During my trip to japan (16 days in april) the cost of living, going out and getting food was the biggest surprise. I genuinely believe if you make the equivalent of 40k usd in japan you will live better than a person making 120k in nyc. (I live in nyc and have first hand experience here). Great video again!
I agree totally. I could probably make a lot more money doing the same job back in the UK, but then I would also be paying double the rent I am (or more), and wouldn’t ever be able to see a doctor and everything else would be far more expensive.
If you're using NYC as a criteria, you should also do the same for Japan. 40k usd will go a lot further in Kagoshima than Tokyo, likewise 40k will go a lot further in Salt Lake City than NYC.
I am currently taking a basic IT/Data course right now! Im also saving up money as well. So far $6000 (still saving) so I can be fully ready by next spring. You inspired me to work even harder and make my dream to true to leave the US next year. Thanks for the video and advice!
Hey James! I've been following your page since you uploaded your "How to Get an IT Job in Japan" video a few months ago. I don't have a degree, but I've been working hard studying to get my A+, Network+, and AWS Cloud practitioner. My goal is to get all these certs in the next 6 months, and to apply to all the tech companies that are offering trainee data center positions. I'm from Southern California and will be turning 33 next month, and I want to pursue the data analyst career to help better my life. When you uploaded that video it really gave me hope. I visited japan last fall for 40 days and absolutely loved it. Regardless if this all works out or not, I want you to know you have inspired me and I'm going to try so freaking hard to get my foot in the door in the IT world to move to Japan. Two things, one, thank you for these videos, please keep uploading more Japan IT related videos because they help a ton. And two, are there any other tips or words of encouragement you can pass along to me while I'm pursuing this journey? Thank you so much man, you're the best!
Thanks for the kind words mate. I’m glad you’ve found some value in the videos. I would say that when you want something enough, you’ll subconsciously gravitate towards doing things that lead you closer to that goal. Without a degree, it may be a bit more challenging on the immigration front, but not impossible. I probably won’t be uploading tons of videos related to getting an IT job in Japan since I’m sure I’d run out of topics pretty soon haha, but I likely will get a couple more out at least later in a few months. I’m also open to Q&As at some point and would be more than happy to answer questions in a more detailed fashion there. I’m always answering any questions in the comments too. I’m also thinking about interviewing some good friends of mine at some point who work at companies like AWS and Google, some of them have very inspiring stories (like going from a hotel cleaner to being a Google engineer Tokyo). Just make sure you don’t limit yourself and you got this ✌️
@@Retro-Japan the hotel cleaner to Google engineer sounds super cool. i'm personally very depressed with the current job market (laid off nearly 10 months ago). having these topics lined up makes me look forward to the future despite feeling super grim. thank you @retro-japan, I'm looking forward to this video!
@@Tiffany-dw1yp I’ll reach out to him hopefully he can make some time soon for that! I know it can be a struggle to find a job. As you can tell from my own experience, I also was pretty hopeless for a time and almost had to leave my life behind that I’d made it Japan. But we never know what’s waiting for us around the corner. Always stay optimistic!
From my experience looking for job outside Japan without a Degree: it's gonna be near-impossible to get a certificate of eligibility if you don't have that or 10 years of work experience on that work field, or if you don't pass the PhilNITS test(which is in the Philippines btw). Like, the companies MIGHT like your CV, and you might be a top candidate for your role, but the moment you don't have a Uni Degree or a PhilNITS certificate they will not move forward, as the Certificate it's almost impossible to get without a Degree or without having already an advanced visa like a working one, which means being and working already in Japan
Good to know! I moved to Japan but could keep my job in Germany, working remote. If I should ever want to change jobs, I know what to expect now; thanks for sharing!
I applied for several trainee roles after watching your last video, although I only heard back from one! I spoke to a recruiter who said that they would forward my application to the hiring manager so that he/she could ultimately decide whether to interview me. I saw that there were lots of applicants - over 100 - on LinkedIn, so I'm not feeling too confident! I feel it might become more competitive as more people know about it. I'm going to keep trying no matter what though, as I want to switch careers before my time with JET ends. Thanks for all your useful videos!
I do worry that perhaps my last video may have brought more attention to the roles than I imagined (didn’t think many people would watch), but also, I’m not sure of a better way to share these kind of opportunities without gatekeeping. If you’re already in Japan it does give you a strong advantage. I have read applications/done interviewing for my company as well as when I was at AWS and there’s quite a few overseas applicants. Anyhow, the industry is really only just starting to take off in Japan and the amount of DC positions is going to increase significantly. It’s a good sign that you’re in touch with a recruiter though, regardless of what happens it’s good to stay in touch with the recruiter on LinkedIn and let them know you have a strong interest. This is all part of building up your network. Best of luck 🤞
@@Retro-Japanno your videos are helpful so I'm glad they're available! I imagine there would be lots of applicants regardless due to it being an entry level job that offers training.
As somebody who fell in love with Japan years ago, I decided to pick up an IT study at 35 this year with the dream of moving to Japan in the future. Hoping to be able to move to Japan in a couple of years and experience life there :) Thanks for this insight video!
Most westerners who come to live in Japan have a honeymoon period for 2 or 3 years, then a hate-it-all period for a year or two, then a roller-coaster for 10 years or so, then either move on, or accept it.
Hey man, thanks for this video! Recently I've been very depressed and feeling like I'm in a dead end in life. I'm finishing up college and just don't feel confident in getting a job since my current job has nothing to do with what I'm studying. After watching this video I now feel like I have a potential path to get a foot into a job I will love and that will allow me opportunities to grow. My dream in life is to move to Japan and be able to make a comfortable living and this video made me feel like that is possible, it just might take awhile to get it started.
I know what it feels like to feel you are stuck in a rut mate. It’s hard for us to imagine there might be a path out of it, but speaking from first hand experience we really don’t know what’s around the corner for us. Stay optimistic and keep an eye out for opportunities. When you want something enough, you’ll find a way. You got this 🤝
Great video man, I'm glad to hear that you did English teacher work first before looking for jobs in your area. I've been working in the UK for several years and am applying to JET and other ALT work so that I can make the move, and then yeah I'd like to try and find more specialised roles after a while.
I do think it’s much easier to go this route as focusing on moving to Japan and landing the perfect job at the same time can lead to high expectations. It’s much nicer to be searching for a job and at the same time getting to enjoy living in Japan (which is ultimately why those who want to work in IT here are applying for jobs here). Best of luck mate 🤝
@@Retro-Japan So I'm still going to send in my documents for JET, but I actually ended up getting a pretty good PhD offer and I've managed to pass N3, so I reckon I will plug away at this PhD and try to pass N2 and N1 while I'm still here in the UK before applying to MEXT to find postdoc work in Japan (hopefully!). Ngl I am not too keen on working in IT and am more interested in academia/STEM, so I reckon I'll just try to keep up frequent trips to Japan and try to engage with speakers here in the UK to keep up the language learning! Life has a funny way of going in completely unexpected directions
Almost went to Japan myself like you I didn't quite pass JET but had a job with Interac with a placement in Nishinomiya which sounded really good, this then was cancelled over Covid. I was a bit heart broken, so I got a supermarket job for 8 months to wait to go, but they kept delaying it over and over again. I eventually decided to give up on interac and went into accountancy in the UK, as I just wanted a normal good job, it would be hard to go back now that I have established my career and its alright I don't mind it or anything but I very nearly almost went to Japan and do think of what could have been sometimes.
