Tired of Teaching English?

Lucidas founder, Marketing Rockstar and all-around great guy Jon here today to reach out to my international fan base! OK, well, maybe I don’t have an international fan base, but I’m guessing you’re curious about launching a career in Japan that doesn’t involve teaching English.

Teaching English isn’t bad, but…

Let’s face it, as a Gaijin in Japan there are employment opportunities, but a lot of them are the dreaded “English Teacher” type. When you’re young and fresh out of college or coming to live in Japan for the first time, it’s a great way to make a living off a skill you have. But as the years go on, the quick realization is that only a small handful of people are going to be making a full-fledged career out of it, and for a lot of us, it’s just a dead-end job just slightly above burger flipping; or at least that’s how it starts to feel.

For the lucky ones, employment in professional business fields are also available, but much too often the realization is that you are the office novelty Gaijin who is tasked with translation work and occasional interpreter, rarely given the same career growth opportunities as your Japanese counterparts, and it’s not because you don’t speak Japanese or don’t understand what’s going on or are otherwise underqualified. Sometimes it’s prejudice, sometimes it’s jealousy, but more often than not someone that is less qualified ends up getting more growth opportunities, just because they aren’t a Gaijin.

I know this is a generalization, but we’ve all encountered one flavor or another, whether it is in person or something that happened to someone we know.

Working a “Job” vs Building a Career

So, are there no opportunities for a Gaijin to launch a real career in Japan? Sure, there are, and Lucidas is certainly one of them. Lucidas is an equal opportunity employer, and it doesn’t matter where you were born or what you identify as, so long as you live up to the qualifications of what it takes to be a professional at my company.

That said, it’s obviously going to take more than English teaching skills, and the truth is, you may even be at a slight disadvantage since daily business is conducted in Japanese and a minimum grasp on daily business communication in Japanese is a prerequisite.

If, however, you have that down, and you can also conduct business in English, that’s to your advantage as well. If you already have some experience or background in digital marketing, then you’ve got a pretty good chance.

The bottom line is that I am looking for talent that wants a career, not a job, and is excited to work and excel as a professional in a collaborative environment with growth opportunities, and willing to put in the effort.

If that sounds like a fair deal and exciting proposition, then it’s time to read up on both our recruit blogs and marketing blogs to learn more about what we do, and what may be expected of you. And if you think you just might be cut out for this… time to dust off that CV and get to advancing your career!

In case you were wondering why this blog was in English when Japanese language comprehension is a prerequisite… well, I certainly caught your attention, didn’t I? That’s kind of what marketing is about.