Real talk about toxic jobs in Japan this year

[@neonkaiju]

I'm happy I stumbled across this channel. I'm so used to all of the tired tropes & myths yanked from Reddit that it sorta shocked me to get some actual, usable advice for once.

[@boomlore73]

Just sharing my experience and what I learned along the way.

[@Kaimicah77]

Happy to see an update from you guys! Hope you all are still doing okay!

[@boomlore73]

We're back! Here's a little something for all you remote workers: Use my link to get 4 mos free on the 2 year plan!: nordvpn.com/boomlore 30-day money back guarantee means you can check out this VPN risk-free!

[@palacioed17]

Ah, it's Boomer! 😍 Welcome back! Thanks for this vid

[@mumu32]

Thanks! This is some really good advice. 😀

[@GreggyTrades]

Great information, thank you for sharing. All the best to you and your lovely family!

[@DBlizt2k6]

Also this is very good information and I follow Loretta’s channel. Always great advice.

[@michele7275]

This video confirms the reasons why I left Japan and why I thought that, despite the giga flaws in the local job market, I prefer to do in my own home country. Japan's job market actually has lots of flaws, and most of them are toxic enough to regret lots of people's decision to work in Japan. It is not bad actually, you can enjoy how living in Japan is. The only bad thing is the working culture stuck in the previous century. It can be better? surely, althought things are slightly changing, the base mindset is still the same, always against changes because comfort.

[@boomlore73]

Job market is rough. I just hope this video helps some people out there going through it to identify and avoid bad situations.

[@alextelus1952]

$/Yen = 157 makes for an absurdly low hourly rate of pay thesedays.

[@MeargN]

I am not the only one. What is with the gossip, belittling, and insults they do towards foreigners running from room to room. It is basically socially unliveable.

[@etherdog]

Glad you discussed this, Boomer! It is disheartening to hear how shabby some Japanese companies treat their employees in terms of time commitment.

[@Beffinee]

You and Loretta coming out with the most helpful videos this week! 💪

[@NicoleYoshihara]

God Bless you guys and 🙏 your job search and good job It is so difficult in the US I can imagine in Japan it is much harder

[@EntropyOfChaos]

I can relate to so much of this as I am currently job searching in Japan. I am an experienced worker with 12 years experience and most of the companies I have applied for basically don't want to pay based on experience or the pay difference is minimal. Also I've found so many companies overselling their potential salary to recruiters by drastic amounts. For instance saying up to 15 million yen a year for a position but then when the recruiters press they say they are really looking to only pay up to 7. I'm like, this is less than half of what you advertised.

[@boomlore73]

They are probably basing it on your current salary. You’re not going to get that 15 million unless you are currently making 12-13 million

[@EntropyOfChaos]

@@boomlore73 the fact is coming from the US it would be close to 20 million with my total compensation as a software engineer but they are never actually going to give that. I've been asking for 10 million based on the research I've done for my experience. Talking to different recruiters though, it seems that this is a common game in the industry to try to bring people in. I had one company bait and switch me on salary after 5 rounds of technical interviews and a coding assignment that took me 20 hours. The recruiter told them my expectations and they agreed. Then they tried to offer 20% less.

[@boomlore73]

@@EntropyOfChaos For my current role I rejected the offer twice and told them to come back with a higher number of they wanted me to switch jobs. If you don’t need a work visa and can find a job in the US that let’s you work remotely, that is also an option

[@EntropyOfChaos]

@@boomlore73 good on you for doing that. I'm glad in the end you were able to negotiate something better. I'm honestly planning to keep applying here for the next few months and if I don't find something I'll probably have to return to the states as my visa will expire. But, I'll keep doing my best. Unfortunately most of the remote jobs I've found won't allow remote work outside the US. Also working remotely here as a contractor can be very difficult as you have to usually do things like self incorporate to sponsor a visa. There are ways, but it can many times be extremely difficult and also require an immigration lawyer. Also thanks for taking the time to respond to me. I appreciate it. 😊

[@boomlore73]

@@EntropyOfChaosI'll be honest I was frustrated with the job search process for my current position. There was some drama with the recruiter and the company trying to low-ball me. I was ready to walk away cause I already had a good job at a FAANG company but it ended up working out. I have had experiences like yours as well and all I can say is keep trying and don't settle.

