Did anyone successfully transition from language school to a job in Japan?

Which you should have an idea about before you move to Japan. It's not impossible to change careers but you are fighting a strong current to do so without any niche skills.

Yes, field matters a bit because English teaching jobs (ALTs) do not require experience, so it’s not really a pivot. Local talent basically can’t do those jobs, so foreigners are the only choice.  It also depends on your visa needs. There are many people on spouse visa who are able to pivot more easily because they do not need visa sponsorship. 

"English teaching" in this context generally refers to ALT or eikaiwa work, which is "unskilled work" insofar as there's no requirement on qualifications or experience. Additionally, this is not career-track work, and someone working in an eikaiwa as an instructor for 20 years is almost guaranteed to make the same amount of money as someone fresh off the boat. "Programming" in this context is likely SES subcontracting or other "code monkey" work. Many companies willing to take on applicants with no experience are low wage, low standard, and generally grueling work environments. You are more likely to be offered a time-limited contract than "regular" (正社員) employment, making residence renewals and many other legal/employee benefits more precarious. While it's possible to take this experience and job hunt for a better position, these companies do not create a strong CV and more prestigious companies do not respect them as much. When it comes to "no experience required" jobs outside of new grad hiring, if it sounds too good to be true, then in general it probably is.

Programming: Up until fairly recently there was a worldwide shortage of programmers, so yes, there was the option of getting a programming job with no experience. But that has changed. Tech companies (again: worldwide) are freezing hiring or laying people off. And even with no experience you still needed *training*. Those people getting their first programming job in Japan are CS graduates. Or at the very least had been through a boot camp or two. Even at the height of the programmer hiring frenzy they weren't hiring burger-flippers from McDonalds. English Teaching: English teaching in Japan is not a career. It's a gap year activity that doesn't pay enough to support someone through their entire life. It's also unique in that it's a job that more or less *requires* foreigners to fill the positions.

Careful with mods on Japan reddit subs. They tend to believe they are the only source of knowledge. He is wrong on this one. Most language schools have job finding support for those willing to work. You aren't going to get a cushy expat level job but you will find employment if you are willing to be flexible, work like a Japanese person and don't mind starting at the bottom.

Its not what the new environment offers you, immigrating and obtaining a work visa is about what you offer the environment/country. If you have no transferrable skills and barely speak the primary language, its an uphill battle to obtain a job from a company that is willing to sponsor your visa. You need to work really hard to make yourself an attractive candidate, you'll have the same problem regardless of country; its just that in Japan, you'll have to work extra hard as you are starting from an even lower place of not understanding the language and culture and requiring sponsorship. That opportunity is not going into fall into your lap, and I suspect this is why most people without plans end up going home or working some minimum wage job.

It's not about "there’s no place for me in Japan". There is, in fact, plenty of work available. But it's generally only available to foreigners who have a reasonable amount of experience in the field in question. Hiring a foreigner is a higher risk and higher complication proposition for an employer compared to hiring a Japanese citizen. You need something to set you apart from the pack.

>but I also want to have a bit of faith that a new environment can offer new opportunities. It sounds like you still don't understand the reality of the situation you find yourself in, which is understandable because you don't yet live here. The reality is the indigenous Japanese job hunting system is divided into two tracks: new grad and mid-career. People who are hired as new grads (i.e. within 1-2 years of graduation from university) are hired based on "potential." They are trained upon joining the company and can then take those skills after a few years to hunt for another job (via the mid-career track) if they choose. In your case, you don't have relevant experience for mid-career hiring, nor do you qualify for the new grad track. This has nothing to do with difficulties moving abroad in general, but rather that the steps you're outlining for yourself do not lead to the outcome you are imagining in Japan in particular.

> Ouch. Most of these replies are just really discouraging. That's because reality isn't all flowers and unicorns. Your question involves some very hard truths that you just don't like to hear. > I just wanted to know if anyone actually took the language school route to find a job. Whether or not anyone else did isn't really that relevant to your specific situation. > I’m not naive about the difficulties of moving abroad. I’ve done it before. But never to Japan. When you moved abroad before, was it to other countries with the same language, or with generally similar historical/cultural background? I don't know if you're from a western background or not, but Japan presents an especially large challenge given that a lot of what you think you know is no longer relevant. > What am I supposed to do? Go back to school for another x years, gain x years of work experience, just to let my life pass me by? I get where you’re coming from, but I also want to have a bit of faith that a new environment can offer new opportunities. What do you have to offer a Japanese company that they can't already more easily get from a Japanese candidate? You: "I can speak English and Japanese (maybe/kind of), but I know basically nothing about the culture (work or otherwise) and don't bring any other skills to the table that are particularly relevant." Company: "Uhh, ok, well we can just hire a Japanese grad fresh out of university who is already more qualified for what _we_ need, will work harder and longer than you without complaining, and we can further train them in what we want them to be." So you have to give the company a reason to hire _you_. "I moved to Japan and learned Japanese" isn't enough.

I live in Japan for 5 years. I did a ton of stuff outside of Eikaiwa. None of it got me a legit job there. Times are different than 20 years ago though. Either way, I moved home, worked at various corporate companies, startups etc. now I work at Sega. There is no way I would be working at Sega if I had stayed at Japan. I know my experience is different but that was my experience.

Keep in mind OP, my experience browsing the sub has been that there are a ton of people living in Japan, who either a) don’t want others to be happy because they are not happy b) have a firm belief that pay needs to be similar to the US for it to be worth it. I’ve seen hundreds of comments telling people to not give up their 6 figure job in the US for the equivalent of $50K in Japan (which job are you get you just as far, not to mention the quality of life, lack of violence, safety, health insurance, etc). It’s almost like these people forget why they left the US or whatever their home country is.

Fair enough, it is indeed a very similar engineering. I think a complete pivot would be tough though, due to the degree requirement. Immigration does check if our degree/skillset matches the job offer... right?

You didnt have to obtain N2/N1 when you found a company that accepted you in your 1.5 years of looking?

Not much, especially for a non-native speaker. Maybe English teaching or low wage SSW visa work like hotel or factory jobs 

I'm not so sure but I would look if there are social service places that support foreigners or asylum seekers and see if they have any jobs. You could also look for work on military bases if you're American.

FWIW I'm also in IT with an unfinished degree (lol I ran out of money and was like, 95% done with courses + needed a job ASAP since I was getting married), and I managed to find work. Granted I'm not in programming - still plenty of rivals to contend with but probably not as oversaturated as programming related fields. Again, didn't end up needing a work visa since I ended up married to a local, but yeah since you're graduated + have work experience you should be able to find something to get your foot in the door. Once you have a visa it's easier to find a new place to work and all that (assuming the company you start with is shit. If it isn't then awesome, but yeah). A big thing, even when being hired for many foreign companies, is them feeling confident in your language ability. Like I said I don't have certification but any concerns they have usually fly out the door once they talk to me directly in Japanese. Conversely, many Japanese companies are pains in the ass and insist on N1 in order to hire you, which is stupid but not surprising given typical Japanese corporate red tape bureaucracy. Nevermind that I've met plenty of people with N1~N2 that can barely speak Japanese to save their lives, though they can read and write kanji just fine. Anyway yeah, rambling aside, it's very doable but there's a mixture of having the right mindset + probably a bit of luck involved lol.

Graduated March 2016, got my first job in April, second job in November of the same year, then my current one, I joined in 2017.

No.

I was being sarcastic.