Job hunting sucks.

[Cormacaroni]

What's funny about that? at the end of the day, you have to learn it yourself even if you go to a school for a few hours a day. My eyebrows raised a bit at your comment about asking your wife to help with kanji for that very reason. No-one else can really help you much.

[bork]

What's funny about that? at the end of the day, you have to learn it yourself even if you go to a school for a few hours a day. My eyebrows raised a bit at your comment about asking your wife to help with kanji for that very reason. No-one else can really help you much.

I just wanted her to help drill me is all.  It's nice to have a study partner.

I did a bit of checking, and it seems like I could probably pass the JLPT level 3 test (just need to get those Kanji down) no sweat, but I doubt I can be ready for the level 2 test a year from now.  Plus if I devote all my time to that, stay here, and then fail, I have to spend another year studying and I would prefer to have a (real) job before then.  I think it would be better for me to go back to school first, and then resume intensive Japanese study afterwards, although keep on studying on the side.  If I do go back to the States, I have to study or I will forget those kanji.

[bork]

Huh, just found a pizzaria job in Tokyo with decent pay.  I wonder if that would work (and then study).   Doesn't sound as stressful as English teaching would be, although it does say "conversational Japanese."  If there's no kanji reading needed, hmmm....

People are also saying the recruiting websites are sucking lately and some places aren't listing.  Any other good places to look for work?

[bagofeyes]

you could act like a LA homeboy and work at a hip hop clothing store. nigerians do it.

[bagofeyes]

also, you should be able to go from level 3 to level 2 easily within a few months I think. you don't have to learn to write the kanji, just read them.

[bork]

you could act like a LA homeboy and work at a hip hop clothing store. nigerians do it.

Tell me about it!  I have run into them before.  There's a guy in Kanazawa with a hip hop clothing shop no foreigner will go to, but he is able to rope in clueless Japanese dudes to pay his ridiculously marked-up prices.   He's had the same mannequin with the same clothing display on for the entire 3+ years I have been here.   

[Tundra]

@lyte Edge:
Same here. I stayed in Tokyo for 1 and a half years, with a japanese girlfriend, and didn't learn jack about japanese. We talked broken english all the time, which was even more stupid, since that was not even one of our home languages (mine is german). Talk about wasting time.

So, i feel you, man...

For the job: also, i didn't have any idea what to work in Tokyo. I am a good coder, but i didN#t have any idea where to start asking and applying for a job. That's the reason i went to germany again, and everything has been uphill since then again. Well, my relationship with the japanese girl went down the shitter, but there are also nice girls here in Bavaria...

[MrAngryFace]

broken english rul3z #1

[bork]

@lyte Edge:
Same here. I stayed in Tokyo for 1 and a half years, with a japanese girlfriend, and didn't learn jack about japanese. We talked broken english all the time, which was even more stupid, since that was not even one of our home languages (mine is german). Talk about wasting time.

So, i feel you, man...

Nah, we only speak Japanese, but the difference is that I can throw in some English or make a weird mistake and she will still know what I am talking about. 

My wife is on board with me to go to the States.  She wants to go there, actually.  And her parents are also being really damn supportive, so it makes me feel better.  I think this could work out well; I learn IT and improve my Japanese, she learns (and hopfully becomes fluent in) English, and from there we can either work in the States or return to Japan and get much better jobs no matter where we end up living compared to how it is now.

But I am not gonna give up looking for work here in the interim time it takes for a visa to get processed.  I do think I would have a better chance of finding something if I was living in a big city and not stuck in the inaka.  If my wife were able to get a good job in Tokyo that could support us both while I keep looking, we'd totally go for it, but even then the cost of moving and all that other crap...

[Tundra]

@lyte Edge:
Same here. I stayed in Tokyo for 1 and a half years, with a japanese girlfriend, and didn't learn jack about japanese. We talked broken english all the time, which was even more stupid, since that was not even one of our home languages (mine is german). Talk about wasting time.

So, i feel you, man...

Nah, we only speak Japanese, but the difference is that I can throw in some English or make a weird mistake and she will still know what I am talking about. 

My wife is on board with me to go to the States.  She wants to go there, actually.  And her parents are also being really damn supportive, so it makes me feel better.  I think this could work out well; I learn IT and improve my Japanese, she learns (and hopfully becomes fluent in) English, and from there we can either work in the States or return to Japan and get much better jobs no matter where we end up living compared to how it is now.

But I am not gonna give up looking for work here in the interim time it takes for a visa to get processed.  I do think I would have a better chance of finding something if I was living in a big city and not stuck in the inaka.  If my wife were able to get a good job in Tokyo that could support us both while I keep looking, we'd totally go for it, but even then the cost of moving and all that other crap...

