Being IT/Web Engineer in Japan [ENG CC]

[@hector1404]

IT Engineer here, from my experience: - Not all companies that do IT work in Japan are advanced, some are years behind the west - At some places it is hard to raise your voice, offer suggestions or make your point across basically due old school managers - For those who want to work in Japan, some job positions in IT don't require you to know Japanese, but you will be limited in options. Despite it's faults, I'm having a blast here in Japan : )

[@netcrns]

"Not all companies that do IT work in Japan are advanced, some are years behind the west" could you elaborate on this? behind on what, exactly?

[@hector1404]

crns Technology and It management

[@Shanaoh]

Hector what did you major in college? What were you’re requirements for working in IT?

[@underthebed9222]

Just commenting so I can read replies

[@KissSzabolcs]

(tactical comment to see replies :D )

[@TheAlison1456]

That was great. Quite a professional video. Lots of quality interviewees.

[@davidnguyen3469]

Interesting. Where I'm from they'd ask you for college degree, fluent English and 3+ years of experience just to work as a clerk.

[@chinito77]

Honestly, I'd say 80% of the IT jobs are like that here. There are some entry level jobs but you arent make more than an English teacher plus you have to work longer hours.

[@tohyhihi]

So where are you from?

[@davidnguyen3469]

@@tohyhihi Czech republic

[@yuliyy__]

Almost same with my country (Philippines). In order to work as a programmer in a company and the government, you need a degree. But it's a good thing that it is starting to change. I'm starting to see companies who hire programmers based on skills, not educational attainment. Except in the government; heck they'll still require you to have a masters degree just to get into a senior level programmer position, no matter how good or advanced your skills are.

[@Gittekop]

Or the good old classic "looking for fresh graduate with 10 year+ working experience" 😄

[@mugambindwiga163]

Nobita, my guy. I'm a long term fan from Nairobi. I've always been curious about Japan and over the years you have helped me understand the psych of Japanese of all spectrum. Much appreciated and keep on the good work

[@Eros7v]

Was waiting exactly for this video, Thank you

[@TheJapanReporter]

Thanks for watching! I actually got a lot of requests!

[@hijiritasuzuki6454]

In my opinion, these problems are quite common in old school companies in Japan because the Japanese value hierarchies very much as a part of Japanese tradition. Maybe newer companies with more creativity will listen to the engineers' voices more often.

[@EmmaNguyen-mg5xq]

That is why many Japanese companies now lag behind china and korea in terms of tech.Your rigid culture prevents the youth undertaking more challenging tasks and holding higher positions

[@hector1404]

Management in Japan has a heavy disconnection from technology, they don't have a idea in how things work, but the worst part is that they won't listen to advice and since the norm is always say 'yes', quickly it turns into a dumpster fire

[@Zante_on_google]

@@hector1404 Seen that from the inside with Japan Display. My wife used to work for them, and told me stories that just left me scratching my head and wondering how they managed to still stay open.

[@Zante_on_google]

​@Skrooge Lantay One thing that comes to mind is how customer complaints were filed into a kind of "black hole" from where they never came out. They were given to file to people who knew nothing about the products, didn't understand the complaints and therefore made the entries pointless even if anyone did bother to look at them. That means that the design and production departments never found out about any issues with the products, and couldn't fix them.

[@PARAMONARIOS]

It's so strange that every IT-professional in Europe and USA studies KAIZEN, KANBAN, Toyota lean manufacturing practices to minimize bureaucracy and shorten decision making chain, but it seems that in Japan it's still very archaic when it comes to optimizing unnecessary managerial positions.

[@PARAMONARIOS]

Wolfgang dayo When this innovative transformation in Toyota was happening, unnecessary middle managers were promised - “you have a job safety, but not a role safety” - to reduce their resistance to the changes.

[@theorbificator4175]

It must take a lot of work to do these videos. I appreciate it. Don't burn yourself out though.

[@gilbertdonos2749]

Very timely video Nobita-san!! Wow... I was hired last year by a Japanese Tech company as IT engr. and I am now on the process of studying and learning Nihongo. The required level is N2 and I know that it may take quite a while before I reach that. This video is very informative in terms of giving insight into the IT industry in Japan. Keep it up and greetings here from the Philippines

[@zaki6548]

What did you get hired for? And how did you get hired by a Japanese company??

[@chinito77]

I agree, there are always job openings for Bandai Namco but your level HAS to be N2 or above. The area nearby isn't too expensive (Koto-ku).

[@gilbertdonos2749]

@@zaki6548 I applied in an agency and they have Japanese company as their clients, that's how. Also this Japanese company has their office here in the Philippines where applicants can directly apply. I was hired as IT engr. and I am currently in the process of studying and learning Nihongo. It is by any means not easy but its a worthwhile undertaking

[@Shin-hc6ne]

Can i ask your experience and advice? I am almost 22 and starting IT degree will be done at probably 27... still able to find a job in Japan? What do u think?

[@gilbertdonos2749]

@@Shin-hc6ne according to my Japanese employer, the need and demand for foreign workers for Japan won't decrease anytime soon. Its the other way around because of the shortage of workers due to aging population and declining birthrate. This applies to many industries including IT. So yeah there would still be opportunities if not more in the future. As for experience, I'll say that you have to have at least 2 years of related experience in your field. You can try to apply after you graduate but the chance of you having the job is very slim, unless of course you have an extraordinary credentials and skills. Hope this helps, cheers..

[@MrZuga89]

You just hit the spot Nobita. Planning to move to Japan as a software engineer in the next 12 months from Europe if I am lucky. Already found out lots of the mentioned info, but still really informative. Thanks

[@MrZuga89]

@TH still not in Japan 😅 Moved to a company that plans to expand to Japan and South Korea and working on moving there as a representative, but we will see. At least I am not on a dead point and am trying to do something about it.

