I worked at a Japanese company in Sapporo. From time to time people would comment that I was leaving early (when it was actually on time). I always responded with the following: "No one on their deathbed wishes they had spent more time in the office." I never got any push back on that response because they knew what I said was true. As for nomikai, I attended them until I was no longer asked to. I don't drink any kind of alcohol. I don't like the taste and I don't like how it makes me feel. At first co-workers would fill my glass with beer waiting for me to drink it. I wouldn't. They'd encourage me to drink. I'd tell them I don't like it and drank water instead. It got to the point though were I had to turn it back on them. I recall the conversation. I turned to a co-worker and asked: "Can you help me understand something culturally about Japan." Sure! they replied. I said, "Everyone knows I don't drink. I don't like the taste of alcohol. I don't like the feeling of alcohol. Why is it then that I am repeatedly asked to do something everyone knows I don't like? Can you please explain that to me? As an American, I do not understand this." No reply. But...I wasn't asked again to drink. My take on Japan was that you have to set barriers and be firm.
it's actually not just japan but also other Asian countries do that (referring to drinking "parties" after work) - best friend of a friend of mine was put in that situation, she explained she can't because she has to go home having a young child waiting on her, yet her "boss" (btw what an outdated word and concept) "forced" her to come to those drinking parties, eventually she kept refusing and was harassed by him and her colleagues for that. Then she quit and took them to court. Bad press for them.
I'm Japanese and will probably work as an engineer in the future. But I have the same problem. I don't drink and I don't like this type of 飲み会culture at all. And going back home should be the right that everyone has because working longer doesn't make you happier in general.
@@krunkle5136 Sure bro, hope you save enough to leave the Internet, and not embarrass yourself with being part of other "temporarily embarrassed millionaires."
Highly competitive and pay is actually low except very few big tech ones. I went through bunch of interviews as a senior backend dev in Japan but nearly all of them require severe pay cut to a point i would still end up with more money if i simply stay in my current company and take more than one whole month holiday in Japan each year..
Thanks for this video! I really like the straightforward way you present your experiences/opinions. I feel when I research this topic and see other sources, things are greatly exaggerated for clicks and interaction. It really felt like you were talking to me honestly. Please keep making videos! I currently am working on my software dev skills (working a more sys admin role rn, want to pivot to software engi), from the US, and have a 4 year Bachelor's + Masters degree, and am learning Japanese. I'd like to reach N2 before I consider applying overseas, so maybe I'll be there in 2-3 years!
Im a senior developer in Japan and left the corporate scene mostly because I could not stand working late or working with the gilt trip. I now work as a consultant for corporations helping them to code version 1 apps, emergency fixes, blueprints, contract assessments, etc. I think the strongest takeaway is to learn business level Japanese so you can meet CEO's from companies and use your senior level skills.
how do you get those connections? I feel like Japanese companies would simply have Japanese companies/connections already in place or recommended to them whenever they need software work?
@@user-ge5oe9oo2k I work with government consultants from a few prefectures. I go to a lot of meetings. I also worked for 2 American companies with offices in Japan, which helped me with networking.
I went to Japan worked as a Senior Developer and now I pretty much hate Japanese culture and the people. It's almost like they're pretending to be western but not going all the way, and are still super rude, It's a wannabe western culture with rudeness added on top, guilt-tripping, and psychological manipulation. It's also super hard to grow because you're not on the same page most of the time. And I've realized that there's a lot of nepotism, I've seen Japanese people be favored more than foreigners. I now work in UAE, in the middle-east. The middle-eastern culture is basically like American culture, we eat same food, understand the same jokes, same culture. And middle-eastern people seem suuper large for some reason and they are very kind, everyone is scared of breaking the law here and women aren't as oppressed as they tell you in CNN, and most importantly I am happy here, getting paid $400k, constant vacation weather, never going back.
@@user-ge5oe9oo2k Well, he said he worked as a corporate employee, so he likely had 1 good contact and spun off from there Not at all easy to replicate, not even a tiny bit.
12:35 This restores my faith in humanity. It's so normal for American workplaces to be absolute rumor mills, and it is a huge part of my entrepreneurial drive. I don't think I'd enjoy working in Japan for other reasons, but backstabbers being looked down on is a huge plus for me.
I've been working in France, it's interesting how I would say many of the same things you do. Especially the bits about english competency with engineers vs customer-facing colleagues
I just landed in Japan yesterday for a 20 day vacation. One thing I noticed is every salary men looks extremely rough and late work hours, dozing off the train. Even talking to some expat workers, they hate the after hour drinking. Even going back to my hotel, I still see salarymen drinking late night, just to go back to work in the morning.
Nomikai is great. I was in Tokyo for 6 months and I used to attend Nomikai almost every week and I have some of the best memories while in there. I used to drink a lot and laugh really loud and Japanese people did not appreciate it , but enjoyed it secretly so they would always look out for me on Friday's . Even call me if I went home early lol.
@william_in_japan I don't want to be rude to the Japanese corporate people in general but I was lucky to have good, fun loving colleagues. Can't say that about the general corporate crowd in mostly Tokyo because I felt there is too much prejudice about having fun with your boss and colleagues.
@@Caboose_69 That's a tough call. At least in your own car you can freely listen to music and move around a bit. On a stuffed train, it's not fun. And sometimes, the smells can be bad too. But yeah, bumper-to-bumper isn't fun either.
@@Caboose_69 It's not the time so much, but just being crammed into a train where everyone rubs against your body and sweats on you...there's no like comfort zones with space during rush hours in trains there lol at least with car traffic just your cars are bumper to bumper, not your bodies ( ´∀｀ )
Thanks for sharing this, really interesting to hear! I work as a software dev, I'm 28 yo and live in Belgium. I mainly do React/NextJS. I'm dreaming of one day working in Japan as it looks really awesome to just live in Japan in general, though I'm not super sure if it's the right thing to do for me because of the culture differences, not only on the workfloor. Also, my Japanese is nowhere near good enough yet. I'm at around N4, so still super far away.
If you work in tech, Japan is honestly one of the worst routes you can take. Japan stopped being a tech powerhouse in the early 00s, and it has never been very strong in software development. Right now its economy is stagnating and the demographic crysis will lead to serious structural issues in the near future, so I wouldn't recommend work there in any field, at least if you come from a rich country or can choose another one.
I've been looking at some of the foreign companies. They do seem somewhat cushy and relaxed, but it's still disappointing compared to EU countries. Pay is like 1/2 to 1/3 of what I currently make, hours are a bit longer, way less vacation days. I know money goes longer in Japan, but when you're a European citizen your pension, student loans and mortgage are rough with that kinda pay unless you plan to go Japan for life. Was really hoping to be able to get a remote job in EU and go working in Japan for 6 months at a time, and 6 months in some other country. No luck so far though
I haven't worked in IT yet, but I did a year and a half in a nursing home (介護). Just a few things I thought I would share from my POV. From my experience literally everyone watches new employees very very closely. Not just the quality of their work but mostly their attitude towards work. How they respond to feedback from their senpai, how they adapt to their environment, are they proactive, etc. Might be doubly so due to the nature of working at an industry famous for its manpower deficiency, but there's a huge emphasis on being reliable, even coming to work if you're sick, to show that you're willing to come in, even if you're not in a good shape, because otherwise the workload is pushed onto other people. I know it sounds obvious when I say it out loud, but the people won't blame the company for not accommodating that, they blame the employee for knowing that they would cause trouble by not coming in, and still choosing to do so. Leaving on time was never really a problem - as long as you did everything expected of you within your shift, otherwise the people in the next shift would have to handle the leftover work, and that's generally frowned upon. Talking behind people's backs was basically the norm at my job. Nobody wanted to offend the person in question, but they would be labelled all sorts of things without them knowing. This was something I never got used to, they would ask me "What do you think of ○○さん being like that? Isn't that weird?" And I wouldn't want to talk smack about people, so I would try to awkwardly change the topic or try to defend them by saying "maybe it's because smthmsth" or halfheartedly agree yeah haha that's weird. Especially Japanese boomers aren't too ... trusting? of foreigners. They seem to default to the mindset that we don't understand anything about Japanese culture, and workplaces, and will take a while to reach a common understanding with them, but it's not impossible if you show them enough effort on your part. If you have any 理不尽 people in your workplace, don't expect them to change tho, they will always find something to complain about, so don't take it personally. Once I became really good at my job, and people trusted me, I could say no to any 飲み会 and nobody would look at me funny.
