Any non-Japanese heritage individuals here get a job in Japan as a 新卒?

[PurpleDaisies]

I'm not sure if that's a factor. I'm a fresh graduate with no work experience. I'd rather live frugally for my first 5-10 years paying cheap rent and saving money than living in a place in Tokyo-to where I'll be surrounded by lots of temptations.

...unless I'm doing the math wrong and living in like Meguro-ku or Shibuya-ku is equally viable. At the moment my first choice is Kawasaki City or close to Tamagawa.

No Meguro-ku doesn't sound like it would be viable - lot of expensive real estate there.
Tamagawa area .... Hmmm - might be pricy too.

If that is the general area you are thinking about, how about neighbouring Ota-ku as another possibility. Not as up-market or well known... But still not that far out. There may be something reasonable there.

[Siitrasn]

Um, ４００万円 / 12 = 333,333円 / month, not 400,000.

Sorry, fellow Asian math Nazi

but either way, 333,333 / month is a pretty decent starting salary for a non-English teaching job. Engineers usually get killed on their first few years in terms of salary and hours ;0


-Duy

The number is higher than 400,000; I rounded down so as to simply provide a number.

No Meguro-ku doesn't sound like it would be viable - lot of expensive real estate there.
Tamagawa area .... Hmmm - might be pricy too.

If that is the general area you are thinking about, how about neighbouring Ota-ku as another possibility. Not as up-market or well known... But still not that far out. There may be something reasonable there.

Thanks for the tip! I'll look around, but the most important thing is probably how easy it is to get to the company via train.

[zmcnulty]

Sorry for the delayed reply; I don't visit this forum very often and I'm not using subscriptions/etc.

I work in finance and I'm still at the same company. Just started my 5th year.

[zillacles]

Have they ever mentioned wanting to have you work in an overseas branch?

[zmcnulty]

It's not a Japanese company; overseas branch doesn't mean the same thing for us as it does for Japanese ones. Our hubs (London, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.) are larger and have more senior people than Tokyo. In Tokyo we only have one global head in my department, the rest of them are in a hub somewhere.

I guess I'm kind of a special case since by being in Tokyo, I already am working "overseas" given that I was born, raised, went to college in the US. Ordinarily yes, we ask our Japanese new graduates (especially ones with limited experience overseas) to work outside of Japan after a few years. But that doesn't necessarily apply to me, since arguably I'd be less exposed to specific cultures in Hong Kong or Singapore, as those offices are drastically more internationalized than Tokyo. It would be a step away from local culture and a step towards multiculture which I supposedly already am (if that makes sense). For me, maybe Shanghai, Mumbai, Taipei or another EM location would be more applicable.

However my company is pretty flexible compared to others. If I want to move to a different location and there's an applicable role, they'll be supportive. On the flip side, if you want to stay, they'll do what they can. In any case I have no desire to leave Tokyo right now. At the same time, in this industry, you don't want to pigeonhole yourself in a specific country.

[Since1990]

That would be 郷に入れば、郷に従え.

I prefer 碁に入れ歯 personally

[coolgaijin]

Work at a foreign company if you are an engineer. Unless you have a really good reason not to, the pay is better, the hours are fewer and the job security is tighter. Japanese companies will not ever accept you as an insider, even if you work there for years.

Japan is the most insulated country in the history of human civilization. You are either "soto" or you aren't. Anyone thinking otherwise is a deluded fool.

[Siitrasn]

Work at a foreign company if you are an engineer. Unless you have a really good reason not to, the pay is better, the hours are fewer and the job security is tighter. Japanese companies will not ever accept you as an insider, even if you work there for years.

Japan is the most insulated country in the history of human civilization. You are either "soto" or you aren't. Anyone thinking otherwise is a deluded fool.

I've had my fair share of identity crises simply living in the U.S. Thanks for the tip, but at the moment I'm simply using the company so it looks nice on my resume. If I don't like it, I'm planning on leaving.

[zillacles]

I'm starting at a Japanese company soon... While I've had those thoughts as well I'm going to have to put up with it as it's my ticket to Japan

[Siitrasn]

I'm starting at a Japanese company soon... While I've had those thoughts as well I'm going to have to put up with it as it's my ticket to Japan

Best of luck to you. If you ever want to stay in contact, send me a PM. I'm always down for networking.