View Full Version : Careers/Good jobs
OkinawaWASsoCOOL
09-17-2007, 03:14 PM
I visited Okinawa this year and now want to live there.
My question is, does anyone know how to get into a good career or high-paying job without any schooling?
I would like to get into a dealership as a technician but don't know how to contact a dealership as my Japanese isn't good enough to read Japanese websites.
Any information is greatly appreciated.
DoctorP
09-17-2007, 03:30 PM
I visited Okinawa this year and now want to live there.
My question is, does anyone know how to get into a good career or high-paying job without any schooling?
Are you serious?
I would like to get into a dealership as a technician but don't know how to contact a dealership as my Japanese isn't good enough to read Japanese websites.
Any information is greatly appreciated.
If your Japanese isn't good enough to get you by the website, how do you expect to earn a living?
The english speaking jobs off base are pretty much entry-level and pay worse than entry level in the US unless you get lucky. Your best bet for easy money is probably teaching English...
DougP
09-17-2007, 05:24 PM
The english speaking jobs off base are pretty much entry-level and pay worse than entry level in the US unless you get lucky. Your best bet for easy money is probably teaching English...
Even that isn't easy. Unless you have a 4 year degree. You might not even get hired as an "actual" teacher more like an admin monkey.
Even getting jobs on base isn't as easy as it sounds. If you're not already SOFA or a dependent you're on the bottom of the list when it comes to hiring. You could have all kinds of experience and an active security clearance and it still wouldn't help. Don't ask me how I know :D
If you're coming here on your own you'll have a tourist visa and unless you can get another type forget about finding "real" work. Basically if you want to do some serious work with "good enough" pay you better have the right visa, and a japanese drivers lisence is a big plus. That's why I'm trying to get one. Not because I want to get back to driving the crowded streets:)
Now if you still want to live in Japan and make an ok living while beefing up your japanese try moving to a big city like Tokyo or Osaka. There are a lot more jobs available for gaijin up there then here. I don't count base jobs as real available jobs because you have to be in the loop if you're to have a real chance at getting one. The decent ones at least.:D
Honduh
09-17-2007, 05:45 PM
in a nutshell, save your money and continue to visit.
First things first.....visa, who is going to sponsor you? Japanese immigration requires in the majority of cases for unmarried, to a Japanese person that is, foreigners to have at the minimum a bachelors degree to get the work visa.
You need a sponsor for that first. Sure there are ways around it, like being an entertainter or playing some sport here like Sumo or pro baseball, but I think I safely assume that you are neither of those. Plus from the sound of your OP you are not in a technical field that would grant you the right of getting a special visa. Oh you are not a student either right? People on student visa's are not supposed to work more than a certain number of hours or earn a certain amount of money, so that would be out too, as you would need a school to back you for that one.
Mmmm what's next, oh yeah a tourist visa, renewable for up to about 180 days, first one is 90 days at the post of entry, however if you work on it and get caught you would be deported in a flash and wouldnt be able to apply for reentry for 5 years at the minumum so I wouldn suggest that one either.
GS...SOFA work, why not try that?
Oh btw here is the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs (http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html)website with information about visa requirements for Japan. Hopefully you will take a look at that and see what you need to gain entry to legally work here.
Basically, Japan is a pain in the butt. :(
okinawapaul
09-17-2007, 05:56 PM
Probably the easiest way to move to Japan, and yes I am being serious, would be to move to a country like Australia and become a citizen. Then you could come to Japan on a holiday visa.
Probably the easiest way to move to Japan, and yes I am being serious, would be to move to a country like Australia and become a citizen. Then you could come to Japan on a holiday visa.
But that only works until the person is like 30 to 35 right?
Canada is another option though:D.
Basically, Japan is a pain in the butt.
Living in an ethnocentric :rolleyes: society has a way of making people paranoid about them damn foreigners :eek:
All the damn crime and everything...all because of them damn foreigners:eek::rolleyes:
socalheart
09-17-2007, 06:19 PM
Job search for military sponsored jobs on Okinawa:
USAJobs (http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/)
Govt Job search (http://www.federaljobsearch.com/loc/687_1.asp?cid=0&tid=9077694)
There are others, but it's easier for you to do a search.