Thank you for sharing! My wife worked as in 介護 (at a nursing home) as well, and some of the places she was at were quite toxic , like you explained. Especially middle-aged Japanese women who have been at the job for a few years can be absurdly cruel and mean... like disgustingly cruel (and I don't say that lightly)
"coming to work if you're sick, to show that you're willing to come in, even if you're not in a good shape, because otherwise the workload is pushed onto other people." this is very bad arguments and reveal a loser mentality. Let Japan become 3rd world irrevelant country
I worked at two Japanese software development businesses over several years. My experience was quite different. The company used Japanese made frameworks with disappointing documentation and extensiblity. Variable names and comments were all in Japanese. Documentation was in Japanese. Sometimes I misunderstood the requirements and did double work. Deadlines were super tight because the clients were all cheap. The first company lowered all 100+ employee salary three years in succession. The second company didn't give raises or bonuses. I finally got out of the depressing mess but jumping on with a western tech giant. No regrets.
I lived with a 'shachiku" (company-slave, as he would refer to himself) for few months and sometimes he would literally live at the company while I just stayed alone in his apartment for a few days or week sometimes. He told me before he got his apartment that he was living at the company and it was actually illegal, but that kind of thing is pretty common. He was originally from America but nationalized and forgot English and has a Japanese family and changed his name to fit to Japan's society more, he's ultra fluent and I highly respect him, but I also got a bit depressed living with him just cuz I've had my own bad experiences with Japanese society over a couple decades (been fluent for 20 years now) and became a hikikomori around that time. I respect people that are capable of working in Japan regardless of their nationality..I just wouldn't feel comfortable even if I was healthier mentally or physically, it would just drain me too much I think. There are a lot of beautiful traditional cultures and aesthetic parts of Japan I enjoy though. I'm also expanding my horizons and learning more languages and cultures nowadays since I just spent half of my life on Japan and half on America only. If anyone feels trapped in a certain culture, I recommend to study a new language and meet new people to find something that resonates with you more, or for a change of pace. (Brazilian) Portuguese is nice because of the huge Japanese community of millions born in Brazil, and it's a very warm and friendly culture.
🇺🇸here, 30 yr vet of J-land. Speak J at native level, NO 外人 accent. Still, I would never work for a J company. Glad I left teaching Engrish in Japan and retired with U.S. military. Most gaijins have no clue what they’re setting themselves up for, if you’re working for a J-company and contributing to the J-social security system. I have warned all my gaijin colleagues before I left J-land to be prepared to live a life of poverty when you retire!
Thanks for sharing! I only know the life of a software engineer here. Similar to in the USA, people in software have better-than-average jobs, so I bet other jobs have more problems. I've heard English teaching can be rough!
I went to Japan worked as a Senior Developer and now I pretty much hate Japanese culture and the people. It's almost like they're pretending to be western but not going all the way, and are still super rude, It's a wannabe western culture with rudeness added on top, guilt-tripping, and psychological manipulation. It's also super hard to grow because you're not on the same page most of the time. And I've realized that there's a lot of nepotism, I've seen Japanese people be favored more than foreigners. I now work in UAE, in the middle-east. The middle-eastern culture is basically like American culture, we eat same food, understand the same jokes, same culture. And middle-eastern people seem suuper large for some reason and they are very kind, everyone is scared of breaking the law here and women aren't as oppressed as they tell you in CNN, and most importantly I am happy here, getting paid $400k, constant vacation weather, never going back.
When I worked with a group of people that spoke english and another language, we generally wrote comments and such in both languages, or tried to. Also regarding healthcare, when you go to a doctor you have to pay 30% of the cost. The other 70% are covered by the gov/your taxes. There is also a monthly cap on how much you can pay per month for doctors. I don't know the threshhold but if the cap is 1000usd for example and you had a big accident where you have to stay at the hospital and get a surgery and stuff from the 2nd to the 27th and the 30%would cost like 3000usd for example, you only have to pay 1000usd and the gov would pay the 2000usd too.
I don't think I ever would or could, but thanks for the insight on what it's like to work there! Oh and Jira, it is pronounced like jeer-uh as far as I've ever known. Not like gyro as in gyroscope.
All corporation companies in Japan either local or foreign doesn’t pay enough corporate tax to the government. The “War Economy” is over! Japan is a “shareholder” capitalist country now. Profits above everything else. If you want to work overtime to because you feel pressured because it’s the culture, that’s on you. It’s not culture. It’s plain “exploitation”. If you think the shareholders will not cut jobs “because of cost-cutting measures” once their dividends got smaller. All of you will be in for a surprise. Welcome to the free market capitalism.
I have 5 years of experience in highly seeked after technologies but my degree is in Business. I have lived in Asia for 5 years but never in Japan. How realistic is it to get a dev job in Japan? I am from Northern Europe.
It's very realistic but not particularly easy if you are not in Japan already. If you can afford it, I always recommend the route of going into a Japanese language school for some time - this way you learn some Japanese, useful for your daily life here, and also experience what it is to live here. It is not the same as visiting the country as a tourist. Also it's easier to do job hunting being on the ground here. In your case there are two routes: 1) Landing a job in a foreign company: those are the ones with good salaries, majority in Tokyo and there are not that many options actually. Also not many open positions since 2023. 2) Do what this channel is about - invest a lot of time into learning Japanese at a higher level, learn technical Japanese, try to get a job at a Japanese company. You can get a decent salary (for Japanese standards anyway), it will most likely be still very much lower than what you get in a foreign company. Plus the Japanese work culture can be ok or a hell on earth. Hard to get meaningful raises. In my opinion the time investment into learning Japanese for a technical job here does not pay off. Investing that same time into improving your technical skills is transferable anywhere in the world and lands you better paying jobs.
Great video 👍. You can almost get too comfortable in Japanese Companies so if you want to further your career or upgrade your Job Role then you usually need to move. In my experience you will definitely have better opportunities for promotion in foreign companies rather than being one of the few token foreigners working in a Japanese Company where everyone is very nice and friendly but you will have more limited opportunities for career progression and also in many cases a pretty low salary. I would also in hindsight be cautious about being too open with co-workers and keep in mind that it is different to being friends. But of course be as friendly and co-operative as possible at work and fit in as well as you can.
Now it's the perfect time for someone who works in the US to exchange all their money and move to Japan. Yen feels like paper money compared to USD, but you will learn how hard it is to earn Yen in Japan.
soo many cuts haha loved how much effort you put into this Well I have an internship lined up in a singaporean firm and I was kinda shit scared as well if I would have to work super hard, but guess only time will tell haha
Haha, I aim for maximum information density. Actually, I just said, "Uhmm" and filler words too much. I need to improve. I have no clue what Singaporean companies are like, hope it goes well for you!
FWIW As a developer for 30+ yrs. If your concerned about long work hours you are in the wrong career. When i thought id have more freedom as a freelancer with my own clients I felt like i was working 24hrs a day to meet deadlines and get paid. Its way less stressful working for a company clientside (not a startup) as least there some rules to work/life balance.
an experienced dev will not take as much time as a newer or less experienced dev. it doesn't make sense to force the experienced dev to stay late just because everyone are not as experienced. in fact, doing this will make the experienced reconsider working there.
