Hi guys, I’m a 27M Asian, recently got my Australian citizenship this year. A few years ago, I moved to Australia to study a master’s in urban planning and I have a genuine interest in the field. I graduated more than two years ago and have been trying ever since to land a planning job in Sydney, but with no success so far.
To be honest, I’m really surprised at how competitive and limited the urban planning job market is here. There are around 7–8 universities offering planning degrees in Sydney alone, and one of the undergrad programs even offers a 1-year placement for every student (50–60 people annually), so naturally, those grads get hired first. Despite having a Master’s, I don’t feel like it gives me any real edge. I’d estimate there are only maybe 20-30 true openly advertised entry-level roles across all of Sydney each year—and I’m not keen on relocating to rural towns for work.
Right now, I’m working as an estimator/project coordinator at a small local construction company. I’ve been here for over 2 years. While I’m grateful to have a job, the work feels tedious and small-scale. It’s not what I imagined myself doing. The salary doesn’t really cover the cost of living here as well.
Now I’m seriously thinking about exploring opportunities in Japan.
A few years ago, I did a year-long exchange program in Tokyo and absolutely loved it. That was genuinely one of the best times of my life. I still have a lot of friends there, and during a recent visit, I talked to a few of them who suggested I’d have better luck job-wise in Tokyo, especially since I speak English and Chinese. I also passed JLPT N1, though my business Japanese still needs work, but I’m willing to learn.
I know urban planning is a very localized and niche field in Japan too, and I don’t have relevant experience yet. I’m also aware Japanese companies prefer fresh graduates, which puts me at a disadvantage. That said, I’m open to planning-adjacent fields like real estate, consulting, asset management, etc. And to be honest, Japan just seems to have way more companies operating in these spaces—firms like NTT, Nikken, Mori Building, etc.—and some of them work on international projects where someone with my background could be useful.
So now I’m torn:
• Do I go to Japan, maybe enroll in a short-term language school to improve my business Japanese while job hunting, and see what opportunities I can find?
• Or should I stay in Australia and keep trying my luck here and hope something finally opens up?
by aspringbear