Need to Figure Out My Major. - Printable Version

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Printable Version

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Need to Figure Out My Major. - TheVinster - 2010-07-11

I'd like to hear from some of you guys about advice on my plans. I just turned 21 and I have no more time in my life to mess around. I still have a majority of college to complete and my major is undecided. I'm going to throw out some ideas, maybe you can give me reasoning to reject them or pursue them. It should be noted my end goal is to live in Japan. Whether or not I will go to a Japanese college is undecided but looking slim; however, I hope to take short-term study abroad programs during my degree.

-3D animation. While I haven't attempted animation on my own, I do love games and that's where I'd want to apply this major. It's a bit iffy and animation, particularly of this type, seems fairly large in Japan. Would make for a crowded field where I have to constantly educate myself to stay useful.

-Graphic design. I love art and this is a bit more specialized to a particular field. Not sure about this. I did get a job to work at a small home office one day a week for a Japanese guy and his assistant. I'll only be preparing mailing items (putting newsletters in envelopes, etc.), but this job may give me interest in the field.

-International business. I like expensive clothes, female Japanese secretaries, and money. Business kind of interests me on a basic level. However, I'm not the most confident when it comes to Math. Of course I'd take Japanese along with this, but I'm scared of becoming a generic salaryman. What should I really think about when I think international business? I did like my economics class in high school, should I pursue that instead?

-Dermatology. Obviously when I hit the age of 16 about 5 years ago I got crazy acne. Therefore acne and skin care and helping other people seems like something for me. Now this is the big one I'm not sure about. I would want to go to medical school in Japan, so this is after a bachelor's degree in America? I'm sure during my bachelor's degree I'll have to excel in Japanese and even go out of my way to learn lots of medical terms to apply for a Japanese medical school. Even then, are foreign dermatologists common in Japan? In a medical field I'll be looking at another chunk of my life dedicated to further education.

I'm going to visit 2 schools in the future and need to narrow down my choices. My indecisiveness can't continue on like this, or I'll be a bum forever!

Need to Figure Out My Major. - nohika - 2010-07-11

TheVinster Wrote:-Dermatology. Obviously when I hit the age of 16 about 5 years ago I got crazy acne. Therefore acne and skin care and helping other people seems like something for me. Now this is the big one I'm not sure about. I would want to go to medical school in Japan, so this is after a bachelor's degree in America? I'm sure during my bachelor's degree I'll have to excel in Japanese and even go out of my way to learn lots of medical terms to apply for a Japanese medical school. Even then, are foreign dermatologists common in Japan? In a medical field I'll be looking at another chunk of my life dedicated to further education.

I'm going to visit 2 schools in the future and need to narrow down my choices. My indecisiveness can't continue on like this, or I'll be a bum forever!

Just to note...I don't know if it's the same as Japan, but in America, Dermatology is like the HARDEST medical specialty to get in to (Plastic Surgery [integrated] is another one). You don't go to medical school thinking you'll be a dermatologist - you need top-notch board scores and tons of research, amazing LORs, etc.

Another thing you might want to look into is going to an American med school and trying to transfer your med-license to Japan, if you can. Regardless...don't pick a specialty before med school. If you go to med school, go because you like medicine. Not because you want to be a dermatologist.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - vileru - 2010-07-11

I'll only comment on the last two:

International Business - This is probably your best bet in comparison to all of the other fields you mentioned. Being a native speaker of English gives you an edge. In addition, American MBA programs are more or less worshiped abroad. Plus, there might be ways to avoid the salaryman lifestyle. I believe foreign outside analysts are gaining a foothold in Japan. Granted, such positions are difficult to secure, but I'm sure they're not held to the same schedule as your typical salaryman.

Oh, and if you want to become rich, then open a Mexican food chain in Japan. All of my Japanese friends are crazy about Chipotle, and they say it's the food they miss the most when they return to Japan. It's funny because I consider Chipotle to be average in comparison to the thousands of authentic burrito joints littered throughout California.

