From Teaching to Tech: Switching Up Your Career While Living in Japan
How I moved from early education into a product designer for major Japanese companies and you can to!
After nearly a decade working in education and in the very early days of the COVID pandemic, I knew it was time for a more sustainable change for my future. Leaving Japan wasn’t an option, and honestly wasn’t something I wanted to do. So with a degree in Fine Arts where could I go from here? The answer? UP AND OUT! I started focusing and transitioning my career out of teaching and into tech design. If you’re in the same place or just not feeling fulfilled in your current career, fear not! I am here to assist and guide you through the process (and yes it is indeed a process) so let’s get into it!
Get in Line Y’all!
In recent years, there has been a growing trend of teachers in Japan switching careers to work in other industries with one of the major ones being tech. This is understandably due to limited opportunities for career advancement and often hardly a salary to gain any savings on. In an expensive country, it is safe to say that teachers are looking to THRIVE and not just survive here in Japan. While the idea seems exciting, realistically it takes a lot of smart and careful planning and MASSIVE amounts of self discipline to buckle down and start the journey that is, getting out of teaching and into a better situation. This will without a doubt require a certain amount of sacrifice on your part, but there IS hope, community, and a ton of resources at your disposal if you are truly serious about remaining in Japan with a job other than teaching. Through this discussion, I will touch on the all possible points, but let’s first talk about the biggest challenges facing the expat community.
Hurdles, Hurdles, and Oh Look Another Hurdle!
While many expats sing to the hills that Japan is the magical dreamland where there can be no wrong…realistically there are many issues that affect and work against the expat community. This especially goes for stepping into different industries for the first time. While everyone’s experience is different, let’s elaborate on a few common hurdles one may face while switching careers in the Japanese community.
- Language
While it seems common sense that you would need to learn Japanese to live and work in Japan, many expats do not reach above simple conversational level for multiple reasons. Many being that you come find, time slips away from you while living in Japan and a lack of consistent studying and often difficult hours to attend pricey Japanese courses means Japanese language levels are left on cruise control for years. Also, a lot of expats usually don’t plan on living in Japan for as long as they do so enthusiasm to improve their Japanese is put on the back burner. So this begs the question and I get asked a lot…
Short answer: Duh. Less short answer: It depends.
For many positions in Japan you will find the minimum requirement is N2 (Business proficiency) and N1 (Native speaker). This can be a frustrating point if you have been living in Japan for a few years and can’t seem to make it past the basics.
Although not all jobs require Japanese (or will accept N3-daily conversational) depending on your field and will often make exceptions over a very experienced resume, many jobs that require a higher level of Japanese tend to be harsher and stricter working conditions. Often these jobs feel you are obligated enough to meet the “Japanese standard” of treatment which can be another frustrating hurdle.
- Culture
If you have lived in Japan long enough you have noticed there are very defined ways to behave in society, this also goes for the workplace as well. While yes there are now many international companies in Japan, the social standard remains strong. When it comes down to it and as xenophobic as it is, many Japanese companies have no interest in hiring international team members, especially ones that they may feel might “rock the boat” around the office. I sometimes hear from recruiters…
“Oh you’ve lived in Japan for a long time and speak Japanese so you will fit into a Japanese office no problem!”
They tend to not elaborate but I also see where they are going. Ultimately they want to avoid hearing feedback that you can’t settle into the team or may be causing too many cultural problems because it’s not within your personality to work the way many Japanese do. This can be a minor misstep from accidentally mixing the trash, to leaving on time which may be considered too “eager” to escape the office and leave your team still working. All of these things lead managers to think that you may be harder to control which is something they don’t need. As ridiculous as that sounds, these are very real frustrations that you wouldn’t want to face especially when focusing on learning your new role. So with knowing that, you have to really ask yourself…
With long overtime hours, strict dress codes, micromanaging, obligatory drinking parties, lower wages, outdated and backward policies, very long and slow processes full of unnecessary meetings, among many other nuances do you really want to try and force fit yourself into a position that you may ultimately be very uncomfortable in?