I’m sorry to hear that. I know a lot of other people that were in similar situations due to covid with placements being delayed or cancelled. But you never know where you might end up, if you once again do desire to try and move to Japan, there may be options that present themselves or you can look into coming via another route if your priorities in life change. I know many people who dropped their entire career, came here, completely skilled up in something else and found other jobs
Great video. Thankfully I speak Japanese fluently. Once I get some years of experience in IT where I live I'll try my luck in Japan. I bet it's gonna be much easier getting a qualified work VISA there because of the population crisis the country is facing. But I think the hardest thing is gonna be finding a job with a company that does not make you work overtime. That's what worries me the most.
This is why I’ll always recommend data center jobs, there’s no overtime (unless you actually want to) and the industry is growing faster than they can even hire for. I just recently was involved in a massive hiring spree and I was interviewing people almost everyday for a couple of months. These hiring sprees will likely continue as there are forecasted plans for more huge data centers to be built which basically need entire teams created.
@@Krisprom1se gaijinpot rarely has them, I think I got lucky in that regard. You should watch my previous video on this topic for more info but in general I usually recommend LinkedIn as all the major companies post all of their job openings on there and you can set up filters to get alerts when new jobs are posted. I get job alerts multiple times a week for DC jobs in Japan
Hey man, just wanted to say thanks for putting out this video! it’s seriously helpful and motivating. I’m trying to break into IT or software development in Japan, but it’s been a challenge landing that first job or even an internship, especially with no Japanese and applying from abroad. I’ve got one basic IT cert so far (A+), do you think more certs would help for entry-level IT roles, or should I focus on something else? And if you happen to know anyone hiring for entry-level, trainee, or even unpaid positions, any advice would mean a lot. Thanks again for the content, keep doing what you’re doing; it’s making a big difference!
I just saw an AWS data center trainee position get posted yesterday so might be worth trying to get in early on that. There are data center certifications like DCCA which might differentiate you too if you’re interested in the data center world. It very much depends on what you’re specifically looking to get into
Great video, I really wanted to work in japan but i was upset about with my information system degree(2nd year) since i don't like much of coding. Unlike you im no english speaker nor fluent in it to get an english teacher job just to be there so as u just said networking and dc jobs could be my thing
That is a really interesting story. I am also living in Japan and struggling to find decent work. I think the fact that you were probably young and had English as your main language played in your favor to get that trainee position. In my case, I am already 35, so even if one of those opportunities arose, I don’t think I would get it. That's the key point though-if you don’t get your foot in the door, there's no way to work in this industry. Even though data centers are definitely a growing business, especially with AI needing infrastructure for storage, it’s tough to break in. If you have any advice on getting my foot in the door for a trainee position in the same field, I would be glad to hear it. Anyway, you can be proud; you did very well.
Thanks for watching! I would disagree and say you should avoid limiting yourself based on those assumptions. When I joined, one of the people that joined at the same time as me was a 50 year old guy that had been teaching for 20 years in Japan and didn’t have a lick of IT experience. It comes down to timing and a bit of luck but if you are persistent then I really believe it’s possible. 35 is young and would in no way rule you out. I would set up a LinkedIn if you haven’t already, set job alerts for DC roles in AWS, Microsoft, IBM Softlayer, Google etc. I would also try and look to see if you can find and connect with recruiters and even express your interest. I strongly recommend looking into Softlayer (IBM subsidiary I believe) as they also hire a lot of inexperienced folks, along with AWS.
@@Retro-Japan Alright, thank you, you are making a good point. The fact that they hired a 50-year-old without IT experience gives me some hope. I'll follow your suggestion. I don't have LinkedIn because I thought my CV was a bit of a mess and embarrassing. Thank you for taking the time to reply to me! Best of luck in your journey too.
@@Retro-Japan I'm glad to see that. I've always been told that a career change or finding a new job in Japan was more difficult if not almost impossible in your 30s or older, especially for women as employers expect them to want to have kids an take maternal leave soon after they've been hired (so companies don't want to risk hiring a woman). I worked 6 years as an ALT with JET but had to go back to Canada after failing to secure a new job after the end of my contract (lost my 6-year streak counting towards permanent residency too unfortunately 😭). I applied to several job through the local job center. Unfortunately, some places didn't even want to give me a chance as I was a woman. Also, I've done some interviews at eikaiwas, but I didn't fit what they were looking for. I didn't have the foreign look (the fate of an East Asian adoptee I guess... It has it's pros and cons but for that kind of job, it's definitely a con). 😅 Oh well. 🤷🏻♀️ Now I'm learning 3D for video games. I have a graphic design and concept art background, but there's almost no jobs in concept art in Japan, it's mostly 3D jobs (I know, I've searched so much on job hunting websites). I hope I'll be able to go back to Japan soon as my boyfriend is still there teaching English. 🤞🏻
Got an email yesterday saying they were no longer going forward with my application. Thought I might be in with a chance after speaking to the recruiter, but no interview this time I guess! I'm going to work on improving my CV and apply again in a couple of months.
Which company were you looking at? AWS? I would also suggest checking out Softlayer (part of IBM). I’m not sure on the availability of their roles but I know quite a lot of people who worked there and went from English teaching to getting hired by them. I’ve heard it’s easier to get accepted there than it is with AWS.
@@Retro-Japan Does Softlayer have a japan only site? I tried looking for it and the only site redirects to "IBM cloud". Their wiki page also says they renamed all the way back in 2018, did they keep the "Softlayer" name in japan or a smaller branch?
Hi, came across your vids and loved it. I am also in Japan right now and struggling with jobs kinda basically same situation as you but living with my relatives which is kind of nice but then i am unemployed for too long, I am kind of a burden on them rn for sure. I am also not good in Japanese, also not good enough at my IT skills with relatively no experience. I am so lost I dont even know what to do now. I'm just doing online courses and practicing DSA now. I feel like there are lots of roles with javascript for entry level jobs english only works. So I'm trying my best to learn frontend stuff using react but I'm really confused as hell right now 🥲🥲. Loved this vid, I'll make sure to go through your other vids ❤
Thanks for checking out the vid it’s really appreciated. I know it can be frustrating when you don’t know which direction you want to start moving towards, but try not to feel like you’re a burden. Keep optimistic and think about how you can best utilise the time you’ve got. It’s good to hear you’re studying and trying to skill up. Perhaps making a LinkedIn account too if you don’t have one could be a good idea just so you can start setting some job alerts in the areas you’re interested in. Job hunting can be incredibly stressful at times so try and take it easy whilst also remaining productive. You got this ✌️
@@Retro-Japan I don't know I just love the food and looking at the country must have turned on the algorithm some how would be nice though I suppose the cost of living/housing is so cheap I could afford to eat out every day they are building new regions in Japan soon so you never know I might be looking for that special akiya
Thanks for sharing your origin story! Sounds like you're able to save a good part of your monthly income. Hopefully you can divert the surplus into stock options and 401k. Now's the time to get your nest egg started while your young.