There seems to be an untapped market for Mexican food. I went to this Mexican restaurant in Sendai (Miyagi prefecture) and the food was unbelievably expensive (over $10 for 3 or 4 tacos!!!) and didn't even taste that good. Yet, the restaurant was packed and we had to make reservations beforehand.

Dermatology - No, don't do it. Foreign doctors are rare in Japan. Many Japanese friends have told me they feel uncomfortable with foreign doctors. Don't do this unless you're on a crusade to diversify Japan's medical staff.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - quincy - 2010-07-11

I guess I'll be the first person to lecture you.

Don't decide on spending the rest of your life somewhere you've never been; lots of people go there and find out it's not the wonderland they imagined; Gaijin! blah blah blah.

Seriously though, unless you've spent some time there and know 100% it's what you want, don't set it as an end goal. This is especially true for somewhere so different from what you're used to.

And as far as majors go, just major in something that will give you a job doing what you can see yourself being the best at - Whatever you can take pride in and try your hardest at.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Womacks23 - 2010-07-11

Try international business with a minor in Japanese.

I changed my major three times in college. Started out in history, changed to international relations, then changed again to economics and got a minor in Spanish.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - TheVinster - 2010-07-11

Well I'm trying to plan a possible trip to Japan for the upcoming winter which would last a few weeks during the break. That's about the time I should have my choices narrowed down and have applied to my transfer school.

I'd love to say I know what I'm best at, but I don't. I'm always unsure of myself and that's the problem. Have you ever seen a guy at McDonald's stare at the dollar menu for 5 minutes when he already knows he'll probably get 2 McDoubles and a value fry? That's me. Honestly. I'm indecisive and unconfident in myself.

Dermatology is out of the picture. 3D animation lingers because of my love for video games, but is waning because of my cautiousness towards the game industry and how crowded it is moreso in Japan. International business is rising because of my growing interest in the workings of such a field. Graphic design I have to research more and see if it's right for me.

Another thing I'm thinking about is management possibly. I always wonder how cool it could be to manage a Japanese hotel.

I'll think about opening a few Mexican restaurants in Japan though. The time is now for sopes and burritos.

Edit 1: Womack just saw your post. Do you think I'd just be another generic salaryman? What are you thoughts on Americans handling business in Japan?

Edit 2: Also, nobody has mentioned if my weak Math skills might negatively affect my business major. Or at least how much harder I have to try.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - lagwagon555 - 2010-07-11

I'm no learning expert, but bad maths skills are generally related to how motivated you are in the subject. I couldn't pass much maths at school, but when it came to me requiring an advanced maths paper for my economics/accounting degree, I took it, went all out and got a B. Maths may not be fun, but don't count yourself out by saying "I have bad maths skills". Put effort into it, and providing you don't have a learning disability (which I thought I had until I decided I needed to do well in maths...) you'll get along fine.

I'm focusing on econometrics, which is the maths heavy branch of economics. It uses pretty much the most difficult maths in the field of commerce (I haven't taken advanced finance papers, but it's harder than anything in accounting), and it's very simple compared to pure maths courses. Just focus on getting your pure maths courses to a passable grade, and the maths in commerce won't faze you at all Smile

EDIT: Also maths is only really needed in economics, finance and accounting. International business doesn't need any advanced maths courses, nor do most other business majors (management, commercial law, information systems etc). But don't make that put you off economics, finance or accounting.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - quincy - 2010-07-11

The amount of math skills you'll need will depend on the classes required by the college. In California (yes, you're not from here, but it's all I know), most business majors at public universities only require business calculus, which is generally easy (unless you're still struggling with the concept of letters being used in math)

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Womacks23 - 2010-07-11

It's really hard to just come over and start opening and managing businesses. The people companies trust to do that are those who have 15-20 years of experience doing those sorts of things.

But if you think about how that happens you can see lots of opportunities to start a niche career here. Think about what what kind of experts you need when a foreign company comes to Japan (and vise versa).....