As a US developer who has worked directly with Japanese developers at my company, I still have no idea why you would willingly move there to get 1/3 of the pay you can get here. All of them want to move the other way around (Tokyo CoL is not that much lower than Bay/NYC/Seattle)
... and that's not exaggerated. Japan is a low income country by now. Friend more than tripled his salary moving from Osaka to Ireland. Every halfway decent Japanese developer can immediately make multiples of his salary if he is just brave enough to start looking abroad. And like William said, their English is most of the time good enough. to be able to immediately do that.
Because you can get fired easily and of course, the social climate (big deal about race for a country that's supposedly a melting pot) and violence is probably the biggest reason if you don't care about the rest. Unless you're in a country where it would basically be a net positive anyway, there's no point migrating to the US if money isn't your only goal.
Probably motivated by non-financial reasons. Sorta understandable for me since i had a similar idea back in 2019 but decided to just visit Japan once in awhile since the pay in the US is way way higher. Back in 2019, the recruiters in Japan were always prefacing with your salary will be lower than in the US by 20% but now in 2024 and looking my salary now vs current dev salaries in Japan, i'm glad i chose to work in the US.
Cost of living in Japan is far lower, and it's also far higher quality. Infinitely safer, far better infrastructure etc... ...other than that, family reasons.
Tu travailles pour une boite japonaise ou autre? J'aimerais bien travailler comme toi a l'etranger pour 1-2 ans maisj ne sais pas ou commencer. Est-ce qu j put te demander to conseill?
Is the pay any better these days? I decided to stay in the US to rake in FAANG pay so I can coast in Japan later. Also international school for kids tends to be more expensive.
It's not that the pay is bad, but that pay in the USA is waay higher than the rest of the world. You can easily get a 10 million jpy salary, which is good salary compared to other countries, and for quality of life locally. But of course the exchange rate is very bad currently, so if you'll be going back and forth then it's an issue. For international schools, I have no clue yet
That's true. US tech pay has been out of control but Japan is also notorious for not giving engineers and researchers any respect. I'm sure you read about the guy who invented the blue diode in Japan. I grew up in Japan but ended up working in the US for 20 years - partly for the exorbitant pay but also for better work life balance.
@@destroyer7712 It's not. "FAANG"-tier jobs are maybe in the "hundreds per year" and there are easily 10k+ applicants per year. If you will take "any" job, you will make
hi I am Chinese person and I genuine curious about how did you apply for your working visa in japan, dont get me wrong because it need to learn one more language , work in japan isn't my intention, on top of that, as yourself american work in the USA as a developer probably has way more incomes than japan right, what makes you work for a japanese company?
If you're looking for a job where you're not held accountable to a good degree or where coworkers aren't intrusive and assuming a shared culture, don't seek out Japan. Just, why?
I couldn't handle the senpai culture, I just quit a job because the dude on the same level as me was acting like my boss. What a joke. That's not how companies should work. People have diverse skillsets, I know more about some things and he knows more about other things, no one just "knows more automatically" because they got into the job before me. Everyone should be on equal playing fields. That's not how japan works at all. Biggest L is this and the top down management style. Works for trade skills like being a ramen chef or carpenter or something, but not for tech (or "IT" as they call it) where things are constantly shifting. Nomikais are ok as long as they are optional. Commuting is trash as you say, find a remote job. Lastly the pay is literal garbage. Literally working as an uber driver in the usa can get you more money. Why go through all this stress for chump change? Just don't do it, don't work tech in Japan if you are american. Work in some other industry or get a usa remote job
Well, the senpai culture is mainly one of respect, and it's not enforced by anyone, not even the senpai. It's just that the kouhai respects the senpai and acts accordingly. This all just happens naturally. You don't have to participate in it.. but that would basically just mean not treating people who came in before you with extra respect. I agree with you about the top-down management culture not working. I don't like the system of apprenticeship where you have to work for years and years to be considered basically qualified to do something good. I think it's largely a fabricated skill curve to enhance the position of the "master". But none of this applies to software engineering in my experience. I disagree about the pay. You can easily get 10 million per year, which in local lifestyle equivalency would be around $100,000. That is a very good lifestyle here and around the world. It's more like USA salaries are ridiculously high, but life is not just about money once you have enough.
@@william_in_japan for the senpai thing, it was more like the senpai didn't treat -me- with respect, acting like I have a lot to learn and don't know anything. Maybe I just got unlucky with the company. 10 million is good, outside of tokyo it's hard to find though. id be more than happy with a remote job that pays 10 mil, my last jobs were 4-5 mil. Agreed that life isn't about money, but also time is valuable and I just wasn't happy at the job.
What you say isn't possible. Unless you already have Japanese citizenship you cannot "just" have a remote US job in Japan. My boss actually said I could work from Japan if I wanted to, but there's a once-in-a-lifetime 6 month visa (which is a joke by the way) for remote workers and no other alternative. After that, you get nothing. You may as well do 90 day stints in Japan as a "tourist" twice a year during the off-season. If you want to permanently relocate to Japan because you hate your own myopic culture, then you make a stand and take less money. At the end of the day, a lot of that "extra money" you make in the US is just going to BS you don't need anyway.
It's fine, do your work while your there with intent and as much diligence as you can to then when you get up and leave when you're time's up, own that shit and just walk out. It's not easy because of how socially awkward it is but at the same time you need to have some self respect and realisation that your life is the bigger picture and there has to be a balance.
This is cool but are there any Japanese tech companies that don’t do scrum 😅 every company I’ve worked at that does daily standups has felt pretty mediocre compared to more mature tech companies I’ve worked at that are more flexible and primarily engineering driven
Amazing insights, thanks for sharing! If I may ask, what have you thought about the overall software developer market in Japan (or at least in your area)? I have read/watched that historically japanese software has been a bit underinvested/undervalued compared to hardware and thus are lagging on experienced software professionals compared to other major nations. What do you think?
thanks for the interesting video Will. I'm more curious about your experience learning Japanese and your level of fluency. im trying to pick up a second language myself atm and if it goes well might wind up picking up Japanese down the line. How long did it take and what did you do to become conversationally proficient in it?
Well, my experience started in middle school when I was just studying using Rosetta Stone every now and then and getting vocab from Japanese media. Then I did an exchange program ikln highschool, which boosted my ability a bit. After high school Icame to language school for a year. I basically figured out that I'd known next to nothing up until that point, lol Then I met my wife, who only speaks Japanese. Since I was forced to speak only Japanese for around 8 years, there is pretty much nothing that I can't talk confidently about (aside from industry specific knowledge or something) But language school was an amazing foundation, because I also didn't have anyone to speak to in English there. So it forced me to learn. If you can put yourself in a situation where you need to use the language everyday in some capacity, I think it will help you rapidly learn. This could be work, a partner, where you live, etc.
Not at my job, no, it is very casual. I would say most developer jobs you won't have to wear a suit. You'll probably be surrounded on your commute by people in suits, but these are people who's job title is often just "office worker" lol (I'm only slightly kidding
On my main channel Unrested I try to get this point across all the time. There is no work life balance. Even when Shinzo tried making that 5pm work end law it was acknowledged and then never followed. It’s hopeless. Work life leading to karoshii and families who never see dads and sometimes moms and then Japan wonders why the population keeps going down.
Hey! I watched you way back before I even came to Japan! I remember you talking about the costs associated with raising kids. Really appreciate the comment!
@@william_in_japanwow really thanks man! Awesome and flattering to hear you watched me back in the day. The day of jvloggers is long over but it was a really fun run. Now I work between Japan and America. It’s pretty rewarding but It’s rough being away from my wife and kids so long. Nonetheless I am stoked to see new creators pick up the torch and create new content and POVs like yourself! Keep up this great content. Very balanced, fresh and a fair take on actual life in Japan!
