Getting a job that is not meant for a Gaijin

[Reizouko]

Whenever I read about foreigners working in Japan it's about the same couple of jobs 99% of the time: English teacher, サラリーマン, IT jobs or a University related job. Maybe I forgot one or two that don't come to mind right now, but in the end there seem to be not a whole lot of options for foreigners who want to work in Japan if you want to go the 'standard' way (correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the impression I have).
To me, these jobs don't sound appealing and I wouldn't want to do them, neither in Japan nor in my home country.

My desire to work in Japan is actually kind of related to a specific field of jobs I want to work in, which is the fashion industry.
When I first went to Japan last year I didn't even think I'd want to go back to Japan to work there, but things went different from what I expected and a desire to work in the fashion industry in Japan arose after being there for a couple of months. I won't go into details for now, if you're interested feel free to ask.

Basically what I'd like to know is: As a foreigner, how do you get a job in Japan that is not meant to be done by a foreigner?
The basic qualification one should have is obviously the Japanese language. I'm taking N2 this Sunday, which shouldn't be a problem to pass. I also plan on trying N1 in December, although it's still a little bit hard for me. I'd say chances are about 50% I can pass N1 if I keep learning until December. If I don't I'm pretty sure I can pass it next year.
I'm currently still in University, will finish my BA degree next year and I plan on going back to Japan soon after. I also studied abroad in Japan at one of the better Universities, which is a nice thing to have in my curriculum vitae.
The only problem is, other than that I don't really have any qualifications related to the fashion industry (or anything, really) since I'm majoring in Japanese studies.

I haven't really thought it out since I still have about a year left until I go back to Japan, but I think I will start by doing some baito in clothing stores (going to Japan with Working Holiday, so this shouldn't be a huge problem) and try to get a 'real' job from there on.
Note that I don't really care about the salary as much as long it's enough to survive. I would gladly do jobs that aren't even meant for people with a BA Degree but for people with 高卒.

Sorry for the random japanese in between, English is not my first language and it felt easier to just use the Japanese words.

That's about all the relevant information I can think of right now. If there's more you need to know to judge on my chances of finding a job, please tell me.

[hennagaijin]

This goes for any job in Japan:

Imagine your ideal job.

Imagine a vacancy arises for exactly that job.

Does a Japanese person exist who can do that job as well or better than you?

If the answer is 'no'.. you are in.

If the answer is 'yes'.. game over.

[YokohamaTommy]

That's about all the relevant information I can think of right now. If there's more you need to know to judge on my chances of finding a job, please tell me.

Here's the deal:
There's money to be made here, tons of it.
Problem?
You don't speak or write fluent Japanese, or have the necessary credentials, or the same work ethic or value system.
You are additionally handicapped by ethnicity and always will be in Japan.

Solution?

Bust your ___ day and night in all of these areas.
Work harder, work smarter, be relentless.
Nothing is given in this country, and they let nothing slide.
This is where you test your mettle, not a place for a free or easy ride.

Otherwise, it's just whining.

[Glenski]

Whenever I read about foreigners working in Japan it's about the same couple of jobs 99% of the time: English teacher, サラリーマン, IT jobs or a University related job.

What is your idea of the difference between English teacher and "university related job"? Sounds strange to list them separately when they are the same thing.

My desire to work in Japan is actually kind of related to a specific field of jobs I want to work in, which is the fashion industry.

I don't really have any qualifications related to the fashion industry (or anything, really) since I'm majoring in Japanese studies.

Look at these 2 statements and add the fact that you have not even graduated college. What would be the odds of landing a job in your own country with such circumstances? Poor at best. Now, add to that the fact that you will be a foreigner, with no experience in the field, and that despite passing (we hope) N2, your language skills will still not be perfect. Will passing a mere written exam look all that appealing? Have you ever actually been here to know how well your language skills will fare, with slang and the need to deal with written materials on the job?