[@MrZuga89]

@TH thank you :)

[@BlazingSlav]

I'm currently doing a degree in Programming, thank you for this video Nobita, I'm suprised there is this much of a shortage of workers in this field in Japan. But then again there's a shortage of it in my country too.

[@hector1404]

There's shortage in many countries, the great thing about IT is that it gives you a lot of options on where you want to live

[@casualweekday-ytshadowbang2469]

As someone said in the video, in Japan, compared with other developed countries, engineers are often seen as pawns and are not very well paid. In other words, there are more gratifying jobs for smart people. If they change this, perhaps there will be less of a shortage.

[@jonirojonironin5353]

@@casualweekday-ytshadowbang2469 "there are more gratifying jobs for smart people" in Japan such as?

[@casualweekday-ytshadowbang2469]

@@jonirojonironin5353 In regards to money for gratification, CPA, dentist, lawyer, a job in banking, finance, marketing, sales...

[@axgh7636]

Thanks for this quality video!

[@deiaael-deinkamal3439]

Great video, very helpful and inspiring By the way, I am a Cyber Security trainee from Egypt with a bachelor degree in computer engineering and I am planning on moving to work in Japan as a pentester. Thank you Nobita-san for this video

[@az8557]

Love your videos Nobita! Thank you and your interviewees!

[@nonutemperor]

"In Japan, heart surgeon. Number 1. Steady hands."

[@calvinyip364]

I don't get it

[@cheesymcsqueesy4185]

@yip wei kwok The Office

[@athenatan3771]

THE BEST!" 😂

[@fidybeanbird]

The Office! 😆

[@mohammedazzan7529]

Yakuza boss die 😯😯

[@jaaan420]

Especially in the web industry Japan has a long way ahead to get to a western standard of quality. Gladly, though, there are more and more companies leading the shift both on the product quality side and being competitive as employers not only with southeast asian countries (excuse my overly stereotypical example of people coming to Japan for a better life). I also find it quite interesting that it's a norm for many technological companies to hire non-engineers and invest lots of money into their training over the span of months to years. On the other hand, this often times results in the new hires starting at a very low salary. This mixed (in some cases) with rather bad work-life balance and overall work culture can lead to a pretty grim experience.

[@Ditlemon]

As someone who already inquired with jellyfish inc . Kinda happy to see that one of their higher ups was in the interview and I myself am a computer science person

[@Duckzilla-54]

Thank you for this wonderful insight in this video! I'm about to enter college and chose IT as my course because I dream of working in Japan someday. This made ma learn a lot!

[@chrisavhr]

@@Shin-hc6ne 22 seems young. I’m 30 and considering it!

[@MrCoreNumber]

@@Shin-hc6ne IT, is four years degree. What country are you?

[@teru__san]

Wow...exactly when I was doing some research and watching videos about the subject! I personnally would love to have a job experience in Japan, but as an application or video game developer. Thank you for this video, Nobita!

[@chinito77]

Try Bandai Namco, they are always hiring. I lived nearby and it's a really nice and affordable area.

[@teru__san]

@@chinito77 Oh, you know, I won't get in the work field now (I'm waiting for my formation to begin), but thanks a lot for this tip!

[@samuraijosh1595]

@@chinito77 Do they offer sponsorships for like my travel + house in Japan...?

[@amazingstar9522]

@@teru__san so Information Technology is the course for that? Im trying to find whats good for me so i can choose it on college :)

[@teru__san]

@@amazingstar9522 I don't know if my answer will be relevant for you as I didn't go to college and don't know exactly what kind of courses they can offer... Information Technology seems to be a nice start, but if possible, it would be better if you choose a course that aligns with your ambitions. Meaning if you already know in which domain(s) you want to work, then the choice will be easier. If it is not the case, I highly advise you to choose it (or them).

[@theboredprogrammer1114]

Currently a software engineer in the Philippines and married to a Japanese. As of now, we are living in the Philippines as the pandemic rages on and this video is insightful on what's to come by the time we can move back to Japan. I hope there's a demand for automation developers there. Due to these hard times, it's inevitable that both spouses work to keep the family afloat.

[@theboredprogrammer1114]

@perwik77 so what?

[@theboredprogrammer1114]

@@nathanielmills4678 my husband is a translator and im in the IT industry

[@CptPatch]

As a network engineer who speaks a decent bit of Japanese I was curious what it would be like to work for a Japanese company, so thanks for the video. It's... basically what I thought it would be and that's why I have no plan to live in Japan. As interesting as it would be to try life in another country, I would almost certainly be taking a pay cut, increasing my cost of living, and worsening my work-life balance. I suppose there's always military base IT if I wanted to go for it, but that doesn't seem like it would be compatible with experiencing a Japanese lifestyle anyway.

[@gfr73]

Same thing I realized some years ago. I'm an IT engineer in Italy. In Italy engineers are not paid well but I work for a foreign company (non Japanese)...and my pay is better than an engineer working in Japan. Going to Japan as an engineer risks to increase the stress and decrease the benefits. As an Italian, I should have spent years cooking pasta and pizza here in Italy, to have good opportunities in Japan

[@Laura-Yu]

I’m not in IT (another stem field) but it’s essentially the same reason why I won’t live in Korea (for now... maybe I’ll change my mind with all the trash happening in the US). I don’t want to get a pay cut along with high living costs, and even Koreans are having trouble finding employment. I’ll just spend my American dollars whenever I visit😂

[@mmmmmmmmn1337]

Eh, I work in the sillicon valley and I realize my salary will never be as high there as it is here, but you can easily land a western company like Google, and enjoy 150k+ a year without japanese work culture in japan. it's just more difficult to get into these companies.

