# Work in Japan



## JLGoldie (May 18, 2014)

Good day all. I was hoping someone could give me some advice or inspiration as I am quite stuck. My situation is I do not have a degree. I have finished high school and did some further studying. I am 24 and only have work experience in the IT industry. I would really love to move and work in Japan for a period of time, however that dream is looking bleak. I did the TEFL (English teaching) course to teach English in foreign countries which allows me to do so in some Asian countries, however Japan seems to be much more strict and requires a degree/work experience. Any advice on this? Otherwise are there any other positions which foreigners can look into with regards to moving to and working in Japan?


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## jTea (Apr 9, 2014)

JLGoldie said:


> Japan seems to be much more strict and requires a degree/work experience. Any advice on this? Otherwise are there any other positions which foreigners can look into with regards to moving to and working in Japan?


The issue isn't that Japan is strict, it's that in order to get an international work visa, you have to have at least a bachelor's degree. I could be wrong but this is true all across Asia. You can probably get around it in certain countries that have more freedom to bend the rules but with Japan, yes they are more strict about who they let in...especially since the applicant pool is already quite big.

There are people in Japan who have jobs without a degree. As far as I know, they either moved there (with their spouse) and found a job eventually or they had enough work experience and professionalism that whatever company/school they interviewed for, wanted them badly enough to find a work around.

If you're serious about it, start looking and applying for jobs. You have nothing to lose outside of time, but if it's what you want, that's what you'll have to do. If you carry yourself well enough and are very professional, you have a chance. As for the work experience, while it's not required to have teaching experience to teach in Japan, given your situation...you'll probably want some. For the time being, either find some volunteer teaching work where you live or since you are TESL certified, find a teaching job you can do during the week/weekends. After a year, start looking for jobs.

You can do some google research to see how others have found jobs without a degree. Most of them were either on spousal visas or had quite a few years teaching already.


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## maruo (May 8, 2014)

yeah, you must have at least a bachelor's degree.


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