When I first went to Japan last year I didn't even think I'd want to go back to Japan to work there

OK, so you were here recently. In what capacity, how well did you do with pre-N2 skills, and why did you think you would not live here? What has changed your mind?

I also studied abroad in Japan at one of the better Universities

Meaning there was a lot of English on campus...? Please describe your experience, especially with respect to communicating in oral and written language.

I think I will start by doing some baito in clothing stores (going to Japan with Working Holiday, so this shouldn't be a huge problem)

Just what sort of work are you going to pursue in the fashion industry? Marketing, sales, designing, retail? You will start at the very bottom rung of the ladder, even for a Japanese, and I don't envision many customers feeling comfortable with a foreigner as a sales clerk because of their perceived notions of communicating with you. Moving up in that industry, I would expect would take a lot of creativity and proven ability, which you are not going to get by selling shoes or Gucci handbags in a strip mall. (Perhaps Trip Hop's knowledge of business in Japan will help clear things up here.)

And, even if you actually got hired, a 1-year shot at a working holiday visa is not going to be all that much time to put on a resume. What happens when that is up?

Sorry for the random japanese in between, English is not my first language

What is your nationality?

[Effected After]

Very few people want to do the jobs meant for gaijin, and would prefer to have a non-foreigner job. Yet, there are 10s of thousands of foreigners teaching English and working in factories in Japan. If it were easy to make the jump, most of these people would have made the jump.

That said, getting 1kyu is a good start. Now you need a skill-set in a field, and experience using that skillset (don't come straight out of uni, unless you can get hired as a new graduate at an employment fair). With the language, skills, and experience, you are putting yourself in the best possible position to get hired in a non-foreigner job.

[zmcnulty]

This forum is chock-full of defeatist attitudes thinly veiled as "reality check"-type posts. Like this:

This goes for any job in Japan:

Imagine your ideal job.

Imagine a vacancy arises for exactly that job.

Does a Japanese person exist who can do that job as well or better than you?

If the answer is 'no'.. you are in.

If the answer is 'yes'.. game over.

What if this supposed Japanese person already has a job, and isn't interested in filling the vacancy? What if they can do the job as well or better than you but they're terrible at interviews so the company would never find out? What if the hiring manager is a foreigner, lived overseas, or has some other connection to foreigners? What if the company isn't explicit about English ability for domestic hires (see: Uniqlo) but would prefer someone bilingual to someone only able to speak Japanese?

Believe it or not Japan has more than one company. And not every company is out there hiring Japanese or foreigners solely because they're Japanese or foreign. It's a developed economy and especially in a ultra-competitive industry like fashion, companies can't afford to make dumb hiring decisions. They'll hire the best person for the job, budget allowing. Nationality, but more importantly the language abilities that usually come alongside that, is only one part of the equation.

edit: that's not to say it's easy. but certainly not "game over"

[blacksunshine]

Half of getting into an industry like fashion is connections.

I don't care what everyone says, you don't have to be fluent to land a job, but you do need to be able to communicate without a large amount of problems and you need to be able to read/write Japanese as well if it is a Japanese work environment (not just speak)

[Reizouko]

This goes for any job in Japan:

Imagine your ideal job.

Imagine a vacancy arises for exactly that job.

Does a Japanese person exist who can do that job as well or better than you?

If the answer is 'no'.. you are in.

If the answer is 'yes'.. game over.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts so far. This is probably true for 99,9% of the cases, but I think it depends

Here's the deal:
There's money to be made here, tons of it.
Problem?
You don't speak or write fluent Japanese, or have the necessary credentials, or the same work ethic or value system.
You are additionally handicapped by ethnicity and always will be in Japan.

Solution?

Bust your ___ day and night in all of these areas.
Work harder, work smarter, be relentless.
Nothing is given in this country, and they let nothing slide.
This is where you test your mettle, not a place for a free or easy ride.

Otherwise, it's just whining.

I don't really get what exactly you are trying to tell me. Before I can start to work harder, smarter and all that stuff I have to have a job, don't I?