It’s good advice. Luckily these companies offer 401k equivalents and there have been some better investing options through Japanese banks in recent years (ISA / RothIRA equivalent). 5 years ago though it was really difficult to find investing options as it wasn’t really encouraged/spoken about much in Japan. Paperwork is always a pain too.
Hi, thanks for the video, it is definitely helpful, I’m moving to Japan next month. I have a job lined up (Im a new grad) but it’s 350k ish a month. What does the work at the roles you pursued consist of? I would preferably like to stick to software but I don’t want to assume anything about those roles since I simply don’t have experience with them. I’ll end up switching after I get a year or 1.5yrs into this job because simply even coming from a 3rd world country, we have comparable salaries. Do you think it’s possible to land something in the neighbourhood of 9M Yen at 1.5-2YOE? Sorry for bombarding you with questions but I’m a little nervous as my time nears.
350k is a good starting salaries most Japanese new grads end up in the region of 250-270k a month. If I recall when I first started at AWS the starting salary for trainees was 375k so it was relatively similar. The DC roles I worked at were mainly hardware and network troubleshooting and things of that nature. My work now is slightly different since I don’t work at the DCs anymore and it consists more of the business strategy side of things along with project management etc. 9M yen is probably not really attainable in most Japanese companies with only 2 YOE but it is possible in foreign companies like Google, Microsoft, Indeed etc. those jobs are highly competitive though if you’re looking into software.
@@Retro-Japan I see, thank you so much for the reply! It's a beautiful country and I'm excited to move in but I was definitely surprised when I first realized that the pay was much lower than what I assumed it would be like in Japan. But still, its definitely a step forth in leading hopefully a much better life compared to a 3rd world despite the lack of financial incentive and that could change I suppose based on how much work I put in. Thanks again this was very helpful!
I'm curious on how you were able to find a place to move in after landing a job in data center. How long did it take for you to move out from your temporary place into ur new home?
Probably took around 2 months or so. I just found a place on an apartment listing site. I didn’t even go to visit the place before I moved in which probably wasn’t the best idea in hindsight but it worked out well
Great video, really like your background scenery. Recently completed a computer science degree and unfortunately it hasn’t been enough to land an interview at AWS for a data center role. I had an interview at a local company known for severely underpaying and at the 4th interview they said i would have to cut my hair as it didn’t align with their conservative values lol I live 1h from a huge aws hub in the US that had those trainee roles but i think they saw my application, where i was living and that i had no experience with ticketing systems so they let my application sit but didn’t deny it then forgot about it. For the Japanese trainee position they just rejected it outright after a few days. My last hope is going for 2-3 of the relevant certifications and trying again. If that doesn’t work then I’m going to apply to a Japanese language school. Seems impossible to land an entry level tech role in the US right now with no experience. Data center like you have alluded to seems easier but i don’t think they are willing to bring someone from outside japan with no experience.
I understand it’s not easy. I know these same roles are much more competitive in the US as everyone speaks English, there is far less competition in Japan with that regard. Sometimes it can come down to timing too, you can’t ever know if perhaps they already filled the role recently, or if they have had the job as up for a while, if they are hiring one vs many people. So all of these things play into it. You have the right attitude though and coming back a little more skilled up will put you in a good position. Your thoughts of going to a language school as well are really good too as being in Japan already can give you a significant advantage.
Long shot, but what do you think about going for one of these jobs fresh out of graduation? I'm finishing up my last year of university with a CS degree and I'd really like to work in Japan, but I don't know if it'd be easier/make more sense to try and find a job in the US first (to be honest, things have felt pretty hopeless in that regard.) I have decent Japanese skills as I studied abroad in Tokyo last year and some potential connections, but I'm wondering how hard it'd be to get a job with A. no experience and B. not living in Japan. However I'm wondering if some certifications and language skills might help out a bit. In general though, I feel like my options are either to find a job in America first (sounds really impossible) or teach English to find a job in Japan (sounds not impossible but certainly not ideal to be honest).
I think B is more important than A if I’m honest. If you’re applying for jobs in Japan, you’re competing with others not in Japan who may have a lot of experience as well as those who are already in Japan (with and without experience). If you’re already in Japan, even without experience you will be preferred over those who are applying from overseas with a lot of experience. It’s better to be here already to jump the queue in some sense. English teaching isn’t a career but if you’re just graduating you are still very young and have time on your side and taking a year or so out to teach isn’t going to cost you anything, you may also have the time of your life in doing so while being able to make connections here and looking for jobs. Most importantly you have to just weigh up what you value most in life. But if you’re just graduating, I wouldn’t weigh any decisions you make now like they are concrete and cannot be changed in some way in the future
@@Retro-Japan Thank you for the insight! Like you said, things are still a bit far off so nothing's set in stone, but I am really starting to lean towards doing JET for a year and then finding a job from there.
Nice video, had 2 trips in Japan in 2014 and 2019 and were awesome experiences. Now my curiosity is piqued in getting a DC job, currently in the Philippines working as tier 2 network engineer. Aside from networking in Linkedin, what are other avenues can you use to connect to job opportunities there?
Linkedin I feel is the gold standard right now for networking since you can directly connect with people, outside of this you can look over company websites for openings. Many of the larger companies don’t use external recruiting or advertise on third party job boards.
i dont speak Japanese or have experience in the field but am very interested in trying to get one of these jobs and migrating, in fact i applied to 2 but got rejected, is there anything anyone suggest to help me get one or anything i should start researching or trying.
Do you think this would be similar for Korea? I'm living there now and looking to get into IT in the future. The data centre job sounds interesting. are there any online certifications/training courses that you recommend?
I imagine it’s probably similar in Korea. I know there are data centers there and in the companies I’ve worked in, I’ve occasionally interacted with the teams in Korea and they all speak English. I recommend you check out the video I made a few months back for more info on the topic but in short A+ and Network+ are probably the best foundation certs related to DC work
Do you know of positions in those data center for network engineers? I’ve been a professional Cisco network engineer for 4 years now and have an additional 5 years in IT as desktop engineer building/troubleshooting computers. Are Japanese hiring teams strict on you have to have certifications or a college degree in the field?
Yes there are usually network engineer positions (network deployment works directly in the DC, other network roles may include metro scaling or general network operations etc). Hiring teams for most of the major cloud providers here are all foreigners and I would say they’re not strict on degrees, Immigration may knew though.
@@Retro-Japan Thanks for the reply. Can you suggest ways to look for job postings? Where do Japan based providers post their jobs? I am moving to Japan in a month and my plan A is to come in on a student visa to learn Japanese at a language school, but I would prefer to get into a job as soon as possible and change over to work visa.
How likely can you convert from a 6-month trainee to a full time employee? I understand it's based on company needs and how you perform, but any insider perspective?
It’s actually very likely. The company has already invested time and money into hiring and training you so they want you to convert. You would have had to have done a really bad job to not convert. And even those that are still struggling will usually just get their trainee contract extended a bit longer to give them more time
i saw there were tons of Data centers in Chiba New town, is that where you are located? im currently living in edogawa and my wife is from Chiba and wants to go back there but is worried that the place will be deserted etc. can you speak on that or are you just working remotely for a tokyo based DC?
