On Oct 17th, I will board a flight that starts my two month journey of pursuing a full time job in Japan.
During those two months, I will be working as an unpaid intern, applying to jobs, and attending every networking event I can find.
Oh, and writing a bit here and there, taking a bunch of photos, and maybe even some Youtube videos! You know, in my spare time.
So let’s start with the basics:
Who am I?
I’m a 33 year old female who is looking for work as a Software Developer in Tokyo.
Aren’t you a little old to be moving countries?
Absolutely not. /end
Okay, so why now?
It’s true, if I just wanted to move to Japan I probably could have just applied to become an English teacher when I was 22, right out of college. Unfortunately, I did a lot of research about that option, and the life it would give me, and that wasn’t what I wanted for myself. I also think I probably would have had a really hard time and might have just given up after a year.
I’m a very different person now, and I’m in a much better place to achieve my dream of living in Japan long-term.
Can you even understand Japanese?
The short answer is yes. I majored in Japanese language for my first degree (graduating in 2007) and I passed the N2 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in 2010. My goal is to pass the N1 and maybe start seriously studying for the 日本漢字能力検定 (Japan Kanji Aptitude Test) once I’m settled in Japan.
2010 was 8 years ago, why haven’t you passed N1 yet?
Lack of dedication, mostly, but also because it’s difficult to reach that level of proficiency living outside the country. It’s certainly possible, but I didn’t put in the time.
If you pass the N1, will you be fluent? Are you fluent now?
No, I don’t consider myself fluent. My personal bar for “fluency” is quite high, including feeling comfortable in a variety of situations and conversations, and being able to read anything that’s put in front of me (unless of course it’s specialized literature like medical journals or similar).
I certainly can get by in most situations, and I would say I’m conversationally fluent. There’s still a lot I would need to learn in business situations, for example, to consider myself fluent.
Like most language aptitude tests, the JLPT is not a true measure of fluency. Just like having a 800+ TOIEC score does not indicate fluency for English, for example. Standardized tests are a singular measure, usually for passive understanding of a language – reading and listening only. Additionally, such tests are in a controlled environment and have clear patterns to them. You can be good at the test, but terrible in real life. This is one of the big reasons why I want to live in the country – to improve my comprehension and ability to express myself in the language.
Wait, HOW LONG have you been studying Japanese?
Approximately 15-16 years, depending on how I count it.
Isn’t Japan expensive?
Yes and no. Cost of living is relative – my frame of reference is a city outside Boston, Massachusetts, which, if you’re not familiar with the area, is a decently expensive place to live. Boston itself is quite expensive, and the areas around it are still pretty expensive. I plan to do a detailed comparison once I’ve completely moved, so watch out for that!
How can you afford to do this?
I’ve been working full time for 6 years, and started seriously saving up about a year ago. I certainly have enough to cover me for a few months, and my ultimate goal is to get a full-time offer with visa sponsorship starting by April 2019.
Additionally, although this internship is unpaid, it is reimbursed – the company is paying for my roundtrip flights and living expenses for those 7 weeks during the internship. I will still be covering my part of rent and utilities back in the US during this time, but all my day to day costs are covered by the internship.
Again, I plan to do a detailed accounting of all of this later, so look forward to that if you’re still wondering how this is possible.
I want to know what you’re doing real-time! What social media do you use??
You can follow me on Instagram here: berryaesthetic
and on Twitter here: berryaesthetic
Are you going to do Youtube?! I want to see life in Japan!
That’s my goal, but I’ve never made videos before so temper your expectations. I’ll promote that link once I have a video to show!
Do you play games? Will you do Twitch streams? What about IRL streams?
I do play games! I don’t yet know if Twitch streaming will work out for me – I’ve done some streaming in the past, but had to stop due to scheduling constraints. (And you know, needing to sleep sometimes!) I’d love to get back to it, but that probably won’t happen until I move next year. If you want lives, follow my Instagram above – I might do some Insta lives occasionally!