Let me start off by saying I have no Bachelor's degree. Ok, now I know a Bachelor's degree is basically a necessity if you want to just pick up and go to Japan, but I still want to do so anyway. Truthfully my plan is the following: go to a Japanese language school, attend Japanese university, and, in the unforeseeable future, work in Japan. Without a Bachelor's degree I don't think I can get any visa other than tourist visa, by myself. However if I go to a language school then they could possibly give me a student visa with the ability to work a limited amount of hours.

Any information revealing something I looked over would be awesome. I just need some sort of help to reach my ultimate goal. I'm looking into Yamasa institute, but even then maybe it requires money I don't have. In a perfect world I could go to Japan and just get a job, but the world isn't perfect, right?

Anyway, I know I've been making a fair amount of threads lately, and I appreciate all the help. Hopefully you can prove me wrong and provide me with some sort of miracle. I won't hold my breath, however.

Correct, you can get a student visa from a language school without a degree. However, bear in mind the following:

1. Language schools are expensive.
2. Japanese university is expensive AND bad in terms of education. Your Japanese degree won't be very good if you want to move back. Also bear in mind that you might have a hard time getting into the university coming from a language school, so you might have to go to a senmon gakkou which is even worse.
3. You may only work around 4 hours a day with a student visa and the salaries are pathetic. Do not expect to be able to live in Japan off that.

You make some good points. Are Japanese schools really that bad for education? I plan on 3D Animation, so I'm not sure if that would be different. I don't know why it would, but y'know... perhaps.

Working holiday visas from the US aren't as generous as ones from the UK, due to the whole nuke thing. But it's probably your best option anyway. Then you can hand out your CV to everyone while you're over there. It's not uncommon to take a permanent job you don't really want in order to get into the system.

With regards to your career choice, how good are you? I know it seems like an obvious point, but if you're a shit hot 3D animator with an established portfolio, you stand a good chance of getting a job, whereas if you simply want to be a 3D animator some time in the future (presumably in the games industry?), well... uh... good luck.

Working holiday visas are available in the US, though? Because I found something that said it wasn't available there. And yea, I am not an animator yet, so that would be in the future. I know it's a popular choice, so I guess I'll see what happens. Any link available on that working holiday visa for US?

Tobberoth Wrote:2. Japanese university is expensive AND bad in terms of education.

This.
If the impression I got while in Japan counts for anything, these kids learn Jack Shit. Scary considering how good my school's reputation is. University in Germany feels like it's in another ballpark altogether.

you could always get a degree in Japanese locally then go to Japan and work towards your second degree with the college credit you already have established i suppose

Alright, well I still want to go to Japanese language school. I sent an email to my local J/E embassy in Chicago in regards to a holiday working visa. I'll probably follow the Yamasa school recommendation that was given in a different thread.

I think I will still go to Japanese university as well, but it seems I'll have to be much more careful than I previously expected.

A lot of things to think about.

Edit: I might go to Japan in March and stay at a pen pal's house. In return, when I come back to America, he will stay with me a bit. This gives us an opportunity to experience each other's locales. Anyway, when I'm in Japan for that time is it even possible to make an impact and perhaps warrant someone wanting to sponsor me a visa? Also, is this a good idea? I was planning on maybe checking out Yamasa institute and apply there for October, and to receive a student visa.

What is your goal? To become an animator, or to visit Japan? You don't need to go to expensive language schools to do either of those things. Just something to think about.

IceCream, I do need to look into MEXT more. I definitely will. I am going to call the embassy in a few minutes, so I'll ask them what fields it can cover. You're right that it's pointless, and I will definitely look into all of this.

Harhol, it's both. However I want those goals to happen now. I know I can take it slow, and that I'm only 20 years old. I feel like this is the right thing for me at this point in my life.

I called my embassy and it seems like the MEXT is probably the best choice. They quiz you on Math and Physics and so on, so I think it'll be incredibly difficult for me. I'm a competent person, but I've never been good at anything involving Math. I will do more research. If anybody has experience with the MEXT I would love to hear about it. Otherwise, thank you for your help guys. I'll get back to studying Japanese.

MEXT sounds like a bad idea, simply because one year at a language school isn't even close to enough to be able to finish an undergraduate degree at a Japanese university, unless the classes are in English.

Well there's the one year there, and the year I have until then. If I applied this upcoming year, which the deadline and such is around June, and assuming I was accepted, then I'd have until next April. That being said, you're totally right. I wouldn't be up-to-par with college. Perhaps the college might give me a student aid. A Japanese guy I talked to was a student aid for some Americans at his Japanese university.