I work remotely supporting the data centers globally (for my company) so not any specific data center in Japan. I live in Chiba though and I really like it. Unlike other prefectures that are bordered with other prefectures (ie Saitama), Chiba is right on the edge so nobody is passing through the prefectures to other prefectures so it’s nice and quiet. Plenty of things to do if you live towards the west side (I wouldn’t live south or east Chiba). Inzai is a bit of a DC hub but there are data centers in other locations around Tokyo too.
@@Retro-Japan Yeah Chiba is great, ive lived in Funabashi and Chiba city before as well, I did an ALT stint back in 2019 in Chibas only village as well haha. Edogawa is pretty much just like Chiba rather than Tokyo. thanks for your answer!
this seems like a really good option, this was already a field i was interested in going into here, and with my dream of moving to japan this seems like a really good option. some questions, would you say learning japanese is a crucial part of networking? i plan to learn it anyway but just what level i should get to before searching for a job. and also, would getting a degree help me at all to get one of these jobs? or is there any past experience that would assist in getting a position? love your channel and your videos are really informative, keep it up!
Thanks for watching glad you found some value in the video! I would say as far as networking goes, Japanese is not needed. The data center community especially is quite small in Japan and is mainly foreigners. Recruiters usually all speak English for these types of roles too. If you’re looking for roles outside of that, it would be useful to have some conversational Japanese but it’s very role/company dependent and there are many other companies that use English as the primary language, especially if they’re an international organisation that has a HQ outside of Japan. Past experience of course is very useful for all jobs. A degree is usually a requirement for getting a work visa in Japan (unless you have equivalent work experience) but not necessarily a requirement of the job itself.
@@Retro-Japan ok cool thank you for responding, maybe getting a degree here before moving will be the way to go, as it also gives me time to figure out some other stuff too
Not gonna lie the way Westerners rag on IT jobs in Japan because to them they're not well paid enough is funny as fuck to me bc of this. Like not even joking 5M JPY a year is over 10x higher than the highest avg starting salary for a junior programmer in my area
Yooo I just finished study abroad in Japan I graduate in December in comp sci I have 12 cyber security certs and have had 3 it internships is ther a linked in or recruiter that can get me connected?
depends largely on the role within the company but getting the foundational cloud certs for whatever companies you want to apply for can be a big boost. They are relatively easy to obtain in a short amount of time
@@Retro-Japan Appreciate the feedback! I heard some people get a teaching gig to get over there. However, immediately look for a different job once over there and have their visa.
could you share more detail about your experience getting job in japan as software developer? that would be very helpfull for me and any other foreigners who want to get job as software engineer. is there any limit of maximum age as software engineer in japan?
I don’t think I can really give much advice since I basically failed at becoming a software developer. Although I’m happy with the industry I landed in, as its growth is rapidly accelerating. I feel I no longer would want to go into software development. I would say there’s no age cap for sure though. I know a few people who started in the data centers then changed teams internally to software development. I was personally involved in software development projects when working in the data centers too. As for direct hiring, there are newer companies like Octopus Energy/Kraken that have been recently hiring relatively entry level positions
Actually no, I know several people that got hired from overseas. I would only say that it makes it easier if you are in Japan already, but it’s not a hard requirement. I know many people are adverse to the idea of teaching or getting a visa some other way first, but as long as it’s treated as a stepping stone, it can be a great life experience while you are looking for another job.
They will roll out a "nomad visa" soon (if not yet) where you'll be able to stay in japan for a 1 yr i think. might be a good look if you're working freelance at home.
The data center jobs usually don’t require any specific qualifications or certifications outside of a high school diploma. However, higher education and certifications can be helpful and Japanese immigration usually requires any type of bachelors degree for visa sponsorship. I recommend you watch my previous video “how to get an IT job in Japan” if you want more details on this ✌️
Bold of you to assume I’m making any money from this 🤣 but jokes aside I haven’t been making videos long enough to have gone through the process yet. I think I’ll likely have to declare at the end of the year separately. There’s a form you have to complete with your city if you have any extra income under the taxable amount or if it’s over that threshold you need to declare it as part of your regular annual income.
My current company recently went through a huge hiring spree but those roles were recently filled. There will be another hiring round in a few months I believe but usually they ask me to be an interviewer so I can’t really give out referrals when I’m directly involved in the hiring process unfortunately
As always, the news overplays most of this. It’s a form of strep throat that can progress to other illnesses such as tonsillitis. Most people who are infected are fine or even asymptomatic but in rare cases it can progress into something more serious called STSS. There were a similar number of cases last year but I didn’t see any news then. It’s just what gets clicks at the time. Put it this way, most people in Japan don’t care or even talk about this. But hey, I’m just a guy on RUclips talking about jobs and I’m not a doctor 🤷
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During my trip to japan (16 days in april) the cost of living, going out and getting food was the biggest surprise. I genuinely believe if you make the equivalent of 40k usd in japan you will live better than a person making 120k in nyc. (I live in nyc and have first hand experience here). Great video again!
I agree totally. I could probably make a lot more money doing the same job back in the UK, but then I would also be paying double the rent I am (or more), and wouldn’t ever be able to see a doctor and everything else would be far more expensive.
i believe it, 100%
that's because the salary is so low. minimum wage is 1000 yen per hour in tokyo 🥲
If you're using NYC as a criteria, you should also do the same for Japan. 40k usd will go a lot further in Kagoshima than Tokyo, likewise 40k will go a lot further in Salt Lake City than NYC.
5.5 million yen a year can open up a lifestyle such as a $500k in NYC.
I am currently taking a basic IT/Data course right now! Im also saving up money as well. So far $6000 (still saving) so I can be fully ready by next spring. You inspired me to work even harder and make my dream to true to leave the US next year. Thanks for the video and advice!
Once again I came to say that your videos are really inspiring. Going to try my luck in Japan next year.
Thank you!
Thanks for tuning in again. Your comments always mean so much to me. Enjoy the rest of your week mate 🤝
Next year is the year I finally make the move
respect your transparency and appreciate your story telling!
keep good content coming!
Appreciate that mate, thanks for watching 🤝
@@Retro-Japan how much japanese do you use in a day to day job?
Hey James! I've been following your page since you uploaded your "How to Get an IT Job in Japan" video a few months ago. I don't have a degree, but I've been working hard studying to get my A+, Network+, and AWS Cloud practitioner. My goal is to get all these certs in the next 6 months, and to apply to all the tech companies that are offering trainee data center positions. I'm from Southern California and will be turning 33 next month, and I want to pursue the data analyst career to help better my life. When you uploaded that video it really gave me hope. I visited japan last fall for 40 days and absolutely loved it. Regardless if this all works out or not, I want you to know you have inspired me and I'm going to try so freaking hard to get my foot in the door in the IT world to move to Japan. Two things, one, thank you for these videos, please keep uploading more Japan IT related videos because they help a ton. And two, are there any other tips or words of encouragement you can pass along to me while I'm pursuing this journey? Thank you so much man, you're the best!
Thanks for the kind words mate. I’m glad you’ve found some value in the videos. I would say that when you want something enough, you’ll subconsciously gravitate towards doing things that lead you closer to that goal. Without a degree, it may be a bit more challenging on the immigration front, but not impossible.
