For around the past two years I have been teaching English in Hiroshima, it has been a fun experience and I have made a lot of friends in the process.
Recently, on a whim, I applied for a job in Tokyo, pretty much sure I wouldn’t get it. Lo-and-behold I received a call from the company and they requested that I come to Tokyo for an interview. After talking on the phone a few times to them and finally meeting them, they presented me with a networking test just to place where I am. Surprisingly enough, after two years of not touching a router or firewall, I aced their test. By aced, I only missed one question.
Suprising to me was the fact that no ever scored higher then about an 80% on the test.. Anyways, after talking about the test and asking me more technical questions, I was offered the position. I will start March 1st, working for NTT Telecom in Tokyo. I will be a member of the Network Testing and Provisioning Group, dealing primarily with Singapore, Hong Kong and Europe.
The pay sucks compared to the same job in America and they are not helping me get an apartment or paying for me to move. But the hours are nice and there is a lot of room for upward movement, especially into the NTT Labs group which is akin to the ATT Bell Labs Networking group. So needless to say I am really excited.
Now I just have to find an apartment and hope I have enough money to move in! You have to have deposit money, two months rent and pay a mandatory thank you fee to the real estate agent. This roughly translates into anywhere between 2.5k to 4k depending on the building and the agent.
woot!
…forgot to add…
So does that mean you’re not coming state-side for awhile?
Houston we have an ex-patriot
Depending on the job and how other things in my life work out, maybe I will be back in the Lou September or October timeframe. The pay isn’t anywhere near what it would be in America, after a 2 year break, it is a good chance. So you guys have a chance to come to Tokyo and crash at my pad!