It's as the title says. I've just taken the JLPT N2 exam on Sunday, and I'm a bit lost on where to go from here.
I am from Myanmar, where the political situation is so bad that I had to move to Thailand to avoid getting conscripted. I do freelance remote work as an English-Burmese medical interpreter for a US language company. The pay is decent relative to where I live and where I'm from.
As for my educational background, I was one year away from getting an MBBS degree (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery – in my country, you can see patients a doctor with this degree). However, due to the coup d'etat by the military, it was dangerous for me to continue pursuing it, and I had to transfer credits for a bachelor's degree in public health.
My girlfriend is also from Myanmar, and she's now on an engineering work visa in Japan. If we were a straight couple, we could just marry and not have this headache, but alas, it is what it is.
I've done a lot of research, and I think these are my only options. Japan doesn't provide a working holiday visa for my country (even if they do, I don't earn enough to qualify).
Option A. Despite the fact that I've sort of stumbled into my current line of work, I'm very grateful to have a remote job in this dire situation. I could try applying for a Japanese-Burmese interpreter position once I get my N2 cert, but I know that my language skills are definitely not good enough yet. I have to improve my speaking skills first. And I don't have my university transcript from med school yet. The government won't give it to me unless I return to my home country, after which leaving again would be extremely diffcult. I would have to find a work-around (maybe do some under the table deals).
Option B. I swallow my pride, and try to obtain a Specified Skilled worker visa (特定技能 visa) and do blue collar work. This doesn't require a degree, but both the pay and living conditions would be a downgrade. But it would probably be the fastest. And then, I could pursue a master's degree once I've saved up enough.
Option C. I stay here and try to save up for language school. Then I either save up enough from working part-time while attending language school, or I go the option B route.
I think that's about it. Sorry it got a bit long-winded. Thank you if you made it this far. I'd appreciate any advice.
Edit: fixed a typo
by Hawkane