What is your idea of the difference between English teacher and "university related job"? Sounds strange to list them separately when they are the same thing.


Look at these 2 statements and add the fact that you have not even graduated college. What would be the odds of landing a job in your own country with such circumstances? Poor at best. Now, add to that the fact that you will be a foreigner, with no experience in the field, and that despite passing (we hope) N2, your language skills will still not be perfect. Will passing a mere written exam look all that appealing? Have you ever actually been here to know how well your language skills will fare, with slang and the need to deal with written materials on the job?

OK, so you were here recently. In what capacity, how well did you do with pre-N2 skills, and why did you think you would not live here? What has changed your mind?

Meaning there was a lot of English on campus...? Please describe your experience, especially with respect to communicating in oral and written language.

Just what sort of work are you going to pursue in the fashion industry? Marketing, sales, designing, retail? You will start at the very bottom rung of the ladder, even for a Japanese, and I don't envision many customers feeling comfortable with a foreigner as a sales clerk because of their perceived notions of communicating with you. Moving up in that industry, I would expect would take a lot of creativity and proven ability, which you are not going to get by selling shoes or Gucci handbags in a strip mall. (Perhaps Trip Hop's knowledge of business in Japan will help clear things up here.)

And, even if you actually got hired, a 1-year shot at a working holiday visa is not going to be all that much time to put on a resume. What happens when that is up?

What is your nationality?

I listed English teacher and university related separately because I know someone who works at a University and does none English teaching related stuff. I probably thought of him when I wrote this.

About the no experience thing: Is that actually true for Japan? What I'm trying to get at is, it's very important which university you graduated from in Japan, not so much what you actually learned there. I don't know how true this is for foreigners though. To get a job it obviously helps to have experience, even for Japanese people.
This might sound arrogant, but I think my language skills are actually pretty decent. Far from perfect, but compared to most foreigners I got to know while being in Japan I'm actually really good at Japanese. I was surprised there were so many people who can barely speak Japanese. I thought about taking N2 last year in December but I didn't because I thought it might be too hard. Looking at it now, I think I could have probably done it. I recently did a couple of N2 sample tests and averaged at around 80%. Note that you only need 50% to pass N2.
Slang is not a problem. It's actually what I'm most comfortable with. Written material - it depends. If you're trying to get at my Kanji level, I think I can read about 1200 to 1500. Don't know the exact number, you lose track of it pretty fast. My weakness is Vocabulary. There's so many more words in Japanese that are actually used than in for example English. Nichijokaiwa isn't a problem, but I'm not as good Katai hyogen and Keigo. I'm working on it though.

Before going to Japan I didn't think about living there simply because it was the first time I went to Japan. It would be stupid to decide to want to live in a country you've never been to, wouldn't it?

About talking English in Japan, I pretty much refused to do it. I only talked English to other foreigners who were terrible at Japanese (which didn't happen too often). Whenever a Japanese person talked to me in English I told them 英語話せません (side note: you should try it, they make funny faces when you do).
Oral communication was no problem at all. I went to some nomikai where I was the only foreigner and I joined a club where I was the only foreigner and did a lot of other stuff where I spoke Japanese 100% of the time. About written language, as I mentioned above there's still a lot of vocabulary I don't know, but I usually get what a text/sentence is about, unless there's too many words I don't know. Oh, I also bought a couple of books (novels) in Japanese and I can read them just fine. Obviously I don't understand everything, but I understand about 90-95% of what it's about.

I can understand your doubts, especially towards my language skills, but they really aren't as terrible, at least I think so.

I thought about doing sales or retail. Yes, I know I have to start from the bottom. Actually a couple of weeks ago I was searching for some jobs on the internet just to make sure there are jobs that I could theoretically do. Most of the jobs I found required 3-5 years of experience, but there are also a couple that require nothing but Kosotsu

I'm from Germany.

Thanks for your detailed post.

