10+ years of IT experience, but struggling with my career in Japan due to language barriers — what should I do next?
Hello everyone. I grew up in China. I have more than 10 years of experience as a Linux system engineer and DevOps engineer in China.
I moved to Tokyo in 2022. Since I came to Japan, I have been working as a contract engineer. I have worked on several projects in Japan.
Recently, because of the difficult job market, my salary was cut, and now my take-home pay is about ¥290,000 per month.
My biggest problem is language. My English is still limited, and my Japanese is not at N1 level yet.
I’m not sure what the best next step is for my career. Should I focus on improving my Japanese and getting N1, work more seriously on my English, improve my technical skills, or try to move out of the Chinese IT staffing market?
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who work in IT in Japan or have been in a similar situation.