I check out your channel every few months still! I just hadn't been watching as much Japan content because I live here now, ya know. Been starting to watch more again recently though, because I'm in it now. That sounds rough being away, but it is good to be able to enjoy both countries I would guess. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to go back much these past couple of years. Logistics are way harder with a family. Thank you, it means a lot to me. I'll try to make videos that can help people as much as yours and others videos helped me (and hopefully they'll be more entertaining eventually lol
Yep, some people do unfortunately. Once you're in a position to though, you just gotta go where the grass is greener. One step at a time. International candidates have more options, but it's not as easy for the average Japanese person
May I know how you got that job? I am searching fot IT or Engineering career. I got my college degree but still studying to have IT certifications like Comptia A+, CCNA, ...Certifications are necessary rights? I already have JLPT N3 level in Japanese Language.
Check out this video I made: ua-cam.com/video/V149PNREv5A/v-deo.html I talk about the website "Findy", which is where I got my current job. But that may be mainly for engineers with experience. Certifications are good to have if you don't have experience. Is your degree IT related?
Do you want to know specifically about Uniqlo? What do you want to know? I tried to give a view of life at my current company (obviously I don't want to tell the name though) I will try to cover what youd like to know! Also, join the discord and post in the video ideas channel
@@william_in_japan I currently have internship offer in both NTT AT and uniqlo and I have to choose only on so I want review regarding these two companies
I worked in Japan doe the past 12 years in a corporate setting, both in Japanese and none Japanese companies , and I have to say this is one of the most based takes I seen so far online on the topic
Can't tell if this is serious or not. Probably would be tough with NO Japanese, but it is less communication than a developer job. I actually worked construction for a couple of weeks here when I barely knew any Japanese (maybe N4 level).
"Pressure to work overtime is too bad, you just have to not mind getting up and leaving and saying goodbye to everyone on the way to the door, I like do more work when I get home and only occasionally do people comment that I seem to leave early". Nope, working in Japan is not for me - no wonder the country is dying out through demographic collapse with such a miserable work culture.
@@william_in_japan Well they aren't white obviously. I was just trying to be funny. If it's not the blood vessels, it's the camera, lightning or whatever.
"Personally" means in a specific person perspective or opinion, it is correct to say "personally I think that..." or "personally I prefer ...", but it doesn't make sense to say "in my team/company personally...", because company or team is not a person. Good video other than that.
On my team at least, that is the case. Most Japanese engineers have to read English documentation frequently anyway, but maybe people that are stuck in legacy systems don't... I write in English to make it easier for incoming global team members. English is the common language
@william_in_japan at my current place everything is in Japanese, tickets, comments, designs. I even saw tests in Japanese. Make sense tough , I'm the only foreigner working there
@william_in_japan "Most Japanese engineers have to read English documentation frequently" when I go to programming conferences I get completely different vibe 😉
I was just introduced to your channel today. As a developer looking to move to Japan, this is super useful. Thank you for this! May I know what job site you had mentioned in your earlier video?
@@william_in_japan I did but there's no mention of experience level there. Someone with 10 years of exp would get a lot more money than someone with 2.
@@william_in_japan you see william, you are not allowed to live in japan and complain about anything, or else, flocks of weebs will passively aggressively ask you why you're living here
I completed 4 year degree in CS, from India. Have 0 experience have some skills in front end web ReactJS, don't know Japanese. a) are there any Jobs about these roles? b) what should I do, to land a high pay job in Japan? c) are there remote work there? Are they high paying? d) can u pls provide kind of roadmap? Lastly, thanks for this informative video.😊
unless you can speak Japanese, getting job in Japan without any job experience is impossible. I suggest you to start learning Japanese while you work in India first.
I completed 4 year degree in CS, from India. Have 0 experience have some skills in front end web ReactJS, don't know Japanese. a) are there any Jobs about these roles? There are but there is also a lot of people to fill them. b) what should I do, to land a high pay job in Japan? Since you ask specifically for Japan: get very good in your technical skills and land a job in a foreign company. Getting a high pay job in a Japanese company is very rare and the investment into learning Japanese does not pay off. (It does for a personal life here, not for a job imho). c) are there remote work there? Are they high paying? There are, same answer as above. d) can u pls provide kind of roadmap? Get a junior position in India, get some experience and save money. The easiest way in my opinion is then to get a student visa through a Japanese language school for a year (or less depending on your financials). And looking for a job during that time being here in person. But again, Japanese IT jobs are not high paying by western standards. You can get an okish salary for Japanese standards but promotions are hard, work culture can be challenging…
I worked at a Japanese company in Sapporo. From time to time people would comment that I was leaving early (when it was actually on time). I always responded with the following: "No one on their deathbed wishes they had spent more time in the office." I never got any push back on that response because they knew what I said was true. As for nomikai, I attended them until I was no longer asked to. I don't drink any kind of alcohol. I don't like the taste and I don't like how it makes me feel. At first co-workers would fill my glass with beer waiting for me to drink it. I wouldn't. They'd encourage me to drink. I'd tell them I don't like it and drank water instead. It got to the point though were I had to turn it back on them. I recall the conversation. I turned to a co-worker and asked: "Can you help me understand something culturally about Japan." Sure! they replied. I said, "Everyone knows I don't drink. I don't like the taste of alcohol. I don't like the feeling of alcohol. Why is it then that I am repeatedly asked to do something everyone knows I don't like? Can you please explain that to me? As an American, I do not understand this." No reply. But...I wasn't asked again to drink. My take on Japan was that you have to set barriers and be firm.
it's actually not just japan but also other Asian countries do that (referring to drinking "parties" after work) - best friend of a friend of mine was put in that situation, she explained she can't because she has to go home having a young child waiting on her, yet her "boss" (btw what an outdated word and concept) "forced" her to come to those drinking parties, eventually she kept refusing and was harassed by him and her colleagues for that. Then she quit and took them to court. Bad press for them.
Thank you for sharing!
Good on you. No need to conform to the irrational aspects of East Asian collectivism.
Why did you move to Japan? It sounds like it's not the right place for you
I'm Japanese and will probably work as an engineer in the future. But I have the same problem. I don't drink and I don't like this type of 飲み会culture at all. And going back home should be the right that everyone has because working longer doesn't make you happier in general.
Here’s a trick no one talks about… I work for an American company in Japan, and am having a fabulous time 😅
A colony.
That sure sounds nice. How do you land a job like that?
@@krunkle5136 Sure bro, hope you save enough to leave the Internet, and not embarrass yourself with being part of other "temporarily embarrassed millionaires."
I found this job from LinkedIn, and then asked my manager to transfer me to Japan. It’s as simple as that 👍
Highly competitive and pay is actually low except very few big tech ones.
I went through bunch of interviews as a senior backend dev in Japan but nearly all of them require severe pay cut to a point i would still end up with more money if i simply stay in my current company and take more than one whole month holiday in Japan each year..
Thanks for this video! I really like the straightforward way you present your experiences/opinions. I feel when I research this topic and see other sources, things are greatly exaggerated for clicks and interaction. It really felt like you were talking to me honestly. Please keep making videos!
I currently am working on my software dev skills (working a more sys admin role rn, want to pivot to software engi), from the US, and have a 4 year Bachelor's + Masters degree, and am learning Japanese. I'd like to reach N2 before I consider applying overseas, so maybe I'll be there in 2-3 years!
Hope to see you in Japan soon!
Im a senior developer in Japan and left the corporate scene mostly because I could not stand working late or working with the gilt trip. I now work as a consultant for corporations helping them to code version 1 apps, emergency fixes, blueprints, contract assessments, etc. I think the strongest takeaway is to learn business level Japanese so you can meet CEO's from companies and use your senior level skills.
how do you get those connections? I feel like Japanese companies would simply have Japanese companies/connections already in place or recommended to them whenever they need software work?
@@user-ge5oe9oo2k I work with government consultants from a few prefectures. I go to a lot of meetings. I also worked for 2 American companies with offices in Japan, which helped me with networking.