- Localization
- International taxation
- Marketing
- Financial
- Translating
- Law
- International logistics
- Graphic design
- Not to mention any combination of these in consulting jobs

It goes on and on. Do a search of monster.com or something and put in "Japanese" "Business" "Economics" and you'll see a lot of taxation specialty jobs pop up. That seems to be very popular right now. You might be interested in that.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - TheVinster - 2010-07-11

Yeah, you're right. I emailed the school that offers international business because I couldn't find Japanese, but I'm sure it's just hidden. They offer study abroad to Japan, so would they not offer a Japanese minor to combine with my international business? We'll see.

Also I just thought of something. I mentioned earlier I got a job at a small graphic design company, albeit just preparing mailing stuff. However if I work hard maybe I could learn some skills and he might offer me a small internship to get experience while I start a major in graphic design. That way if I were to graduate with a graphic design degree I'd also have experience under my belt and be in a good spot career-wise. I don't start until mid-August, but I may call him and ask him. He's Japanese so working there will also be good practice if I can build up my confidence to use it.

On a side-note, his assistant sure is cute. Maybe I can get her number before she goes back to Japan. Big Grin

I'm so optimistic. Yeah!

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Zarxrax - 2010-07-11

For artistic sort of jobs, I think people who hire you don't care so much about a degree as they do about your portfolio. You can get a degree in the international business or something, but still pursue the graphic design on the side.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - TheVinster - 2010-07-12

Zarxrax Wrote:For artistic sort of jobs, I think people who hire you don't care so much about a degree as they do about your portfolio. You can get a degree in the international business or something, but still pursue the graphic design on the side.

Or even 3D animation through self-study. You're right about that for sure. I do worry that if I major in business I'll be a soulless suit when I get older. Tongue

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Groot - 2010-07-12

Sounds like you have a bunch of good choices. Others have already given good advice. I'll just add: Of course you should choose something practical. But also make sure it's something you enjoy. Life's too short. And we're better at things we like to do.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Blahah - 2010-07-12

Dermatology is a pretty tall order and a completely different path than any of the others. If you want to give yourself the best chance of success based only on those options, take the International Business degree and do very well at it. You're significantly likely to earn more in professional life if you get the highest degree classification.

At the same time, develop a portfolio of graphics work. Learn photoshop, illustrator and your choice of 3D suite(s), and those just for starters. You'll need to broaden your skillset later if you ever want this to be a part of your career. Find the various student promotions companies at your school and do their graphics for them. Good people to speak to are the business competitions entrants (do their logos, websites, adverts etc.) and music promoters, for whom you can do flyers and posters. You'll soon be pulling in a hefty sum if you've got any talent for design, and getting some good practice at the same time.

Armed with both a high class international business degree and some verifiable graphics experience you should be quite employable, although not particularly well armed for any particular career. Probably better placed for self-employment? What do you go into from an IB degree anyway?

Need to Figure Out My Major. - TheVinster - 2010-07-12

I couldn't honestly tell you the specific jobs that might come out of such a degree. Also I've been looking at the school and I haven't been able to find Japanese. While they have study abroads for Japan I'm having trouble finding language classes that would be required for the degree. I might go back to looking at my previous school because I know they offer a ton of Japanese help. They hook you up with a native Japanese speaker, have extra activities, and are the place they host the JLPT at in this area. I'm going to inquire with them.

I'm sure I don't need a major in Japanese studies, but rather I should probably just get a minor in Japanese language and get a major in business or whatever.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - mafried - 2010-07-13

I'll be the next person to lecture you. Please forgive me for the harshness I'm about to deal out.

