another hapless briton...

[Brighton Belle]

Hello...

I'm yet *another* person wanting to come to Japan and I was hoping you could help!
I have a degree and a Masters in English Literature. I also have Japanese lessons and plan to take an exam in september!

how is the best way to 'approach' japan; I don't want to come here and have the whole experience ruined for me! so do I save every penny and come here looking for work, do I plan first, wait another year? I've read some of you were sent here by companies, some of you just packed your things and came here.
At the moment I'm looking at scholarships and japanese based companies with graduate-level entry!

Any advice would be great. Many thanks xxx

[sunsoul]

You are well-qualified. You could get a good job with a little searching and some initiative. I don't know what you want to do. Would you teach English? Or do you want to work in business? In my experience I would recommend coming over with a company and teaching English and then take it from there........ I came over with Westgate last September and taught on their three month university teaching program. It was OK. They are not perfect by any means, but it got me to Japan, gave me some money, and I also got a one year working visa in the deal. So, when everyone else went home I stayed on and found some permanent work. I reckon that type of way into Japan is quite good, as it gets you here, and then you can pick up the jobs you want firsthand.