[@lynnmatsui]

At my company when I was a contract employee my salary was based on normal hours and I got paid extra for any overtime. I'm a full 正社員 now but it's still the same. My department has a lot of overtime at specific busy seasons but aside from that people don't do much overtime. Also they start us at 10 holidays a year but after 5 years that goes up to the max of 20 so my situation is pretty good.

[@boomlore73]

I guess it depends on the company. The 10 days of is pretty normal from what I've seen. Didn't know about the increase after five years. Do you get like at extra two vacation days every year? Or do you just get 10 vacation days a year until you got five years and then you get 20?

[@lynnmatsui]

@@boomlore73 it's an additional 2 every year until you hit the limit. And any unused days can be carried over for one year.

[@boomlore73]

@@lynnmatsuiThat seems reasonable

[@reminotinparis]

Thank you so much, those are really valuable informations!

[@boomlore73]

Glad it was helpful!

[@itsmemg.]

Yeah here in the UK, they ask what your last pay salary was

[@noname_cafe]

thank you for sharing, it is sad to work in the toxic jobs

[@boomlore73]

Don't get caught in one!

[@reddwarfhead]

How can they even check your past salary? I understand they can ask, but can't you just tell them anything?

[@boomlore73]

After you pass so the interviews, they ask for pay slips for the last 3 months before they make you an offer. Recruiters ask you in the first meeting.

[@reddwarfhead]

@@boomlore73 I see, thank you! I just hope they will take into consideration that there will be discrepancies between cost of living in Japan and other countries - because what I make in my home country might not nearly be enough to survive in Japan, even with that 15% raise. That is, in my case of working in a country that is underdeveloped compared to Japan.

[@boomlore73]

@@reddwarfheadNot sure how they would do it for an international hire. I was in Japan when I changed jobs so the process might be different

[@klausklausi7484]

​@@boomlore73 Is asking for pay slips nuts? Anybody else feel this way?

[@HikariCTW]

If you don't have to submit the 3 months payslips, which can be under NDA depending on company (same for bonus and raise structure/amount), you'll have to submit you year end tax adjustment regardless. Vast majority of companies of FT file your taxes for you, so they need to know of your previous annual income and taxes paid to correctly file for you the next year. You can also file yourself but its not common for a FT employee at just one company.

[@HikariCTW]

Regarding the built in overtime: legally they can take the OT pay back, not pay the full set amount (only what you actually worked) or ask for backpay if you did not work it. Typically it would be a very black company that would garnish the pay and not super standard but always keep in mind that they could do so if you dont work the full contracted OT.

[@boomlore73]

Good to know. Never had this happen yet, but definitely good to keep in mind while job searching

[@HikariCTW]

​@@boomlore73seen more common in these types of companies for them to "pay it forward" too. Paid 20hr OT in April but only worked 10? They can ask for 30hrs in May without extra pay since they already paid it before. Always know your contracts! 👀

[@pacman_ghost]

He summed it up perfectly when he said 'i wouldn't work for a Japanese company'. Can you imagine going to a country and being told this?!! Talk about red flag 😂

[@boomlore73]

There are actually a few Japanese companies I keep at eye on because they are fully remote and very different from a typical Japanese company. But in general I avoid them.

[@shink287]

I'm Japanese. I'm concerned that many Japanese companies are shady and they take advantage of foreigners' vulnerable positions. I've heard so many stories like Boomer. Don't work for Japanese companies if possible. If you need to, take the job as a stepping stone and say goodbye to them when you find a job that values your experience and skills. You would be very lucky If you found a rewarding job at a Japanese company. Better focus on international companies for job hunting.

[@mishy_297]

Boomer please post more videos. It’s great. ❤

[@boomlore73]

@@mishy_297 wish I could. Barely have any time to just relax right now.

[@mishy_297]

@@boomlore73 Oh I understand. I hope you and the family have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year!

[@salmon_is_decent8179]

Very interesting and informative video. I work in cyber for the federal government. I think if I ever did want to work in Japan, I honestly would just work at another government site/embassy for lateral or even higher pay. Federal positions such as a GG-2210-13+ IT Cybersecurity Specialist can get COLA (Cost of Living Allocation) and some positions depending on which federal agency can even give White House benefits. So with that stated I think it is a hard pass for me to work for a private or contract IT in Japan… Still very informative and thank you for sharing.