I probably won’t be uploading tons of videos related to getting an IT job in Japan since I’m sure I’d run out of topics pretty soon haha, but I likely will get a couple more out at least later in a few months. I’m also open to Q&As at some point and would be more than happy to answer questions in a more detailed fashion there. I’m always answering any questions in the comments too. I’m also thinking about interviewing some good friends of mine at some point who work at companies like AWS and Google, some of them have very inspiring stories (like going from a hotel cleaner to being a Google engineer Tokyo). Just make sure you don’t limit yourself and you got this ✌️
@@Retro-Japan Dude thank you so much! This means the world to me, and I'll be on the lookout for when you upload those videos! Have a good week dude!
@@Retro-Japan the hotel cleaner to Google engineer sounds super cool. i'm personally very depressed with the current job market (laid off nearly 10 months ago). having these topics lined up makes me look forward to the future despite feeling super grim. thank you @retro-japan, I'm looking forward to this video!
@@Tiffany-dw1yp I’ll reach out to him hopefully he can make some time soon for that! I know it can be a struggle to find a job. As you can tell from my own experience, I also was pretty hopeless for a time and almost had to leave my life behind that I’d made it Japan. But we never know what’s waiting for us around the corner. Always stay optimistic!
From my experience looking for job outside Japan without a Degree: it's gonna be near-impossible to get a certificate of eligibility if you don't have that or 10 years of work experience on that work field, or if you don't pass the PhilNITS test(which is in the Philippines btw).
Like, the companies MIGHT like your CV, and you might be a top candidate for your role, but the moment you don't have a Uni Degree or a PhilNITS certificate they will not move forward, as the Certificate it's almost impossible to get without a Degree or without having already an advanced visa like a working one, which means being and working already in Japan
Good to know! I moved to Japan but could keep my job in Germany, working remote. If I should ever want to change jobs, I know what to expect now; thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching 🙌
May I ask you wich visa are you using to stay in Japan and work remotely? Me and my wife are both self employed and working full remote
@@v0idz I am employed by the Japanese subsidiary of an American company so I have a working visa
@@Retro-Japan I meant @kiraku_ni :)
@@v0idz I'm married to a Japanese national and have a spouse visa, so I can live here and work abroad remotely :)
I applied for several trainee roles after watching your last video, although I only heard back from one! I spoke to a recruiter who said that they would forward my application to the hiring manager so that he/she could ultimately decide whether to interview me. I saw that there were lots of applicants - over 100 - on LinkedIn, so I'm not feeling too confident! I feel it might become more competitive as more people know about it. I'm going to keep trying no matter what though, as I want to switch careers before my time with JET ends.
Thanks for all your useful videos!
I do worry that perhaps my last video may have brought more attention to the roles than I imagined (didn’t think many people would watch), but also, I’m not sure of a better way to share these kind of opportunities without gatekeeping. If you’re already in Japan it does give you a strong advantage. I have read applications/done interviewing for my company as well as when I was at AWS and there’s quite a few overseas applicants. Anyhow, the industry is really only just starting to take off in Japan and the amount of DC positions is going to increase significantly. It’s a good sign that you’re in touch with a recruiter though, regardless of what happens it’s good to stay in touch with the recruiter on LinkedIn and let them know you have a strong interest. This is all part of building up your network. Best of luck 🤞
@@Retro-Japanno your videos are helpful so I'm glad they're available! I imagine there would be lots of applicants regardless due to it being an entry level job that offers training.
Thanks for sharing your story. I've been thinking about moving to Japan more and more after my recent trip there.
Best of luck!
As somebody who fell in love with Japan years ago, I decided to pick up an IT study at 35 this year with the dream of moving to Japan in the future. Hoping to be able to move to Japan in a couple of years and experience life there :)
Thanks for this insight video!
Best of luck mate!
Most westerners who come to live in Japan have a honeymoon period for 2 or 3 years, then a hate-it-all period for a year or two, then a roller-coaster for 10 years or so, then either move on, or accept it.
Hey man, thanks for this video! Recently I've been very depressed and feeling like I'm in a dead end in life. I'm finishing up college and just don't feel confident in getting a job since my current job has nothing to do with what I'm studying. After watching this video I now feel like I have a potential path to get a foot into a job I will love and that will allow me opportunities to grow. My dream in life is to move to Japan and be able to make a comfortable living and this video made me feel like that is possible, it just might take awhile to get it started.
I know what it feels like to feel you are stuck in a rut mate. It’s hard for us to imagine there might be a path out of it, but speaking from first hand experience we really don’t know what’s around the corner for us. Stay optimistic and keep an eye out for opportunities. When you want something enough, you’ll find a way. You got this 🤝
Appreciate the video, it was super informative! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for watching mate 🤝
Great video man, I'm glad to hear that you did English teacher work first before looking for jobs in your area. I've been working in the UK for several years and am applying to JET and other ALT work so that I can make the move, and then yeah I'd like to try and find more specialised roles after a while.
I do think it’s much easier to go this route as focusing on moving to Japan and landing the perfect job at the same time can lead to high expectations. It’s much nicer to be searching for a job and at the same time getting to enjoy living in Japan (which is ultimately why those who want to work in IT here are applying for jobs here). Best of luck mate 🤝
@@Retro-Japan So I'm still going to send in my documents for JET, but I actually ended up getting a pretty good PhD offer and I've managed to pass N3, so I reckon I will plug away at this PhD and try to pass N2 and N1 while I'm still here in the UK before applying to MEXT to find postdoc work in Japan (hopefully!). Ngl I am not too keen on working in IT and am more interested in academia/STEM, so I reckon I'll just try to keep up frequent trips to Japan and try to engage with speakers here in the UK to keep up the language learning! Life has a funny way of going in completely unexpected directions
Almost went to Japan myself like you I didn't quite pass JET but had a job with Interac with a placement in Nishinomiya which sounded really good, this then was cancelled over Covid. I was a bit heart broken, so I got a supermarket job for 8 months to wait to go, but they kept delaying it over and over again. I eventually decided to give up on interac and went into accountancy in the UK, as I just wanted a normal good job, it would be hard to go back now that I have established my career and its alright I don't mind it or anything but I very nearly almost went to Japan and do think of what could have been sometimes.
I’m sorry to hear that. I know a lot of other people that were in similar situations due to covid with placements being delayed or cancelled. But you never know where you might end up, if you once again do desire to try and move to Japan, there may be options that present themselves or you can look into coming via another route if your priorities in life change. I know many people who dropped their entire career, came here, completely skilled up in something else and found other jobs
Interesting story, Joe. I used to teach some private classes in Nishinomiya.
All the best.
Based on my experiences, I do agree with point about Salary and Finances
Great video. Thankfully I speak Japanese fluently. Once I get some years of experience in IT where I live I'll try my luck in Japan. I bet it's gonna be much easier getting a qualified work VISA there because of the population crisis the country is facing. But I think the hardest thing is gonna be finding a job with a company that does not make you work overtime. That's what worries me the most.
