The Late Bloomer

Hello Jin Han!

Hope you’re doing fine ?

Like most of the comments here, I’m also fixated on doing stuff related to Japan/Japanese culture. Sad thing is I only realized this 2 years back. Sad because I’m turning 34 this year (born in 1983, same age as you haha). I started taking part time Jap classes at Ikoma and will be attempting the JLPT N4 soon.

I very much would like to experience life working and living in Japan, though I’m not sure if I’m actually too old for this..(feeling kinda depressed as I type this :'( )
I like to write and also do funny things like correcting my friend’s company FB posts. So I’m kinda looking at doing translation work, and of course ALT work too (I mean, if it comes in a package, I’m not sure).

Anyway to cut the long story short –
1) Is there such a thing as being too old?
2) Assuming I go the teaching route, do I first take CELTA > apply for a student visa > take up a learning course in, for instance, Yamasa Institute > look for work?
3) Is there *gulp* an age limit for application of a student visa in Japan?
4) Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question. But may I know how did you look for work when nearing the end of your studies?

Sorry for the long post!

Alex

Hello Alex,

I’m doing fine, thank you. And I hope you are too. I noticed a lot of people apologize for long comments but I would like to point out that I appreciate long comments. Reading your comments is like reading a letter, which I love to do, so please do not worry about it. In fact, I enjoy reading long comments.

Without further ado, let me jump straight into your questions because I have a feeling this is going to be long as well.

1) Is there such a thing as being too old?

I began my plans to move to Japan at 26 and arrived here one day before I turned 27. Here, I met people who are as young as 22-23 years old and even some who moved here at 18. At that time, I wished I had moved over earlier because I was, in the Japanese people’s words, アラサー (around 30). But let’s face it, that wasn’t very possible because I was 23 when I finished NS (likely same as you) and 25 when I graduated from NUS. But NUS was necessary to get me where I am today, so I would do it again if I had to. But I also met people who came here in their 30s and some are still here while others have returned or moved elsewhere (they also moved elsewhere in their mid-30s). You probably already know about how Colonel Sanders was in his 60s when he created KFC, and how Ino Tadataka set out to map out Japan by foot in his 50s (alright, maybe you didn’t know this one). There is such a thing as too old to do JET because there is age limit to the program; there is such a thing as being too old for Working Holiday visa because you have to be under 30 to apply for it. Otherwise, you are only too old to do something if you think you are.

Let’s put the thought of whether you are too old aside and think about it a different way: You have a dream to experience living and working in Japan. If you get to live and work in Japan, it makes you happy; it gives you joy. Now, do you think a 34-year-old has the right to lead a happy life? Do you think there’s such a thing as too old to be happy?

You feel depressed at the thought of not being able to fulfill that dream now. You are 34. Assuming you get to live till the average age of around 80, not trying for what makes you happy could make you miserable for the next 46 years.

For this question, I’ll leave you with a saying that you’ve likely heard of:

Our biggest regrets are not for the things we did but, for the things we didn’t do.

2) Assuming I go the teaching route, do I first take CELTA > apply for a student visa > take up a learning course in, for instance, Yamasa Institute > look for work?

I assume you’ve read my story because that is exactly how I paved my way here. Do you have to do it the same way? Not necessarily. I did the CELTA for reasons that made sense to me and it was a course I had wanted to take since a long time ago but trust me, the bulk of teachers here do not have teaching certificates. Some are so bad, they write like an intermediate-level student of English but are teachers by virtue of them being from the Big 7 nations. But at the same time, I’ve also met others who are not from the Big 7 nations, are without the CELTA, but are also teaching here. Japan has liberated itself somewhat from the myopic view that Asian faces can’t speak English. That view still exists, but the situation is much better now.

Being a language student was a way for me to get here, but it wasn’t just a way to get here. I decided to do the language course because I had a five-year hiatus from Japanese language and I didn’t want to waste those years of study. Also, translation was a dream since I was 17, so being proficient at the language was crucial. I know people who found work here before flying in, so that is also a possible route. But if the route I took makes sense to you and is what you want to do, then I would say go ahead and do it.

3) Is there *gulp* an age limit for application of a student visa in Japan?

Yes. However, the age limit is not determined by the country, but by each individual school. The good news is, most schools only have a minimum age limit set instead of a maximum age. However, this information is based on the Yamasa Institute site that states there is no maximum age limit to study there.

4) Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question. But may I know how did you look for work when nearing the end of your studies?

No, that is not a stupid question. A stupid question would be, “Is there such a thing as a stupid question?”

Since I was enrolled to a school, the teachers there were very helpful in assisting us prepare our resume. Once you get your resume done, just keep sending it out. That was how I got my second job. But that’s not your question =\

I was fortunate since I was introduced to a company by my teacher while searching for my first job. But since the company wasn’t hiring then as it was in the middle of the academic year, I was told to look elsewhere. However, luck was smiling on me as one of their teachers had trouble with the students and decided to quit all of a sudden. Being the middle of the school year, the company was desperate to get replacement and since I had just met with the company staff, they knew it was likely I hadn’t gotten a job and so I was first in their mind to contact. That was how I got my first job. So, my suggestion would be, email all the ALT companies even if it were in the middle of the academic year because you never know when someone might just decide to leave. I have this feeling that someone quitting in the middle of the academic year is not that rare. But that’s just a guess.

With all that said, all the best to your JLPT, and I hope you find the answer to what would make the most sense for you.

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