Very few people want to do the jobs meant for gaijin, and would prefer to have a non-foreigner job. Yet, there are 10s of thousands of foreigners teaching English and working in factories in Japan. If it were easy to make the jump, most of these people would have made the jump.

That said, getting 1kyu is a good start. Now you need a skill-set in a field, and experience using that skillset (don't come straight out of uni, unless you can get hired as a new graduate at an employment fair). With the language, skills, and experience, you are putting yourself in the best possible position to get hired in a non-foreigner job.

Getting experience is not an easy thing to do though. I'll try my best. Thanks.

This forum is chock-full of defeatist attitudes thinly veiled as "reality check"-type posts. Like this:



What if this supposed Japanese person already has a job, and isn't interested in filling the vacancy? What if they can do the job as well or better than you but they're terrible at interviews so the company would never find out? What if the hiring manager is a foreigner, lived overseas, or has some other connection to foreigners? What if the company isn't explicit about English ability for domestic hires (see: Uniqlo) but would prefer someone bilingual to someone only able to speak Japanese?

Believe it or not Japan has more than one company. And not every company is out there hiring Japanese or foreigners solely because they're Japanese or foreign. It's a developed economy and especially in a ultra-competitive industry like fashion, companies can't afford to make dumb hiring decisions. They'll hire the best person for the job, budget allowing. Nationality, but more importantly the language abilities that usually come alongside that, is only one part of the equation.

edit: that's not to say it's easy. but certainly not "game over"

A Japanese friend of mine also recommended Uniqlo to me. I guess this might be an idea to start with. If they prefer bilingual people I *might* have a chance. Thank you.

Half of getting into an industry like fashion is connections.

I don't care what everyone says, you don't have to be fluent to land a job, but you do need to be able to communicate without a large amount of problems and you need to be able to read/write Japanese as well if it is a Japanese work environment (not just speak)

As written above, I don't think this is a huge problem.


Thanks for your posts to everyone.

[hml]

The more I read the title of this thread, the more it feels like a very discriminatory wording.

[themoonrules]

Whenever I read about foreigners working in Japan it's about the same couple of jobs 99% of the time: English teacher, サラリーマン, IT jobs or a University related job. Maybe I forgot one or two that don't come to mind right now, but in the end there seem to be not a whole lot of options for foreigners who want to work in Japan if you want to go the 'standard' way (correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the impression I have).

This might apply to westerners, however I know many Koreans and Chinese who have come to Japan (not including the Koreans and Chinese who were born in Japan) and are working in Japanese companies or doing other projects such as research for universities. Of course, they all speak Japanese at a very high level, and many I know attended university in Japan (studying in Japanese, not at some place like TUJ). I know other folks, including westerner's who are working in Japanese companies. The common trait across the board is they all know Japanese and have high skill levels/qualifications that those companies require, which many English teacher's don't know or have, not to say there aren't foreign English instructors who don't know Japanese.

[yyoko]

I thought about doing sales or retail. Yes, I know I have to start from the bottom.

I have seen non asian cashiers only at Costco.

[inflames]

I have seen non asian cashiers only at Costco.

I've seen them at McDonald's and at Lawson.

[dimman]

A Japanese student I met implied that Uniqlo is brutal to work for.

[Craig2012]

hey Reizoku, I think that if you desire it you can do it. I would just suggest starting your own fashion business in your home country, and then start up a branch in Japan. it would be a lot easier that way, AND you wouldnt really have to deal with much of that "trying to do everything right that Japanese people might. . ."not let slide". just take a year or two, and learn how to create and start a business and build it so that you are not the one running it, but are reaping all the profits, and just make that business in the fashion industry, make a branch in Japan, you'd be golden. You have a lot of time, so just be patient, maybe visit here a couple more times during vacation while building your company. I'm tellin you, experiencing Japan as a rich person is Waaaay better than experiencing it in any other way. . .Ive met a few rich people here and seen how they live. . .its just really amazing hahaha! I wish someone had told me that before I had came to Japan! but I'm figuring it out now. . . I guess its better late than never.

