Hello! I am an American (25M) and I've always entertained the idea of moving to Japan. As for education, my undergrad is in chemical engineering and my graduate is in business. My career relevant working experience is 2.5 years at my university as a computational chemistry research assistant and 2.5 years as a process analyst at a hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility.
I'm self-taught (N3/N2-ish) and planning to take the JLPT N2 this winter but I am also thinking about enrolling in language school in Japan too. I think this is the right move because I can enhance my business vocab and I hear that many jobs open up when you already live in Japan. The schools I'm looking at are TOYO, Nichibei, ISI, OLJ, or Sendagaya. I'm mainly looking for a language school that has buisness and JLPT prep courses. If anyone has went to any of these schools please share your experiences!
I'm fairly liquid on cash because I was frugal when working at my last job as an engineer. My only concern is assuming my Japanese becomes decent, do I have enough work experience to get a engineering (or business, data analyst) position in Japan with relative ease?
In terms of where I want to see myself X years in the future, I think I'll be happy as long as I can afford a home, the occasional vacation (both in Japan and back to the USA), and PC games lmao. Career wise, I'm not super ambitious; as long as my job is tolerable and can cover my living expenses I'll be fine. At most I'd like to open up a restaurant.
If anyone has any tips, suggestions, or alternatives please drop them below! Thank you!
by laacoe