University of Kent’s Language Centre recently hosted an online live event, ‘What is working in Japan like?’. The guest speakers were two University of Kent alumni, who are currently working in Japan, sharing their experiences of working and living in the country. The event’s organiser, Japanese Tutor, Mano Suzuki, shares her thoughts on the event:
“We had 32 attendees, even though it started at 10am on Monday morning during Enhancement Week, as it was a live talk from Tokyo where was at 7pm!
The first speaker, Helblindi Brock, studied English Language and Linguistics with a Year Abroad and graduated in 2016. He currently works as an English teacher in Shane English School in Tokyo. During the session, Helblindi discussed how he searched for work in Japan whilst he was still in England, what the process of getting a job was like, and shared his experience of life in Japan including accommodation information, living cost, tax and pension, which foreign workers in Japan need to pay. Helblindi gave some great advice to anyone who wants to work in Japan as an English teacher, including taking Cambridge CELTA course or Trinity TESOL certificate before going to Japan for work.
The second speaker, Elliot Langston, studied Politics and International Relations with a Year in Japan and graduated in 2017. Elliot worked in Japan as an Assistant Language teacher at the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme for two years and is currently working as an Account Executive in a software service company called MetricFire Corporation in Tokyo. Elliot gave us a talk about his experience of studying abroad, teaching in JET, networking throughout a business training course and many other occasions and how he changed his career from teaching to working in a private company in Japan. His talk included real experiences of working in Japan such as meetings, working customs and environments in Japan.
After each session, there were a whole host of important questions from attendees. The event had great feedback, including “It was a great opportunity!” ,“It was such a friendly atmosphere”, “As I’m looking to work abroad in general, even though this event was tailored towards those who wish to work in Japan, I still found the event quite helpful!”. A huge thanks goes to the speakers, and I hope the event was useful for all attendees.”