Good luck!

[Duymon]

In my opinion getting a job in Japan is really no different than getting a job in your home country.

You really only need to do two things:

1. Show employers you can do the job at the level they want
2. Show the employers why it's beneficial to hire you, pay the extra fees, etc over hiring a local.

You need to find our niche and then work from there.

As for fashion, I will tell you from my limited exposure to the industry in NY that most people getting into the fashion industry start off by working for very little pay or even for free for an up and coming designer / studio. Reason being two fold:

1. Get an inside view of how the fashion industry operates.
2. Meet key-players within the industry that you can use to boost your career.

Doing this in a foreign country with a foreign culture and language may be doubling your challenges. I'm not saying it can't be done, just saying you'd have a lot more on your plate.

[nynapaj]

Half of getting into an industry like fashion is connections.

I don't care what everyone says, you don't have to be fluent to land a job, but you do need to be able to communicate without a large amount of problems and you need to be able to read/write Japanese as well if it is a Japanese work environment (not just speak)

This is true and it is the same as it would be in any place in the world- you know someone that is IN so then you get in.

I have friends the the arts and music industry that can't speak more than the most minimal Japanese, but they survive because they are good at making connections. Also, their product really does not require that they know much Japanese at all. The Japanese around them know enough and want them enough to meet them half way in communication.

If you want to do design this could work for you- it would be better if you could get some communication though. PR in the fashion industry? No way.

Also, if you want to work in fashion, why are you studying Japanese?

[ironist]

There are lots of "foreigner" jobs in Japan that are not English teachers. Think finance, NGOs, and law. I work in the latter. I barely passed N4 and I use English exclusively in the office. Japan is a strange country for a Westerner in that a fairly comfortable lower middle-class life is available to anybody willing to teach English. "Back home," so to speak, it takes a lot more effort to achieve middle-class stability. But in Japan -- just like in every other industrialized democracy -- it is very possible to have a great white-collar career if you have an advanced education or skill-set.

[theshooter]

Dude, don't let these negative people get you down. A man has walked on the moon, getting a job in Japan in a non-traditional foreigner occupied sector is definitely possible. Many people have already given you some solid advice on ways to get in the industry. Research, analyze and make a decision. If you fail, try another method. Cowards never try, you have to be willing to take the hits along the way.

I started my life over about 4 years ago and everybody told me I was crazy for leaving my cushy job at a Japanese company in LA to go back to school full time and take a year abroad. Well, years later (and a few car accidents later), they're miserable, I'm having a blast and when I transferred to University from a community college, I made connections that ensure a very well paying job when I get back to America. I also scored a high GPA in the top public University in the U.S. while partying my ___ off at school. In conclusion, F the haters, do what you wanna do and make sure you stay on top of your priorities (I didn't party every weekend, but every weekend I didn't have an essay or test, I did).

[Call_It_Like_Eye_See_It]

I've seen foreigners working at convenience stores, Uniclone, and fast food restaurants in Osaka. Aim for the moon, if you like, but settle for minimum wage, definitely...

[Shimi]

I started my life over about 4 years ago and everybody told me I was crazy for leaving my cushy job at a Japanese company in LA to go back to school full time and take a year abroad. Well, years later (and a few car accidents later), they're miserable, I'm having a blast and when I transferred to University from a community college, I made connections that ensure a very well paying job when I get back to America.

How many years later did it take for your friends to become miserable after you started your life over again 4 years ago?

Is the well paying job that's waiting for you when you get back to America more cushy than the cushy job you used to have at that Japanese company in LA?

[theshooter]

How many years later did it take for your friends to become miserable after you started your life over again 4 years ago?

Is the well paying job that's waiting for you when you get back to America more cushy than the cushy job you used to have at that Japanese company in LA?

I assume that these aren't serious questions, but in case they are I will answer them.

