

What it's like to join a startup in Japan - Klonoar
http://mygengo.com/talk/blog/what-its-like-to-join-a-startup-in-japan/

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AlexC04
I read the headline and actually laughed out loud at the thought of it.

In my mind* North American Startups probably have the work hours of regular
Japanese corporations. So a Japanese startup must be some order of magnitude
higher than that... they probably manage to squeeze a 25th hour out of you
every single work-day or something.

*completely ignorant mind that is, I've never worked in Japan, just from what I've read.

Hmm... sadly the article has very little substance in terms of the Japanese
culture in a startup environment. Disappointing.

Is this just keyword spam for myGengo or something?

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roel_v
Not to be dismissive, but a more correct title is 'How I describe the company
I work at from the rose-colored glasses that come with the first few
weeks/months of employment at a new place'.

(or if I was more cynical: 'our company is great! come work for us! remember
to tell the CEO that I referred you, it may influence my bonus!')

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mrspeaker
I was wondering about working in Japan - I'd love to know how the
scene/pay/hours/good parts/bad parts/visa acquisition is compared to other
countries.

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rdouble
It's hard to get a visa. The pay is bad and the hours are bad, but you can
sometimes skip out early because you're the white guy. I don't think it's even
possible to get a visa - I just worked under the table. You can't rent an
apartment legally without a Japanese guy signing your lease. The scene is
weird. If you're white you get lumped in with the gaijin weirdo underclass by
default. You end up meeting a bunch of shady characters who you'd probably
never have to deal with back in your home country. One interesting detail is
that train fare for everyone with a job in Japan is paid for by their
employer. But not you. At one point I was paying 3x as much for the train than
I was paying in rent.

This is my experience working at a small firm. If you can work for somewhere
like Morgan Stanley you'll have good hours, good pay, they'll find you an
apartment, pay for your trains, and so forth. You'll still have to deal with
the weirdo scene. However, the banking scene is filled with creeps everywhere,
so it probably won't be much different people than back home.

My advice to any non-Japanese considering working in Japan is to skip it
unless you're a "big in Japan" underground celebrity. It would be great to be
a semi-famous DJ or artiste in Tokyo. Working a typical programming job... not
so much.

That all said Japan is a really fun place to hang out. It's just not a really
fun place to work.

Edit: this was 10 years ago.

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patio11
I slag on being a salaryman, frequently, but we _never_ have these sorts of
problems. Visa issues? The CEO will write the Minister of Justice a letter.
Problem solved. (I am not joking in the slightest degree.)

~~~
rdouble
Your boss must have liked you more than mine liked me. On the other hand,
getting paid via a giant envelope filled with cash was pretty cool.

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erikb
I was a little confused, thought there would be more about "in Japan" and less
about "join a startup". Helpful confusion for your traffic, though. ;)

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harisenbon
Point of note: "a Startup in Japan" does not necessarily mean "a Japanese
Startup." I don't think I see any Japanese people in that picture, and I seem
to remember from my sources that there are only one or two Japanese people
working at the company.

Interestingly enough, I have worked for a Japanese Startup, and it really
wasn't much different from a regular Japanese company, other than a lot more
freedom when it came to procedures. Also the fact that I got to help build our
entire development platform.

(Also, I think I see a familiar face third from the right...)

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mootothemax
coincidentally, this week I used myGengo's services for the first time, after
wanting to get a web app translated. Seriously impressed, speedy service, and
the strings tool makes life very easy. Highly recommend - and can't complain
about the price either :-)

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mkrecny
What does this have to do with Japan?

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collateral
I've sent in my internship application to them. _fingers crossed_

