Hello all, I'm sure a lot of you have had similar experiences so I'd love to get any advice. My wife is Japanese and I'm Taiwanese/American (dual citizen, have been living in the US for the past 17 years). I am in my mid 30s and have been a practicing dentist for the past 10 years, while my wife works as a software engineer. She really would like both of us to move back to Japan and raise our future kids there instead of in the US, and I'm trying to find ways of working as a dentist in Japan or prepare for a different career in order to live there. I have N1 proficiency, can read/write/speak/listen in Japanese, and speak Mandarin Chinese as a native speaker as well.
I wouldn't mind completely giving up dentistry (as I've developed a lot of wrist, neck, back problems due to the job) and am open to different career options. I am aware that given my age, it may be difficult but would appreciate any ideas on possible careers in Japan. Thank you very much.
by emeraldhusky15
6 comments
> it may be difficult but would appreciate any ideas on possible careers in Japan.
This is honestly so broad that it’s very difficult to reasonably answer. More a question of what *you’d* like to do. With a spouse visa you can do whatever you want, and you speak Japanese and Mandarin so there’s a large amount of opportunity, and if your wife has a good salary (will she be able to move inter-company to a nice gaishi position in Japan?) you’ll have stability, and if you have the money you can try starting up a small company etc.
You just have so many possibilities that nobody here is likely to be able to really guide you down any paths.
Since you know enough Japanese you can also look into possibly getting licensed in Japan. There are some other dentists who are dual US and Japan licensed and offered services to foreign executives etc. for a premium. Since you can also offer native language services to wealthy English and Mandarin speakers you could probably be very successful setting up your own office, it’s just a matter of how hard and how long it would be to get licensed.
There are more dental clinics in Japan than convenience stores.
Since you’d be on a spouse visa that opens you up to being able to do remote work for a different country as well.
With your specialized medical knowledge and multiple languages, have you considered editing/translating academic articles? I have a colleague who does that in Korea and seems to have made a decent career for himself.
I once met someone who was studying to be a medical translator (English, Japanese), perhaps that’s an option since you’re multi lingual and have a background in medicine? Not really sure about pay and job prospects though.
Maybe getting involved in dental equipment supply somehow? Involving China/Taiwan and Japan? I have no idea what that industry is like, but you have tha specialized knowledge and the language skills.
Since your Japanese is fluent im sure there would lots of possibilities for you there but i just wanted to say that choosing to raise your kids in Japan instead of U.S would be the greatest choice you can make for them 🙏