Personally, I had more negative office and coworker experiences working as a teacher than I ever have as a designer on Japanese teams. So again, everyone can have different experiences sure, but it is still important to acknowledge that this still happens and can be a serious pain point when switching into a new career in a Japanese office.
- Experience
So you’ve learned the language and aced the cultural aspects, but have you got the experience to transition away from teaching into a new field? This can definitely be your biggest hurdle in Japan as companies are commonly looking to hire people with 3–5 years working experience. This can be very frustrating as it is usually followed by a HIGH amount of rejection emails, ghosted from recruiters and employers, and a whole lot of disappointment and imposter syndrome.
Getting experience can also be tough when you are working a schedule thats likely similar to 8:00–18:00 or later. It can leave little time for personal development or having a side job.
This is where that self discipline comes in, making a plan of action or an “exit education” strategy is essential. Some people don’t renew their teaching contracts and put dedication towards job hunting thinking they will find a new position in a few weeks. While it may work for some, I don’t advise this as it can be a HUGE financial burden since you are ultimately deducting your income and adds extra stress to an already stressful situation. It took me nearly A FULL YEAR of dedicated job hunting before I landed my first major role so no, your best bet is to focus on improving your resume / portfolio while having stable income because the process can get loooong. Also from a VISA standpoint, depending on your situation you may need permission from immigration to work another job (officially in Japan) than your sponsor company.
Refreshing That Resume
Having a strong resume or portfolio is ESSENTIAL for standing out, especially when you may be competing with 50 other people for an entry level position. So how do you make sure your resume is up to date with relevant experience? By making sure you know where your resources are and how to shake the opportunities out!
Some people may have prior working experience or a relevant degree in a field before coming to Japan to teach. It is a very fortunate situation, but some employers may wonder about the gap in your working experience to teach, as well as the lack of language ability might be held against you. For the experienced individuals I know, outdated working experience and/or language has been a big factor to finding work in Japan. Everyone else of course, are starting from scratch and don’t know where to start but just want out of teaching and into something better!
Overall there are several options to approach for getting your resume in shape:
Now you might be thinking, where can I find any of those opportunities? All over the place if you’re really looking but I am happy to provide a list of resources to get you started.
- Working Remotely
Thankfully the modern way of doing things is remotely. This means you are not limited to looking only locally to gain experience on your resume. Opportunities don’t even need to be in the same country! Being able to work remotely not only is very convenient with a lot of busy schedules but also allows for a more diverse project pool and people looking for help from people trying to enter a new field. I was able to connect with several employers over LinkedIn, Facebook groups, and even Craigslist (true story…) From those various projects, I was able to fluff up my resume and get some knowledge and tips too. Reaching out to friends to see if they need any help also works great!
**Freelancer websites While I should mention there are a lot of websites out there for freelancers to market themselves whether a full-time professional freelancer or maybe someone looking for a side job in addition to their current role, a lot of these professionals have been in the market for YEARS so while it looks like a nice approach, in reality it isn’t the most ideal place to market yourself fresh in your career to take on projects as employers are often looking for more experienced individuals for their projects.
- Education
This may be the first thing on anyones mind when it comes to a new career. Schooling. As teachers, we know all too well that working in Japan and returning back home to teach requires teaching certifications (depends on where you’re from). Your current degree may not be enough. Or you are lucky enough to have a teaching license but decided, it is time for a career switch. All are very very valid.
Going back to pursue another degree is expensive and requires a possible relocation either into a city or even another country. For me in 2020, those were not great options since the world was going online anyways, I decided to find a remote ‘certification’ in a field I was interested in from an accredited and recommended program. Thankfully for online classes, they were extremely flexible with my schedule while I was still teaching. My coursework was also very achievable with long deadlines and probably longer if I asked. My course was for 12 months but I completed it in 6 months with an exam that I passed. Many online courses have very flexible payment plans which is very helpful on a teaching salary.
Of course, you absolutely DO NOT NEED more official education to switch careers, is it helpful? Yes. Does it look good to future employers? Sure. Short certifications can also work just as well and are accepted with a lot of employers, as their staff also rely on those in many cases. You can even find FREE courses to help you and yes are also very valid to add to your resume.
- Get Online!
There is a lot going on online for career engines, so let me briefly mention the 2 heavy hitters in Japan.
