Career planning for relocation in 2024

1

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone would be able to more or less give me a fell of the market for Software Engineers in Japan. I am relocating together with my wife as such visa requirements should be covered by that. Now my Mrs would personally prefer moving to Osaka, which worries me as I don’t really see that many Osaka SE job posts for internationals, so hopefully everyone can slightly enlighten me!

A bit about me:
 Degree: BSc in Software Engineering
 Work experience: 5-6 years
 Languages: Delphi, Python, JavaScript
 Technology stack: Docker, AKS, NodeJS. Some MongoDB and RDB
 Japanese ability:
  Speaking - Daily Conversational level
  Writing/Reading - Hiragana/Katakana, very slightly Kanji.
LinkedIn if someone is interested in seeing a full CV: www.linkedin.com/in/arnoldas-karpavicius-2b8b839a

Now, personally my worry is that I am considered a Delphi developer, which is an old language that is rarely used these days. I would love to move to a more “modern” languages like C#, Java, etc… but I often noticed that companies don’t really consider Delphi skills to be transferable( in my opinion, weird ). I have used Java and C# while I was studying and a bit of coding at home, but no real experience to show off.

Thank you for your help!

2

If you’re not dependent on work for a visa, one option is to work remotely for a company without operations in Japan. Theoretically for instance, you could continue to work for your current employer if they were to permit it. Other companies may also be open to this arrangement. And besides that, you could do freelancing work for clients not based in Japan.

Most companies that employ software developers are headquartered in Tokyo and most companies that use English internally are also headquartered in Tokyo. Put them together, and it’ll be rare to find an opportunity for you elsewhere, even in Osaka.

Many of the top internationally minded tech companies here are allowing people to work fully remotely from anywhere in Japan, so that could be an option.

Also, as you mention you do speak some Japanese, you could try looking for a job in Japanese. You may find a company based in Osaka that way, and such companies wouldn’t be expecting someone such as yourself to apply, so curiosity alone may be enough to get you an interview.