[@boomlore73]

There are two major US military bases near Tokyo and others on Kochi Ave Okinawa. If you wanted to work for the US Government here there are options. I almost took an IT support at a base hospital as my first tech job here, so there are options.

[@VDA19]

Jesus, 20 hours overtime. I already think 40 hours of work a week is way too much.

[@boomlore73]

I meant 20 hours a month. That is was it's built into my contract, but I would say that 20 hours of overtime a week would not be atypical for a Japanese company.

[@JustVoylin]

Working in Japan is difficult, the last company I worked for had a kind of bad atmosphere. I was an English teacher and the teaching was fun, but the other company related stuff ... My overwork wasn't paid at all, not even anything included in my salary. I basically had to work my ... off as my colleagues didn't do much, travel times were high as they often send me to far places, ... (Many other things which I'm trying to forget about as I had to quit that job because of a depression)

[@boomlore73]

Glad you are out of that situation. If you ever have issues like that again go to Hello Work and they will help you. It's the Japanese department of Labor arm that helps workers who have problems like yours with your job. They will talk to your employer for you.

[@magoyama]

How many remote days do you get now in Japan? In Europe (more specifically in France) they're trying to reduce remote working to 2 days in a week. In any case, great video, thank for sharing your experience (and congrats for the wonderful baby).

[@boomlore73]

3 days a week remote, 2 days a week in the office

[@TheTungdil2]

10 days off a year? That’s brutal.

[@_Username__]

Exactly slavery

[@jaep2495]

@@_Username__ is a dramatic simpleton

[@kenokamikawa]

Hi, thank you for the information and tips. Here we are "supposed" to do >40 hrs :/ I did not see the lawyer information posted in the description box. If it is ok, could you share the company's name?

[@boomlore73]

Immi.tokyo (Noriko Akazawa)

[@kenokamikawa]

@@boomlore73 Thanks !

[@tyrellwithbapes]

Asking for a friend, I remember you had posted a video on time about not having a degree and still being able to work in Japan. I may be wrong but I believe you said it can be supplemented for work experience? My friend has a lot of work experience in IT and wants to work in Japan, even if not IT and teaching English or something. His wife and son(wife is Japanese) live in Japan so he wants to hurry up and live with them. He is currently living in America. He has a spouse visa for 1 yr so he can do anywork legally, but he doesn't have a bachelor's degree which I know is usually needed. Any way around this for him? I believe he has 10 yrs work experience in IT. Thank you.

[@boomlore73]

If he has a spouse visa he does not need a college degree. The degree is only a requirement for the visa, not the job. If he can he should just come and do job searching here since he doesn't need a work visa.

[@tyrellwithbapes]

@@boomlore73 Thanks. Didn't know that. Actually he has been in Japan since April and will be here until the end of June for his son's bday.

[@klausklausi7484]

Thanks for the video. Sounds as bad as I imangined it. As a German Automation Engineer, the my current Salary is so high, that absolutly all Job Offers in Japan are offering Peanuts. For me it sounds like a bet that working and living in Japan is the deal and not earning money.

[@boomlore73]

It depends. For people in the middle of their careers with high salaries in Europe or the US, working in Japan will not have similar salaries.

[@ManachanJapan]

I'd rather say any company requiring 6 days instead of required Saturdays, because there are companies open 6 days a week but only want you to work 5 days, this might end up in working Tue-Sat , Sun Mon off, or Sun/another day.

[@boomlore73]

For non-tradional jobs this would be more accurate. Fire most corporate jobs what I said it's accurate

[@ManachanJapan]

@@boomlore73 You must have been unlucky, because these companies are VERY rare these days

[@boomlore73]

@@ManachanJapan Not from what I've seen on job postings. It's like 50/50 on indeed

[@ToMaSsS10]

How did you transition from IT to cybersecurity

[@pfteve]

Certs are generally a good start. Sec+ or Security Blue Team Level 1.

[@boomlore73]

I have certs. but I think having a general knowledge of a broad range of IT is key

[@coolbrotherf127]

I would love to work as a remote software engineer in Japan, but I'm definitely never going to bother working for a Japanese company.