[@youtuveunvideo]

These are exactly my thoughts. Also, the first person talking in the video, the man from the Philippines, mentions that Japan is technologically so advanced. I think this does absolutely not apply when it comes to IT. Look at Japanese apps, websites, software... It's years behind other countries. Nevertheless, I had some interviews with Japanese IT companies and they were asking for business fluent or native Japanese language skills. But then again, I was checking out IT consulting jobs, so being fluent in the local language certainly makes sense. I was misled thinking that N3 would be ok because it's IT. lol.

[@casualweekday-ytshadowbang2469]

@@youtuveunvideo Japan is NOT so advanced in IT, except for games development maybe. ​ @로라 [Laura] Actually a better idea to earn in the States and spend in SK/Japan, than the opposite! I'm even not mentioning career growth.

[@lordclown1187]

I love that! Even if the salary is lower, people have a chance to get the job if they're just willing to learn. In Sweden we're generally super limited to what we have degrees in. Skill doesn't matter much, or at all, most of the time, if you have a piece of paper that says you've passed different exams or finished your studies at any university, that's what they'll hire. You need a degree for quite simple jobs aswell. So we lose out on a lot of talented workers in different areas. Occasionaly we have cases where someone clearly has the skill for a job and does it much more efficiently than the ones with a degree from prestigious universities. The optimal systems would be to test someones knowledge and skill during a like 2 week practice to see if they'll be able to do the job well, rather than having to go through the horrendous 2-5 years of studying a bunch of meaningless nonsense that barely has anything to do with the actual job. Point being. I could actually make use of my skills in Japan much more easily than I can here. It's pretty easy to learn anything online through tutorials, reading etc. I mean for example, the famous video "History of Japan" is a 9 minute video that summarizes most of Japanese history. But instead we're expected to read a 70 page academic page where only 2 pages total bring you any useful knowledge. It works for some people though. People who are capable of just blindly following orders without question benefit from our system quite a bit. Thanks for the vid.

[@Sputin]

How is Swedistan faring?

[@Laura-Yu]

Whenever there’s a discussion on low amount of females in the STEM field, some people automatically assume there must be sexism. I can only speak from my experience (I’m a physics grad student) but for me I haven’t experienced any sexism, and (this is just a hunch) I do think maybe professors treat me a little more nicely (less harshly). Of course I’m not saying there isn’t sexism but I think for most women in STEM, we are more appreciated than vilified.

[@ishouldhidemynamelmao345]

Feminists? Yeah to them everything is oppression ofc they learned social studies then scream oppression on stem.. Nothing new

[@Anonymous_422]

Annyong Haseyo

[@alva--._..l-._.-l.._.--]

Well that's sexism right there. If your professors treat you different and are more lenient to you against your male classmates, they are being sexist against men. Feminism is about gender equality where women won't be treated less, even if they are more competent than their male fellow workers. There should be gender equality. Feminism is not to be treated special or to have more rights than men. People really like to confuse the meaning of feminism and give it a bad connotation accusing women to want to have more rights than men and try to underestimate their cause. The sad truth is society is still trying to keep gender inequality, thus making it have a bad connotation in order to keep things the same. It's really sad how so many competent women are paid less then their male coworkers doing the same type of work and how the highest positions in companies have barely any women. Many of those higher positions are many times filled with men with less credentials than their subordinate female workers and many women sometimes are sexually harassed at their workplace in order to keep their jobs. You still didn't experience that sexism because you're still a student. As a woman, unfortunately, you'll have the opportunity to experience sexism once you enter the work force, and it will start with your salary. I know some countries are better than others when it comes to gender equality but as long as we don't take the matter serious and really try to push things to evolve in every society, our next generations are still going to feel oppressed by others concerning their gender.

[@AzraelCaptain]

My experience with women in the field is one of extremes... I've seen girls who really shouldn't be in there and just coasted through courses on the backs of whichever nerd they got on board with their flirting like they were avatars of sexist stereotypes.. and on the flipside, completely brilliant individuals who were regularly the most capable and knowledgeable individual in any room.

[@TheseEyesSeeDarknessClearly7]

Women get preferential treatment in the STEM field because women most times choose NOT to be in STEM. So companies want all the female STEM graduates they can get to improve their reputations

[@arthurdanielles4784]

Oh and Nobita my partner was a programmer / program developer (COBOL, PASCAL, FORTRAN) for one of the biggest logistics companies in the UK and NO Japan would not have been able to pay her annual salary as a programmer, supervisor, instructor. ☺I built and maintained her home computer desktop / server systems as she often worked from home and a heck of a lot of hours! BUT we ALWAYS took regular holidays and at the company's gift/rewards around the world ie Holiday inns et and Yes Nobita we have spent time in Japan☺Love the scenery the countryside its traditions and cultures even its homogenous society ☺☺☺

[@rolan2dr]

I work IT in U.S. this is exactly what I needed to watch. Thank you.

[@Trakusenpai]

3:56 this guy looks like he knows what he's talking about ☺️

[@ijustdoit2000]

i wonder why your yt channel doesn't get much subscribers....(???) your content is very good...good job Nobita!

[@dawsame5423]

Thank you Nobita, this open my eyes more about IT in Japan

[@Will2getfit]

Loved the video and very informative!! - I was shocked to hear some of the older tech still used. Coming from America I do/did view Japan as superior within Tech.

[@royxeph_arcanex]

As an Israeli, when I visited Japan many of my local friends said that their impression of Israel was what we call here "The Startup nation" image because we have *countless* startup companies, IT companies and tech enterprises in Israel, but quite ironically this is kind of the impression Israelis have of Japan - a greatly developed country with peak technology. They also visited Israel eventually, and we found out that while none of us were wrong, despite us having similar views - our advancement was defined differently because while in Japan you can spot the big advancements doing everyday actions (e.g. the Shinkansen) but in Israel those are small patents and features that end up making a big impact (e.g. Waze and Mobileye). So at first glance you're not sure you can spot the big ideas that were born here. Also, work culture is very different in both countries, so that has an impact on the view as well. One huge difference though is how the Coronavirus affected the market. The Israeli problem is the opposite - we have job OFFER shortage. While I don't know the exact ratio between offers and applicants at the moment in Israel, it's not uncommon in the past few months to see hundreds of applicants to few job offers and because of the high unemployment rate overskilled people apply to jobs that don't give them the pay tier they actually deserve, as long as they at least have a job to get them through these challenging times. Thanks for the video! I always found this topic very interesting and as someone who just starts his career in this industry I did consider working jn Japan in the future and your video was just what I needed for details :) P.S: the pay is slightly higher in Israel though 😅 maybe partly because we view this industry as high level and that our tech degrees are considered luxurious in Israel.

