I went from English teacher to network engineer in Japan, and I've helped others move into IT too.

I did JET myself. Dispatch ALT work and eikaiwa are the other two routes, and I've read what people who did them have written. I'll tell you what the JET application and first year are like, how the other routes compare, and where people get stuck on visa paperwork.

• JET, ALT and private school routes side by side, with pay, hours and how much say you get over where you're placed
• What the interview panels are really screening for
• Building an application that stands out instead of reading like everyone else's
• What to expect from the visa process. For the application itself, use a licensed 行政書士ぎょうせいしょし (visa specialist).
• What your first few months look like, so nothing blindsides you
• What happens when your first contract ends. Renewal depends on you and your contracting organisation, and some people move to a different employer or use teaching as a stepping stone into something else

Read the guide to teaching in Japan with JET, dispatch or eikaiwa

No CS degree needed. I'll help you build a roadmap the way I built mine, with certs and projects that fit the hours you have each week.

No CS degree means you don't need a degree in IT. For the work visa, a degree in another subject helps, and immigration checks how it connects to the job. Ten years of experience can stand in for a degree, but I wouldn't risk it. Read what the visa asks for

• Picking a lane inside IT (helpdesk, networking, cloud, security) so you're not spreading six certs thin across none of them
• Which certs matter first, and which ones are a waste of money right now
• Fixing your resume so it gets past the automatic filters and reaches a real person
• Interview drilling, rep by rep
• Negotiating the offer once it comes. I renegotiate my own salary every couple of years and have walked colleagues, friends at other companies and even my own manager through the same conversation
• Already work in IT? This path also covers carrying the skills you've already got into a role here
• Japanese and already living here, comfortable in English and curious about IT? It's the same path and the same roadmap, just without the visa and relocation part

Even if you never go all in on IT, the skills are useful in any job, in any country.

Read the guide to IT jobs in Japan for foreigners

Read the full IT salary guide

Some of this comes down to who I know. That means my own company, former colleagues and other people who've made the jump before you. It isn't limited to IT or teaching. If there's a fit for a role in Japan, tech or otherwise, I'll put you in touch. I'll be straight with you. An introduction isn't a promise, and it comes down to timing, fit and whether there's an opening at all. Introductions are free and never part of a paid session, and I don't take a fee from you or the company.

• An introduction to a hiring manager or team, when it makes sense, inside IT or out
• A straight read on whether you're ready for that introduction yet
• Job hunting strategy for roles outside IT and teaching too, in the parts of the market I know
• Before I introduce you, I need a clean resume, a role or two in mind and a realistic timeline

Japan has working holiday agreements with 32 countries and regions (MOFA, checked Sep 2026). You get a year in the country with the right to work, and you don't need an employer or sponsor. It isn't for everyone. Age caps sit around 18 to 30 (18 to 25 for a handful of countries unless you extend), it's usually one stay per lifetime (a few countries now allow a second), and it isn't open to every passport. Americans can't get it at all, and neither can Indian passport holders (moving from India? Start here).

• Whether your passport qualifies, and the real age cutoff for your country
• How to use the year to build toward something instead of spending it as one long trip
• Lining up work, or at least real leads, before you land, so the clock isn't ticking from zero
• Turning the working holiday into an actual work visa before the year runs out
• The limits, upfront. It's temporary, it isn't a work visa, and the year keeps ticking

Read the full eligibility guide

A student visa lets you live here long term while you build the Japanese you need. That's the kind you only get from daily life. Some people pay for it and go full time. Others save up first and go part time. Either way, you get real time in the country and immersion that no app or class back home comes close to.

• Comparing schools that build your Japanese instead of stacking up certificates
• Realistic costs, and how people pay for it with savings, part time work or a mix
• Most student visas let you work around 28 hours a week, though it varies by school and stage
• Using the visa as a soft landing, so you can start the job search while you're already here
• It isn't a work visa, so line up your next step before it runs out

Read the student to work visa guide

If your company already has an office here, or is looking to expand into Japan, an internal transfer is the safest path there is. You keep your employer and your track record, and you skip a cold job search from scratch.

• How to check whether your company has a presence in Japan. Most people never ask
• How to raise it internally without sounding like you're already halfway out the door
• What a typical relocation package includes, so you know what's reasonable to ask for
• What to expect if it moves forward, like relocation support, the timeline and the company handling your visa
• Whether this door is even open for you. For a lot of people it isn't

This goes further than the language school route in Path E. It means a full degree (a bachelor's exchange year, a Master's or a PhD) and internships that plug into any of it. I went through study abroad myself, and I've since seen people combine these in all sorts of ways. Study can lead into an internship, an internship can turn into a full time offer, some people go straight into a Master's, and some do all three back to back. I've also built up contacts on the school and internship side over the years, so where it makes sense I can put you directly in front of them.

• If your degree already includes an exchange or "sandwich" year, how to make it count
• Exchange years, direct enrolment degrees, MEXT scholarships and self funded routes, compared side by side on cost and how competitive each one is
• Research based Master's or PhD programmes, whether you need a professor to sponsor you before you apply, and how that conversation goes
• Internships that plug into or replace a study stint (paid and unpaid), and what's realistic to land
• An introduction through my own contacts on the school or internship side, when it's a real fit
• Turning any of this into a long term stay, with the visa and job hunting options once your programme or internship ends

Read the student to work visa guide