Is the tech used in Japanese companies different from other countries? From my perspective it seems so. I’ve been a full stack programmering mostly using C# .NET with front-end Angular etc for about four years and there are a tons of companies in my country who match this stack.
At some point I would like to experience working in Japan but it seems most jobs require Java or Go. It’s mostly back-end or full stack I am interested in. Looking at jobs the stack is so different from what I am used to. It makes me a little bit disappointed because I really would like to enter a bigger international company in Japan one day.
For example LINE is recruiting people and there you need either Java, Erlang, Scala, C or C++ to even match one of the requirements for the Server-side Engineer role. Sure I know the basics in Java but I never actually used it at work, only during freetime.
Anyway I just wanted to see if anyone can relate? I guess best is to take a job that uses Go or in this case Java or something to get the job experience and then apply.
If you haven’t seen it already, this survey I conducted of international software developers in Japan shows a ranking of programming languages by popularity. While C# isn’t so popular, 8% of respondents were using it.
When a job is listing a specific programming language as “required”, it’s not always a hard requirement. So if the job looks interesting, and you think you otherwise match, there’s no harm in applying.
I’d also consider applying for smaller companies. With big companies, internal recruiters tend to be screening applications for certain keywords or experience. With smaller companies, applications are often reviewed by engineering managers or CTOs. This means you often have a better chance at demonstrating why despite you’re not an exact match for what they’re looking for, you’re an exceptional candidate that makes up for it in other ways.
From your profile, I see you already have a personal blog where you’re talking about technical topics. This is a great resource you can use when applying to companies. I’d consider highlighting some “best of” articles you could direct people to in your applications. Also, I noticed you had advertising turned on. Unless it’s generating substantial revenue for you, I’d consider removing the ads, as it looks more professional without them.
I guess there is no harm. That’s a good point, I’ll take a look at the smaller companies as well, I’m just afraid of getting into one of those “black companies” by mistake haha.
I did not expect you to check out my personal blog! I haven’t thought about it that way but I totally agree actually, I’ll remove the ads right away.
You are doing gods work helping out so much people and running this great website! I feel I have more hope to getting a job in Japan now
In my survey of international developers working in Japan, I found that developers at larger companies tended to be paid more. I didn’t find a strong correlation between company size and job satisfaction though, and there wasn’t anything to suggest that smaller companies tended to have worse working environments.
Personally, if you’re overseas and looking to work in Japan, I wouldn’t be too worried about “black companies”. Once you’re in Japan, you have access to a lot more job opportunities, and can relatively easily find something better if the company didn’t match your expectations.