This is why I’ll always recommend data center jobs, there’s no overtime (unless you actually want to) and the industry is growing faster than they can even hire for. I just recently was involved in a massive hiring spree and I was interviewing people almost everyday for a couple of months. These hiring sprees will likely continue as there are forecasted plans for more huge data centers to be built which basically need entire teams created.
@@Retro-Japan do you have any tips on how to get one of these data center jobs especially if your not living in Japan
Japan keeps tightening the screws on foreigners getting permanent visas.
@@Retro-JapanHow would one apply to these data center jobs? Gaijinpot?
@@Krisprom1se gaijinpot rarely has them, I think I got lucky in that regard. You should watch my previous video on this topic for more info but in general I usually recommend LinkedIn as all the major companies post all of their job openings on there and you can set up filters to get alerts when new jobs are posted. I get job alerts multiple times a week for DC jobs in Japan
Subscribed because "Oh my god it's so hot and there's so much fish around me"
The deadly combination 🐟
Hey man, just wanted to say thanks for putting out this video! it’s seriously helpful and motivating. I’m trying to break into IT or software development in Japan, but it’s been a challenge landing that first job or even an internship, especially with no Japanese and applying from abroad. I’ve got one basic IT cert so far (A+), do you think more certs would help for entry-level IT roles, or should I focus on something else? And if you happen to know anyone hiring for entry-level, trainee, or even unpaid positions, any advice would mean a lot. Thanks again for the content, keep doing what you’re doing; it’s making a big difference!
I just saw an AWS data center trainee position get posted yesterday so might be worth trying to get in early on that. There are data center certifications like DCCA which might differentiate you too if you’re interested in the data center world. It very much depends on what you’re specifically looking to get into
Great video as per usual. Bit late on my part catching up with your videos. This informative style of videos will do very well on the algo. Cheers
Thanks for watching again mate!
Great video, I really wanted to work in japan but i was upset about with my information system degree(2nd year) since i don't like much of coding. Unlike you im no english speaker nor fluent in it to get an english teacher job just to be there so as u just said networking and dc jobs could be my thing
Check out my interview with my Argentina friend. He is not a native English speaker but made his way here in Japan well!
That is a really interesting story. I am also living in Japan and struggling to find decent work. I think the fact that you were probably young and had English as your main language played in your favor to get that trainee position. In my case, I am already 35, so even if one of those opportunities arose, I don’t think I would get it. That's the key point though-if you don’t get your foot in the door, there's no way to work in this industry. Even though data centers are definitely a growing business, especially with AI needing infrastructure for storage, it’s tough to break in. If you have any advice on getting my foot in the door for a trainee position in the same field, I would be glad to hear it. Anyway, you can be proud; you did very well.
Thanks for watching! I would disagree and say you should avoid limiting yourself based on those assumptions. When I joined, one of the people that joined at the same time as me was a 50 year old guy that had been teaching for 20 years in Japan and didn’t have a lick of IT experience. It comes down to timing and a bit of luck but if you are persistent then I really believe it’s possible. 35 is young and would in no way rule you out. I would set up a LinkedIn if you haven’t already, set job alerts for DC roles in AWS, Microsoft, IBM Softlayer, Google etc. I would also try and look to see if you can find and connect with recruiters and even express your interest. I strongly recommend looking into Softlayer (IBM subsidiary I believe) as they also hire a lot of inexperienced folks, along with AWS.
@@Retro-Japan Alright, thank you, you are making a good point. The fact that they hired a 50-year-old without IT experience gives me some hope. I'll follow your suggestion. I don't have LinkedIn because I thought my CV was a bit of a mess and embarrassing. Thank you for taking the time to reply to me! Best of luck in your journey too.
@@Retro-Japan I'm glad to see that. I've always been told that a career change or finding a new job in Japan was more difficult if not almost impossible in your 30s or older, especially for women as employers expect them to want to have kids an take maternal leave soon after they've been hired (so companies don't want to risk hiring a woman). I worked 6 years as an ALT with JET but had to go back to Canada after failing to secure a new job after the end of my contract (lost my 6-year streak counting towards permanent residency too unfortunately 😭).
I applied to several job through the local job center. Unfortunately, some places didn't even want to give me a chance as I was a woman. Also, I've done some interviews at eikaiwas, but I didn't fit what they were looking for. I didn't have the foreign look (the fate of an East Asian adoptee I guess... It has it's pros and cons but for that kind of job, it's definitely a con). 😅 Oh well. 🤷🏻♀️
Now I'm learning 3D for video games. I have a graphic design and concept art background, but there's almost no jobs in concept art in Japan, it's mostly 3D jobs (I know, I've searched so much on job hunting websites).
I hope I'll be able to go back to Japan soon as my boyfriend is still there teaching English. 🤞🏻
I dream for this, welp gotta go back to grinding
Got an email yesterday saying they were no longer going forward with my application. Thought I might be in with a chance after speaking to the recruiter, but no interview this time I guess! I'm going to work on improving my CV and apply again in a couple of months.
Which company were you looking at? AWS? I would also suggest checking out Softlayer (part of IBM). I’m not sure on the availability of their roles but I know quite a lot of people who worked there and went from English teaching to getting hired by them. I’ve heard it’s easier to get accepted there than it is with AWS.
@@Retro-Japan yeah, I was looking at AWS. Thank you! I'll have a look at Softlayer, too.
@@Retro-Japan Does Softlayer have a japan only site? I tried looking for it and the only site redirects to "IBM cloud".
Their wiki page also says they renamed all the way back in 2018, did they keep the "Softlayer" name in japan or a smaller branch?
Hi, came across your vids and loved it. I am also in Japan right now and struggling with jobs kinda basically same situation as you but living with my relatives which is kind of nice but then i am unemployed for too long, I am kind of a burden on them rn for sure. I am also not good in Japanese, also not good enough at my IT skills with relatively no experience. I am so lost I dont even know what to do now. I'm just doing online courses and practicing DSA now. I feel like there are lots of roles with javascript for entry level jobs english only works. So I'm trying my best to learn frontend stuff using react but I'm really confused as hell right now 🥲🥲. Loved this vid, I'll make sure to go through your other vids ❤
Thanks for checking out the vid it’s really appreciated. I know it can be frustrating when you don’t know which direction you want to start moving towards, but try not to feel like you’re a burden. Keep optimistic and think about how you can best utilise the time you’ve got. It’s good to hear you’re studying and trying to skill up. Perhaps making a LinkedIn account too if you don’t have one could be a good idea just so you can start setting some job alerts in the areas you’re interested in. Job hunting can be incredibly stressful at times so try and take it easy whilst also remaining productive. You got this ✌️
Great video nice production .... do I know you I'm sure you sound familiar 😉
How did you end up here, are you looking to move to Japan? 😂
@@Retro-Japan I don't know I just love the food and looking at the country must have turned on the algorithm some how would be nice though I suppose
the cost of living/housing is so cheap I could afford to eat out every day
they are building new regions in Japan soon so you never know I might be looking for that special akiya
@@giancarlorotter6331well your old team will be hiring in Japan again soon so that might be a thought to keep in mind 👀
Excellent job
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing your origin story! Sounds like you're able to save a good part of your monthly income. Hopefully you can divert the surplus into stock options and 401k. Now's the time to get your nest egg started while your young.
