Interest in Japan: My Goal to Be A Female Civil Engineer in Japan
I majored in civil engineering at the West Yangon Technological University. While studying civil engineering and architecture at the university, I learned about Japan. I was in awe of their advanced building technology, earthquake-proof technology, and strict safety management. Plus, a professor at the university who had studied in Japan talked to me about the building technology he had learned in Japan. He also commented on how safe it is to live in Japan. The professor said that it is easy for women to live in.
So, I became interested in working in Japan as a university student. I thus began to study Japanese on my own when I was in my fifth year of university. However, after graduating from university, I quit studying Japanese because I was working in Myanmar, and I had forgotten most of the Japanese I had studied at that time.
Work Experience in Myanmar
After I graduated from the university, I started working for two Myanmar construction companies. In the first job I did estimate calculations, and in the second job, I worked as a designer.
I left the second company when a construction project was canceled due to COVID-19. I also wanted to concentrate on studying Japanese because I wanted to work in Japan in the future. So, I quit my job in Myanmar and started attending Japanese language classes at the AJMMC (Association of Japan Myanmar Mutual Communication- AJMMC). I studied Japanese from morning to night at AJMMC and obtained JLPT N3 in 8 months.
How did I learn about FAST OFFER International?
I learned about ASIA to JAPAN from my Japanese teacher at AJMMC. ASIA to JAPAN recruits Asian students who want to work in Japan, and the companies introduced by ASIA to JAPAN offer great salaries and opportunities. I knew I needed to do a lot of preparation and study, but I wanted to try it. So, I registered with FAST OFFER International in June 2023. At the end of that same month, I had a job interview lined up.
Preparations for the Job Interviews
The process went much faster than I had imagined, so preparing for the interview was difficult. It was especially difficult to explain my graduation thesis in Japanese. When translating my graduation thesis written in English into Japanese, it was difficult to translate the technical terms correctly. Additionally, I had to briefly explain the project using PPT slides. I searched for the necessary photos to put on the slides and prepared a slide presentation of the project’s parts that I wanted to emphasize. Since I was a mid-career hire, I also needed to explain in Japanese what kind of work I was involved in in Myanmar. It was difficult to simply explain the work I had done in Japanese because work tasks differ between Japan and Myanmar.
Furthermore, I was also scheduled to take the JLPT exam in early July. Being busy preparing for the exam and the interview at the same time was a very tough period. To get through such a difficult interview preparation, I took advantage of the mentor session with FAST OFFER. The mentor was kind and gave me a lot of advice, which was helpful.
The Job Offer to Become a Female Civil Engineer in Japan
After two interviews, I received a letter of offer. I was very relieved to receive the offer. I was also happy that my Myanmar friend who studied at AJMMC with me also got the offer, so we could work in Japan together. It was very reassuring to be able to consult with friends from Myanmar at that time when I was still getting used to working and living in Japan in Japanese.
My Future As A Female Civil Engineer in Japan
I am more interested in designing than working in the field. However, at the company where I have been offered a job, I will be able to work in the field first to learn a lot of things. To realize my dream of working as a designer in the future, I would like to learn at various workplaces within the company. Then, I would like to consider my future career.
I think that the companies that ASIA to JAPAN introduced me to a lot of opportunities. Also, I could prepare a lot for the interview, such as introducing myself and compiling the final university thesis into a PPT. Through this process and the support from ASIA to JAPAN, you will improve your Japanese language skill and PPT skills, and I think it will be a chance to improve yourself too. I wish you the best of luck!
