What do you do in Japan?

[Index]

I'm planning on moving back to Japan in about a year, but this time I'd like to work in something other than English teaching. During my last stint, I did some other things too, like narration and minor acting (TV commercials, as well as my own English language programme on InstrucTV for a year), but it was all fairly inconsequential in terms of a long term career. I've continued learning Japanese whilst here to so I can work in Japanese, so to speak. I'm wondering what kind of work those of you who are living in Japan are doing, aside from teaching?

[Mike Cash]

Don't mention it where my mother might hear of it, but I'm a truck driver.

[Index]

Wow, what made you become a truck driver in Japan? Are there many truck drivers in Japan of non-asian descent?

[Mike Cash]

Wow, what made you become a truck driver in Japan?

I perfectly fit the psychological profile of a truck driver: too sorry to work for a living and too proud to accept charity.

Are there many truck drivers in Japan of non-asian descent?

No.

[Index]

Are you married to a Japanese girl, or are you there by choice? :giggle:

[Harvey]

I work in IT for a US based multi-national company.

[MeltdOwn_Akira]

adult entertainment. easy money.

[GaijinPunch]

Don't mention it where my mother might hear of it, but I'm a truck driver.

Seriously? Wow, full props. You know, I've seen stranger things though. There was a girl (half maybe? Definitely not full Japanese) working in the Subway restaurant in the building I last worked at. She would do wacky things, like say the whole "600円になります。４００円のおかえしです。またお越� ｵください。 " Then just as I leave, say in native English "Did you need a napkin?". :/

Anyways, the list is missing a couple of things. There's a huge amount of foreign bankers and technical workers in Japan.

[Index]

Anyways, the list is missing a couple of things. There's a huge amount of foreign bankers and technical workers in Japan.

You're right. I'm sure there are heaps of things missing actually, but there are so many occuptations that I could never get them all in. One important one I missed was hospitality I'd say. Hopefully people will write their missing job.

[Index]

Maybe if you used toilet paper to wipe your butt, the faeces would stop coming out of your mouth?

[-Rudel-]

Currently free-lancing in computer generated art design. Of course with limited speaking skills, I only know enought to get my way around the city. I have to learn the business talking to get a real job here.

[Shibuyaexpat]

Maybe if you used toilet paper to wipe your butt, the faeces would stop coming out of your mouth?

HUH?!!! :clueless:

Who is this directed at? Am I missing something here?

Well, I work for a large Japanese corporation in the corporate strategy department.

[DoctorP]

HUH?!!! :clueless:

Who is this directed at? Am I missing something here?

Well, I work for a large Japanese corporation in the corporate strategy department.

It was originally posted as a response to something that "kleenex" posted....but it appears as his post has been removed! :relief:

[Index]

Yeah, don't worry about it. Kleenex made a stupid comment and I couldn't help myself. His was deleted but mine stayed :)

[Shibuyaexpat]

Oh. I see. I kinda figured something was up because your post seemed totally random. Thanks for the clarification.

[Keiichi]

How about 'studying' on the list? :p

Keiichi

:blush:

[Mike Cash]

I think he meant "do" as in the meaning of "activity resulting in remuneration sufficient to maintain present distance between bellybutton and backbone" (="job")

[cyber ape]

I haven't been in Japan long enough to do anything worthwhile.

My grandparents had me housed up in their ramshackle, so, all I pretty much did was go to the grocery store for them.

I went to an arcade in Tokyo once, good fun.

*must go back :(*

[Gord]

Since coming here, I've worked at a Karaoke house, a day in a car factory, a day looking after severely handicapped people, and I currently bartend. There's a place that routinely calls me up to do weird experiments on me because they like my brain? ..anyways, lots of options if you don't want to teach English, the same way I really, really really didn't want to.

[duff_o_josh]

i am a preschool teacher, but it is just 8 hours of babysitting everyday.

[Harvey]

I'm mostly slacking, but my pay check comes from a Financial companies IT department.

[headsupcustoms]

hopefully will be an english teacher, but i also sculpt, and want to see about doing some anime stuff (toys, statues, etc), also want to look into acting/voice over work. Who knows what else?

[Faustianideals]

I'm a professional serial killer.

[jarvis]

I perfectly fit the psychological profile of a truck driver: too sorry to work for a living and too proud to accept charity.



No.

hey, I resent that! Im a truck driver! or resemble that , I don't know...

[Mike Cash]

If you'll be perfectly honest with yourself, and take a look at other drivers who have made it past the ultra-high washout rate that affects drivers in the first six months or one year in the profession....you'll have to admit that you resemble it.

[budd]

sleeping Quote message in reply?

[Timsan]

Are there many business related opportunities in Japan as far as you guys abroad know? I have been toying with the idea of business school after my BA, but am not really positive what my opportunities would look like (let alone have an interest in Japan in six or seven years!). Of course mastery of the language would be mandatory.