[@hlm1x]

while in my country there's too many college students that cannot secure professional jobs even when they have the skills. thanks for the video nobita! This helps clarify a bit. I really wanna try to work in Japan someday. currently an IT Executives here in Malaysia.

[@JustFrogy-ux9od]

Same because you need to have that perfect highschool and related collage deegree marks .....and then you have to have a good profile in intership (you will only get if you are from the top tier colleges that college will get for you but if you not your collage is definitely not giving your field related job ya despite having skills) or have a good (5-6years) of work experience.... and without these things it's near to impossible to get yourself a decent job in my country .... And hence I am very nervous what if Japan is same which is I am trying to move into and that's my parent's money which I have consumed and wasted already too many times considering I am going to be 20 in 3 days 🙂

[@KissSzabolcs]

Thanks Nobita, it was really interesting and useful. I don't care about the negative side, I still want to work & live in Japan in the future :) (I'm a game developer with 10 yrs of experience, just need to reach N1 first...)

[@zaki6548]

What languages do you usually use??

[@KissSzabolcs]

@@zaki6548 Just English. Or If you asking for a programming language, it is mainly C++.

[@EmmaNguyen-mg5xq]

@@KissSzabolcs you can try your luck in china ,Shenzhen. Chinese companies like alibaba or tencent is currently progressing in games . Japanese working environment is rigid ,hierarchical and averse to risks.

[@casualweekday-ytshadowbang2469]

"just need to reach N1 first" Pretty easy for the Chinese, not so for Europeans. N2 maybe?

[@dougamolina]

Great video. Thank you.

[@dean8147]

This is a great video. Nobita. Although i know its nieche, and not as popular as your other videos.. it is very helpful especially when there is less content on youtube regarding this area.

[@ب_ب-ج4ك]

のびたさん本当にありがとうございます！！ 僕は中学３年生の学生です。未来に日本にウェブエンジニアになりたい。僕にとってこの動画はとても役に立ちました！！ 日本語が下手でごめんなさい！！ まだ学習者です。

[@Anderson-ly9no]

If you are an indian and want to become an engineer in the future, you should probably consider go over the states, you will get much more pay and less working hours, have a better career overall.

[@garydell2023]

Interesting Nobita. Arigato gozaimasu.

[@superskinbaby2436]

Dude, thank you for the video. You really give educational, well-researched contents! Interviewing so many different people by yourself and asking important questions and the video editing,thank you for your work!

[@TheShadoDragon]

While I'm no web developer, I think a far more interesting value than your salary compared to Western countries is the ratio of salary to living costs. ;) The salary in itself doesn't really tell you that much. Thought interesting how many countries are searching for IT engineer's. I know of a few European countries like Germany and now of Japan. :) Guess it comes down to the best salary to living cost ratio AND how much freedom the companies give you.

[@tawanhua]

Nice, Mobile Stack developer here in Japan working for a epayment service company I will not name, for both iOS and Android developed both natively although Kotlin is getting pushed into multiplatform development. I'm glad that this company is adopting some work culture from western companies instead of the typical company culture in Japan. I do got to say though, SE job is considered a blue collar job so you are missing out on a salary that could have been higher likely 2x higher in the US.

[@RoshanKumar-cf7yn]

This video was very informative about Japanese tech industry

[@fy2392]

Than you so much!

[@chan_5786]

This video helps a lot because i wanna go there one day after finished my education in my country

[@chan_5786]

Although income not expected to be that high and more strict but overall still great

[@bardock16]

I think an updated version would be nice to produce, a lot of things have changed since the pandemic, some of the URLs are not even working anymore.

[@HalmyAfrialKhozaldy]

sadly in Indonesia it seems that rarely want to hold training in companies, even though I hope to be able to work anywhere but haven't gotten a job call

[@yaka169]

Well, to happily work in Japan or anywhere (not only in IT but also in other work field) you need to change your mindset. Don't look for high wages, look for opportunies & other advantages from Japan.

[@bloodyconfessor]

Just curious: are you an engineer yourself or in the it industry?

[@EmmaNguyen-mg5xq]

I don't think there are various ads in japan .

[@yaka169]

@@bloodyconfessor Both

[@hector1404]

That's what I did, having a blast here, like living here : )

[@Shin-hc6ne]

Hector Can i ask about your experience and advice? I am almost 22 and starting IT degree and will be done at probably 27... still able to find a job in Japan? What do u think? :(

[@teked183]

very informative content...

[@kohakuviii6594]

Thanks you for the information I'm really thankful because I wanna work in Japan after I finish college as an IT

[@originalm3233]

*This video is great, Nobita produces higher quality and better information videos than NHK. Here is the ideal combo, work remotely for a non-Japanese company while living in Japan. You get the best of both worlds. Sadly, working in IT, and or being a programmer or engineer won't impress anyone in Japan and the pay sucks. Do contract work for an American or European company while living in Japan.*

[@qaulwart]

Only issue with this is: how to get a working Visa in Japan when you work remotely for a foreign company? Exactly. :\

[@originalm3233]

@@qaulwart Just get a tourist visa and work for a foreign company. Even people who are on vacation in Japan check their work email, does that count as working? You don't need a work visa, only an idiot would get caught.