I went to Japan worked as a Senior Developer and now I pretty much hate Japanese culture and the people. It's almost like they're pretending to be western but not going all the way, and are still super rude, It's a wannabe western culture with rudeness added on top, guilt-tripping, and psychological manipulation. It's also super hard to grow because you're not on the same page most of the time. And I've realized that there's a lot of nepotism, I've seen Japanese people be favored more than foreigners. I now work in UAE, in the middle-east. The middle-eastern culture is basically like American culture, we eat same food, understand the same jokes, same culture. And middle-eastern people seem suuper large for some reason and they are very kind, everyone is scared of breaking the law here and women aren't as oppressed as they tell you in CNN, and most importantly I am happy here, getting paid $400k, constant vacation weather, never going back.
@@user-ge5oe9oo2k Well, he said he worked as a corporate employee, so he likely had 1 good contact and spun off from there
Not at all easy to replicate, not even a tiny bit.
12:35 This restores my faith in humanity. It's so normal for American workplaces to be absolute rumor mills, and it is a huge part of my entrepreneurial drive. I don't think I'd enjoy working in Japan for other reasons, but backstabbers being looked down on is a huge plus for me.
"erm... this restores my faith in humanity...." freaking nerd
@@xillb1 Found the office snitch.
@@Fierydice I found the redditor 🤢🤮
I've been working in France, it's interesting how I would say many of the same things you do. Especially the bits about english competency with engineers vs customer-facing colleagues
I just landed in Japan yesterday for a 20 day vacation. One thing I noticed is every salary men looks extremely rough and late work hours, dozing off the train. Even talking to some expat workers, they hate the after hour drinking. Even going back to my hotel, I still see salarymen drinking late night, just to go back to work in the morning.
They declared a 4 day work week for all of Tokyo for 2025
@@shukrantpatil because of birth rates but we'll see if it changes something
Reminds me when i see still some salarymen walking around during Sundays. Hope the 4 day work week actually does something...
@@shukrantpatil 4 days work is a massive solid step in right direction!
@@shukrantpatil Not for all, for government employees.
As a beginner in Software Development that also lives in Japan, this video was aspirational
Nomikai is great. I was in Tokyo for 6 months and I used to attend Nomikai almost every week and I have some of the best memories while in there. I used to drink a lot and laugh really loud and Japanese people did not appreciate it , but enjoyed it secretly so they would always look out for me on Friday's . Even call me if I went home early lol.
I am glad to hear you had a great time! You normally only hear about people disliking it unfortunately. I enjoy a nomikai every now and then
@william_in_japan I don't want to be rude to the Japanese corporate people in general but I was lucky to have good, fun loving colleagues. Can't say that about the general corporate crowd in mostly Tokyo because I felt there is too much prejudice about having fun with your boss and colleagues.
I've been working for a Japanese IT company in Japan for almost 3 years and I could count the number of company nomikais I've been to on one hand lol
Also, having worked and commuted in Japan for 8 years, the work commute in and around Tokyo is very much a soul-sucking endeavor.
Worse than an hour each way in bumper to bumper in the US?
@@Caboose_69 That's a tough call. At least in your own car you can freely listen to music and move around a bit. On a stuffed train, it's not fun. And sometimes, the smells can be bad too. But yeah, bumper-to-bumper isn't fun either.
@@Caboose_69 at least you're in your car and don't have 50 people glued to your body on the subway
@@Caboose_69 I doubt it hahahaha
@@Caboose_69 It's not the time so much, but just being crammed into a train where everyone rubs against your body and sweats on you...there's no like comfort zones with space during rush hours in trains there lol
at least with car traffic just your cars are bumper to bumper, not your bodies ( ´∀｀ )
Thanks for sharing this, really interesting to hear! I work as a software dev, I'm 28 yo and live in Belgium. I mainly do React/NextJS. I'm dreaming of one day working in Japan as it looks really awesome to just live in Japan in general, though I'm not super sure if it's the right thing to do for me because of the culture differences, not only on the workfloor. Also, my Japanese is nowhere near good enough yet. I'm at around N4, so still super far away.
Working for an international company or bigtech co in Japan seems like the best route
If you work in tech, Japan is honestly one of the worst routes you can take. Japan stopped being a tech powerhouse in the early 00s, and it has never been very strong in software development. Right now its economy is stagnating and the demographic crysis will lead to serious structural issues in the near future, so I wouldn't recommend work there in any field, at least if you come from a rich country or can choose another one.
A lot of great info, thank you!
"Worse than you believe"... "Not as bad as people make it out to be online". Make up your mind
Got to get those clicks
Don't work for a japanese company, maybe for an international one
I really like my current Japanese company. But foreign companies are usually more cushy jobs, so they are a great option if you can get in!
I've been looking at some of the foreign companies. They do seem somewhat cushy and relaxed, but it's still disappointing compared to EU countries. Pay is like 1/2 to 1/3 of what I currently make, hours are a bit longer, way less vacation days.
I know money goes longer in Japan, but when you're a European citizen your pension, student loans and mortgage are rough with that kinda pay unless you plan to go Japan for life. Was really hoping to be able to get a remote job in EU and go working in Japan for 6 months at a time, and 6 months in some other country. No luck so far though
I haven't worked in IT yet, but I did a year and a half in a nursing home (介護).
Just a few things I thought I would share from my POV.
From my experience literally everyone watches new employees very very closely. Not just the quality of their work but mostly their attitude towards work. How they respond to feedback from their senpai, how they adapt to their environment, are they proactive, etc.
Might be doubly so due to the nature of working at an industry famous for its manpower deficiency, but there's a huge emphasis on being reliable, even coming to work if you're sick, to show that you're willing to come in, even if you're not in a good shape, because otherwise the workload is pushed onto other people. I know it sounds obvious when I say it out loud, but the people won't blame the company for not accommodating that, they blame the employee for knowing that they would cause trouble by not coming in, and still choosing to do so.
Leaving on time was never really a problem - as long as you did everything expected of you within your shift, otherwise the people in the next shift would have to handle the leftover work, and that's generally frowned upon.
Talking behind people's backs was basically the norm at my job. Nobody wanted to offend the person in question, but they would be labelled all sorts of things without them knowing. This was something I never got used to, they would ask me "What do you think of ○○さん being like that? Isn't that weird?" And I wouldn't want to talk smack about people, so I would try to awkwardly change the topic or try to defend them by saying "maybe it's because smthmsth" or halfheartedly agree yeah haha that's weird.
Especially Japanese boomers aren't too ... trusting? of foreigners. They seem to default to the mindset that we don't understand anything about Japanese culture, and workplaces, and will take a while to reach a common understanding with them, but it's not impossible if you show them enough effort on your part. If you have any 理不尽 people in your workplace, don't expect them to change tho, they will always find something to complain about, so don't take it personally.
Once I became really good at my job, and people trusted me, I could say no to any 飲み会 and nobody would look at me funny.
Thank you for sharing! My wife worked as in 介護 (at a nursing home) as well, and some of the places she was at were quite toxic , like you explained. Especially middle-aged Japanese women who have been at the job for a few years can be absurdly cruel and mean... like disgustingly cruel (and I don't say that lightly)
"coming to work if you're sick, to show that you're willing to come in, even if you're not in a good shape, because otherwise the workload is pushed onto other people."
this is very bad arguments and reveal a loser mentality. Let Japan become 3rd world irrevelant country
I was waiting for a video like this!
I worked at two Japanese software development businesses over several years. My experience was quite different. The company used Japanese made frameworks with disappointing documentation and extensiblity. Variable names and comments were all in Japanese. Documentation was in Japanese. Sometimes I misunderstood the requirements and did double work. Deadlines were super tight because the clients were all cheap. The first company lowered all 100+ employee salary three years in succession. The second company didn't give raises or bonuses. I finally got out of the depressing mess but jumping on with a western tech giant. No regrets.