1) It depends on the person, but in many cases they were already miserable to begin with and just wanted company.

2) Probably not in terms of easiness, but in terms of pay, yes. If I like the work, I'll do it. If I don't, I'll keep going until I find something that do like. I'm really just looking for work that'll fund a side business that I can eventually do full time.

[Shimi]

I assume that these aren't serious questions, but in case they are I will answer them.

1) It depends on the person, but in many cases they were already miserable to begin with and just wanted company.

2) Probably not in terms of easiness, but in terms of pay, yes. If I like the work, I'll do it. If I don't, I'll keep going until I find something that do like. I'm really just looking for work that'll fund a side business that I can eventually do full time.

Totally serious. You started your life over 4 years ago and then years later those friends who were advising you not to do so are now miserable. "Years later" seems longer than 4 years to me.

You left a cushy job in America to go back to school, go abroad and then perhaps find another cushy job in America to help you fund a side business that you eventually hope to do full time. Why didn't you just keep your first cushy job and use that income (plus whatever you spent on going back to school and abroad) to help fund that side business that you eventually hope to full time?

Also who had the car accidents? You or your friends? Is this why they are miserable?

[Sterling]

===>>> http://www.hellodamage.com/top/2010/...ra-hello-work/

[theshooter]

Totally serious. You started your life over 4 years ago and then years later those friends who were advising you not to do so are now miserable. "Years later" seems longer than 4 years to me.

You left a cushy job in America to go back to school, go abroad and then perhaps find another cushy job in America to help you fund a side business that you eventually hope to do full time. Why didn't you just keep your first cushy job and use that income (plus whatever you spent on going back to school and abroad) to help fund that side business that you eventually hope to full time?

Also who had the car accidents? You or your friends? Is this why they are miserable?

Nope, every time I meet them they seem worse off than the time before and keep telling me how "lucky" I am as if luck had to do with the fact that they made bad decisions and keep making bad decisions.

When I left the first cushy job, I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do. I just knew that I wanted to get out of where I was living and where I was working. Now I have a better idea of what I want to do, but this trip abroad is more redemption for me. I had a chance to do this years ago and never did it. I've been regretting it for some time now. Now that I'm here and doing what I wanted to do, I have peace of mind (mind you it's not the same, I'm older, music is different, etc) and when I go back to work, I can focus more. The biggest thing I needed was time to figure things out, which is what work wouldn't give me. Also, I never liked the fact that I quit school without a good reason so I wanted to finish something that I started.

I had the car accidents and they were brutal. I still suffer from neck pain to this day from an accident that took place in 2007.

[iidesune]

Here's the deal:
There's money to be made here, tons of it.
Problem?
You don't speak or write fluent Japanese, or have the necessary credentials, or the same work ethic or value system.
You are additionally handicapped by ethnicity and always will be in Japan.

Solution?

Bust your ___ day and night in all of these areas.
Work harder, work smarter, be relentless.
Nothing is given in this country, and they let nothing slide.
This is where you test your mettle, not a place for a free or easy ride.

Otherwise, it's just whining.

I mostly agree with this, but there are plenty of companies that will still treat hard-working foreigners like dog crap. The real key lies in assimilating. Work ethic alone isn't enough.

[ethanol]

What is your idea of the difference between English teacher and "university related job"? Sounds strange to list them separately when they are the same thing.

there are plenty of non-japanese people who work at (japanese) universities and don't teach english.

[BackDoor_Man]

there are plenty of non-japanese people who work at (japanese) universities and don't teach english.

Name one or two!

[kurogane]

Me (since retired).

Jimmy from New Zealand. He digs for fossilised yams. I kid you not.

Billy from Dorset. He teaches in Japanese and researches Japanese social interaction in various media and contexts.

Georgio from New York. He teaches in Japanese and researches Jpn auto industry labour practices.


That's 4. Ethanol wins!


Why encourage Glenski's obtuse BS????? That was classic blinkered Eikaiwa crap.