[@originalm3233]

@@aranso Which part of Europe? I'm not talking about the poor countries. I'm thinking of France, Ireland, Scottland, and the UK. Not poor places like Romania.

[@qaulwart]

@@originalm3233 but a tourist visa is only temporary, 1 to 3 months, I believe.

[@originalm3233]

@@qaulwart I am speaking from an American perspective. It is typically 3 months at a time. You could then do a visa run with a cheap flight to Vietnam or Korea and then return to Japan for another 3 months. This is ideal as you do NOT want to be in Tokyo or Osaka during the summer. It is hot as hell!

[@ephionis]

Hi Nobita San, thank you for this video. I'm thinking about transfer one day from EU(Poland) to Japan within company I'm working and was looking for exactly such informations. This year my travel was postponed due to C19 but next year I'm going for holiday exchange (work&travel). After your video I'm bit less worried. Hopefully I will pass JLPT L3 next month.

[@avicennam7708]

As a electrical and mechanical engineer which going for A.I and Robotics Msc. I would say the subject of software engineer is not the problem but more the language gap between someone with understanding of Japanese language and using it in a job. This is a great video and keep up the great work.

[@arthurdanielles4784]

With an increasing demand across the world for IT industry workers Japan will struggle over the coming decades. Where some will look at countries outside of Japan and find they can integrate far easier into the work cultures et of those countries than Japan because it is certainly at present a real issue with how Japan works its workers. Those from the west for example are seldom going to work in a society where workers rarely take a holiday and if they do they are frowned upon or penalised for doing so. Nor given how homogenous Japanese society is and certainly how they view 'foreigners' et Thus long working hours, holiday issues, living accommodation issues and more including language barriers in some cases? Japan has thrived mostly on its own home grown commodities and that includes its workers who are Japanese and made to KNOW they ARE Japanese and should act and behave like Japanese should. Also the hierarchy re how you address your work colleagues, bow and more to some will seem too off putting to have the desire to indulge in working in Japan. Dating, marriage and more? Its clear that that is seldom going to actually happen. Which means they're stuck in Japan for a number of years and with working horrendous hours, probably living on their own or ? isolated ? nope don't see it. Also let us remember when you create demand you also create a huge wages gap. The fewer IT ie programmers there are the other countries will pay more to keep them.

[@DForre6040]

What timing I just started learning to code 4 days ago

[@SivakD]

I've been in Japan IT for 5 years and I can agree with the point of little consulting with the engineers about projects and higher ups being super strict and rigid on some points. Hopefully more and more companies change their way of thinking.

[@Zwyx_]

Thank you, Nobita, for putting this together. I'm an American contractor in the IT field, and was considering working in Japan in the future. Are skill expectations based more on degrees, or certs in the industry? If certs, are there "popular" or in-demand certs that you (or anyone reading) would recommend?

[@ketsune23]

Great video. I am a computer engineer and i feel this is my opportunity to move to Tokyo. Get motivated to keep learning Japanese

[@ImmanuelVanMeirhaeghe]

Check, check and check. Thank you for the info :) Very useful.

[@joshuarebello9670]

Thanks for the video Nobita❤ Just the video I wanted to watch, I was actually really scared about working in Japan before but not so much now after watching this video and knowing that the industry is changing, still scared about the language and overtime though😂 Thanks alot😁🙌

[@Duckzilla-54]

I feel you bro! It's scary but we need to be brave at the same time!

[@joshuarebello9670]

@@Duckzilla-54 I think that's the scariest for me😂😂 Being the lazy ass that I am, working overtime everyday is the scariest thing for me😂 The Japanese are really strong in that sense, gotta commend them for it🙊

[@chinito77]

@@joshuarebello9670 You HAVE to work a lot, even in a place like Rakuten. If you are singled out for being lazy, they will make your life a living hell. Just look up review on Glassdoor dot com for the IT companies in Japan. It's great if you can put up with it but if you fail, it's an expensive ticket back home.

[@joshuarebello9670]

@@chinito77 Hey Chinito, thanks for the advice🙋 It's not that I don't work hard, I know when to work hard I'm not worried about that. Wouldn't act all lazy for my job and stuff like that, I just meant I'm lazy and stuff in general at home and stuff like that😂 But more than that, it's the concept that the Japanese think working overtime is normal. Getting paid for overtime is different from just doing it as part of your normal everyday job, I beleive that will be a bit difficult for me knowing myself personally🙊🙊

[@franz4218]

Exactly what I'm looking for,, I'm always hoping to someday work in Japan

[@blursedfly3504]

Careful mate, I heard that living in Japan is like hell... Good luck tho

[@Duckzilla-54]

@@blursedfly3504 care to explain? u scare me lol

[@blursedfly3504]

@@Duckzilla-54 Firstly, finding an apartment is hard especially if you're non-japanese. If you don't know Japanese language well enough and couldn't read signs, you're going to have a really hard time (considering there are three different writings in Japanese) you could also got lost. When you're reading, let's take for example, gym's terms and service. Instead of instantly skip everything and mark yes, they're going to make you sit there, read it for you, and say you understand to each and every single one of the terms and service. Other than that, making food is more expensive than eating outside. That's all I heard, but I won't confirmed that what I'm saying are all true tho.

[@MilanNikolic96]

@@blursedfly3504 this sounds familiar. Have you been listening to a certain podcast?

[@Floridamangaming729]

Blursed Fly it beats living in America. I cant stand this country.

[@chinito77]

A word of caution for those working with staffing agencies. Stay away from any company based in India. There were plenty of low paying, no benefits, shady companies offering you jobs. Waste of my time, they just want people who are willing to work for cheap in Japan. I went with an American staffing company and they got me a job for good pay. Please don't take a job at a low cost, this will affect the salaries of all when cheap labor because the norm.

[@kuldeeprana1908]

indian companies dont hire foreign workers because they already have plenty of workers in india....