Japanese Visa Requirements (http://www.embjapan.org/english/html/travel_and_visa/visa/index.htm)
I previously looked into this option. Even with a Bachelor's degree in Communications and a parent with permanent residency here, I couldn't get it.
Good luck.
Probably the easiest way to move to Japan, and yes I am being serious, would be to move to a country like Australia and become a citizen. Then you could come to Japan on a holiday visa.
Wait I forgot there is an easier way than this................:old:
Get married to a Japanese person and come and live here! That will work too! :eek::thumbup:
P_chan
09-17-2007, 07:27 PM
I already have a japanese wife, now all I have to do is convince her to work over here and let me be a stay at home dad:D
socalheart
09-17-2007, 07:54 PM
If you get yourself pregnant, Pchan, you have a better chance at getting her vote on that one. ;)
Uch is totally right about getting hitched to a Japanses citizen to stay here. It's the US green card thing in reverse! Ha! :D
P_chan
09-17-2007, 10:54 PM
That's why I plan on getting my wife a immigrant visa in the states, but never making her a full citizen.
Bones
09-17-2007, 11:02 PM
Well, since I'm a male, I'll have to agree with Socal. BTW, I get my Okinawan Green Card tomorrow. :D
Don't really need a job anymore, but my next biggest accomplishment will be getting my Japanese Drivers License on the first try. Just to show dk, as well as everyone else out there, that it can be done. :first:
Yeah, I can already see myself getting into the car with the examiner, and after 5-10 seconds he says "Get OUT. You Failed" \:-)
Probably will have to endure a lot of ridicule, but what the hey!!! :old:
But I will agree with everyone else, if you don't have an education, if you don't speak the language, go to school until you do. Or stay at home.
The last thing we need over here is another guy under the bridge, begging for money.
Best of luck to you, either way.
NBTP
Don't really need a job anymore, but my next biggest accomplishment will be getting my Japanese Drivers License on the first try. Just to show dk, as well as everyone else out there, that it can be done. :first:
Good luck with that. I look forward to reading your rants!
But I will agree with everyone else, if you don't have an education, if you don't speak the language, go to school until you do. Or stay at home.
The last thing we need over here is another guy under the bridge, begging for money.
Or more deadbeats. I swear to god I've met so many foreigner deadbeats over here. All the dreams and big-talk in the world and zero know-how to make it happen.
DoctorP
09-17-2007, 11:09 PM
I can see NBTP getting in the car and sitting on the instructors lap. Instant failure...and possible to do since he just came from the US and the instructor cars have steering wheels on both sides!
P_chan
09-17-2007, 11:22 PM
I can see NBTP getting in the car and sitting on the instructors lap. Instant failure...and possible to do since he just came from the US and the instructor cars have steering wheels on both sides!
both sides? really? Cool!
atb35
09-17-2007, 11:31 PM
So if you turn both wheels outward at the same time....would the car split in half? LOL, are there really alot of deadbeat Americans here? Did they marry a local and now just live off her?
P_chan
09-17-2007, 11:32 PM
I know of one deadbeat american.
I've met quite a few. Luckily, this island has a way of sending foreigners right back to where they came from if they don't have their sh!t together.
So when you meet these type of people, you really only have to put up with them for a little while.
OkinawaWASsoCOOL
09-18-2007, 12:13 AM
Is anyone here a Japanese citizen by birth?
I'm interested in working at like a dealership in their service department as a tech or something.
When I was in Okinawa I taught English but that is SO boring. Even though I was getting 1000 yen a person per hour. It wasn't that much in the end and I was falling asleep it was so boring.
I looked through some classified ads when I was there and places like Meekuman or Starbucks were hiring but at minimum wage.
I don't want a minimum wage life style.
I'm looking for a real job with real money.
socalheart
09-18-2007, 12:14 AM
Any of you ever see those two foreigners, either on Gate 2 street or American Village, who look like like pale rastafarians selling their handmade jewelry and trinkets? Is it just me, or are they like creepy hippies? ;)
DoctorP
09-18-2007, 12:15 AM
Is anyone here a Japanese citizen by birth?
