I lived and worked in Japan for a decade as a Software Engineer. The good news:
- Quality of life in Japan is generally higher than the US.
- Employment laws in Japan favor employees more than in the US
The bad news:
- Eng pay is maybe 50% or less of what you'd make in the US.
- Lifetime employment is standard in Japan so there's not a healthy market for switching jobs. This is not to be underestimated. There are tales of salarymen committing suicide to get the insurance money to care for their families when they're laid off. That's how difficult it can be to find another position.
- They can ask for your photo and age when applying for a job and judge you based on this.
- Japan is homogeneous and if you're not Asian, you'll usually be judged primarily by your race, second by your abilities.
- Being fluent in Japanese will not help you if you're not Asian. You will be expected to speak English. You'll need to learn to play along with people's expectations, pretending to only speak English until they grow tired of practicing their English, and only then switching over to Japanese. If you are non-Japanese Asian you will be expected to speak Japanese perfectly or else judged harshly.
- Though the government is trying to address this, Japan is not a healthy market for start-ups or small companies. Most employers are medium to large companies.
- Generally in Asia power distance is much larger than in western countries. You'll likely encounter power harassment at some point and without a competitive job market you'll have no recourse but to endure it.
- You may be granted vacation but culturally not be able to take it.
- You will likely have to work long hours. I typically worked 70h weeks with peak of 100h/wk for small bursts of 1-2 months. A 60h/wk felt like a vacation.
- Generally, the consequences for failure in Japan are much more severe than in the US. At work, you need to be able to deliver near perfect quality results at all times. This can be wonderful in that your coworkers can be relied upon highly. However, it can be a lot of pressure. Pareto: the last 20% results can take 80% of the effort.
Software Engineer Career Progression
0-2y Junior
2-5 Senior
5+ Up to you to define
After ~5y, it's easy to get lost. There's a huge amount of ambiguity in that 5+ range.
Most employers want a young Senior. They're the most cost effective. In the US, no matter how old, you can always find work as a Senior, especially if you're willing to work cheap.
The problem is not getting stuck there. You may end up pushing yourself and becoming super skilled but never recognized. You may end up complacent and never grow. Either one suits the employers fine as long as they can keep you on cheap.
It's really up to you to define. You have to decide for yourself what you want. You need to have the audacity to then put yourself out there and fight for it publicly. You need to have the tenacity to not give up or settle in the face of certain, persistent rejection.
The market is not perfectly efficient and it certainly is not fair. It is competitive and indifferent to your personal needs. To a certain degree you need to put yourself out there to learn the game and then commit to playing it.
Ideally, along the way you commit to be kinder to others than people were to you.
The bad news: - Eng pay is maybe 50% or less of what you'd make in the US. - Lifetime employment is standard in Japan so there's not a healthy market for switching jobs. This is not to be underestimated. There are tales of salarymen committing suicide to get the insurance money to care for their families when they're laid off. That's how difficult it can be to find another position. - They can ask for your photo and age when applying for a job and judge you based on this. - Japan is homogeneous and if you're not Asian, you'll usually be judged primarily by your race, second by your abilities. - Being fluent in Japanese will not help you if you're not Asian. You will be expected to speak English. You'll need to learn to play along with people's expectations, pretending to only speak English until they grow tired of practicing their English, and only then switching over to Japanese. If you are non-Japanese Asian you will be expected to speak Japanese perfectly or else judged harshly. - Though the government is trying to address this, Japan is not a healthy market for start-ups or small companies. Most employers are medium to large companies. - Generally in Asia power distance is much larger than in western countries. You'll likely encounter power harassment at some point and without a competitive job market you'll have no recourse but to endure it. - You may be granted vacation but culturally not be able to take it. - You will likely have to work long hours. I typically worked 70h weeks with peak of 100h/wk for small bursts of 1-2 months. A 60h/wk felt like a vacation. - Generally, the consequences for failure in Japan are much more severe than in the US. At work, you need to be able to deliver near perfect quality results at all times. This can be wonderful in that your coworkers can be relied upon highly. However, it can be a lot of pressure. Pareto: the last 20% results can take 80% of the effort.