If you’re not on LinkedIn then definitely GET ON IT! You may find it less helpful, but I was hired several times through having a LinkedIn profile, of course you also have other options from my resource list above. Some require more Japanese ability than others of course. LinkedIn also offers a ton of different courses you can add to your profile when completed through its ‘LinkedIn Learning’ extension. But it does require a subscription. For me, it was a good investment especially for preparing for interviews or learning new tech tools quickly.
Gaijinpot, we know it, we love it…..for teaching jobs..but what about different fields? Yes! Gaijinpot does also post jobs unrelated to teaching but those postings you may have noticed are very few and far apart. Still, it makes for a valid option if you are already on there. For me personally, I got 0 opportunities related to my current position, but my teaching resume looks absolutely GOLDEN, so obviously it pulled in more attention from the majority of teaching posts.
****Be aware that if you are using and applying to jobs on career engines, they tend to post the same job on multiple sites so keep track of your applications so you don’t carelessly double apply!
- Formatting
Now you may or may not know this but Japanese resumes are very different than the standard ‘western’ style. You may not even get asked to present one but I have, many many times. Whether they actually use it or not, recruiters have asked me to have one on file because it helps you to stand out when presenting you to employers. Honestly though, it will probably not be a factor in getting you hired as an expat.
Having a properly formatted resume is very important. At the same time, I also have the distinct feeling that it isn’t so much a strict necessity in the hiring process in Japan these days as you would think. At least in the USA, having a professional resume with a clean format and limited deign and colors is pretty standard. They even ask that you remove your photo now. But in Japan, you face a contradiction. Although the Japanese resume is black and white with the most unhappy picture imaginable, I have seen a range of resumes accepted. In the past I think they have ben stricter on resumes, but I see many Japanese employers keeping an open mind when receiving resumes from international residents. So I have to keep a bit of a balance between the 2 culture factors depending on the role I am applying to. For example, when I apply for jobs in Japan I keep my picture on the resume (still a requirement). For jobs abroad, I remove my photo. Little things like that are a bigger point than you would imagine. A rule of thumb for both countries, simple design is always better…but heavy on relevant experience.
There are so many different websites that build a resume for you and even help you with better wording your experience (sharing is caring, will link it below). I keep my resume very strong and since I was applying to design jobs it really speaks volumes if it is formatted nicely. Make sure you get feedback too from recruiters as they are the ones with the best and current hiring knowledge. Knowing what each industry needs to see at pretty much a glance is very important when you have hiring managers sorting through 100 resumes for a role. Standing out as a confident and interesting person from a piece of paper is tough, besides the fact that you want to portray “Hey, I can do a great job for your company if you hire me.”
Make sure your resume is showing the right experience for the position you’re applying to. Although this sounds obvious, I cannot tell you how desperate people get to show a full resume over a relevant one. This will almost certainly get you rejected so it is essential you spend time gaining the right experience to add to your resume. This doesn’t have to be jobsper se, You can add projects you’ve worked on because it shows relevant experience. My resume had a near constant rejection rate before I had the experience, once I started adding the right things empowers wanted to see, I started to get interviews more and more. It is hard at first and keeping your last company or school on there is totally fine as it is part of your employment history. You can certainly pull good points from your teaching experience that are transferable skills into another position.
There are also great services to help format and advise you on your resume with major tech industries. I have been following Wonsulting for years and his advice is always really solid especially for entering the tech industry so I would recommend you checking them out.
You Betta Net-’WERK’
Networking is sooooooooooooooooooooo IMPORTANT!!!! Especially being an expat abroad, you need people in your corner who you can reach out to and vise versa. When you don’t network, you remain unknown, when people don’t know you, you miss out on opportunities. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be the most social and outgoing person, networking smarter works just as well if not better. Joining small focus groups, events, and even online chat groups provide a rich supply of insight, support, and resources. Also, reaching out directly to individuals can help build your network and maybe make a few new friends in your field too.