I'm interested in working at like a dealership in their service department as a tech or something.
When I was in Okinawa I taught English but that is SO boring. Even though I was getting 1000 yen a person per hour. It wasn't that much in the end and I was falling asleep it was so boring.
I looked through some classified ads when I was there and places like Meekuman or Starbucks were hiring but at minimum wage.
I don't want a minimum wage life style.
I'm looking for a real job with real money.
Real job with real money = real experience with real background, with real education. See how that equation works out?
If you only got Y1,000/person to teach, you were robbed. I was offered a job yesterday for 5 times that much!
I don't want a minimum wage life style.
I'm looking for a real job with real money.
Just curious, and not trying to offend you, but what makes you think you're worth any more than minimum wage?
OkinawaWASsoCOOL
09-18-2007, 12:28 AM
Just curious, and not trying to offend you, but what makes you think you're worth any more than minimum wage?
I'm not willing to settle for minimum wage.
I'm smart. I may have no real schooling background, but I'm a smart person.
What kind of smart? Business smart? Street smart? Seriously, you're going to have to be able to do better than that. "I'm smart"... Compared to what?
Pretend I'm actually taking the time to give you an interview. How would you sell yourself? What are your strong points? What makes you smarter than the guy with the degree sitting right outside waiting for the next interview who, by the way, speaks English and Japanese fluently?
You don't HAVE to be fluent in both languages to get a job here. I don't speak Japanese very well, but I have a skill, so I was able to get a job. What skill do you have? What about you would make an employer want to hire you?
Bones
09-18-2007, 12:43 AM
Actually, I'm just happy about our furniture being delivered this afternoon.
Secondly, I've lived over here way longer than dk, as an adult. I've managed to accumulate a hell of a lot more hours behind the wheel over here, than most of you. That includes you, Dr.P.
And as far as the third thing goes, if I get the license under 16 tries, I'll be happy. Too old to chase the young ladies off-base, couldn't catch them even if I tried, but nailing the license is not too far out of reach. :old:
BTW:
dk, as well as Dr.P., were conspicuous by their absence this afternoon while I was assembling some of our furniture. :mad:
Can't wait to hear the excuses for that one. :rolleyes:
NBTP
LOL did you need help with your furniture?! You should have PM'd me! I was just watching the kid!
TheLastDon
09-18-2007, 12:53 AM
Yeah no offense either but it does not matter how smart you think you are, you need that piece of paper that says how smart you are. That is the way the world works even in the states. My college prof used to tell me all the time that it does not matter how smart you think you are if you don't have that paper ain't nobody going to know or care. It's said but true.
DougP
09-18-2007, 01:18 AM
Is anyone here a Japanese citizen by birth?
I'm interested in working at like a dealership in their service department as a tech or something.
When I was in Okinawa I taught English but that is SO boring. Even though I was getting 1000 yen a person per hour. It wasn't that much in the end and I was falling asleep it was so boring.
I looked through some classified ads when I was there and places like Meekuman or Starbucks were hiring but at minimum wage.
I don't want a minimum wage life style.
I'm looking for a real job with real money.
Well there's always the new car sales on kadena for you:D
Seriously even if you were the guy that invented the rotary engine don't expect too much as far as pay goes around here:)
socalheart
09-18-2007, 01:39 AM
Well there's always the new car sales...
He's right. That's about the only sponsored job available on-island that doesn't require more than a high school diploma or GED. You do have to take a series of tests though. I knew a girl while she went through it. The competition is rough and turnover is high.
I'm not willing to settle for minimum wage.
I'm smart. I may have no real schooling background, but I'm a smart person.
I have a feeling you are not going to be showing your face around here to post again....I hope I am wrong .
dk wrote it well in reply to this and I am going to add something here. If you think that you are so smart than you should obviously know that to the Japanese people the licenses, the certificates, the paperwork that "proves" that you are smart are more valuable in an interview than saying "I'm smart"
Believe it or not that was one of the dumbest things you could have written here. It tells me that you are not willing to work for what you get and want something handed to you on a platter. DocP wrote it well too, you got ripped off at 1000 per hour for teaching English. So how "smart" are you?