Oh that is rough... glad you got out! Thank you for sharing
I lived with a 'shachiku" (company-slave, as he would refer to himself) for few months and sometimes he would literally live at the company while I just stayed alone in his apartment for a few days or week sometimes. He told me before he got his apartment that he was living at the company and it was actually illegal, but that kind of thing is pretty common. He was originally from America but nationalized and forgot English and has a Japanese family and changed his name to fit to Japan's society more, he's ultra fluent and I highly respect him, but I also got a bit depressed living with him just cuz I've had my own bad experiences with Japanese society over a couple decades (been fluent for 20 years now) and became a hikikomori around that time. I respect people that are capable of working in Japan regardless of their nationality..I just wouldn't feel comfortable even if I was healthier mentally or physically, it would just drain me too much I think. There are a lot of beautiful traditional cultures and aesthetic parts of Japan I enjoy though. I'm also expanding my horizons and learning more languages and cultures nowadays since I just spent half of my life on Japan and half on America only. If anyone feels trapped in a certain culture, I recommend to study a new language and meet new people to find something that resonates with you more, or for a change of pace. (Brazilian) Portuguese is nice because of the huge Japanese community of millions born in Brazil, and it's a very warm and friendly culture.
🇺🇸here, 30 yr vet of J-land. Speak J at native level, NO 外人 accent. Still, I would never work for a J company. Glad I left teaching Engrish in Japan and retired with U.S. military. Most gaijins have no clue what they’re setting themselves up for, if you’re working for a J-company and contributing to the J-social security system. I have warned all my gaijin colleagues before I left J-land to be prepared to live a life of poverty when you retire!
Thanks for sharing! I only know the life of a software engineer here. Similar to in the USA, people in software have better-than-average jobs, so I bet other jobs have more problems.
I've heard English teaching can be rough!
I went to Japan worked as a Senior Developer and now I pretty much hate Japanese culture and the people. It's almost like they're pretending to be western but not going all the way, and are still super rude, It's a wannabe western culture with rudeness added on top, guilt-tripping, and psychological manipulation. It's also super hard to grow because you're not on the same page most of the time. And I've realized that there's a lot of nepotism, I've seen Japanese people be favored more than foreigners. I now work in UAE, in the middle-east. The middle-eastern culture is basically like American culture, we eat same food, understand the same jokes, same culture. And middle-eastern people seem suuper large for some reason and they are very kind, everyone is scared of breaking the law here and women aren't as oppressed as they tell you in CNN, and most importantly I am happy here, getting paid $400k, constant vacation weather, never going back.
In reality they will leave before that day.
No need to tell us your age. We can tell you’re 30 by the way you type. You must be fun 🙄
I don't work in IT, but this had a shitton of good knowledge bombs droppin' off in this video. Hell yeah dude. Subbed!
When I worked with a group of people that spoke english and another language, we generally wrote comments and such in both languages, or tried to.
Also regarding healthcare, when you go to a doctor you have to pay 30% of the cost. The other 70% are covered by the gov/your taxes. There is also a monthly cap on how much you can pay per month for doctors. I don't know the threshhold but if the cap is 1000usd for example and you had a big accident where you have to stay at the hospital and get a surgery and stuff from the 2nd to the 27th and the 30%would cost like 3000usd for example, you only have to pay 1000usd and the gov would pay the 2000usd too.
I don't think I ever would or could, but thanks for the insight on what it's like to work there! Oh and Jira, it is pronounced like jeer-uh as far as I've ever known. Not like gyro as in gyroscope.
All corporation companies in Japan either local or foreign doesn’t pay enough corporate tax to the government. The “War Economy” is over! Japan is a “shareholder” capitalist country now. Profits above everything else.
If you want to work overtime to because you feel pressured because it’s the culture, that’s on you. It’s not culture. It’s plain “exploitation”.
If you think the shareholders will not cut jobs “because of cost-cutting measures” once their dividends got smaller. All of you will be in for a surprise.
Welcome to the free market capitalism.
I have 5 years of experience in highly seeked after technologies but my degree is in Business. I have lived in Asia for 5 years but never in Japan.
How realistic is it to get a dev job in Japan? I am from Northern Europe.
It's very realistic but not particularly easy if you are not in Japan already. If you can afford it, I always recommend the route of going into a Japanese language school for some time - this way you learn some Japanese, useful for your daily life here, and also experience what it is to live here. It is not the same as visiting the country as a tourist. Also it's easier to do job hunting being on the ground here.
In your case there are two routes:
1) Landing a job in a foreign company: those are the ones with good salaries, majority in Tokyo and there are not that many options actually. Also not many open positions since 2023.
2) Do what this channel is about - invest a lot of time into learning Japanese at a higher level, learn technical Japanese, try to get a job at a Japanese company. You can get a decent salary (for Japanese standards anyway), it will most likely be still very much lower than what you get in a foreign company. Plus the Japanese work culture can be ok or a hell on earth. Hard to get meaningful raises.
In my opinion the time investment into learning Japanese for a technical job here does not pay off. Investing that same time into improving your technical skills is transferable anywhere in the world and lands you better paying jobs.
Great video 👍. You can almost get too comfortable in Japanese Companies so if you want to further your career or upgrade your Job Role then you usually need to move. In my experience you will definitely have better opportunities for promotion in foreign companies rather than being one of the few token foreigners working in a Japanese Company where everyone is very nice and friendly but you will have more limited opportunities for career progression and also in many cases a pretty low salary.
I would also in hindsight be cautious about being too open with co-workers and keep in mind that it is different to being friends. But of course be as friendly and co-operative as possible at work and fit in as well as you can.
Thank you for your perspective! I will take it into consideration
Now it's the perfect time for someone who works in the US to exchange all their money and move to Japan. Yen feels like paper money compared to USD, but you will learn how hard it is to earn Yen in Japan.
Also are there any Japanese companies that use a self review instead of a manager review? Another thing i think is more of a mature tech company thing
soo many cuts haha loved how much effort you put into this
Well I have an internship lined up in a singaporean firm and I was kinda shit scared as well if I would have to work super hard, but guess only time will tell haha
Haha, I aim for maximum information density. Actually, I just said, "Uhmm" and filler words too much. I need to improve.
I have no clue what Singaporean companies are like, hope it goes well for you!
FWIW As a developer for 30+ yrs. If your concerned about long work hours you are in the wrong career. When i thought id have more freedom as a freelancer with my own clients I felt like i was working 24hrs a day to meet deadlines and get paid. Its way less stressful working for a company clientside (not a startup) as least there some rules to work/life balance.
an experienced dev will not take as much time as a newer or less experienced dev. it doesn't make sense to force the experienced dev to stay late just because everyone are not as experienced. in fact, doing this will make the experienced reconsider working there.
I see what you mean, and agree, but no one is being forced
I live in Sapporo and have been studying python really hard. What do I need to be hirable as a developer without a lot of past experience?
Also a dev thinking about moving to Japan, I really hesitate to take that up as a job if I go live there. Development is hard enough as it is.
As a US developer who has worked directly with Japanese developers at my company, I still have no idea why you would willingly move there to get 1/3 of the pay you can get here. All of them want to move the other way around (Tokyo CoL is not that much lower than Bay/NYC/Seattle)
... and that's not exaggerated. Japan is a low income country by now. Friend more than tripled his salary moving from Osaka to Ireland. Every halfway decent Japanese developer can immediately make multiples of his salary if he is just brave enough to start looking abroad. And like William said, their English is most of the time good enough. to be able to immediately do that.
Because you can get fired easily and of course, the social climate (big deal about race for a country that's supposedly a melting pot) and violence is probably the biggest reason if you don't care about the rest. Unless you're in a country where it would basically be a net positive anyway, there's no point migrating to the US if money isn't your only goal.
