Career Question (IT Career? Remote?)

Hey Guys,

Probably have lifetime employment here, but one never knows. At 46, life is so peachy, I never want to give up my wife, house, city or much else that is going on here. And I want to be able to visit my family in the states fairly often.

The demand for English teachers here, even those with MEd.'s, *seems* to be dwindling. So if I lost my current job, I might soon be struggling just to survive, unable to visit my elderly parents, take care of my house and so forth.

Since I always have been one to think way ahead and aside from English teaching, there are few other jobs in Japan for westerners, I was wondering about remote IT (programming?) work.

I'm not a programmer, but wondering if I should get training to become one? Perhaps specializing in computer security? (can read Chinese and Japanese, so this might augment such a career.).

Any feedback, precautionary info, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Looking for any info on any work that can be done remotely, from any location in the world.

I'm damned tired of sitting and studying, but not sure what else to do. No market for western personal trainers here!

Thanks in Advance!

Dave 

 

....just to add: The source of many recurrant panic attacks.

Dave

NotDave, I'm really not a pessimist, but....... I gotta tell you, DO NOT SWITCH TO PROGRAMMING!!!!  The offshore rate is averaging 17.00 in India and about 9.00 from China. The rates will only go down and these are what the offshore companies charge, not what the programmers make!  They have literally usurped the vast majority of progamming jobs in the US.  Most of my friends have been downsized and or are forced to work 12 hour days.  Literally, the boom is over. Now, I could envision a potential use for language translation and maybe some programming liason work (Japanese to English, vice versa), but that would be about it. I switched my IM focus from Senior Adminsitration/Programming to large project IM Program Management.  It was a good choice for me  and at the right time. You seem like someone not afraid to take chances and are successful in whatever you do. When the right opportunity presents itself,  grab it. Good luck to you. Guy

Guy,

Really helpful info, thanks. What you said reminded methat an instructor at another university said he had a pretty large program tailor-made for his system by Pakistanis he found on line. They charged a whopping $200.00 for the program! Programming has literally become production line work.

What will become of us overpriced westerners?

I've taken a lot of risks, true while putting in a lot of work. I just don't know what steps to take to insure a good/ stable income in the future.

Kind Regards,

Dave

Just remember there is a difference between a programmer and an engineer.  However a lot of those jobs are getting shipped over to india right now also.  I know that we outsourced some of the work for a company I was working for.  They were able to hire 10 guys in china for the price of 1-2 guys here in the states. Scott

What's going to happen to us poor, spoiled westerners?

Maybe I did choose the right field. I can usually beat those guys at English.

Today's question: What is a good career nice for western guys? A lot of you guys have kids. What careers are you thinking about recommending to them? IS health care the only good one that is left?

Ever thought about working for Uncle Sam? The pay may not be the best in the world, but it would be steady and stable.  Since you are already in country over there, it may likely be a plus for you from a recruiting standpoint.

Thanks, Danny. I'll check into it. That usually requires some other skill besides language and besides English teaching. And I don't think there are any here in my city.

Best Wishes,

Dave