I think MEXT sounds like a good idea, regardless. I'm sure there's a way to get by.

P.S. I would not be applying for the undergraduate course from MEXT, as that focuses on sciences. The professional training college is probably what I'd have to take.

I haven't been to a Japanese university, but the overwhelming public sentiment seems to be that the education received is, well, sub-par. Of course in artistic fields your portfolio is infinitely more important than your alma mater, so perhaps it doesn't really matter.

Still, make sure that this is what you really, really want. If I were in your shoes (1- need education, 2- not much $$) I'd get a part time job and power through a couple of years at a community college, then transfer to a real university to finish up your last two years. Minimize debt and maximize time efficiency, plus you can probably transfer into a university that you normally wouldn't have been able to get into (cc transfers have a huge advantage this way). Balance your free time between 3d portfolio work and Japanese, then hit the ground running towards Japan as soon as you graduate. Just my two cents.

There are a lot of colleges in the US that have strong relationships with Japanese schools too, or even campuses in Japan. My friend did his first year of school in Georgia then the next 3 in Japan at the J-branch of his uni, all while earning a bachelors that is valid in the US. It might end up being a better investment that way, it might not. Just something to think about.

TheVinster Wrote:Let me start off by saying I have no Bachelor's degree. Ok, now I know a Bachelor's degree is basically a necessity if you want to just pick up and go to Japan, but I still want to do so anyway. Truthfully my plan is the following: go to a Japanese language school, attend Japanese university, and, in the unforeseeable future, work in Japan. Without a Bachelor's degree I don't think I can get any visa other than tourist visa, by myself. However if I go to a language school then they could possibly give me a student visa with the ability to work a limited amount of hours.

I'll try to give it to you straight:

-Visa is the first, main problem you will have. If you dont have a BA, getting a company to sponser you is tuff, especially from within Japan.

-I dont think american has a working holiday agreement with Japan.
-
you could pay money to go to a langue school and get a visa that way. You will have permission to work and you can work as much as you like as long as you dont report the hours. Working at a couple differnt plances-no one is gonna check.
However, you have to pay money for the language school, attend, the school will likely suck, and you still have to worry about housing.

-Also, it is actaullly easier to get into a Japanese university from abroad then from within japan. If I remember correctly, they will make you take a hard japanese language exam to get in. So your japanese will have to be pretty darn good

I know you propably want to be in Japan asap, but in all honesty your above plan is not good. I would suggest go to college in the us and study abroad thru your univeristy. That is the most fun.

Japan is great, but your experience will be colored by money, job, apt, etc. If you are struggling the whole time you are here, you may end up not liking it.

Just my two cents, do with it what you will.

You're right. I'll see what happens, y'know. If this MEXT scholarship works out then I think it'd be a great experience. Otherwise, I think DePaul (while the tuition is high) might be a good alternative. They have a study abroad program, and they're near me somewhat, Chicago, which would give me a train ride to study Japanese. They also have what I am interested in, Japanese and 3D animation. Like I said, though, their tuition is like... $25,000 a year. We'll see. If I go to Osaka in March and find a nice Japanese GF to help me with my Japanese while I'm back in America, then I think I'd be comfortable with that too.

Side-Note: That being said, is the best way to meet a quality Japanese woman? I think my shyness would make Japanese women avoid me, haha. Need someone to help me with my Japanese.

TheVinster Wrote:go to a Japanese language school, attend Japanese university, and, in the unforeseeable future, work in Japan.

I'm currently doing exactly that. Despite Japanese schools not "being as good" as American schools, I decided to do it for the experience. I wanted to enter a university as a Japanese, not as an exchange student or English speaker. I've studied in the states for 2-3 years already, so I'm planning on trying to enter as a 3rd year student, probably next year fall or 2011.

There's many downsides to something like this, which have been explained already. It's really a huge choice, and there's almost nobody from western countries trying to do this. I think the "best" choice would be to do an international exchange through a university in the US to explore Japan. There's always masters programs for later!

You really have to invest many years to enter a Japanese university as a Japanese speaker, so I don't think it's worth it unless you're sure you want to do it. My family came from Japan originally, so it's always felt pretty natural for me to do something like this.

P.S. I'm in Tokyo, and my major is physics/mathematics. Even more crazy to do all that for a field I'll be destined to use English...

P.S.2 As I mentioned before, there's almost no westerners doing something like this; which has a very nice side effect. There's simply no westerners around me to interact with. However you'll want to be speaking with Japanese, it's nice not to have the temptation of English speakers around me.

