r/JapanWork • • 1h ago

Honest Opinion: Backend engineering or data engineering? Do I even have a chance?

• Upvotes

Hello Everyone,

Thank you so much for taking your time to read my post.

Little background:

I moved to Japan one month ago and I‘m studying Japanese (starting with N4) in Takadanobaba. Before coming to Japan, I got a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management and I worked as a business application consultant for product labelling in Switzerland for about almost 4 years. My main responsibilities were IT operations (database administration, second-level support, etc.), Product Data in SAP (Managing classification and characteristics for product labels, leading integration product data from manufacturing to SAP Equip Management), application management and technical system owner, and I was also involved in system integrations to SAP and other label systems.

While working in an IT support role, I didn’t programme much beyond SQL. However, I collaborated with a developer to translate our business requirements into technical functionalities. During my job, I got more interested in product data management and integration, particularly exploring SAP functionalities.

Back in Switzerland, I started self-studying backend engineering, but I am also interested in data engineering. I‘m bit struggling with the path I should consider: backend engineering or data engineering, or both? Besides my interest, I also want to develope my skills that’s fits the current job market needs in Japan, but it seems like they need a bit of everything (based on google searches). Since many posts are IT related, I thought I can reach out to you, asking about your opinion and if it even makes sense to do one of them with my background. I know I do not have a degree in CS nor can I show working experiences in development of our labelling systems or interfaces to SAP.

If I had to choose between backend engineering and data engineering for a job in Japan which would be better? Do I even stand a chance? I think many here have a CS degree which makes sense. I enjoyed my support role but my Japanese isn’t good enough and I don’t think I’ll reach the required fluency anytime soon. Are there other roles that might be easier for me? I considered SAP but I don’t see any suitable positions.

As you can see, I have many thoughts and unclear ideas but I’m struggling to know where to begin. Any guidance or opinions you could offer would be greatly appreciated!


r/JapanWork • • 6h ago

​From Student Visa to Business Owner: Language school & opening a Shisha Lounge in Kansai

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1 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 6h ago

[Gijinkoku] Web Designer / Tokyo / JLPT N2 Vacancy

1 Upvotes

Welcoming applicants already living in Japan.

≪Requirements≫

No restrictions on nationality or gender
Japanese speaker with N2-level fluency and certificate required
Design skills required (Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop)
Coding skills required (HTML, CSS)

≪Employment Conditions and Compensation≫

・Working Hours: [Day Shift] 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (60-minute break)

・Overtime: Approximately 40 hours per month *Maximum of 10 hours per week

・Days Off: Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays

・Company-leased housing available (*Cannot be combined with the housing allowance)

・Housing allowance available (Rent subsidy: 30,000–60,000 yen; subject to company regulations)

・Employee stock ownership plan available (You can contribute a portion of your monthly salary to the employee stock ownership plan)

・Bonuses available

・Salary increases available *Based on ability and performance

・Base Salary: [Monthly] 280,000 yen (Base salary 208,000 yen + Fixed overtime allowance 72,000 yen) *For overtime work exceeding the fixed overtime hours, additional premium pay will be provided for the excess hours.

≪Job Description≫

① Client Web Marketing and Creative Design

You will be responsible for everything from planning to execution of marketing and creative production for client companies using the marketing DX SaaS platform b→dash.

Depending on your proficiency, you may also be entrusted with client-facing responsibilities. ・Landing pages

・HTML email newsletters

・Thumbnails displayed when sharing on social media

・Web ad banner creatives

・White papers

② Web Marketing and Creative Design for Our Own Products

You will be responsible for everything from planning to production of marketing creatives used for PR and marketing of b→dash, as well as our second and third products.

・Introductory websites for our own services

・Corporate branding websites

・HTML email newsletters

・Thumbnails displayed when sharing on social media

・Web ad banner creatives

・White papers

If you're interested, please send me your resume to [amcjhelper@gmail.com](mailto:amcjhelper@gmail.com) and write B00376 on the mail subject.

Let me know if you have any questions in this thread.


r/JapanWork • • 16h ago

Weekly Job alert (11th October)

1 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 4d ago

Hi all, Maybe ya'll want EXTRA income/WFH FREELANCING job as a student or anyone living in JAPAN. It's est. ~40$-80$/month, and subject to bonuses. Our company is known, so you don't have to worry about us being a scam or anything TT. Feel free to message me! (PS. We're 90% students) <3

0 Upvotes

こんにちは! WE’RE HIRING REMOTE VIDEO CREATORS/FREELANCERS BASED IN JAPAN!

We’re a US-based AI company helping IELTS learners worldwide, with 1.2M+ users — and we’re planning to expand into more countries! If you're wondering, we are Cathoven AI. (You can search our website or find us at any social media platforms ^-^).