Tokyo has a ton of great events and groups in tech, design, art, fashion, gaming, you name it there is a network for it. Every year the network grows bigger with even more resources out there for helping the community grow and flourish. Attitude is everything here. If you are serious about leaving teaching, want more opportunities, and you are a friendly and professional person, then taking feedback and criticism constructively, not personally is a MUST. Tokyo may seem big but it is incredibly small for us expats. If you are difficult to work with, word gets around and people will pass you over for future opportunities.
I did a lot of “cold messaging” and reaching out to people to offer my skills in return to gain knowledge and experience. It works, but only if you know where to aim your efforts. Throwing random emails hoping something will stick, often leads to a lot of rejection emails and energy wasted. BUT, researching roles and reaching out to people in lead positions (hiring managers, team leaders) and smaller companies (startups) open to taking on interns or part timers can give you much more success.
View the full collection of network links on my Notion:
https://emory-takagi-uxui.notion.site/From-Teaching-to-Tech-Switching-Up-Your-Career-While-Living-in-Japan-b7029fe0ec044a5189a8ae3f0f25c5f0?pvs=4
Rejection, But Make it REDIRECTION
It is kinda a cruel joke among other professionals who remember their early days of “making it in Japan”, rejection. I got SO SO SO MANY rejection emails! I remember one day checking my email and got hit with about 20 rejection emails all at once (insert that meme with the dog sitting in the burning house smiling). I think in total, it must have been close to 100 rejections if not more. I can’t deny, it felt like a huge hit on my ego and I felt super hopeless at times. I even gave myself the “Well, maybe teaching again for awhile won’t be so bad..” and I did go back part-time and it was terrible because mentally I knew I was DONE.
In addition to the massive amounts of endless rejection (and sometimes just flat out ghosting), I had so many interviews that I knew were not going to work. Sometimes they asked random questions and I could tell they didn’t really understand the role they were hiring for, other times they were just straight up “Okay NEXT!”. The worst ones were the false hope where they assured me I was the person they were looking for and they couldn’t wait to work with me, only to be ghosted or rejected suddenly later. ITS BRUTAL OUT HERE YALL!
Aside from all of this what are the take aways? As I mentioned before applying blindly in high volume may seem like a good idea of casting your net wide, but in the end it’s wasting energy and adding to your rejection pile if you aren’t really invested. Should you apply to a lot of jobs YES! but make sure you are taking time to read over the role, researching the company, doing the work. Trust me, it will come back in the interview if you didn’t. Also, make sure to ask for feedback whenever possible. Some may be easier to give it than others, but it will only help you be better prepared for future interviews and applications.
Don’t fit the job description 100%? No problem apply anyways! Rarely do applicants fit 100% of what an employer is asking for. It’s fishing at this point, hoping for a nice big applicant CATCH! My rule of thumb is, if you fit over 50–75% of the job description and can prove it in your portfolio, cover letter, resume, and/or the interview, then apply for the job. The worst they can say is “Sorry”. I know applicants that have gotten hired purely based on referrals so that goes back to the importance of networking. I have also qualified 98% for a position and STILL got refused the job. There will always be factors so GO FOR IT!
I am a firm believer in, things work out the way they are meant to work out. I felt so bad about getting rejected in roles I got to the last round of interviews, I felt so close just to meet another disappointment. Honestly looking back, I am glad I kept going and I am so lucky I didn’t land in so many of those roles because I definitely couldn’t be as happy or successful as I am now. So you may get a thousand “No”s but remember, you only need one “Yes”.
To Summarize
Switching jobs can be hard especially into a new field in a country you may not fully be familiar with, but like I said, hope does indeed exist and while you decided to take on the challenge there are some very important things to remember.
▪ Be dead serious about the process, make a contract with yourself and really focus your efforts to moving onto where you want to go.
▪ There are more resources and networks than ever before so utilize those to develop yourself and help you get better opportunities.
▪ Imposter syndrome SUCKS, and it creeps up on you when you’re feeling uncertain. It is important to realize that you ARE capable and worthy of being invested in and if a company chooses you, it is because they want YOU. So don’t feel bad about missed opportunities, it is better to find a place excited to have you on their team whether it is Japanese or international.
👏🏼 If you found it helpful!
💬 For questions, feedback, and insights!
⭐️Feel free to reach out connect with me!