[@samuraijosh1595]

@@kuldeeprana1908 he said that Japanese companies who've set up their staffing agency in _India_ hence the _company based in India_ in his comment. And, yes, he's actually right. Some Japanese companies offer campus placements here in Tamil Nadu but I'm not sure if they really looking for cheap labour.

[@김이박-e8m]

arigato! Nobita, I used JELLYFISH, which is featured here when looking for a job in Japan, and find me a job!

[@Rakkoonn]

As far as I know there is a shortage of programmers everywhere. The demand increases so fast that it's impossible to keep up.

[@HauntingShock]

But you need to have 5 years of experience first

[@Shin-hc6ne]

HauntingShock ikr...

[@youtubecontentz]

Nice video.

[@Thadnill]

In sweden they require you to have a college degree, 3 years of experience, know 5 different languages and pass the algorithm interview questions just to be a junior dev

[@saeed6971]

well then how would the new college graduades start to work in there since they have no experience?

[@Thadnill]

@@saeed6971 college graduates usually get internships and have their first job where you intern, but i do know a graduate who studied 3 years and didn't manage to land a job so he now has switch career field

[@saeed6971]

@@Thadnill i see. do you know that how much (in average) interns get paid on sweden? for example let's say a low-level system programmer on an average company.

[@StefanoV827]

USA is top about everything when we talk about money. I live in italy and I'm a Senior Software & Web engineer (12 years of experience), but my annual income is $20000. Working in Japan would be a dream even with $40000 but my problem would be the language... they need at least N2 ... and I'm just N4 beginner ... I'd like to be a freelancer or remote worker, but I can't without a business or working visa...

[@hector1404]

You don't need Japanese to land a job here, options are limited but it's not impossible. Me? Around 10 years experience as QA

[@StefanoV827]

@@hector1404 I tried, but in every website they ask for Japanese conversational (conversational means at least N3-N2). I use the same technologies they most use such PHP and C#. I also use Flutter for cross platform mobile apps, but nothing without conversational Japanese language. I'll try to search more about it.

[@EmmaNguyen-mg5xq]

@@StefanoV827 why you want to work in Japan.You will be disillusioned.Actually you forget taking other factors into consideration like housing fee,tax....

[@StefanoV827]

@inönu code is universal, salary not

[@chinito77]

As an IT guy in Japan, I would highly discourage Rakuten since they are known for no career growth. Most employees really hate their job there and end up in situations where they have to pack up and go back home. There are plenty of entry level jobs but Its super hard to get a job unless you are business level fluent. Not knowing any Japanese is a big no no so if you plan to move here, at least have an N3 or N2 level of speaking.

[@hector1404]

The single advantage of Rakuten is that they will sponsor your Visa, once you land in Japan is easier to get another position

[@lencifrarinster5325]

If you want to work in Japan, rakuten is a good start, their pay is not top-notch but still decent enough, and you can change to other Japanese companies after a year or two.

[@Ran.94]

I'm a female web developer in Dubai. I would really love to work in Japan for a diverse company. thank you for this video ^_^

[@Ran.94]

@@NepalSpeaks yeah but im looking in Japan

[@Ran.94]

@@Shadow77999 yup.

[@TMTLive]

I started working at a game company in yokohama recently. The pay really is much worse than what I made in the Netherlands, some other (non-game) companies actually did offer me competitive wages so it might be more a case of the game industry abusing the passion of its creators than the IT industry in general. Oh well, it's worth the investment for me, when I have a few years of game dev experience I'll have a lot more options.

[@samuraijosh1595]

The magnitude of the pay doesn't inherently tell you anything tho, does it??? So, what do you think was the ratio of ( wages/living cost in Japan) ????

[@TMTLive]

@@samuraijosh1595 The ratio of wages compared to living costs is far worse for programmers in Japan than in western Europe. For game programmers it's even worse. I'm not poor or anything, I can live in a decent room and can save a bit every month without having to worry about it too much, but I used to save a lot more money comparatively.

[@samuraijosh1595]

@@TMTLive Well, from what I've researched, western European countries are too high of a bar to compare any country to anyways. Is this ratio worse than what you might expect in US, Canada or Singapore..? Help me with this if you can: The thing is, I currently don't have much options other than Japan. Where I live some Japanese companies have basically collaborated with some colleges here that teach you Japanese and programming and promise you a job in Japan with a work visa + sponsorship for moving to Japan as soon as you become a fresh graduate(cuz they monitor you throughout your college years and make sure you meet their standards). I absolutely don't want to miss this opportunity cuz, from what I've researched, most other foreign companies require you to have at least 3 yrs of experience...😨😨😨 So, my plan for now is to get that job in Japan and keep saving enough simultaneously so I can leave for a better country if things go south or continue to work there if really like it. Do you think this is practical and could work....? Thanks in advance!

[@TMTLive]

@@samuraijosh1595 As far as I know about the US, engineers on the coasts would probably make more than in western Europe. Besides that though, yeah western Europe is hard to beat. For me it was a downgrade because I'm from such a privileged place, but for you it sounds like it would be an upgrade so it sounds good to me. It's good life experience and if these companies promise you stability that sounds great. The most worrying part is that they promise you a job, which sounds like perhaps you won't have much freedom choosing your company? If so you could get stuck working at a black company working unpaid overwork with unreasonable bosses. That said, the hardest part is getting into Japan, so if you survive in one of those companies for a year or so you could probably just up and move to a better one. If your work situation isn't bad, Japan is super comfortable to live in and I'm glad I made the step even though it was a downgrade in pay. If anything for you it should be an even more tempting choice. Good luck, man.

[@samuraijosh1595]

@@TMTLive Thank you bro for the advice! Appreciate it!

[@신-r2r]

The biggest issue in programming jobs: You need to like programming. It sounds pretty obvious, but I've seen my share of friends entering and leaving a company finding out that they don't really like coding, talk about it, sharing and growing while learning more.