[@NamekSaiyan]

I'll be on working holiday starting May. I plan on networking aggressively, what do you think about getting jobs through networking (bars, english cafes etc.)... I'm looking for something in IT engineering before my visa expires so hopefuly for a work visa sponsorship if I play my cards right. Of course I have been already heavily applying and have connected with some recruiters already over video chat. I know my resume is attractive where im from because I get decent hits from recruiters who line me up into interviews without me really heavily applying locally. Do you think it's wise to take a job in teaching until I can pivot back into my field?

[@boomlore73]

Depends on your financial situation. If you can hold out then don't do English teaching but know it takes time to get into your new job. I started my first IT job 2 months after the offer because I had to change visas. Not sure if you would need to change visas crib working holiday to working visa for an IT job.

[@NamekSaiyan]

@@boomlore73 thanks bud, I'm a new sub your videos are inspirational I might start recording my own journey. Thanks for not being like all those Japan gatekeepers and giving real human advice. love from Toronto. Peace.

[@infinityisoph]

Thank you so much for this video! I will be in Japan for year with the working holiday Visa, would you recommend Gaijin Pot for a first job research in Japan ?

[@boomlore73]

I have never gotten a response from a job I applied to on Gajin Pot for English teaching or otherwise so I would not recommend it.

[@manny7662]

Any insight you can give with working for a startup in Japan? I'm interested in starting my own.

[@boomlore73]

I wouldn't do it unless I already had permanent residency. You need to business manager visa to do what you are considering and it is one of the hardest visas to get PR with.

[@manny7662]

@@boomlore73 thanks for the advice. Yeah it seems too big of a risk.

[@boomlore73]

You can start your own business if you want, just be aware that it will be hard to get PR if that's what you're aiming for

[@manny7662]

@@boomlore73 My main goal isn’t a PR it’s for acquisition. Also i can really build my business here in the states while meeting with Japanese nationals. I’d move overseas if there were more of a reason to stay. So that’s actually what I’m doing at the moment. I appreciate your advice!

[@DBlizt2k6]

I am also in cybersecurity in the states and would love to live in Japan. Can you provide any resources for jobs that are primarily international and are based in Japan?

[@boomlore73]

Go to LinkedIn Ave change the location to Japan

[@TheMyahChannel]

Maybe its just my company but its so free/flexible 😅

[@lullemans72]

6:19 recruiter here. very sorry to hear about that unfortunate experience. do you mind me asking which recruitment firm you dealt with? this isn't something i would ever do as a recruiter. i do the exact opposite by playing devil's advocate and then watch them come back to me if they really want the job. also, if anything, the recruiter should be incentivized to negotiate a higher salary for you, so something tells me you might have dealt with an internal recruiter or a very incompetent agency recruiter.

[@boomlore73]

Imo, for recruiters the people they recruit are a one of ftransaction whereas they might hire for multiple roles with the company. Companies are the real clients. What is better? One big commission or a relationship with a company who will come back to an agency for a dozen or more roles over a year? The person I dealt with was newer and from a smaller agency, bit I will never believe recruiters are on my side because I am not the client. Recruiters are useful but people should be aware that recruiters are not always going to have the same interest as the people they recruit.

[@lullemans72]

@@boomlore73 thanks for sharing your thoughts. my response is it's definitely good to be cautious, but a good recruiter will always look at the long term relationship with both candidates and clients. anyone who just wants to make a quick commission is likely only looking at the short term gains and should probably not be trusted as a recruiter. as you said, that recruiter you dealt with was probably more junior and wanted to make some placements. but it should never be at the detriment of the candidate.

[@AdriDwitomo]

Best way is to be a digital nomad in japan with the yen being very weak.

[@boomlore73]

If you can. The digital nomad visa sunny give you a residence card so you can't get an apartment, phone or internet beyond rental WiFi. You basically have to live in AirBnBs or hotels. If your job allows you to work internationally then ok. Imo the best situation is too get an expat package and get paid in your home currency while working here.

[@nataliyainmotion]

👀The timing of this video is uncanny...👀

[@106460]

3:18 I think you mean 20 hrs/month, because 20h/week would be atrocious.

[@reddwarfhead]

I hope so, too. On the same note, I know people who work 20hrs/week overtime and they don't even get it paid 🫠

[@boomlore73]

Yeah you are right, I misspoke there

[@FransceneJK98]

20 hours of overtime a WEEK is quite normal in Japan. A looooot of people work 20+ hrs of overtime every week. Why do you think karoshi (death by overwork) is such a hot topic now?? 20 hrs of OT a month is nothing. That’s only 5hrs of OT a week. It’s like working 45hrs instead of 40. But many work 60+ hrs a week. Heck, even in the US I know many people who work 60+ hrs week. So I doubt he misspoke.