Americans can't get working holiday visas.

You can't work on student visas anymore. You need to apply for an endorsement after being in country for 3 months, with your school's permission. There are also limits on hours per day and per week. Salaries are crap because you are limited to baito where you don't need to speak (Aka you'll probably be washing dishes).

You don't need a bachelor degree for a wok visa except if you want to work in a public school (instructor visa). Other work visas, including humanities visas, only require experience.

Jarvik7 Wrote:You don't need a bachelor degree for a wok visa

...that's the one you need to be a cook in a chinese restaurant?

(sorry, couldn't resist that)

Jarvik7 Wrote:Americans can't get working holiday visas.

You can't work on student visas anymore. You need to apply for an endorsement after being in country for 3 months, with your school's permission. There are also limits on hours per day and per week. Salaries are crap because you are limited to baito where you don't need to speak (Aka you'll probably be washing dishes).

You don't need a bachelor degree for a wok visa except if you want to work in a public school (instructor visa). Other work visas, including humanities visas, only require experience.

Experience as in several years being a professional in that field.

Also, the 3 months thing can be "bent". You need to be in Japan for three months, but not on a student visa, you you can in theory go on a 3 month tourist visa, get a student visa and immediately get the endorsement. Of course, it's a detail which isn't important for most people. The fact remains you have to live in Japan for 3 months without a job.

I would add that depending on the area, you may not be able to get a job regardless of 1.) having proper permission, 2.) Japanese ability 3.) whether it is part-time dish-washing or something more decent. Japan does not have any sort of (remotely enforcible) discrimination laws, so you may simply be turned down regardless of your credentials. Not trying to put a damper on things, but it is a possibility that you may not be able to work AT ALL for the length of your stay in Japan.

(However, I live in northern Kyushu, so if you're heading to some place like Tokyo, maybe things there are an entirely different ballgame... But it is something that you should at least be prepared for.)


And I can attest that some Japanese universities are quite lame. (But unless you can easily pass the JLPT2 in your sleep, you won't notice the difference in quality since you'll be scrambling to understand what little is going on...)


A living exchange with a pen pal might actually be the most fun option, I think.

Okay so here's a possible flow-chart (lol, I'm so ridiculous).

March-May --> Go to Japan on tourist visa. Give Japan a try by staying with a pen pal. Possibly find a Japanese GF for long-term Japanese study when I can't be in Japan, via Skype.

May-June --> Attempt application for MEXT. If I'm accepted, then move on with this plan, to study in Japan via the MEXT scholarship.

Otherwise...

July --> Apply for Devry, a college with a pretty good reputation from what I understand. $25,000 tuition a year, but financial aid is always present. They offer Japanese AND 3D Animation.

Unforeseeable Future --> Get a Bachelor's, enter JET, and get paid extreme amounts of money for teaching English. While working at JET, work on animation projects to get my credentials up.

Unforeseeable Future That'll Never Happen --> Work for Square Enix.

If only life would work out like this.

What about going to an American university and studying abroad in Japan for a year (a year and an extra semester is sometimes possible too...)? You can actually get a lot of scholarship assistance that way... You are automatically eligible to compete for the JASSO scholarship offered by the Japanese govt. when you apply, and your home university may also offer study abroad scholarships. In my case, I received the JASSO (about $800 a month), about $3000 in combined scholarships from my home university, and only had to pay tuition to my home university (which was affordable compared to the Japanese university tuition).

Of course if you go to Devry (the computer arts school, right?), I'm not sure what their study abroad options are. But I know that university is the best time that you will ever have to go to Japan, because if you do it right, it can be free. Entering a Japanese university from the start might be nice if you get MEXT, but understand that if it is a typical university that does classes in all Japanese, I can't stress enough how difficult it might be for someone who hasn't previously been educated in Japan.

JET is another viable option if you miss the boat during university, but the program is rapidly shrinking since most prefectures are switching to private (and often illegal) dispatch companies. If you don't make it into JET, you can try with one of the private companies, but know that with the bad economy right now, English jobs are harder to find.

Evil_Dragon Wrote:

Tobberoth Wrote:2. Japanese university is expensive AND bad in terms of education.

This.
If the impression I got while in Japan counts for anything, these kids learn Jack Shit. Scary considering how good my school's reputation is. University in Germany feels like it's in another ballpark altogether.

If the schools are so bad, how come there's so much innovation in Japan, in terms of technology of all kinds? robots, medical technology, mass transit, there's so much technology which is superior to western equivalents, even their mobile phones! how'd all that come about, if the kids learn nothing?