Probably motivated by non-financial reasons. Sorta understandable for me since i had a similar idea back in 2019 but decided to just visit Japan once in awhile since the pay in the US is way way higher. Back in 2019, the recruiters in Japan were always prefacing with your salary will be lower than in the US by 20% but now in 2024 and looking my salary now vs current dev salaries in Japan, i'm glad i chose to work in the US.
Cost of living in Japan is far lower, and it's also far higher quality. Infinitely safer, far better infrastructure etc...
...other than that, family reasons.
Grocery and entertainment cost might be similar in Tokyo, but the rent is much much cheaper...
Also are there Japanese tech companies that pay mostly stock/rsus or have espp? Or is it mostly salary
Pay in the US is absolutely insane! Even a bootcamp graduate can easily get 100k salary in the bay area, that's why so many Chinese want to go to US.
They also pay Bay Area rents.
the cost of living is also very high, most Chinese end up going back to China.
As a French dev in Tokyo I never felt the pressure whatsoever when leaving before anyone else XD I was like you do you, I do me aha
Tu travailles pour une boite japonaise ou autre? J'aimerais bien travailler comme toi a l'etranger pour 1-2 ans maisj ne sais pas ou commencer. Est-ce qu j put te demander to conseill?
For the Jira pronunciation: It rhymes with "Cheer-a".
Is the pay any better these days? I decided to stay in the US to rake in FAANG pay so I can coast in Japan later. Also international school for kids tends to be more expensive.
It's not that the pay is bad, but that pay in the USA is waay higher than the rest of the world. You can easily get a 10 million jpy salary, which is good salary compared to other countries, and for quality of life locally. But of course the exchange rate is very bad currently, so if you'll be going back and forth then it's an issue. For international schools, I have no clue yet
That's true. US tech pay has been out of control but Japan is also notorious for not giving engineers and researchers any respect. I'm sure you read about the guy who invented the blue diode in Japan. I grew up in Japan but ended up working in the US for 20 years - partly for the exorbitant pay but also for better work life balance.
@@william_in_japanhow easy is it to get a 10 mil salary?
@@destroyer7712 It's not. "FAANG"-tier jobs are maybe in the "hundreds per year" and there are easily 10k+ applicants per year.
If you will take "any" job, you will make
its important to be the first to make a change and stand or the culture stays the same!
May I know how much do you make? How does it compare to Hong Kong?
hi I am Chinese person and I genuine curious about how did you apply for your working visa in japan, dont get me wrong because it need to learn one more language , work in japan isn't my intention, on top of that, as yourself american work in the USA as a developer probably has way more incomes than japan right, what makes you work for a japanese company?
not many developer jobs in USA. and more will be taken over by h1b indians.
If you're looking for a job where you're not held accountable to a good degree or where coworkers aren't intrusive and assuming a shared culture, don't seek out Japan. Just, why?
good for you to say that. while a lot had said japan has changed, not very much
Most of the insurance policies cover 70% of your medical bills including dental and eye care which I appreciate greatly.
I couldn't handle the senpai culture, I just quit a job because the dude on the same level as me was acting like my boss. What a joke. That's not how companies should work. People have diverse skillsets, I know more about some things and he knows more about other things, no one just "knows more automatically" because they got into the job before me. Everyone should be on equal playing fields. That's not how japan works at all. Biggest L is this and the top down management style. Works for trade skills like being a ramen chef or carpenter or something, but not for tech (or "IT" as they call it) where things are constantly shifting.
Nomikais are ok as long as they are optional.
Commuting is trash as you say, find a remote job.
Lastly the pay is literal garbage. Literally working as an uber driver in the usa can get you more money. Why go through all this stress for chump change? Just don't do it, don't work tech in Japan if you are american. Work in some other industry or get a usa remote job
Well, the senpai culture is mainly one of respect, and it's not enforced by anyone, not even the senpai. It's just that the kouhai respects the senpai and acts accordingly. This all just happens naturally. You don't have to participate in it.. but that would basically just mean not treating people who came in before you with extra respect.
I agree with you about the top-down management culture not working. I don't like the system of apprenticeship where you have to work for years and years to be considered basically qualified to do something good. I think it's largely a fabricated skill curve to enhance the position of the "master". But none of this applies to software engineering in my experience.
I disagree about the pay. You can easily get 10 million per year, which in local lifestyle equivalency would be around $100,000. That is a very good lifestyle here and around the world.
It's more like USA salaries are ridiculously high, but life is not just about money once you have enough.
@@william_in_japan for the senpai thing, it was more like the senpai didn't treat -me- with respect, acting like I have a lot to learn and don't know anything. Maybe I just got unlucky with the company.
10 million is good, outside of tokyo it's hard to find though. id be more than happy with a remote job that pays 10 mil, my last jobs were 4-5 mil. Agreed that life isn't about money, but also time is valuable and I just wasn't happy at the job.
What you say isn't possible. Unless you already have Japanese citizenship you cannot "just" have a remote US job in Japan. My boss actually said I could work from Japan if I wanted to, but there's a once-in-a-lifetime 6 month visa (which is a joke by the way) for remote workers and no other alternative. After that, you get nothing. You may as well do 90 day stints in Japan as a "tourist" twice a year during the off-season.
If you want to permanently relocate to Japan because you hate your own myopic culture, then you make a stand and take less money. At the end of the day, a lot of that "extra money" you make in the US is just going to BS you don't need anyway.
It's fine, do your work while your there with intent and as much diligence as you can to then when you get up and leave when you're time's up, own that shit and just walk out. It's not easy because of how socially awkward it is but at the same time you need to have some self respect and realisation that your life is the bigger picture and there has to be a balance.
This is cool but are there any Japanese tech companies that don’t do scrum 😅 every company I’ve worked at that does daily standups has felt pretty mediocre compared to more mature tech companies I’ve worked at that are more flexible and primarily engineering driven
Amazing insights, thanks for sharing! If I may ask, what have you thought about the overall software developer market in Japan (or at least in your area)? I have read/watched that historically japanese software has been a bit underinvested/undervalued compared to hardware and thus are lagging on experienced software professionals compared to other major nations. What do you think?
thanks for the interesting video Will. I'm more curious about your experience learning Japanese and your level of fluency. im trying to pick up a second language myself atm and if it goes well might wind up picking up Japanese down the line. How long did it take and what did you do to become conversationally proficient in it?
Well, my experience started in middle school when I was just studying using Rosetta Stone every now and then and getting vocab from Japanese media. Then I did an exchange program ikln highschool, which boosted my ability a bit. After high school Icame to language school for a year. I basically figured out that I'd known next to nothing up until that point, lol
Then I met my wife, who only speaks Japanese. Since I was forced to speak only Japanese for around 8 years, there is pretty much nothing that I can't talk confidently about (aside from industry specific knowledge or something)
But language school was an amazing foundation, because I also didn't have anyone to speak to in English there. So it forced me to learn.
If you can put yourself in a situation where you need to use the language everyday in some capacity, I think it will help you rapidly learn. This could be work, a partner, where you live, etc.
Really great video. Do you have to wear a suit to the office?
Not at my job, no, it is very casual. I would say most developer jobs you won't have to wear a suit. You'll probably be surrounded on your commute by people in suits, but these are people who's job title is often just "office worker" lol (I'm only slightly kidding
On my main channel Unrested I try to get this point across all the time. There is no work life balance. Even when Shinzo tried making that 5pm work end law it was acknowledged and then never followed. It’s hopeless. Work life leading to karoshii and families who never see dads and sometimes moms and then Japan wonders why the population keeps going down.
Hey! I watched you way back before I even came to Japan! I remember you talking about the costs associated with raising kids. Really appreciate the comment!
@@william_in_japanwow really thanks man! Awesome and flattering to hear you watched me back in the day. The day of jvloggers is long over but it was a really fun run. Now I work between Japan and America. It’s pretty rewarding but It’s rough being away from my wife and kids so long. Nonetheless I am stoked to see new creators pick up the torch and create new content and POVs like yourself! Keep up this great content. Very balanced, fresh and a fair take on actual life in Japan!
