Hi everyone!
I’ll be starting my working holiday in Japan very soon (leaving tomorrow lol), and I’m hoping to get some advice on how to maximize my chances of finding a job that could eventually sponsor me for a work visa after my WH year.
Some background information: I’m a 27F with New Zealand citizenship. I’m a native Chinese speaker and fluent in English (not native as I was raised in China). I passed N1 last year, but I would say my spoken Japanese probably falls closer to N2 level. I hold a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and I’m a registered veterinarian in Australia with about 1.5 years of clinical experience.
One of the main reasons I want to explore this option is because my bf (who is not Japanese, so he can’t sponsor my visa) is currently working there, and he is in the process of applying for 永住 there. I’ve also been feeling somewhat burnt out from clinical work, so I’m happy to restart my career path in a new country as long as it is realistic.
I’ve done quite a bit of research in the past few months, but from what I’ve seen, many foreigners who succeed in finding jobs in Japan either
a) have an IT background, or
b) are native English speakers and work in teaching
I’ve also read that it can be quite difficult for foreigners to work in medical related fields in Japan due to licensing requirements and the need to know drug names and medical terms in Japanese.
I am open to any industries other than medical field as well, but from my understanding it would be extremely difficult for me to switch fields without previous experience especially if I am not a 新卒? Please correct me if I’m wrong!
Given my background, is it realistic for me to find a job in Japan? Or should I just forget about that, enjoy my year in Japan and plan to return to Australia afterwards?
Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!
by srw1934