Dev based in Tokyo since '99 here - this is a great article across the board.
If I could offer an addendum, it would be that working for a small non-$MEGACORP company is more common than you might get from the article. I work mainly with web designers and the median engineer I meet typically works at a 5-50 person company, often a startup. Also small places tend to be more progressive than megacorps in some ways (e.g. not expecting lifetime employment, Saturdays off, etc.). But most of the article (company as family, etc.) applies equally to small companies.
Also as an aside, there's plenty of modern cutting edge web design here! Many of my JP colleagues have TheFWA awards and so on. It's fair to say that webdev inside the megacorps is behind the times, but I imagine that's true of most places outside silicon valley.
Yep I work for a small design firm doing web, interactive displays etc. Its OK but not great. I'm sure it depends on the company but there's a lot of things which are stressful.. Like, working with [large advertising company] art directors who want responsive design / animations everywhere but also want it to viewable on IE7 on their company provided XP box.. dealing with the multitude of weird Sony/sharp android phones and their respective browser quirks, occasional weekend "emergencies" etc etc
Yeah, I hear you. At least general webdevs usually no longer have to worry about feature phones - now that was a pain. (But even that's not true in the game industry - I know companies who still make a decent part of their revenue doing Flash Lite work. Flash Lite!)
There are clients pushing the bar though - Uniqlo comes to mind...
If I could offer an addendum, it would be that working for a small non-$MEGACORP company is more common than you might get from the article. I work mainly with web designers and the median engineer I meet typically works at a 5-50 person company, often a startup. Also small places tend to be more progressive than megacorps in some ways (e.g. not expecting lifetime employment, Saturdays off, etc.). But most of the article (company as family, etc.) applies equally to small companies.
Also as an aside, there's plenty of modern cutting edge web design here! Many of my JP colleagues have TheFWA awards and so on. It's fair to say that webdev inside the megacorps is behind the times, but I imagine that's true of most places outside silicon valley.