Well, then you are a lot better off then we were... Unless living in Japan is your absolute dream, i recommend going back to the US, and visiting Japan from time to time. But, that may be just my opinion, yours may vary

[bork]

Well, then you are a lot better off then we were... Unless living in Japan is your absolute dream, i recommend going back to the US, and visiting Japan from time to time. But, that may be just my opinion, yours may vary

I'm very open to living in either country.  Before, I was all "JAPAN, JAPAN, LIVING ABROAD YEAH!!!!" but that is out of my system now.  I can do my hobby in either country.  I have friends in both countries.  And I like the food in both countries, so really anything is okay by me.  I think it would be more of a concern if/when we have kids.  Having taught at Japanese schools, I'm not sure if I'd want my kids going to them here.  But then the U.S. isn't much better.   

[Cormacaroni]

also, you should be able to go from level 3 to level 2 easily within a few months I think. you don't have to learn to write the kanji, just read them.

you pretty much have to learn to write them. have you ever taken the test?

[Tundra]

Well, then you are a lot better off then we were... Unless living in Japan is your absolute dream, i recommend going back to the US, and visiting Japan from time to time. But, that may be just my opinion, yours may vary

I'm very open to living in either country.  Before, I was all "JAPAN, JAPAN, LIVING ABROAD YEAH!!!!" but that is out of my system now.  I can do my hobby in either country.  I have friends in both countries.  And I like the food in both countries, so really anything is okay by me.  I think it would be more of a concern if/when we have kids.  Having taught at Japanese schools, I'm not sure if I'd want my kids going to them here.  But then the U.S. isn't much better.   

I started missing so typical stuff i was able to do at home. I felt impaired somehow, cause i was so disconnected from those normal things. So if you are able to do your hobbies over there, it's already a big advantage.
I mean, i love Japan, and apart from Munich Tokyo is the city i know best in the whole world (and i have been lucky to being able to travel a lot in my twenties), but it sure is more comfortable to live at home again...

and also, kudos to your wife and especially her parents. My girls parents treated me like vermin...well not really, but it was kind of weird, if you are used to how things like that are handled over here...

[bagofeyes]

also, you should be able to go from level 3 to level 2 easily within a few months I think. you don't have to learn to write the kanji, just read them.

you pretty much have to learn to write them. have you ever taken the test?

no, but people I know who have told me you don't have to write them

[Tundra]

/ happy to be working at Accenture

It's my 2nd job BTW.

My company is doing some Softwarestuff for Accenture as well. How is working directly for them? They come across as a little stiff, but maybe that's just from the outside...

[recursivelyenumerable]

In my experience, job hunting is an absolute and total waste of time and effort.  I wish I'd never bothered with it, and had spent all my time unemployed studying/enjoying myself/working on personal vanity projects instead of worrying about finding a job.  I never, ever found any work (not even a retail/food service/whatever position) during the years spent diligently searching, revising my resume, filling out applications, going to interviews etc etc; meanwhile all the jobs I HAVE gotten came by complete happenstance after I'd stopped looking.

[Cormacaroni]

also, you should be able to go from level 3 to level 2 easily within a few months I think. you don't have to learn to write the kanji, just read them.

you pretty much have to learn to write them. have you ever taken the test?

no, but people I know who have told me you don't have to write them

They're wrong. You don't have to write them in the test but you pretty much need to know how to write them to pass it.

[bagofeyes]

why's that?

[bork]

In my experience, job hunting is an absolute and total waste of time and effort.  I wish I'd never bothered with it, and had spent all my time unemployed studying/enjoying myself/working on personal vanity projects instead of worrying about finding a job.  I never, ever found any work (not even a retail/food service/whatever position) during the years spent diligently searching, revising my resume, filling out applications, going to interviews etc etc; meanwhile all the jobs I HAVE gotten came by complete happenstance after I'd stopped looking.

This is why I feel I need to go back to school.  I want to use that time to really learn something this time around.

[Cormacaroni]

why's that?

Because you need to choose between rows of seemingly-identical kanji to answer many of the questions. In other words, you need active knowledge as well as passive knowledge, which means you basically need to be able to write them. The jump between level 3 and level 2 is pretty significant. I don't mean to be excessively harshe here, but if you really have no idea what you're talking about, it would probably be best if you didn't give people potentially life-changing advice on the subject, don't you think.

[bork]

Cormacaroni, did you finish JLPT Level 1 too?

[Cormacaroni]

Cormacaroni, did you finish JLPT Level 1 too?

about 10 yrs ago

[bork]

 

[Cormacaroni]

Level one is the only one worth the piece of paper it's printed on in the real world, I'm afraid. Everything else is just for keeping score with your honky friends.

[bork]

Level one is the only one worth the piece of paper it's printed on in the real world, I'm afraid. Everything else is just for keeping score with your honky friends.

So I've heard.  That's also the reason why I never bothered with level 3 or 4; most jobsites have postings that require at least level 2...