
Foreigners finding creative ways to make a living in Tokyo  - makimaki
http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/foreigners-finding-creative-ways-to-make-a-living-in-tokyo
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patio11
It may not be creative, but there is nigh-infinite demand in IT here for
bilingual people. (And by bilingual, I don't necessarily mean drop-dead-fluent
but I also do not mean "I was in the anime club in high school, does that
count?")

Technically, what you do depends on what your company does. Its all the usual
suspects: finance, manufacturing, logistics, LOTS of integrated
software/hardware for appliances/cars in this neck of the woods, etc. If
you've seen in done anywhere, we do it here, too.

Downside: The hours are long and, at least in my part of the country, the pay
is low. (I'm paid Kansas wages to work in Chicago, essentially -- of course,
excellent rail transportation means I can afford to live in the local
equivalent of Normal Illinois and commute every day.)

It was a great incentive for me to start doing my own thing in the nights and
weekends. That is one of the benefits of my day job: the bosses know about my
company-on-the-side and they encourage it -- "It is cheaper than paying for
your continuing education AND keeps you happy. Go for it! Oh, if you learn any
tricks we can use, please present them." And I do.

~~~
kqr2
How did you get your job in Japan?

~~~
patio11
I got my current job by overdelivering on a project for a customer of a
previous job. When my previous contract ended, I called up the customer and
asked if he knew of anybody who needed work. He offered to hire me on the spot
and immediately started contacting his customers to see who could use another
body (he runs a consulting shop). One of the customers wanted me on a
permanent basis rather than as a contractor -- promises were exchanged, bows
happened, and the matter was resolved.

Some time after that I wrote up a resume and had a job interview, but these
were formalities which only existed to ratify the decision made previously.

That's pretty much how you get your job anywhere, right? Be good at what you
do. Network.

My one Japan-specific tip: you can be successful in America without a set of
business cards. You can probably be successful in Japan without them, too, but
I'd really fork over $20 for a nice set of bilingual ones. Whenever you meet a
Japanese businessman, make sure you get his and he gets yours. This is not
hard. (I'd get REALLY good at self-introductions too. Also not hard.)

Then, when that businessman hears one of his salaryman buddies complaining
that the project is failing because nobody speaks English, he's going to
remember the one American engineer he has ever met who speaks Japanese. And
presto, you just got a job offer.

Bonus points if you're one of the folks who worries incessantly about
outsourcing: India graduated in excess of 200,000 engineers last year. It also
had approximately 500 people pass either level 1 or level 2 of the JLPT, which
is pretty much the minimum for successfully working here in a professional
capacity. Draw a Venn diagram of those two groups -- the number in the middle
is in the dozens, if that. (If you are one of the people in the middle,
please, send me an email. I want your business card.)

(Actual quote from my future boss at my job "interview": "I hadn't realized
you'd be white. _Not that there is anything wrong with that._ Its just, when
$ADVOCATE was describing you, he said your Japanese was great for an American
and I assumed you were probably half-Japanese or something.")

------
binarray2000
patio11: I like so many things Japanese (work ethics, striving for everyday
improvement, food, Ruby - to name just a few) but I often hear and read that
the Japanese society can sometimes be very unfriendly towards gaijin. What are
your experiences?

~~~
dats
I also work in Japan, and I've always been treated politely. Of course,
there's the occasional politician who announces that all crime in Tokyo is
committed by foreigners, but real people tend to be a lot more level-headed.

~~~
binarray2000
It's nice that most of them are polite (okay, except some politicians) but how
many are friendly, how do they see foreigners staying for very long (or maybe
forever?) in Japan or even marrying a girl (daughter?)? During my years in
Germany, I have observed the politeness and sometimes friendlyness but, after
meeting new people, most of them would ask me "And, when do you go back
home?". (BTW: Almost every foreigner who lives there - even those born there
but with african, asian or other non-white roots - reported the same
experience)

~~~
ido
> During my years in Germany, I have observed the politeness and sometimes
> friendlyness but, after meeting new people, most of them would ask me "And,
> when do you go back home?".

I wouldn't read too much into it. I'm white (living in Austria) and I also get
a lot of questions like that from people I just met (although it's normally
"do you want to go back home?" rather than "when are you going home?").

I think that in countries for which immigration is a relatively new phenomenon
(unlike the US/Canada/Australia/etc) people are in some unconscious way more
reluctant to believe that it's actually possible for people to move to another
country.

EDIT: how do I quote?

~~~
binarray2000
Last big immigration wave is happening in Germany for almost 50 years (Austria
is probably similar) and, considering negative birthrate, it's clear that in a
few decades there will be less Germans (or Japanese, as both countries -
ironically - lead the statistic). Under these circumstances, it doesn't seem
logical to (still) ask foreigners dumb questions.

Not a few of those who asked me that question (or the version you quoted) have
lived in other countries and are otherwise open minded. Still, probably
subconsciously, they see someone (even if s/he's white) as some kind of
different person. Yes, US/CAN/AUS are different and that's why their birthrate
is sinking but it will not get negative in the coming decades.