[@thesunshade9750]

That is what is good about japanese company they have training programs so peopla can learn but in ny country no local company does that you have to enroll an IT course to learn but then the chance of geting hired is 0% if you have no experience. Applying online is the same.

[@IAmESG]

I finished a specialization of Database Management and currently taking a web development course, I find Japanese websites different compared to websites from western and south east asian countries.

[@IAmESG]

Specially those heavy texts, colorful borders, and their usage of images.

[@ivanrzhanoy9389]

That’s ok, you can say it’s just shit. Half of the websites are stuck in the 90s and are impossible to use without knowledge of Japanese. If I take Finnish websites for example, I still can use them despite not knowing Finnish, because they are way better organized

[@MartialBachoffner]

I think that the best option is to hire and train peoples internally. In Canada, they have the same issue in nursing, they must have a male quota that they cannot reach.

[@fsggames2022]

Same as other first world. Most non metro cities and small businesses used old technologies.

[@moth2326]

Working in Japan as a western citizen sounds like a terrible idea from both a social and economical perspective.

[@Malinkadink]

yep lol, but the weebs would still love to do it anyways. Japan is great to visit for a holiday, but living and working there? Hell no.

[@hector1404]

Depends on your goals and options, if you come from the US and move to Japan for monetary reasons only, then is a poor choice.

[@ジョージです-n1h]

Why bad economically? If you work in Japan it's not bad for Japan.

[@124085]

If you're doing it only for the money, yeah you're gonna have a bad time but people may move their for other reasons. Culture, infrastructure, food ect. As long as you're honest with yourself I don't think it's a terrible decision

[@newtide8209]

For Easterners it's not that bad.

[@Justin-yt7pi]

As a Junior Project Manager, I can confirm that we, at times, demand respect.

[@MaxibillionPegasus]

Thanks Nobita, I'm an IT Engineer here in the states, I was hoping I didnt have to be an english teacher for the rest of my life over there.

[@MarkAnthonyMamanta]

Thanks for this vid. I'm shocked that they're saying that the pay is low. Compared to my pay in the Philippines the proposed pay in Japan is a lot higher. Well there are things to consider like cost of living and other stuff though.

[@hector1404]

It would be lower for someone comes from US, also salary is higher for me here in Japan

[@saishowaguu2]

I am an IT "Engineer" in Japan for the past 12 years, mainly in the infra side (network, telephony, wireless, virtualization, cloud, windows systems) Everything in this video sound correct according to my experience. You're experience may vary depending on the company, IE. If they follow traditional Japanese company culture, or if its a younger/gaishikei type company. Having the Japanese language ability will improve your experience in either situation, but your age and ability/experience does factor in as well. If i had the choice, I probably would not go back to working in a traditional Japanese style company, but I will say that my position felt more secure and my business Japanese improved immensely while working there. Average salary is lower when compared to countries like the US, and it may take longer to get promotions, but I find if you take the humble approach in attitude while showing that you're a valued and necessary employee, the offers will come, whether its internally or from other companies. One thing many (older) companies don't like to see is too many job changes on a resume. I'm not saying you should stay in a company a long time if it doesn't fit or if a better offer comes along, but it is of something to be prepared for when interviewing.

[@高木正弘-e9z]

you should be interviewed by nobita. you have great experience.

[@saishowaguu2]

@@高木正弘-e9z Someday I hope to have the honor to be interviewed by Nobita-san.

[@Anonymous_422]

Arigato !!

[@orionofodyssey7271]

Nice video! What about Electric Engineers, are they also needed in Japan?

[@midmichiganrr24gp9]

Be weary of importing foreign workers. I and many other Americans lost our jobs in the IT industry due to cheap foreign replacements on the H1B Visa system here. They would bring people from India, and slowly replace the American workers. These indians would work for $8-9 hour with no benefits where most Americans were paid $18-22 hour with benefits.

[@bhawanishankar7755]

Can you please elaborate the last sentence a little, why would they pay someone for working less hour?

[@midmichiganrr24gp9]

@@bhawanishankar7755 same hours but more pay. I meant we were paid $18-22 per hour for the same amount of time and work

[@bhawanishankar7755]

@@midmichiganrr24gp9 Isn't that just exploitation

[@midmichiganrr24gp9]

@@bhawanishankar7755 exactly what it is

[@bhawanishankar7755]

@@midmichiganrr24gp9 Wasn't expecting that from America

[@kabukiwookie]

I spent 20 years in I.T. I'm done. No more.

[@TheCas1398]

Thank you so much for this video I'm currently studying web development and I was wondering how the work in japan was for that field.

[@landown]

There's a difference between developer and engineer. I think in this video you are referring to what is called a developer, not an engineer. Maybe in Japan they don't make that distinction, I apologise if that's the case

[@NivixX]

I'm currently working as a software engineer but if I want to work in japan, it's required to have a university degree (which I don't have) to acquire a working VISA though ..

[@eggxecution]

thanks for the tips

[@wongdoong2173]

me, a high schooler: I wish I can go to japan I wish I can be software engineer what a coincidence lol.

[@steak5599]

Focus on building your skill and experience, and you will make it anywhere in the world in the field of IT. Most interviews here are literally "Show me what you can do!" I am in the US, for whatever reason, Japanese based companies here seem to pay the lowest wage compares to companies bases in other countries, not sure what is it like in Japan mainland.

[@steak5599]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4akl6aQj5ydl8k Here is a good video breaking down people who wants to become a game developer, hope it helps you out planning your future!

[@estebantedesco1348]

Really cool video Nobita, Im a QA Engineer and it would be a dream come true to live and work in Japan but its very very difficult to get a job there :(

[@renegadesigma]

I've been following this channel for a while and I'm really enjoying the videos that get posted. But I'm wondering if it would be possible to ask some questions I personally have about Japan.