Have you ever been to Japan? Ever? If you have, how long? Did you do anything more than the basic touristy stuff? On the other hand, if you haven't been to Japan then your view of living in the country is warped and distorted. I will not couch that statement with words like 'maybe' or 'probably', and that wasn't a judgment based on anything you wrote here, it's just a fact. You're desiring something you know nothing about. Japan is a country exactly the same and entirely different from everywhere else. Choosing to uproot yourself and move there will (for better or for worse) have consequences, and those effects will be different than what you expect. Honestly, it sounds like your Japan goal is a means of escapism. There's something in your situation or more likely yourself that you are not happy about and you see Japan as a way out. It's not.

But hey, maybe I'm just a jerk on the internet reading too much into it. There is a solution: go to Japan. Not for a week or two; try a month at least. Make friends, make connections, ask people about their lives. Honestly live there for a while and see how you like it.

You might want to check out a thread from a while back started by a martial artist that wanted to move to Japan. I and some others gave some advice that might be relevant to your situation.

...all that said, a business degree is by far your best choice. As an American businessman, anywhere you go you will be desirable, and you will have the training, tools, and mindset to succeed at creating a career that best matches your interests. And don't be afraid of the math.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - lagwagon555 - 2010-07-13

I'd agree with the above, certainly. But OP has years to decide whether or not he will actually go to Japan. At university, definitely make sure you get a 6 month exchange trip over there, although I doubt even that will be long enough to get a feel for if you want to live your life there.

A good test would be to ask yourself the following: would you be just as happy to end up living in Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan etc? If so, then you probably do have a genuine interest in living somewhere foreign. If it's just Japan in particular (or even 'mainly') you are interested in, then my guess it's in the anime talking, unless you've got a personal reason (such as having been there before).

Regardless, you have years to make the decision, these forum posts will hardly affect your thinking in a few years time. It's hard to plan life years in advance. Just do your best in college, and see how things go from there.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - thistime - 2010-07-13

I have an MBA in International Business from the U of CO and I made the naive mistake of thinking that this would make me ultra desirable and people would be clamoring to offer me a job. It didn't and they weren't. All I can say is, an MBA (may) get your foot in the door, but it is not enough. You need experience, experience, experience. As I'm sure you've heard thousands of times before, you have to ask yourself, why would a Japanese person go to the hassle of hiring you (visa issues, language issues, cultural issues, etc.) when they could much more easily hire a Japanese person? You have to figure out how you could set yourself apart from the Japanese competion. The mistake I made was in being too general about goals. Try to narrow down the type of job you'd like to do and then find out how you could do that in Japan in a way that a Japanese person couldn't and then focus on getting your resume prepared to do that job.

Oh, and the math part of it will depend on where you go. Most state schools, though, won't require much. Anything more than the basics they will teach you how to do on a calculator or the computer.

On another note, I know nothing about the field of Dermatology, but Japan, as with the rest of the developed world, is having major medical staffing shortages. My husband works at a hospital and they continually recruit doctors and nurses from the Phillipines, Vietnam and Thailand, so foreign medical staff members are becoming more and more common in Japan. However, the foreign nurses must go through two years of Japanese training in their own countries, then two years of full-time Japanese school in Japan, then two years of nursing school before they can even try for their nursing licenses and these are all people who have gone through years of nursing school and have their nursing licenses in their own countries. I can only imagine that a specialized area like dermatology would be three times longer. So yeah, I don't know that you would be willing to invest the time into it or not.

Oh, and listen to what the others say about coming to Japan. It may seem like a fairytale place from a far, but actually living here for any length of time is quite another story. I have lived here for four years and still go through 'I hate Japan' phases. A two week, even a six month, trip really isn't enough to know how you would handle living here for any extended period of time.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Tobberoth - 2010-07-13

Unfortunately, going there for a few weeks isn't enough. Going on a vacation to a country and living there are two completely separate things. Studying something specifically to work in Japan isn't a good idea since if you ever get to work there, it might turn out that you hate the living and working conditions, even if you loved travelling around the country.

Which is why international business is your best bet probably. Decently easy to get work anywhere in the world.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - captal - 2010-07-13

Tobberoth Wrote:Which is why international business is your best bet probably. Decently easy to get work anywhere in the world.