I check out your channel every few months still! I just hadn't been watching as much Japan content because I live here now, ya know. Been starting to watch more again recently though, because I'm in it now. That sounds rough being away, but it is good to be able to enjoy both countries I would guess. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to go back much these past couple of years. Logistics are way harder with a family.
Thank you, it means a lot to me. I'll try to make videos that can help people as much as yours and others videos helped me (and hopefully they'll be more entertaining eventually lol
its crazy how people let themselves get abused especially after going through so many hard work and effort to get that level of expertise
Yep, some people do unfortunately. Once you're in a position to though, you just gotta go where the grass is greener. One step at a time. International candidates have more options, but it's not as easy for the average Japanese person
The editing is really weird. The video gets cut in unexpected places (and too many)
May I know how you got that job? I am searching fot IT or Engineering career. I got my college degree but still studying to have IT certifications like Comptia A+, CCNA, ...Certifications are necessary rights? I already have JLPT N3 level in Japanese Language.
Check out this video I made:
ua-cam.com/video/V149PNREv5A/v-deo.html
I talk about the website "Findy", which is where I got my current job. But that may be mainly for engineers with experience.
Certifications are good to have if you don't have experience. Is your degree IT related?
so japan is just a highly emotionally advanced version of society ? Sounds like heaven
In regards to interpersonal relationships, I would say yes.
But there are some small negative aspects to this as well.
where can I get review regarding a software job at UNIQLO or review of any other company of japan
Do you want to know specifically about Uniqlo? What do you want to know? I tried to give a view of life at my current company (obviously I don't want to tell the name though)
I will try to cover what youd like to know! Also, join the discord and post in the video ideas channel
@@william_in_japan I currently have internship offer in both NTT AT and uniqlo and I have to choose only on so I want review regarding these two companies
What languages most popular in japan? what you use?
japanese
Don't know what is most popular; but I use typescript, react and nodejs. They are quite popular for web development.
Can you mention the job sites again please?
Here they are! Join the discord if you have questions about the sites!
findy-code.io
job-draft.jp
I worked in Japan doe the past 12 years in a corporate setting, both in Japanese and none Japanese companies , and I have to say this is one of the most based takes I seen so far online on the topic
If your job is programming or translation, you should be able to find a remote job, which will remove 95% of the BS you have to deal with
If you can find mostly or 100% remote, I definitely recommend it!
Jira, you know like the Japanese word "Gojira" (Godzilla) 😉
How. Many. Jump. Cuts. In. One. Video.
How ever many words there are 🤌🏻
Your Japanese is great. せんぱい のみかい
Thanks! I stil have an accent that I think you can hear if I speak longer sentences, but I am proud of my progress
Your train commute is 1/3 taxed I believe
Didn't know that. Thanks!
Can i get by at a japanese construction site by only speaking German?
Can't tell if this is serious or not. Probably would be tough with NO Japanese, but it is less communication than a developer job.
I actually worked construction for a couple of weeks here when I barely knew any Japanese (maybe N4 level).
I work in the US, and that’s why I’m rich. 🤑
Happy for you 🙌
"Pressure to work overtime is too bad, you just have to not mind getting up and leaving and saying goodbye to everyone on the way to the door, I like do more work when I get home and only occasionally do people comment that I seem to leave early". Nope, working in Japan is not for me - no wonder the country is dying out through demographic collapse with such a miserable work culture.
haha! fun fact! "jira" comes from "gojira" ie Godzilla.
Blood shot eyes: It's fine
Are my eyes bloodshot?
@@william_in_japan Well they aren't white obviously. I was just trying to be funny. If it's not the blood vessels, it's the camera, lightning or whatever.
"Personally" means in a specific person perspective or opinion, it is correct to say "personally I think that..." or "personally I prefer ...", but it doesn't make sense to say "in my team/company personally...", because company or team is not a person.
Good video other than that.
Hmmm
"make new comments in english, because most engieers will understand it anyway" - yeah, I wish...
On my team at least, that is the case.
Most Japanese engineers have to read English documentation frequently anyway, but maybe people that are stuck in legacy systems don't...
I write in English to make it easier for incoming global team members. English is the common language
@william_in_japan at my current place everything is in Japanese, tickets, comments, designs. I even saw tests in Japanese. Make sense tough , I'm the only foreigner working there
@william_in_japan "Most Japanese engineers have to read English documentation frequently" when I go to programming conferences I get completely different vibe 😉
this is why they create ruby language
well it's really rare ppl use ruby language though
WOW the sudden frequent cuts make it really hard to watch...
I know, hang in there
I was just introduced to your channel today. As a developer looking to move to Japan, this is super useful. Thank you for this! May I know what job site you had mentioned in your earlier video?
"Findy" is one, and "Tenshoku Draft" is the other
@@william_in_japan thx & much appreciated!
not talk badly about it online? hell no, if it's bad it's bad, and we should let everyone knows about it
I'm saying there are legal ramifications to doing so in Japan..
@@william_in_japan for saying the truth?
Yes, unfortunately it can still count as defamation. I don't make the laws..
Japan sounds like a giant jira ticket
😂
So happy i work at an American company 😂
like the video a lot but please don't add so many cuts it makes it kinda annoying to watch
I need to work on my speaking so I don't need to cut it as much
I like the cuts
mid 2010s type sh lol
What is the salary expectation for someone with 2 years of exp in Tokyo?
Look up "Tokyo Dev developer survey" to see some salary data from 2023
@@william_in_japan I did but there's no mention of experience level there. Someone with 10 years of exp would get a lot more money than someone with 2.
This is bad. I work from home 100% never going back
Japon numba 1! 🇯🇵
great content and you seem cool but dude, the cuts are just absolutely insane. I can't watch this.
I did better in my new video
Question is why u came?
Me? I love it here. Always wanted to live here and now I get to. Been here for over 8 years and plan on staying for the foreseeable future.
@@william_in_japanwhy not setup your own company and establish your own company culture.
@@Karg537Is this meant to be passive aggressive? Because if it is, you should mature a little.
@@william_in_japan you see william, you are not allowed to live in japan and complain about anything, or else, flocks of weebs will passively aggressively ask you why you're living here
Sounds like working at Amazon lol
If america had the same healthcare system as japan, a certain CEO would likely still be alive today.
Sounds awful.
Their culture is terrible. Good food though.
I really hope you mean the work culture
I completed 4 year degree in CS, from India. Have 0 experience have some skills in front end web ReactJS, don't know Japanese.
a) are there any Jobs about these roles?
b) what should I do, to land a high pay job in Japan?
c) are there remote work there? Are they high paying?
d) can u pls provide kind of roadmap?
Lastly, thanks for this informative video.😊
there are other videos for that, check those. Also know japanese is point 1
Are they high paying? Ha Bhai 1000rs a day would that work? 💀
unless you can speak Japanese, getting job in Japan without any job experience is impossible. I suggest you to start learning Japanese while you work in India first.
I completed 4 year degree in CS, from India. Have 0 experience have some skills in front end web ReactJS, don't know Japanese.
a) are there any Jobs about these roles?
There are but there is also a lot of people to fill them.
b) what should I do, to land a high pay job in Japan?
Since you ask specifically for Japan: get very good in your technical skills and land a job in a foreign company. Getting a high pay job in a Japanese company is very rare and the investment into learning Japanese does not pay off. (It does for a personal life here, not for a job imho).
c) are there remote work there? Are they high paying?
There are, same answer as above.
d) can u pls provide kind of roadmap?
Get a junior position in India, get some experience and save money. The easiest way in my opinion is then to get a student visa through a Japanese language school for a year (or less depending on your financials). And looking for a job during that time being here in person.
But again, Japanese IT jobs are not high paying by western standards. You can get an okish salary for Japanese standards but promotions are hard, work culture can be challenging…
I think Japan is drowning in its own bubble.
What does that even mean?