Just because he could never do it doesn't mean he needs to universalise his own ghetto, especially since what he does is both respectable and commendable, if probably a bit unfulfilling or frustrating at times.

Why do so many university Eikaiwa types feel the need to project their own inabilities like that?

You should know better.

[Ken44]

Me (since retired).

Jimmy from New Zealand. He digs for fossilised yams. I kid you not.

Billy from Dorset. He teaches in Japanese and researches Japanese social interaction in various media and contexts.

Georgio from New York. He teaches in Japanese and researches Jpn auto industry labour practices.


That's 4. Ethanol wins!


Why encourage Glenski's obtuse BS????? That was classic blinkered Eikaiwa crap.

Just because he could never do it doesn't mean he needs to universalise his own ghetto, especially since what he does is both respectable and commendable, if probably a bit unfulfilling or frustrating at times.

Why do so many university Eikaiwa types feel the need to project their own inabilities like that?

You should know better.

You're being delusional again.

Outside of those teaching other languages it is rare to see non-Japanese working in a university here besides as kitchen help.

Me (since retired).

More like unemployed.

[ironist]

Name one or two!

Seriously, do we even live in the same country?

The hard, cold reality that too many Westerners in Japan seem unable to deal with is that life here is just not that different from back home, at least within the Tokyo metropolitan area. I think too many people come here looking for some sort of exoticism that just doesn't exist. Try Laos or something if you want to experience the wild wild west, and all the self-imposed hardships (such as being unable to find a job not teaching English) that entails.

[kurogane]

Are things really that bleak for the self-ghetto'ed guyjinz like Ken666 these days?

He's added Scipio to his Kansai Ben impression now.

yeesh.

my lifer eikaiwa type friends in Kyoto still do just fine, but the job market there is incestuous, so that keeps them working.

[Ken44]

Are things really that bleak for the self-ghetto'ed guyjinz like Ken666 these days?

Things couldn’t be better. Classes end next week.

So… how's life at the shelter treating you?

[ethanol]

Name one or two!

there are 6 in my office alone!

[kurogane]

Is that at a university, or when you say office, is it a business thingy???


At any rate, I agree.

Like Ironist noted, this ghettofied delusion of omniscience is really weird.

Sad too, but mostly weird.

Which in itself is sad.


If you have chosen the bubble, I wish you well. Many prefer it there, and do rather well for themselves.


But thinking you know what it's like outside it better than those who actually are is silly.

[ethanol]

Is that at a university, or when you say office, is it a business thingy???
.

it is at a university. my office ("section" if you will) has 6 non-japanese workers and 90% of the other offices/ sections here have a minimum of 2-3 foreigners working for them in non-teaching positions.

[Ken44]

it is at a university. my office ("section" if you will) has 6 non-japanese workers and 90% of the other offices/ sections here have a minimum of 2-3 foreigners working for them in non-teaching positions.

What are the non-teaching positions?

[ethanol]

What are the non-teaching positions?

translating/ interpreting, career counselor-type work, admissions, academic office stuff, applicant screening/ interviewing etc. etc.

[Ken44]

...career counselor-type work, admissions, academic office stuff, applicant screening/ interviewing etc. etc.

And they were screening J-students to be accepted into the university as well as providing career counseling?

translating/ interpreting.

Does the university have many foreign students?

[ethanol]

And they were screening J-students to be accepted into the university as well as providing career counseling?
Does the university have many foreign students?

the positions i posted were all for different offices i.e. the screening office focuses solely on that, same with the careers office.
many? well it is an international university then again, i know quite a few people who do similar jobs at more traditional-type japanese universities.

[Ken44]

...well it is an international university

Which explains a lot.

..then again, i know quite a few people who do similar jobs at more traditional-type japanese universities.

And you say know quite a few non-Japanese employed by the more traditional-type universities who screen J-students, work in admissions and provide career counseling?

Bullshxt.