Are you smart enough to get back into studying and get the diploma that you obviously need for immigration? Are you smart enough to take the advice of people and look into a mirror and realize that just maybe you arent?
You know I know of a lot of people that "claim" to be smart, however to me you dont sound like you are, you just sound lazy and dont want to accept circumstances here as they are.
P_chan
09-18-2007, 12:51 PM
My mom says I'm smart....and handsome too!
My mom says I'm smart....and handsome too!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cheap+prescription+glasses
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!
soldave
09-18-2007, 01:02 PM
Yeah no offense either but it does not matter how smart you think you are, you need that piece of paper that says how smart you are. That is the way the world works even in the states. My college prof used to tell me all the time that it does not matter how smart you think you are if you don't have that paper ain't nobody going to know or care. It's said but true.
It's true to an extent, but only until you actually get the initial job offer. As soon as you get your first job in a career, the qualifications you had prior to that don't really mean a thing (unless you're in a very specialised field or something you need a specific licence for).
Once you're into a job then people find out how smart you really are. Having a BA/BS/MA doesn't really tell anyone if you're smart or not. There are many places in the UK (and I'm sure the US too) which are offering "Mickey Mouse" degrees that are simple to pick up so you can claim (I've got a BA/MA). Employers are starting to look beyond the qualifications in the UK, from my limited experience.
Any company worth working for would probably look into the actual accreditations if they were hiring somebody right out of college who had a university with a name that raised even the smallest amount of suspicion. I'd like to think they would at least...
Really seems like a degree really isn't even necessary for most jobs out here, but if someone is thinking they're worth more than minimum wage, it'd be something you'd think they'd have.
It's true to an extent, but only until you actually get the initial job offer. As soon as you get your first job in a career, the qualifications you had prior to that don't really mean a thing (unless you're in a very specialised field or something you need a specific licence for).
Once you're into a job then people find out how smart you really are. Having a BA/BS/MA doesn't really tell anyone if you're smart or not. There are many places in the UK (and I'm sure the US too) which are offering "Mickey Mouse" degrees that are simple to pick up so you can claim (I've got a BA/MA). Employers are starting to look beyond the qualifications in the UK, from my limited experience.
I thought the OP was looking for a job here in Japan? First off to get the visa he needs a degree with the exception being the examples I gave earlier.
Immigration here is, also according to some fairly reliable sources that I have, checking on the degrees as well. The "paper mill" bought from the internet type no longer cut it here either.
So it's back to square one, doing it the legal way or illegal. If he chooses illegal I hope that someone busts his ass and gets him deported, maybe then he will learn his lesson.
If he gets married and then comes here on a spouse visa, more power to him to try and get a job, seeing as he is as smart as he thinks he is.
Being smart and being intelligent are two different animal's.
DougP
09-18-2007, 01:19 PM
Any company worth working for would probably look into the actual accreditations if they were hiring somebody right out of college who had a university with a name that raised even the smallest amount of suspicion. I'd like to think they would at least...
Really seems like a degree really isn't even necessary for most jobs out here, but if someone is thinking they're worth more than minimum wage, it'd be something you'd think they'd have.
Yup,:first: and even if they did that's not the kind of attitude I would like to hear.
Keep it to yourself.:thumbdown:
If I were going to hire someone I'd rather hire the go-getter than someone who deems themselves "too Smart" for blue collar jobs:)
Even with a degree, I started at the verrrrrrry bottom (Hello $1000 a month...) and worked my way up. I have no sympathy! I had to get married to find my way to stay! Good thing for me, my meeting my wife came at good timing!
And yes, I know, you're not supposed to work on a tourist visa but my sofa ran out and I wasn't about to just "give up" and move back to the states...
I wouldn't recommend it.
soldave
09-18-2007, 01:38 PM
Any company worth working for would probably look into the actual accreditations if they were hiring somebody right out of college who had a university with a name that raised even the smallest amount of suspicion. I'd like to think they would at least...
