# Instrumentation and control technician



## Quazzi

Hi there, 

I'm currently working as an apprentice for an oil refinery as an Instrument / control technician. I ensure the safe and reliable operation of measurement and control equipment within the refinery. My duties include SIS testing, breakdown repair, control and supervision, planning and project work. 

I've got a couple of years left to go on my apprenticeship, but Japan has all ways fascinated me. 
I was wondering how employable I would be, the chances of getting work e.t.c 

If this job type is a bit too specific, how employable would I be in other engineering areas, Non oil applications? 


I'll be starting Japanese classes soon to give me as much chance as possible ( I also intend to visit this amazing country on holiday when I feel I'm at some level of competency in the language) 

Ideally I'd love to get away from the mess that the UK is becoming now... And move onto greener, friendlier Japanese pastures


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## Quazzi

Nobody got any ideas?


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## nighstar

Sadly I don't really know anything about the kind of visa that you would need or your job options considering the field(s) that you want to get into..... So all I can really do is throw links at you.

Try visiting these sites to see what your options would be visa-wise.

the UK embassy: Embassy of Japan in the UK
MOFA: MOFA: Guide to Japanese Visas

Somehow, though, I have gotten the impression that there arent many jobs in Japan for foreigners outside of the education and corporate/business industry, but I could very well be wrong...

Also, being a jaded assistant English teacher for going on 3 years in Japan, I cant help but giggle a little at "greener, friendlier Japanese pastures"... most pastures are "greener" until you live there hehe.... :tape:


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## Joppa

To get a work visa, a degree (BA, BSc etc) is well nigh essential, or 5-10 years of professional experience.
If you are under 30, you can get Youth Exchange visa in Japan, valid for a year, which enables you to take just about any job. If your employer then wants to keep you, there is a possibility of being sponsored for a work visa before your YE visa runs out.
Remember though, as nighstar says, there aren't many jobs available for foreigners, with rising unemployment. Even teaching English isn't as easy as it used to be, with a recent collapse of Geos, a major chain of English coversation classes.


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## larabell

I second what Joppa said above. A job in pretty much any technical area will *require* a degree just to get the visa... not to mention landing the job.

There are really only four ways to get a job in Japan:

1) Be fluent in Japanese and smart enough to compete with native Japanese in the job market.
2) Be an expert in a field where Japan has few experts of it's own.
3) Find some company in your own country that would be willing to send you over to work in their Japan branch.
4) Teach English (or whatever one's native language might be).

Number (4) is apparently still possible but waning, as there are folks already over here (many of whom also speak Japanese) who are looking for teaching gigs. I hadn't heard of Geos collapsing but a couple years ago Nova (arguably the largest English school in Japan at the time) also went bust. This is not a good time to be looking for English teaching jobs.

These days Japanese fluency is very important. Imagine a Japanese person coming to your company in the UK with no English-speaking ability to speak of and trying to land a job -- especially when there are probably any number of well-qualified job candidates already living in the UK and possibly out of work. You'd probably rate that person's chances at zero to nil. That's what you're up against -- especially as an apprentice with, I would imagine, very little experience in your field. Interest in Japan doesn't usually come into play when you're being evaluated for a job here.

Your best bet is to look for a job at home with a firm that does a lot of business in Japan. Once you've proven yourself in that company, make it known that you would welcome the opportunity to work in Japan *and* make sure you study the language because most companies that send ex-pats over do so to improve communications between the local office and HQ -- you clearly can't make a case for yourself if you cannot communicate with the locals.

Another alternative -- since you're from the UK -- is a Working Holiday visa. You come over for a year, presumably to experience Japan, but during that time you can also work to help support yourself. That at least puts you in Japan where you can at least try to contact companies in your field to see if they need help. The Working Visa, for anyone reading this in the archives, is not currently available for US passport holders (I'm sure the list of countries with such an arrangement is published somewhere on one of the links previously given).

If you have enough cash to support yourself for a while, you could also sign up for some Ikebana classes and, in your spare time, look for a job. That's generally not looked upon favorably by the Immigration folks so if you *do* take that route, it's best to not mention anything about job hunting in your application.


