6 ms·

Show HN: Geek Bridge – Find dev work in Japan without knowing Japanese

40 points by jamesknelson 12y ago

jamesknelson 12y ago
Hi everyone! This is something our Startup Weekend team from Nagoya, Japan is building. We'd love to hear any feedback!
- kstenerud 12y ago
  I'll be back in Nagoya in late September to visit family. I'd be interested in checking out the startup scene there. Give me a shout. My email is in my profile.
grimtrigger 12y ago
Pretty cool. You should post this in /r/iwantoutjobs
- grimtrigger 12y ago
  ps, you should have an email subscription box. None of the jobs there seem right for me, but I like the concept
  - jamesknelson 12y ago
    Thanks for the idea - I'll try and add this today
thirdtruck 12y ago
Even though I'm not actively looking to move, thanks for making this. Love the Final Fantasy VII reference. :) Perhaps I can finally make use of all those semesters of Japanese.
benguild 12y ago
Technically this is illegal, as far as I know. You're not allowed to work in Japan without a valid visa. If they find out that you're working in Japan on a tourist visa you might not be allowed back. It'd be a grey area (also as far as I know) to say you're freelancing/working for a Japanese company while in Japan by coincidence, and I doubt that they're very forgiving if you're sidestepping a tourist visa's restrictions.
- asdfologist 12y ago
  Where does it mention anything about a tourist visa?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- jamesknelson 12y ago
  We're aiming this at people who can get/already have a visa. I haven't specifically mentioned it on the front page, as I think most people who would consider applying for this would already understand the visa situation. I have mentioned the requirement on the actual "apply" page, however.
- chvid 12y ago
  Japan has a fairly relaxed visa system at least if you are from the western world. If you are under 30 - a working holiday visa may be good to start with: http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/en/visa/visit_japan_workingholiday.html http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/en/visa/visit_japan_workinghol...
  - benguild 12y ago
    Not available to USA folks.
- delackner 12y ago
  Any japanese company can get a visa for a programmer incredibly easily just by filling out a form and submitting some documentation. Very different situation from elsewhere.
astrange 12y ago
I know wages for programmers are low in Japan, but 200,000¥ a month for automotive programming? That's about $25k/year. Would a company really be willing to help with relocation or a visa for that? Anyway, I'm not looking right now, but maybe someday.
- atomical 12y ago
  I think your question should be: Why would I relocate for a horrible salary? You can get more than that by teaching English -- even without a teaching degree.
- kstenerud 12y ago
  I think actually worked at that company 15 years ago. They're a more traditional company that pays based on your age, marital status, and number of dependents. Lots of companies in the Aichi/Gifu area are like that.
- greggman 12y ago
  Yes, this is normal in Japan and is one of the main reasons why I left. I don't know all the reasons. A few I imagine are (a) they don't value programming (b) they've got a captive workforce because Japanese is only useful in Japan so you can't go somewhere else unless you get fluent in another language and few do (c) they still have the "one company for life" attitude. It's slowly changing but is still prevalent (d) their education system doesn't produce people with experience. Most of the programmers I met said they had zer programming experience when they started their jobs. Instead they got the job because they had crammed for the right college in high school. They are then trained on the job (e) they consider programming a job for youth. Many programming jobs will have an upper age limit of 35. When I was there the two companies I worked for had an upper limit set by HR on programmer's salaries. It was 1/3 what I came home to.
- pwim 12y ago
  If you are doing web development in Tokyo, your salary is probably between ¥400,000 and ¥800,000 per month.
  - 12y ago
equil 12y ago
the minor hue difference between the logotype and the header bothers me immensely https://i.imgur.com/U0DxLKt.png https://i.imgur.com/U0DxLKt.png
pwim 12y ago
If you are interested in working as a developer in Japan, it's a topic I've written about a bunch: http://www.tokyodev.com/jobs/ http://www.tokyodev.com/jobs/ One thing you might be clear is whether the positions are for English speakers living in Japan, or if they are open to developers worldwide. In my experience, most companies where Japanese isn't necessary still prefer people to already be in Japan, as bringing someone from abroad is seeing as more risky, as even if the candidate ends up liking the company, they still might not like life in Japan.
- jimeuxx 12y ago
  Thanks for the link. Looks like you've put together some useful stuff.
jwatte 12y ago
$2500 for a mobile developer job in Tokyo? Does that even pay for taxes and rent and food? The going rate in the bay area (also expensive) is about 4x that. Why would anyone with mobility choose Japan then? (Other than as a language immersion class, perhaps?)
- jimeuxx 12y ago
  It's borderline if you live by yourself in the city, especially if they don't cover travel expenses. There's a chance your health insurance and pension will be deducted from that too, assuming they cover it. If you're working for a Japanese company, you'll probably be working a lot more hours, and taking a lot less holidays than you would be in the US or UK. 4x is a low estimate for the actual amount of work you'll be doing.
kimar 12y ago
Does anybody have experience getting freelancing gigs in Japan? What does the supply/demand look like? Any ideas for finding prospects?