[@StevenBara]

"We just meet halfway"... 🥲

[@Mazoane]

I live in Japan I am planning to apply to frontend dev soon. Thank you for the info!

[@DoumanAsh]

This is rather funny but I was able to find job this year, but at the same time covid hit... which got my CoE lost on the way and for now I'm working remotely. COVID've been great to me this year

[@Shin-hc6ne]

Can i ask your experience and advice? I am almost 22 and starting IT degree will be done at probably 27... still able to find a job in Japan? What do u think?

[@DoumanAsh]

​@@Shin-hc6ne I believe there will be always opportunity for IT specialists in Japan for a long time Finishing at 27 sounds weird to me, someone who started his first job at 20, but even at 30 you'll have ample of opportunities for work too so I wouldn't worry. I don't think I can give you much of advice aside from suggesting to start learning japanese to get it to some decent level as it opens up a lot more of opportunities. If you're serious about moving to Japan, you obviously would investigate culture, taxes and other things to know about living there. But do look for a modern companies that focus on IT. Also lot of companies work through recruiters rather than hiring directly (at least form my past experience)

[@Shin-hc6ne]

Douman Ashiya at 27 because i need a bachelor degree, and in my country it takes around 5 years to get it done. And i had problems in my life (depression and situations) so i had to quit my past studies. And now i’m almost 22 and would be done with the degree at 27...

[@Shin-hc6ne]

Douman Ashiya what do you think about a degree in Japanese language? Takes 3 years and i would be done at 25. And would be able to speak Japanese, but not IT skills, i would only be able to speak Italian french Spanish and English and japanese as skills.

[@DoumanAsh]

@@Shin-hc6ne You do not need degree in Japanese. If you want confirmation you can pass JLPT exam which is available 2 times a year in many countries. (But I heard that english teacher is popular option for foreigners too, mostly if you're native speaker) But my advise: You should seek career that you're comfortable with, not to just move to Japan...

[@electronicraisin5956]

I read that its great only if you get paid by a western company, otherwise the wages are ridiculously low

[@electronicraisin5956]

also, good luck getting promoted as a foreigner in a japanese company

[@Tom-bm7mm]

Spot on. That was my experience.

[@Anderson-ly9no]

Yeah good luck trying to get in Google,Facebook,Amazon.....etc in Japan,I am pretty sure it's gonna be very hard, if you can't get in these mega companies even in your own country then you are probably not getting hired by them in Japan either.

[@hector1404]

@@Anderson-ly9no There are other options besides FAANG in Japan

[@chinito77]

@perwik77 Because they are foreign friendly and dont have that classic work hard till you die motto! Even with my attractive IT background, it's hard to get something at big company. Aim for the smaller foreign companies, it's what I did.

[@RTAG]

how about mechanical/electrical engineers?

[@Barffy]

That's what I'm wondering as well. I haven't found much on those types of engineering

[@hector1404]

I rarely seen job openings for that field, usually they require you to speak fluent Japanese. Not sure about the market.

[@rabikc2690]

Is 3 years CS bachelor's degree accepted in Japan? and thank you for the video. I have been doing some research on this topic lately.

[@hector1404]

Yeah, it is enough, but do you have actual work experience?

[@rabikc2690]

@@hector1404 nope, I recently graduated. Do I need experience as well?

[@hector1404]

@@rabikc2690 Preferebly yes

[@casualweekday-ytshadowbang2469]

Back in the day, a bachelor degree was the minimum for an engineering work permit (mistakenly called "visa") if it was/you were from a country member of OECD. Restrictions tend to relax with the need for IT engineers, though.

[@murilomacedo1313]

すごいね。

[@The1920sChannel]

Hey, Nobita, I'd be interested to know about the experience of people with dwarfism in Japan. Since I've been living in Japan, I've seen quite a few of them. And knowing how terrible the bullying can be in Japanese schools (from experience) and how strict working environments can be about appearance, etc., I'd be curious to know what life is like in Japan from their perspective.

[@Trazynn]

The US is the exception here, not Japan. It's not Japan that pays half as much for IT as the rest of the world. It's the US that pays twice as much for IT than the rest of the world. So...clearly one of these countries is paying the wrong price right? Not quite. The truth is that we're looking at averages whereas the actual incomes have a highly skewed distributions. This means there's a few all-star engineers making millions a year and then there's lots of mediocre engineers making normal wages. There's a huge diversity in how much value an engineer can add to a company in Silicon Valley, but there's not much diversity in how much value an engineer can add elsewhere. Maybe the US is ahead of the curve, maybe their wages are inflated, but this industry doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon.

[@Trazynn]

European salaries are more similar to Japan than they are to the US.

[@Trazynn]

That makes the US the exception.

[@Trazynn]

Exactly. Take twouser experience designers of equal skill and experience, one in Silicon Valley and one anywhere else in the world. The UX designer in silicon valley could be responsible for a hundred times more users interacting with software than the UX designer anywhere else.

[@mov4736]

Not to be offensive, but based on my searches, despite having higher salary in usa the tax and fees (like medical bills, child stuff, schools/university) is way way higher than japan. So in terms pf lifestyle you would actually be poorer. Ofcourse this is dependent on the location you live in and company you work for but still applicable. The research was done by comparing salary with the average living costs. Avoided areas like tokyo and osaka, silicon valley and LA since those are generally hyper expensive. Is my impression true or false?

[@Trazynn]

Completely true. Japan is an economy with low entropy, very little waste and friction and therefore the cost of living isn't as high.

[@RonaldoSanchez-g1y]

I do section 508 work in US, I can do HTML, CSS, limited Java, but zero Japanese language. Would I be able to find work over there?

[@patrik3482]

The Egypt's guy grammar is all over the place, subs would help there.

[@cheatchanbothcheatchanboth2632]

So good Japan 🇯🇵