatever you do, PLAN HEAVILY.

[wonderful]

Thanks Glenski for the suggestion. I'll go to goole to find more infomation on them

[Gaijin de Moscu]

Not to put your friend down, but the fact that he went back to school after Japan and got an MBA sort of means that in terms of finding a job, the MBA was most important, not what work he did or didn't do after undergrad. It all depends on what type fo career you want. If you get an engineering degree, for example, come to Japan to teach English, and then return to the states to get a job in engineering, you can bet the companies will be a bit skeptical about why you were teaching English with that degree, about whether your rusty after taking a year off before getting real life experience, etc.

Sure, agree.

He said actually that the MBA was the least useful of his investments. He could have done just as well without it.

His experience in Japan helped him though as he was able to return there for a well-paid post within the company.

I was able to do that without the previous experience in Japan, but I had lived in Cambodia for half a year and could speak Chinese on top... just as well an 'Asian experience' which secured me a post in Japan, strangely enough.