[BraklyBum111]

loaded question! AHhaa. uhmm.. i dunno, just a bunch of crap that me and my friends feel like doing? normally visiting old friends and going all over the place. the most recent thing i did last time was see an hamasaki ayu concert, AHha. the countdown live 2004-2005 .. but the performance that was the day before new year`s eve 2004.12.30., still a great concert and really close to the stage! underneath one of the LCD screens! i like riding bikes around the place (when in the country) and doing everyday normal things, taking in the environment and not over stressing myself. i remember frequent trips to takeshita douri... hehhhHh and then lots of going to ginza area and random arse karaoke w/ people, so everything, heh. -bu

[cmejia]

Im looking for a old friend named chizuru akia. well, to say we were just friends
might be a stretch--but i would like to know that shes doing alright in life. anyone seen her?

[Mike Cash]

How about putting your post in the appropriate forum instead of just posting it as a reply to something entirely unrelated?

[Wataru]

On average how much do you get paid for teaching english?

I want to Teach english and spread lacrosse throughout japan and help setup clinics,camps and club teams. I would also want to be a defensive cordinator for a team in Japan.

[Mike Cash]

You want to know how much it pays now? Or how much it will pay 6 or 7 years from now when you're old enough to do it?

[Maciamo]

I wonder if some of the people who chose "Entertainment" didn't mean that they went to Japan for enjoyment rather than work (as none of them seem to live in Japan from their profile). Therefore I took the libertu to add "bars, dance, shows..." to make it clearer.

I think an "I.T." category would have been nice, as it's one of the most popular job for Westerners in Japan (apart from teaching).

[Wataru]

You want to know how much it pays now? Or how much it will pay 6 or 7 years from now when you're old enough to do it?

I just wanted to know how much people get paid for teaching english because I want to know not because im thinking about doing it.

[Maciamo]

I just wanted to know how much people get paid for teaching english because I want to know not because im thinking about doing it.

It really depends where you teach. In big schools like NOVA, people get paid 250,000 yen per month, but work hard, so they get only about 1000yen/h. Private lessons are usually between 2500 and 4500 per hour. Some company pay as much as 10,000 yen per hour, but it's hard finding such opportunities.

[Jack]

You want to know how much it pays now? Or how much it will pay 6 or 7 years from now when you're old enough to do it?


woah mikecash, maybe he wants to find out his info before he heads into that direction, eh? who asked for the sarcasm? oh! you at table 5, give him a sneeze muffin.

The money being paid out for foreign teachers could be hefty, there is supposed to be a big demand for Japanese to learn English, its best for you to set yourself up with a English teaching organisation and work from that.

You could always work on the side, (you didn't hear this from me)
where somone pays a small fee just for you to teach them.

[King of Tokyo]

woah mikecash, maybe he wants to find out his info before he heads into that direction, eh? who asked for the sarcasm? oh! you at table 5, give him a sneeze muffin.
Ah, but it's integral to his charm. Fear not, you'll grow accustomed to it.

[Mike Cash]

woah mikecash, maybe he wants to find out his info before he heads into that direction, eh? who asked for the sarcasm? oh! you at table 5, give him a sneeze muffin.

There was quite a bit of food for thought in my reply. Too bad you could only see sarcasm.

It isn't a direction that one need spend years preparing for. If you knew anything about the industry, you'd know that. Of course, much of the rest of your post plainly shows that you don't know, so I guess I'll have to cut you some slack on this.


The money being paid out for foreign teachers could be hefty, there is supposed to be a big demand for Japanese to learn English, its best for you to set yourself up with a English teaching organisation and work from that.

You could always work on the side, (you didn't hear this from me)
where somone pays a small fee just for you to teach them.

[Mike Cash]

I just wanted to know how much people get paid for teaching english because I want to know not because im thinking about doing it.

Forgive me. The "I want to Teach english" in your post led me to think otherwise.

I believe The Man requires employers sponsoring people for full-time work visas (most English "teachers") to pay at least 250,000 yen per month. The requirement came into effect a few years ago, I believe, in order to ensure that at least a minimum decent living wage was being paid. Many of the smaller mom-n-pop operations were famous for being unethical chiselling cheapskates who paid little and acted like they were doing their foreign employees a favor by even making it possible for them to be in Japan at all. By no means all of them, though.

So at least in part to combat this sort of ill-treatment by small-time operators the minimum salary requirement got started. This had the effect of making the required minimum the defacto salary for EVERYBODY....even places which the rule had not been meant to target. All the schools got to engage in a little impromptu price-fixing on salaries, in other words. I'm not in the English teaching piracy racket so forgive me if my info isn't exactly correct.

There are practically NO professional requirements for "teaching" English at the majority of "schools" so you needn't worry about preparing yourself for anything other than meeting the visa requirements, generally a bachelors degree in anything at all and a discernible pulse.

If you want to put any effort into preparing to work/live here, put the time and effort into 1) learning Japanese and 2) learning a marketable white-collar job skill.

[Jack]

If you knew anything about the industry, you'd know that. Of course, much of the rest of your post plainly shows that you don't know, so I guess I'll have to cut you some slack on this.

woah, touchy touchy, :cool:
haha, does it bother you that someone of the younger generation is maybe not well accustomed to as much knowledge as you have obtained, im only young i've much too learn, theres no point in being all overbearing and sarcastic to us younger generation.

For we are the children of the revolution.

[Gaijinian]

Ah, Jack, I'm glad to see another revolutionist.