Re: [tlug] [OT] A Question About Degrees

[Attila Kinali <attila@example.com>]

On Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:00:20 +0900
Kenneth Burling <burlingk@example.com> wrote:

> When finding a job in the Tokyo area, how important is the name of the
> school that you get your degree from?

Contrary to what has been written already, i'd like to point out
that you are trying to get into the Japanese job market. It is very
special in ways you cannot imagine if you've never been there.
(eg. it matters whether you have a degree from Waseda or from Todai,
depending on which company you want to end up in the managment)

Generally speaking there are two types of companies in Japan:
originally Japanese companies and foreign companies.
Japanese companies have often, to the eyes of foreigners, strange
customs and rules. Not to talk about their selection process.
Foreign companies, while adapting quite a bit to the Japanese
system, retain some of the qualities their mother company has.

If you're comming from the US, and have never worked outside
the US, i strongly recommend selecting a foreign company as your
first in Japan. Otherwise the cultural shock might be too big to bear.
It might also be easier to get into a foreign company than it is
into a Japanese company, if you don't have a degree from a "known"
university, where "known" is for Japanese values of "known" (which
are quite different from European or USian "known").

As for the degree, i'd plan from the beginning on a masters degree.
A bachelor is a nice start, but, at least here in Europe, nobody
will hire someone with just a US bachelor degree. It's basically
too much work to get someone from such a far off country, with
a degree you dont know exactly what it is worth and where you have
ample supply of local workers with simlar degrees.
Unless of course, you are one of the few gifted people who could
make a name for themselves during their studies.

Other than that, generally i advise you to get internships and such
things as often and as early as possible during your studies. If possible
in foreign countries (in Japan and others) as well. Having done the
right internship or worked on the right project is often more important
than having the right degree. Beside that you get to know the right
people as well ;-)

HTH
			Attila Kinali

-- 
If you want to walk fast, walk alone.
If you want to walk far, walk together.
		-- African proverb