I wasn't meaning a non-legitimate university degree, but ones that don't have the prestige of some of the others. Maybe this is just a UK thing, where there are definitely classes of university. When I was going to uni, the top ones were Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Durham and probably UCL. Since the late 90s there has been a hugh rise in the number of universities, many having been polytechnics first. The government came up with the ingenius idea that everyone should get a degree, because that would mean (on paper) everyone is smarter. Hence you've got people coming out of a brand-new, lower quality university, getting a 1st class degree in "Madonna" or "Media Studies" or something like that, with the impression that their degree means they are smarter than the student who gets a 2nd class degree in "Law" from Oxford.
Now, a lot of the time it's a case of what university you went to, not what degree you got or what subject it was in. But as I said, once you've got that initial job offer you can forget about previous qualifications unless you're changing career plans.
You're right soldave. I agree with everything you've said.
I thought you were referring to those fake university's that bombard my email every day lol.
Cathleen_38
09-28-2007, 10:25 AM
wow! that answered my question about work in okinawa. I applied for a job
and sent my resume too for a MCCS job doing motor vehicle operator but I am also a former Marine. My question is this: my dad was in Air Force but I not a dependent anymore. Do I still qualify? Would that be enough to get my foot in door? To live in Okinawa again? I would live on base rather off because it's expensive. Wouldn't mean that MCCS would be my sponsor to get there? It's a Federal Job. Can anyone answer this one?
DoctorP
09-29-2007, 11:38 PM
If the job was offered worldwide, then MCCS would pay to get you here, and help move your stuff. Yes, it is a federal job. But one thing to check into is this: was the job listed as "open until filled" or "open continuous"? If so, there is little likely hood that you will hear from anyone anytime soon. The only jobs worth putting in for would be something with a hard expiration date.
okisteve
10-06-2007, 11:42 AM
No Bones: Steering wheels on both sides?????? Not in the ones they use to take the test. Brakes, of course on both sides.
I drove in the US for 40 years without an accident and maybe 2 tickets, but failed the test here twice. I also drove here nearly 2 years without a license so it wasn't a case of driving on the "wrong" side.
First time I failed didn't stop at that funny red triangle - hey, how am I supposed to know it said "tomare"? Next time it was something else but minor, maybe driving too SLOW. I did see one foreigner who passed the first time, a young Indian girl, but just grit your teeth and keep paying the 2500 yen - it makes the testers happy to see their beer fund accumulating.
There are English teaching jobs where the employer doesn't look too hard at qualifications or degrees. But some require traveling around to different schools and preschools, so if you don't have a license or car you're SOL. Catch-22, like so many things in Japan. But I love it here.
OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand
10-06-2007, 01:50 PM
You can get a booklet in English called Rules of the Road from JAF (Japan Auto Federation) for 1000 yen. It covers both car and motorcycle rules.
〒105-0011
TOKYO, MINATO-KU, SHIBUYA KOEN 3-5-8
JAPAN AUTOMOBILE FEDERATION
03-3436-2811
〒901-2102 http://www.jaf.or.jp/e/image/space.gif
Okinawa, Urasoe City, Maeda 2-17-1
JAF Regional HQ
098-877-9225
Bones
10-07-2007, 08:15 PM
Hey Okisteve,
You wrote:
[quote]No Bones: Steering wheels on both sides?????? Not in the ones they use to take the test. Brakes, of course on both sides.[quote]
Haven't visited this thread for a while, so that took me by surprise. Had to do some digging around, to find that the reference to the two steering wheels, originated from one of the most educated people on this planet, DoctorP. :rolleyes:
Already knew about the two brake system in the vehicle that, I will be tested in. Also, I was just teasing dk, about my being able to get my license on the first try. If it happens, fine. But like the rest of you out there, I'm looking at a lot of visits to the testing station.
And I'm just guessing, but I probably won't try to sit on the examiners lap, unless she's really cute, and likes old people. :thumbup1:
Also, thanks to "eelcurb", picked up that manual a few days ago. Nothing in there that I didn't know about, but I'm sure that a lot of other readers might find it instructive.
I had a German Drivers License, it's expired now. But it also got me a "Draft Notice", from the German Military. Wish that I would have had a camera with me, because when I showed up in my U.S. Air Force uniform, the looks on their faces were priceless. :D
NBTP
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