Day 57 of writing every day.
The email exchanges with my family regarding my path going forward have been helpful for me in making choices where I’ve been unable to get rational, honest input on what to do to change careers. The debate on whether to stay with a job I’m not happy with or leave might seem like an easy choice to make, but not when you don’t have the most desirable skill set that employers are looking for and are willing to pay and treat workers well for.
Honestly, I think there isn’t really a middle class in Japan based on the job postings I see. Anything that seems to come close to what would be considered middle class salary capable of feeding a family and owning a house is rare and often upper management level or higher, demanding experience and skills that are hard to come by to begin with for anyone even in their thirties.
It’s frankly quite disgusting how so many jobs that look like they pay decently well include 20 or so hours of prepaid overtime hours that in theory won’t require you to work overtime, but in reality means you’re obligated to work overtime or lose pay. Others might have you work every other Saturday.
You would think a shortage in laborers in Japan would ignite some sort of drive to improve worker treatment, but something strange about the economy is pushing conditions to the extreme ends with the middle becoming thinner and thinner in my opinion. Of course, the rich in Japan don’t show off their wealth like Americans might so it might not be as visible, and the spending habits can be different as well.
All I can say for sure is it looks like most people probably make less than 3,000,000 yen or the equivalent of 23,000 USD before taxes even with a college degree working full time for a big profitable company. The reality that some are able to look well-off is because they still live at home with parents and never lived on their own despite being well into their twenties or even thirties.
The most middle class looking jobs these days in Japan that aren’t in the seemingly impossible experience and skill requirements category would probably be in the IT industry. I personally never felt drawn towards it, but I’m confident I have what it takes to learn the skills needed to make it like so many others who were able to get in even without a computer science background who in extreme cases needed typing lessons.
To get a head start on things I’ll be enrolling in a programming class at a computer skills school to take lessons on-site instead of doing it all online by myself. It’s more motivating for me to be in the physical presence of others while learning since the social interaction and comfort of being around others can mean a lot. I’ve been living on my own for over ten years now, I didn’t need the isolation that COVID-19 forced upon so many to understand how much it means to be able to around people even if I’m not necessarily friends with them.
With work sucking and my Aikido time reduced by so much because of it, perhaps the be lessons will prove to be a much needed positive change for the time being and open doors of opportunity to get to where I want to be in life.
Thanks for reading!
One Chance Works 