It’s good advice. Luckily these companies offer 401k equivalents and there have been some better investing options through Japanese banks in recent years (ISA / RothIRA equivalent). 5 years ago though it was really difficult to find investing options as it wasn’t really encouraged/spoken about much in Japan. Paperwork is always a pain too.
Hi, thanks for the video, it is definitely helpful, I’m moving to Japan next month. I have a job lined up (Im a new grad) but it’s 350k ish a month. What does the work at the roles you pursued consist of? I would preferably like to stick to software but I don’t want to assume anything about those roles since I simply don’t have experience with them. I’ll end up switching after I get a year or 1.5yrs into this job because simply even coming from a 3rd world country, we have comparable salaries. Do you think it’s possible to land something in the neighbourhood of 9M Yen at 1.5-2YOE? Sorry for bombarding you with questions but I’m a little nervous as my time nears.
350k is a good starting salaries most Japanese new grads end up in the region of 250-270k a month. If I recall when I first started at AWS the starting salary for trainees was 375k so it was relatively similar.
The DC roles I worked at were mainly hardware and network troubleshooting and things of that nature. My work now is slightly different since I don’t work at the DCs anymore and it consists more of the business strategy side of things along with project management etc.
9M yen is probably not really attainable in most Japanese companies with only 2 YOE but it is possible in foreign companies like Google, Microsoft, Indeed etc. those jobs are highly competitive though if you’re looking into software.
@@Retro-Japan I see, thank you so much for the reply! It's a beautiful country and I'm excited to move in but I was definitely surprised when I first realized that the pay was much lower than what I assumed it would be like in Japan. But still, its definitely a step forth in leading hopefully a much better life compared to a 3rd world despite the lack of financial incentive and that could change I suppose based on how much work I put in. Thanks again this was very helpful!
I'm curious on how you were able to find a place to move in after landing a job in data center. How long did it take for you to move out from your temporary place into ur new home?
Probably took around 2 months or so. I just found a place on an apartment listing site. I didn’t even go to visit the place before I moved in which probably wasn’t the best idea in hindsight but it worked out well
Great video, really like your background scenery.
Recently completed a computer science degree and unfortunately it hasn’t been enough to land an interview at AWS for a data center role. I had an interview at a local company known for severely underpaying and at the 4th interview they said i would have to cut my hair as it didn’t align with their conservative values lol
I live 1h from a huge aws hub in the US that had those trainee roles but i think they saw my application, where i was living and that i had no experience with ticketing systems so they let my application sit but didn’t deny it then forgot about it. For the Japanese trainee position they just rejected it outright after a few days.
My last hope is going for 2-3 of the relevant certifications and trying again. If that doesn’t work then I’m going to apply to a Japanese language school. Seems impossible to land an entry level tech role in the US right now with no experience. Data center like you have alluded to seems easier but i don’t think they are willing to bring someone from outside japan with no experience.
I understand it’s not easy. I know these same roles are much more competitive in the US as everyone speaks English, there is far less competition in Japan with that regard. Sometimes it can come down to timing too, you can’t ever know if perhaps they already filled the role recently, or if they have had the job as up for a while, if they are hiring one vs many people. So all of these things play into it. You have the right attitude though and coming back a little more skilled up will put you in a good position. Your thoughts of going to a language school as well are really good too as being in Japan already can give you a significant advantage.
@@Retro-Japan Thanks for the feedback. Gives me a little motivation that i need to keep pushing.
Long shot, but what do you think about going for one of these jobs fresh out of graduation? I'm finishing up my last year of university with a CS degree and I'd really like to work in Japan, but I don't know if it'd be easier/make more sense to try and find a job in the US first (to be honest, things have felt pretty hopeless in that regard.) I have decent Japanese skills as I studied abroad in Tokyo last year and some potential connections, but I'm wondering how hard it'd be to get a job with A. no experience and B. not living in Japan. However I'm wondering if some certifications and language skills might help out a bit.
In general though, I feel like my options are either to find a job in America first (sounds really impossible) or teach English to find a job in Japan (sounds not impossible but certainly not ideal to be honest).
I think B is more important than A if I’m honest. If you’re applying for jobs in Japan, you’re competing with others not in Japan who may have a lot of experience as well as those who are already in Japan (with and without experience). If you’re already in Japan, even without experience you will be preferred over those who are applying from overseas with a lot of experience. It’s better to be here already to jump the queue in some sense. English teaching isn’t a career but if you’re just graduating you are still very young and have time on your side and taking a year or so out to teach isn’t going to cost you anything, you may also have the time of your life in doing so while being able to make connections here and looking for jobs. Most importantly you have to just weigh up what you value most in life. But if you’re just graduating, I wouldn’t weigh any decisions you make now like they are concrete and cannot be changed in some way in the future
@@Retro-Japan Thank you for the insight! Like you said, things are still a bit far off so nothing's set in stone, but I am really starting to lean towards doing JET for a year and then finding a job from there.
Nice video, had 2 trips in Japan in 2014 and 2019 and were awesome experiences. Now my curiosity is piqued in getting a DC job, currently in the Philippines working as tier 2 network engineer. Aside from networking in Linkedin, what are other avenues can you use to connect to job opportunities there?
Linkedin I feel is the gold standard right now for networking since you can directly connect with people, outside of this you can look over company websites for openings. Many of the larger companies don’t use external recruiting or advertise on third party job boards.
i dont speak Japanese or have experience in the field but am very interested in trying to get one of these jobs and migrating, in fact i applied to 2 but got rejected, is there anything anyone suggest to help me get one or anything i should start researching or trying.
I would consider other options to move to Japan first before looking for an IT job. It’s far easier to apply when you already live here
I worked in IT for Amazon a few years back but I don't have a college degree; do you think I could get a job remotely and eventually move to Japan?
Do you think this would be similar for Korea? I'm living there now and looking to get into IT in the future. The data centre job sounds interesting. are there any online certifications/training courses that you recommend?
I imagine it’s probably similar in Korea. I know there are data centers there and in the companies I’ve worked in, I’ve occasionally interacted with the teams in Korea and they all speak English. I recommend you check out the video I made a few months back for more info on the topic but in short A+ and Network+ are probably the best foundation certs related to DC work
@@Retro-Japan thanks 👍
Do you know of positions in those data center for network engineers? I’ve been a professional Cisco network engineer for 4 years now and have an additional 5 years in IT as desktop engineer building/troubleshooting computers. Are Japanese hiring teams strict on you have to have certifications or a college degree in the field?
Yes there are usually network engineer positions (network deployment works directly in the DC, other network roles may include metro scaling or general network operations etc). Hiring teams for most of the major cloud providers here are all foreigners and I would say they’re not strict on degrees, Immigration may knew though.
@@Retro-Japan Thanks for the reply. Can you suggest ways to look for job postings? Where do Japan based providers post their jobs? I am moving to Japan in a month and my plan A is to come in on a student visa to learn Japanese at a language school, but I would prefer to get into a job as soon as possible and change over to work visa.
@@moptop8907 I made another video on this topic a few months back with the answers to all those questions feel free to check it out if you have time
thank you
How likely can you convert from a 6-month trainee to a full time employee? I understand it's based on company needs and how you perform, but any insider perspective?
