Hello. I come from a developing country in the Caribbean region and I may get the MEXT Scholarship for Research Students (already did the whole process, all that's left is to wait for the result of the final screening by MEXT). I have a Bachelor's Degree from a university in my country in the field of Computer Engineering. I obtained a provisional letter of acceptance from a national Japanese university (not one of the top ones.)
Here's the problem, due to me originally pursuing a different degree after high school but later deciding that it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life, after dealing with some obstacles and some soul-searching I started university again and got my bachelor's degree fairly late (I graduated at 28 years old.) I currently have zero work experience in my field.
If I win the scholarship and everything goes according to plan, I would be graduating in Japan in my early 30s. I know this will create added challenges for me if my plan is to pursue a career in Japan. I would like to know if it's possible for me to find success considering my circumstances and what I would need to prepare for in advance.
Currently, all I've been doing is reading about others in a somewhat similar situation (which is how I found out that I may not be able to take advantage of 新卒一括採用), learning skills relevant to my prospective career path and studying Japanese. I am aware that my situation is very much less than ideal.
I want to approach this in a realistic manner and I'm willing to put in the work required.
by siorain