Hello! I apologize in advance because the title may be a bit misleading. I’m currently in my last year of high school trying to decide my career path. I’m half Japanese (half european) and have been living in Japan for 9 years. I attended a Japanese hs and jhs but took most of my classes in English. My Japanese is currently not great because I’ve mostly surrounded myself by English speaking friends and don’t speak Japanese at home. I’ve recently been accepted to the English program at Sophia university and cannot decide whether I should attend or if it would be better to go to uni abroad. I like living in Japan and although it gets a little tiring sometimes, I’m used to it. I think I’ve mostly made peace with always being a foreigner and adapted to the life here. Having experience moving countries, I’m somewhat scared of going to uni abroad and having to “start all over”. That said however, I’m seriously worried whether I would be able to find a good job if I just went to Sophia. Even though I have a Japanese passport, I don’t look Japanese and have been treated as a foreigner pretty much the whole time I’ve lived here. I’ve seen many people say that Japanese women barely get promoted in workplaces, so I imagine being a foreigner would make it even worse. Honestly with the whole “AI will put everyone out of jobs” sentiment that has been going around recently, I’m not even sure I’d be able to get a job in the first place. Alternatively, if I went to uni abroad, it would most likely lead to more job security but another reservation I’m having is my parents are insisting on a major I have close to zero interest in. I’m also unsure on how much Japanese I’ll be able to retain once I’m no longer surrounded by it and my priority becomes learning another language.
I’m sorry this post ended up being so long winded. I’m really hoping someone could offer me some perspective on whether I can expect any career growth and a decent salary as a foreigner here in Japan. I’ve been thinking in circles and can’t come to any conclusion. If you’ve read this far thank you.
by sakana25