It’s actually very likely. The company has already invested time and money into hiring and training you so they want you to convert. You would have had to have done a really bad job to not convert. And even those that are still struggling will usually just get their trainee contract extended a bit longer to give them more time
i saw there were tons of Data centers in Chiba New town, is that where you are located? im currently living in edogawa and my wife is from Chiba and wants to go back there but is worried that the place will be deserted etc. can you speak on that or are you just working remotely for a tokyo based DC?
I work remotely supporting the data centers globally (for my company) so not any specific data center in Japan. I live in Chiba though and I really like it. Unlike other prefectures that are bordered with other prefectures (ie Saitama), Chiba is right on the edge so nobody is passing through the prefectures to other prefectures so it’s nice and quiet. Plenty of things to do if you live towards the west side (I wouldn’t live south or east Chiba). Inzai is a bit of a DC hub but there are data centers in other locations around Tokyo too.
@@Retro-Japan Yeah Chiba is great, ive lived in Funabashi and Chiba city before as well, I did an ALT stint back in 2019 in Chibas only village as well haha. Edogawa is pretty much just like Chiba rather than Tokyo. thanks for your answer!
How difficult would it be for me to get a job in Japan? I have been working almost 6 years as a system administrator at a company of 55 employees?
this seems like a really good option, this was already a field i was interested in going into here, and with my dream of moving to japan this seems like a really good option. some questions, would you say learning japanese is a crucial part of networking? i plan to learn it anyway but just what level i should get to before searching for a job. and also, would getting a degree help me at all to get one of these jobs? or is there any past experience that would assist in getting a position? love your channel and your videos are really informative, keep it up!
Thanks for watching glad you found some value in the video! I would say as far as networking goes, Japanese is not needed. The data center community especially is quite small in Japan and is mainly foreigners. Recruiters usually all speak English for these types of roles too. If you’re looking for roles outside of that, it would be useful to have some conversational Japanese but it’s very role/company dependent and there are many other companies that use English as the primary language, especially if they’re an international organisation that has a HQ outside of Japan.
Past experience of course is very useful for all jobs. A degree is usually a requirement for getting a work visa in Japan (unless you have equivalent work experience) but not necessarily a requirement of the job itself.
@@Retro-Japan ok cool thank you for responding, maybe getting a degree here before moving will be the way to go, as it also gives me time to figure out some other stuff too
what the name of place you're making video in this video? is it Shinjuku Kyoen center?
Which part of the video mate?
$5M yen is $3000/mo. Apartment is $500. I don’t see a problem
Not gonna lie the way Westerners rag on IT jobs in Japan because to them they're not well paid enough is funny as fuck to me bc of this. Like not even joking 5M JPY a year is over 10x higher than the highest avg starting salary for a junior programmer in my area
@@SAIMONchespecially when if you save enough you could very well cover a years+ worth of life expenses(obv depending on your job)
Yooo I just finished study abroad in Japan I graduate in December in comp sci I have 12 cyber security certs and have had 3 it internships is ther a linked in or recruiter that can get me connected?
What certs would you say are most valuable for cloud type companies?
depends largely on the role within the company but getting the foundational cloud certs for whatever companies you want to apply for can be a big boost. They are relatively easy to obtain in a short amount of time
@@Retro-Japan Appreciate the feedback! I heard some people get a teaching gig to get over there. However, immediately look for a different job once over there and have their visa.
@@Retro-Japan If you don't mind me asking, what was your specific job when you broke into the industry?
Can you recall what free resources gave you the best knowledge for working at a data center?
Mike Meyers Network+ course on YT is great. Also custodian data centers youtube channel
@@Retro-Japan Thanks. I appreciate the info
could you share more detail about your experience getting job in japan as software developer? that would be very helpfull for me and any other foreigners who want to get job as software engineer. is there any limit of maximum age as software engineer in japan?
I don’t think I can really give much advice since I basically failed at becoming a software developer. Although I’m happy with the industry I landed in, as its growth is rapidly accelerating. I feel I no longer would want to go into software development. I would say there’s no age cap for sure though. I know a few people who started in the data centers then changed teams internally to software development. I was personally involved in software development projects when working in the data centers too. As for direct hiring, there are newer companies like Octopus Energy/Kraken that have been recently hiring relatively entry level positions
@@Retro-Japan Thank you for sharing
Hello sir,am welder looking for job around the world and ready to relocate
Do you have to be a resident in Japan to be able to apply or get accepted?
Actually no, I know several people that got hired from overseas. I would only say that it makes it easier if you are in Japan already, but it’s not a hard requirement. I know many people are adverse to the idea of teaching or getting a visa some other way first, but as long as it’s treated as a stepping stone, it can be a great life experience while you are looking for another job.
They will roll out a "nomad visa" soon (if not yet) where you'll be able to stay in japan for a 1 yr i think. might be a good look if you're working freelance at home.
@@shiro-akane that'd be very nice!
The demands are pretty strict there
@@shiro-akane shiro, the Japanese govt. is tightening the screws on permanent visa requirements.
Please what Qualification or Certification do I need in order to apply for a Data Center Technician Job?
The data center jobs usually don’t require any specific qualifications or certifications outside of a high school diploma. However, higher education and certifications can be helpful and Japanese immigration usually requires any type of bachelors degree for visa sponsorship. I recommend you watch my previous video “how to get an IT job in Japan” if you want more details on this ✌️
@@Retro-Japan so my bachelor's degree in Management won't bother so much for visa sponsorship?
@@ryanpratama14 it doesn’t matter what the degree is in, so if you have that degree it will be very useful!
how do you pay for taxes for your RUclips income? Do you pay them in Japan?
Bold of you to assume I’m making any money from this 🤣 but jokes aside I haven’t been making videos long enough to have gone through the process yet. I think I’ll likely have to declare at the end of the year separately. There’s a form you have to complete with your city if you have any extra income under the taxable amount or if it’s over that threshold you need to declare it as part of your regular annual income.
A computer science degree holder not knowing about data centres is crazy
I knew about them conceptually but not the details of things like power, cooling, redundancy, how they are built and scaled, security etc
@retro bro do you give out referral?
My current company recently went through a huge hiring spree but those roles were recently filled. There will be another hiring round in a few months I believe but usually they ask me to be an interviewer so I can’t really give out referrals when I’m directly involved in the hiring process unfortunately
@@Retro-Japan thx bro! Let us know next time that your company is hiring. I'm already in japan if that makes it easier lol
"How I got a remote job in Japan (without Japanese)"
4 minutes later - "talking about my university experience, all in Japanese"
But that was unrelated to the actual job I ended up getting which I didn’t need any Japanese for 👀
Are there really fresh eating bacteria outbreak?
As always, the news overplays most of this. It’s a form of strep throat that can progress to other illnesses such as tonsillitis. Most people who are infected are fine or even asymptomatic but in rare cases it can progress into something more serious called STSS. There were a similar number of cases last year but I didn’t see any news then. It’s just what gets clicks at the time. Put it this way, most people in Japan don’t care or even talk about this. But hey, I’m just a guy on RUclips talking about jobs and I’m not a doctor 🤷
@@Retro-Japan thanks man
Step 1: have a degree 😭
yoyoyo
Yoyoyoyo 🤝