I was patiently waiting for this article. Thank you so much for providing so much detail and value. I'm inspired by you very much!
I plan on following a path very similar to yours. I also have an unrelated degree(accounting). I've been studying programming already and by the time I go to Japan I'll have roughly 8 months of self taught experience(studying fulltime and working on portfolio etc). Im planning on going as an english teacher and then switching after a year or so.
There's mainly 2 things I'm slightly worried about;
Do you believe that someone, after gaining work experience in tech as you did, can still be successful going remote freelance whilst living AWAY from the big cities in Japan? E.g living in insert random 田舎 here.
By the time I switch jobs into tech in Japan I'll be roughly 25/26 years old. Will I be disadvantaged coming in at an older age as compared to those new grads out there? What was your experience and how old were you when you made the switch?
I'm glad that it helped and that you found it inspiring!
1) Yes, absolutely. Remote freelance is super popular right now and I see no reason why that would change. Full remote can be done from everywhere, and a lot of country towns are hoping that remote work will bring in more young money.
I didn't start my programming job until I was... 25, I think? I covered my experiecne in the first article, but in short: 1 game, some ruby. So I wouldn't be worried at all. I've seen a few people make the switch in their mid-20's, and it went well.
The two main advantages new grads have are because they have no work experience.
1) Being more easily "moldable."
2) Being cheaper.
People in their mid-20's with work experience are a bit more worldly because they understand what working for a living feels like.
I was patiently waiting for this article. Thank you so much for providing so much detail and value. I'm inspired by you very much!
I plan on following a path very similar to yours. I also have an unrelated degree(accounting). I've been studying programming already and by the time I go to Japan I'll have roughly 8 months of self taught experience(studying fulltime and working on portfolio etc). Im planning on going as an english teacher and then switching after a year or so.
There's mainly 2 things I'm slightly worried about;
Do you believe that someone, after gaining work experience in tech as you did, can still be successful going remote freelance whilst living AWAY from the big cities in Japan? E.g living in insert random 田舎 here.
By the time I switch jobs into tech in Japan I'll be roughly 25/26 years old. Will I be disadvantaged coming in at an older age as compared to those new grads out there? What was your experience and how old were you when you made the switch?
Thank you so much ,Rob.
I'm glad that it helped and that you found it inspiring!
1) Yes, absolutely. Remote freelance is super popular right now and I see no reason why that would change. Full remote can be done from everywhere, and a lot of country towns are hoping that remote work will bring in more young money.
The two main advantages new grads have are because they have no work experience.
1) Being more easily "moldable."
2) Being cheaper.
People in their mid-20's with work experience are a bit more worldly because they understand what working for a living feels like.
Let me know if this was helpful / incoherent.
Awesome! Looks like picking ruby was the right choice after all!
Yes, this was very helpful! Thank you!
Oh, Ruby is super popular here. You should have no problem at all getting a job.
I also recommend learning Typescript if you don't know it - knowing both will make you a powerhouse candidate.