Hi, I’m 20 years old, native Japanese and junior student at a Japanese university.
I’m interested in IT, so I wish to work for a company of the field.
I have two more priority.
One is English. I know it’s ridiculous for others, but I don’t like myself thinking in Japanese. I love English so much that I just wanna use only English in my life.
But I firmly understand making use of the fluency of English and Japanese expands my professional chances.
The other is remote work. I tend to feel pain when I sit for a long time so I don’t wanna go to the office and sit for the whole office time. That’s torture for me. And also simply I don’t like commute. It’s waste of time for me.
Given these picky conditions, how would you take actions if you were in my place?
To describe myself more, my major has nothing to do with web development.
I study programming by myself.
I have involved in paid projects to create a landing page twice. Very basic skills, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
I’m currently learning React mainly using Scrimba but I watch bunch of YouTube videos and other sources as well.
If you still read this, and interested in my story, I hope we can have a chat.
As return of you giving me some advice, I think I can express my gratitude by teaching you Japanese and becoming a language partner.
I don’t think this is too crazy a plan; really all you need to do is:
Get experience working in software. When you’re first starting out, you’re probably going to have to lower your standards about working in English only, and remote work; but then
Look for and apply for jobs in companies that target foreign developers with work-from-home policies.
There’s not much else to it. Get experience so that you’re attractive to employers, then target a job at a company that matches your desires. Lots of tech companies have engineering departments that are English-first (or even English-only), and quite a few of them have maintained remote or hybrid work styles.
Hello Lori,
I’m glad to see you are taking a path somehow similar to my path.
But I’m your “Kohai”, I haven’t completed my bachelor’s degree yet.
And I am a Front-end developer too (not related to my major).
I have been applying everywhere to find a relocation opportunity (with Work Visa), but couldn’t still find one because of ridiculously hard regulations between Iran and everywhere.
If I want to give you some advice… I would say:
1- Just pass the resume qualifier robots. once you get to the interview it’s all done!
2- make a simple but useful and direct resume (Flowcv is a good and free site for that).
3- keep applying to everywhere and don’t get stuck on the job descriptions at least when you are a junior at programming. Almost all the jobs I got were half related to the job description they put on LinkedIn.
My prime countries to relocate to are America and Japan, I suppose there isn’t a problem for you to find a good job there. also if you need to relocate, it’s much easier to relocate to any country when you are already in Japan… with the most valuable passport in the world😉
I’m also happy to meet someone who has similar interests and values!
Since I live in Kanagawa, next to Tokyo, let me know if you come to Tokyo area and want some help!
That’s very kind of you Iori!
I have a long journey to arrive there, I need to live in another country for 1 or 2 years to free myself from the restrictions in Iran.
But sure, if the god of luck blessed me someday, I’ll let you know!
As a young Japanese person, you have the Working Holiday Visa available to you. After you graduate, you could potentially move to another country like Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, and try to find a job there. It’s a risky move, but you might be able to find something (and at the very least, get more experience in an international environment).
I also think if using English is a goal of yours, you’d probably be more suited to an in person job. There’s so much more opportunity for communication when you’re in the same space as others, and particularly when you’re at the beginning of your career, you’ll probably learn faster. “Standing desks” are an option if you don’t want to sit all the time, and you can theoretically find a place to live that’s within walking distance of your workplace, eliminating the burden of commuting.