Hey everyone. I'm at a bit of a crossroads in my life and I could really use some advice about what to do next.
I am 23 and I'm about to graduate with a degree in Computer Science. I am interested in moving to Japan, temporarily or possibly long-term.
I've been living at home through college and I feel like I've overstayed my welcome. My parents are starting to pressure me into getting a job, buying a home with a huge mortgage as quick as possible and are seemingly planning to marry me off to someone. I can't really say anything as I live under their roof. They've been getting increasingly verbal about it and I desperately need some distance from them.
My idea is to move to Japan now on the 1 year working holiday visa, find an English teaching job to get a foothold and hopefully build a career. Ideally I would want to use my degree but I am open to alternative fields if they are more feasible.
Background information about me :
– Canadian citizenship
– Have about 630万 yen ($55k) in savings/investments
– Have 270万 yen ($23k) of interest-free student loans. The payment is 2.7万 yen ($232) per month starting from March 2027. No other debts.
– Currently 350万 yen ($30k) is in a TFSA of various covered call and dividend ETFs paying 2.7万 yen ($240) per month. The rest is liquid in a HYSA.
– Have a car and personal belongings which could fetch another $5k or so.
– Had one semi-useless internship in 2023 building a database system where I didn't really learn anything new. The market is quite competitive now and I'd probably need intensive study and work to be employable.
– Worked 2 part time jobs since 2023 while completing my degree. One is tutoring Math/English and the other one is running an after-school program related to STEM.
– Have not taken JLPT but I have been studying Japanese using WaniKani, Genki I and miscellaneous immersion for about 8 months. I would say I'm N5 with stronger Kanji knowledge but weaker grammar. This is probably my weakest link.
– I know several people in Japan including university friends and other English teachers. I have more friends over there than I do in Canada.
– Clean driving record for 5 years including box trucks and manual transmissions. I've considered getting a 中型免許 in Japan and getting a transportation job as I heard it is possible for foreigners with N3 (but I also heard the shifts are terrible).
by BIackpill