40 points by jamesknelson 12y ago

jamesknelson 12y ago

Hi everyone! This is something our Startup Weekend team from Nagoya, Japan is building. We'd love to hear any feedback!

kstenerud 12y ago
I'll be back in Nagoya in late September to visit family. I'd be interested in checking out the startup scene there. Give me a shout. My email is in my profile.

grimtrigger 12y ago

Pretty cool. You should post this in /r/iwantoutjobs

grimtrigger 12y ago
ps, you should have an email subscription box. None of the jobs there seem right for me, but I like the concept
- jamesknelson 12y ago
  Thanks for the idea - I'll try and add this today

thirdtruck 12y ago

Even though I'm not actively looking to move, thanks for making this. Love the Final Fantasy VII reference. :) Perhaps I can finally make use of all those semesters of Japanese.

benguild 12y ago

Technically this is illegal, as far as I know. You're not allowed to work in Japan without a valid visa. If they find out that you're working in Japan on a tourist visa you might not be allowed back. It'd be a grey area (also as far as I know) to say you're freelancing/working for a Japanese company while in Japan by coincidence, and I doubt that they're very forgiving if you're sidestepping a tourist visa's restrictions.

asdfologist 12y ago
Where does it mention anything about a tourist visa?
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
jamesknelson 12y ago
We're aiming this at people who can get/already have a visa. I haven't specifically mentioned it on the front page, as I think most people who would consider applying for this would already understand the visa situation. I have mentioned the requirement on the actual "apply" page, however.
chvid 12y ago
Japan has a fairly relaxed visa system at least if you are from the western world. If you are under 30 - a working holiday visa may be good to start with: http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/en/visa/visit_japan_workingholiday.html http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/en/visa/visit_japan_workinghol...
- benguild 12y ago
  Not available to USA folks.
delackner 12y ago
Any japanese company can get a visa for a programmer incredibly easily just by filling out a form and submitting some documentation. Very different situation from elsewhere.

astrange 12y ago

I know wages for programmers are low in Japan, but 200,000¥ a month for automotive programming? That's about $25k/year. Would a company really be willing to help with relocation or a visa for that? Anyway, I'm not looking right now, but maybe someday.

atomical 12y ago
I think your question should be: Why would I relocate for a horrible salary? You can get more than that by teaching English -- even without a teaching degree.
kstenerud 12y ago
I think actually worked at that company 15 years ago. They're a more traditional company that pays based on your age, marital status, and number of dependents. Lots of companies in the Aichi/Gifu area are like that.
greggman 12y ago
Yes, this is normal in Japan and is one of the main reasons why I left. I don't know all the reasons. A few I imagine are (a) they don't value programming (b) they've got a captive workforce because Japanese is only useful in Japan so you can't go somewhere else unless you get fluent in another language and few do (c) they still have the "one company for life" attitude. It's slowly changing but is still prevalent (d) their education system doesn't produce people with experience. Most of the programmers I met said they had zer programming experience when they started their jobs. Instead they got the job because they had crammed for the right college in high school. They are then trained on the job (e) they consider programming a job for youth. Many programming jobs will have an upper age limit of 35. When I was there the two companies I worked for had an upper limit set by HR on programmer's salaries. It was 1/3 what I came home to.
pwim 12y ago
If you are doing web development in Tokyo, your salary is probably between ¥400,000 and ¥800,000 per month.
- 12y ago

equil 12y ago

the minor hue difference between the logotype and the header bothers me immensely https://i.imgur.com/U0DxLKt.png https://i.imgur.com/U0DxLKt.png

pwim 12y ago

If you are interested in working as a developer in Japan, it's a topic I've written about a bunch: http://www.tokyodev.com/jobs/ http://www.tokyodev.com/jobs/ One thing you might be clear is whether the positions are for English speakers living in Japan, or if they are open to developers worldwide. In my experience, most companies where Japanese isn't necessary still prefer people to already be in Japan, as bringing someone from abroad is seeing as more risky, as even if the candidate ends up liking the company, they still might not like life in Japan.

jimeuxx 12y ago
Thanks for the link. Looks like you've put together some useful stuff.

jwatte 12y ago

$2500 for a mobile developer job in Tokyo? Does that even pay for taxes and rent and food? The going rate in the bay area (also expensive) is about 4x that. Why would anyone with mobility choose Japan then? (Other than as a language immersion class, perhaps?)

jimeuxx 12y ago
It's borderline if you live by yourself in the city, especially if they don't cover travel expenses. There's a chance your health insurance and pension will be deducted from that too, assuming they cover it. If you're working for a Japanese company, you'll probably be working a lot more hours, and taking a lot less holidays than you would be in the US or UK. 4x is a low estimate for the actual amount of work you'll be doing.

kimar 12y ago

Does anybody have experience getting freelancing gigs in Japan? What does the supply/demand look like? Any ideas for finding prospects?