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## Joppa

larabell said:


> I hadn't heard of Geos collapsing but a couple years ago Nova (arguably the largest English school in Japan at the time) also went bust. This is not a good time to be looking for English teaching jobs.


I read about it in asahi.com yesterday. Geos is hoping about 70% of their 329 schools can be saved, by being bought out by a consortium of investors but some redundancies among teachers are said to be inevitable.


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## larabell

Joppa said:


> ... but some redundancies among teachers are said to be inevitable.


Nice... I'm glad I don't have to teach for a living... Or try to run a school in this economy, for that matter...


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## nighstar

Yeah, I'm really glad I'm not an eikaiwa teacher because I probably would have went with NOVA or GEOS had I gone that route... Hell, even the JET Programme (the program that I'm currently a part of) has downsized since I arrived in 2007 as many schools/boards of education who previously employed JETs have been turning to other companies like Interac to cut down on their expenses. There's also the whole Eigo Note thing that is being implemented nationwide and other rumors that I wont get into...

Anyway, I think that a Working Holiday Visa would be the best way for you to get into Japan (I'm jealous btw) and from there teaching English would be the easiest way to stay longer.

Goodluck.


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## silentlyhappy

Quazzi said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I'm currently working as an apprentice for an oil refinery as an Instrument / control technician. I ensure the safe and reliable operation of measurement and control equipment within the refinery. My duties include SIS testing, breakdown repair, control and supervision, planning and project work.
> 
> I've got a couple of years left to go on my apprenticeship, but Japan has all ways fascinated me.
> I was wondering how employable I would be, the chances of getting work e.t.c
> 
> If this job type is a bit too specific, how employable would I be in other engineering areas, Non oil applications?
> 
> 
> I'll be starting Japanese classes soon to give me as much chance as possible ( I also intend to visit this amazing country on holiday when I feel I'm at some level of competency in the language)
> 
> Ideally I'd love to get away from the mess that the UK is becoming now... And move onto greener, friendlier Japanese pastures


Hi Quazzie,

This is being written by a friend of mine who is a Control & Instrumentation Engineer in the Oil & gas Industry worldwide.
Firstly, finish your apprenticeship and also make sure to get at least your HNC on your college day release. Learn as much about the Control Systems side (SIS ,PLCs, DCS) etc...Know your Utilities aswell, Boilers , Turbine Controls, Compressors etc..Make sure you know that Refinery INSIDE out as the last 2 years is where you really start to learn. Hopefully you've got Fieldbus control ,(If not , learn it as Hart Protocol is gradually but surely being replaced ). Forget about overseas until youve got about naother 6 yrs experience, so stay at the refinery once you come out your time and really get stuck into Projects (as this where you'll get your Commissioning experience). Oil & Gas is the game to be in Overseas in our speciality and we are literally a dying breed. If you can't stay at the refinery, get yourself Offshore on the rigs in the North Sea for 3-4 yrs. Forget about supervision as you honestly won't even get any real Hands On experience until your first big commissioning job (Once your qualified) and will be referred to as a "Teeny Tech) and take advantage of this to really LEARN, coz soon after you'll be expected to run the show yourself and it can be pretty cuthroat in Contracting. After that take a job in Saudi or somewhere where they pay less but you get your experience...After that things should snowball nicely into place for you.

Another option is to take the last 2 yrs at University (After your HNC), try to specialise in Subsea and FPSOs, as these are what are being built by the bucket load in the Far East (And is the Future of Oil & Gas Exploration Offshore). Go in as a graduate Engineer, get your design experience and then off out to Wonderland. Trust me that if it's the Far East you really want the if you can get a solid grounding in FPSO design and wait a few years, then you can stay out there aslong as there's Offshore Oil & Gas.

Best of luck,

As 18 yrs ago I was exactly where you are now and I've since worked in more countries than I can remember. Just be patient and gradually build up that experience.

(as I said this was written by a friend (My Brother in fact) who works in this exact field), as I am an Accountant so don't know too much about it atall but do remember his job title as its a very rare discipline in general Engineering.


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## JAiNE

Thanks larabell for info.


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## Quazzi

Thank you for the info folks!

Plenty of food for thought.


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