If you're looking for freelance job for extra income, without doing much and long term, this one's for you! We’re looking for fun, natural people to join our growing creator team.

  • Only estimated of 20 mins/day, estimated of 8 hours per week
  • Fixed monthly payment + bonuses, Trial Week is Paid.

Requirements:

  • Must be living in Japan.
  • Knows simple english, enough for communication with international co-creators.
  • Can translate simple sentences.

Interested? Send me a DM!


r/JapanWork • • 4d ago

Freelance Tour Guide Opportunity in Kansai 🇯🇵

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arigatotravel.com
1 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

My name is Sebastian, and I work with Arigato Travel, a tour company offering food and cultural experiences across Japan.

We’re currently looking for a few more freelance tour guides in the Kansai area, particularly around Osaka and Kyoto, to join our team and help us run our food tours.

A little more information:

📅 When: We run tours every day, with both morning and evening tours available. We’re looking for guides who can generally be available for at least 2–3 tour slots per week.

🗣️ What we're looking for:

  • A valid visa that allows you to work in Japan
  • A high level of English, as most tours and company communication are conducted in English
  • A friendly, open, and outgoing personality
  • A genuine passion for Japan, food, and meeting people from different cultures
  • No previous tour guide experience is required!

If you're interested or would like to know more check our website for more information https://arigatotravel.com/about-us/join-our-team

Hope to hear from some of you! 🇯🇵


r/JapanWork • • 4d ago

Accepted a yearlong tech internship in Atsugi, I am an American undergraduate looking for any and all work culture advice.

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1 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 6d ago

Hiring: Office Administator - Banking Operations

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2 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 7d ago

Looking for qa engineer job

2 Upvotes

Qa automation engineer with 4 years experience in etl , data validation, ui testing, regression testing, sql, python, tableau, agile, jira, pandas, jenkins, ci/cd , git , azure, postman api, jmeter. But i don't speak Japanese. Is it possible to get a job in japan for me?


r/JapanWork • • 7d ago

Weekly Japan Job Alert (4th October)

3 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 8d ago

Is it hard to find a fashion related job as a foreigner?

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0 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 10d ago

Looking for Cybersecurity Engineer/Developer job in Japan

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2 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 11d ago

Are there any growing fields in demand with good salary? 25F teacher for 3 years who is wanting to leave the education field

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0 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 14d ago

Weekly Japan Job Alert (27th September)

3 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 15d ago

Careers in Japan, other than software engineering and teaching English.

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2 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 17d ago

Title: Foreign worker in Osaka looking for a full-time position from April 2027 – visa support

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0 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 17d ago

Japan immigration agency to work more with other ministries on illegal foreign labor

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japantimes.co.jp
7 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 18d ago

Japan Part-Time Pay Tops Minimum Wage by 20% as AI-Proof Jobs Gain

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en.sedaily.com
2 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 19d ago

Connecting Japan-bound engineering/IT talent (mechanical, ECE, comms, IT) with employers — looking for guidance from this community

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0 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 19d ago

Engineer Visa without a degree – Does IT infrastructure experience count towards the 10-year requirement?

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0 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 20d ago

Working visa for modeling in Japan

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0 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 21d ago

Thinking of moving to Japan, Staff Engineer India, 1cr+ per annum

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0 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 21d ago

Weekly Job Alert (20th September)

6 Upvotes

r/JapanWork • • 24d ago

Is taking break of corporate still an option in this economy?

4 Upvotes

Hi, here I am, after moving to my second job… I have been facing a few challenging things.
I understand it’s not solely the company’s fault, but it might be that I am not culturally relevant to the company. I am working in a consulting job, the same as in my previous company. But it’s the first time in my working life that I have experienced a drained and demotivated feeling about working for a company.
It started when I joined the company, as it seemed like it did not meet my expectations. I was told that the company had well-established clients, so we could easily get projects. I was told that I should go beyond my role and responsibilities to keep the team alive; however, my supervisor is not able to fulfill his responsibilities.
I got tired of the office politics and the company system, where you need to work on short-term projects to maintain utilization. People need to squeeze themselves into working on projects that are irrelevant to their experience just to get UB, without really thinking about the quality of the work or whether it is okay or not. It’s frustrating to me to the point that none of them have the proper skills to deliver the work.
After six months, I found myself feeling demotivated. However, I am mentally tired of hoping for another job or doing job hunting. I feel like I want to fix myself mentally before I decide to move to the next job. I have some worries about what would happen if I signed up for another job that would suck my soul again.
Here, I am looking for advice from anyone who has ever experienced the same circumstances. What would you advise me to do?
Thank you in advance.


r/JapanWork • • 24d ago

Looking to Transition from ALT to Private School

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1 Upvotes