[@106460]

@@FransceneJK98 Read the comment right above you.

[@mimistak]

😂😂😂😂 dude I work 6 hours overtime per day 6 days/week 😂😂😂😂 and the place is Greece and we get paid a fix amount per hour lower than the legal or else we are out of job. The government in Greece is so corrupt that most of the work rights are non existent 😢😢😢😢 uck you mitsotakis

[@CyberStrike]

It's been a couple of years since I've seen Boomer. When did he evolve into Henry Cavill?

[@shelleyjones4146]

why did you decide to move in to cybersecurity?

[@boomlore73]

I like not having to do the same thing at work everyday. One day I’ll be dealing with an issue related toto a windows server the next day Linux. I’ll work with firewall issue next week and then a proxy issue. I don’t get bored and am always learning new things.

[@tinahindi]

helIo, I was wondering what happen to you.

[@valentinursu1747]

20% of this video is an ad, and it is at the beginning. Asking people to waste 2 minutes of their life for 8 minutes of dubious content makes you on par with the black companies you mentioned.

[@jdskates.69]

Agreed. That was confusing and annoying

[@boomlore73]

If you want to sponsor three three next video our pay pal link is in three description 😉 😉 😉.

[@h.h1623]

People have bills to pay, how about you do something about it?

[@UltimaFantasy]

@@h.h1623That’s the point. His video is being sponsored and it’s his right to talk about the sponsorship, it’s what a lot of KZbinrs do

[@christopherm6353]

Great job coming to this country and labeling their standards as toxic. The people of Japan certainly value your biased, uninformed opinion. Please make more clickbait content like this.

[@boomlore73]

LoL, way to White Knight extreme overtime. gaslighting employees and low salaries.😂 Have you even worked here or lived here?

[@brfr-k5y]

What a weird comment lol, im gonna assume rage bait

[@Ashy5000]

@@boomlore73 A typical weeb that fly's into a fit of rage with any criticism of Japan. Honestly there are so many of them living here and those who are terminally online. it's exhausting. The anime is strong with this one.

[@Handles_are_garbage]

I got a job offer in Japan significantly under what I'd expect for my experience. I tried to negotiate, they made excuses, I walked away. They're still trying to find someone. Worth adding the amount they offered was less than half of the wage band advertised...

[@boomlore73]

Recently I have been talking with colleagues who have moved on front their jobs and companies here seem more willing to pay more based on your Japanese level. I think English only positions will pay less going forward. But good for you for walking away! Know🎉your🎉worth🎉

[@Handles_are_garbage]

@@boomlore73 I'm definitely seeing more jobs advertised with an N3 requirement (which this role asked for) as opposed to no Japanese, but there are still a lot looking for better English than Japanese due to their international ambitions and/or working with offshore teams in India etc.

[@boomlore73]

@@Handles_are_garbage I had a friend who got a job with a Japanese company that is fully remote recently. I saw a job opening there and asked him if he thought I could get the job. He told me that the company would probably hire me, but I probably wouldn't get a huge salary increase because, at this company you need to be able to communicate very well in Japanese to interact with management in order to get hired at a Senior level. This company has an international presence and uses English to communicate with officers/vendors in other countries. It may only be at this company, but I have been seeing recruiters posting a lot on LinkedIn about how Japanese language requirements for jobs in tech are increasing. I'm just putting 2&2 together and might be reaching a bit, but that's what I think based on all the info I have been getting.

[@fahimtajwar9657]

I have an Engineering/International Service/Humanities visa. I need a job quick urgent. I am applying through CareerCross, Guidable Jobs, Yolo, Indeed, doda, RecruitAgent, Rikunabi, LinkedIn and few more. I am going through a lot of trouble and hassle using those, especially from the Japanese agents who work in these recruitment agencies. They do not understand English and anything about Engineering and I cannot keep track where are they calling from since I have been applying over hundreds of jobs in a day. Please suggest me something, I hold N4 certificate but can speak N3/N2 and have Bachelor’s degree Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Thanks