Really? Where? I have my MBA in Intl. Business and I'm not having the easiest time finding work "anywhere" Sad

Experience is what everyone wants as thistime said. I did my MBA in Australia, then went to Japan to study Japanese and now I'm in Australia again trying to use that MBA as an advantage, but it doesn't seem to matter since it's now been almost 3 and a half years since I did any "real" work.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Tobberoth - 2010-07-13

captal Wrote:
Tobberoth Wrote:Which is why international business is your best bet probably. Decently easy to get work anywhere in the world.
Really? Where? I have my MBA in Intl. Business and I'm not having the easiest time finding work "anywhere"

Experience is what everyone wants as thistime said. I did my MBA in Australia, then went to Japan to study Japanese and now I'm in Australia again trying to use that MBA as an advantage, but it doesn't seem to matter since it's now been almost 3 and a half years since I did any "real" work.

Maybe you're aiming too high, you're obviously not going to be able to get a job which demands experience if you don't have any. Have you tried looking for work in China?

Need to Figure Out My Major. - Jarvik7 - 2010-07-13

If you don't have any good experience in a must have field, you aren't going to be working in Japan in a "good" field with good pay no matter what you majored in. Not unless you go over and teach english while you wait for a golden opportunity anyways.

Like has been mentioned, you need to give them a reason to hire you over a Japanese person, and only being fluent in English and having a piece of paper from a university isn't good enough for anything other than teaching.

If you want to do CG animation/art, do it because that's what you want to do, not because you think it's a good way to get into Japan (it's not any better than any other field). Even if you get a job you will be living paycheck to paycheck because all of the other Japanese people doing that work here do it for love of the work and live with their parents to offset the bad pay (generalization).

If you want to be a dermatologist, do all of your schooling in Japan, since medical credentials don't go across borders very well. Your practice will also have to be aimed at foreigners since most natives would never want to go to a foreigner doctor.

If you want to do the business angle, plan on working in your own country in a big firm first to get that experience. If you can't get that job in your own country then you're definitely not getting it in Japan where your foreignness is an extra difficulty.

And yeah, at least come to Japan before making long term plans to live here. The people I know who had the most negative reactions after coming here for a year are the ones who were the biggest pop culture fans (anime/manga/fashion/whatever). Japan didn't live up to the image they built up in their heads.

</killjoy>

Need to Figure Out My Major. - TheVinster - 2010-07-13

I don't like anime/manga just for the record. And yes if I were to take any major I am going to try to start visiting Japan at least once a year and also take advantage of the study abroad that the school offers. As far as someone else said, yeah I might be able to do with China or Korea, maybe China more than Korea but Japan tops both. Also said was that I have a few years to determine my ultimate living location, and that's true. That being said while I haven't lived in Japan I try to have as much a realistic expectation one can have without having been to said country.

Going back to anime/manga, I liked it when I was 12 and grew out of it. Not trying to offend anyone by the way. If I ever had to read it to practice my Japanese I'd probably read ヒカルの碁 that was in Shonen Jump years ago. If you guys had said something about video games then maybe, but even then I don't play many games that actually come out of Japan. If anyone wants to buy my Love Hina collection let me know... except it's in English.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - captal - 2010-07-13

Tobberoth Wrote:Maybe you're aiming too high, you're obviously not going to be able to get a job which demands experience if you don't have any. Have you tried looking for work in China?

I've looked in a few asian countries, though not nearly as extensively as in Australia and Japan. I guess I don't have much interest in China either- though it's probably the best place to head right now.

Need to Figure Out My Major. - ocircle - 2010-07-13

I'd either go for the International business or Dermatology, but more towards dermatology because translators who know a thing or two about biology/medicine are in moderate demand in the translation world.

You could maybe even work for a Japanese beauty products company in the future!

I've never heard of a job requiring an international business degree. I think a degree in actual Business would be more useful.