Putting Your IT Skills to Work in Tokyo
Our 2nd annual IT job and salary survey
Apart from pandering to your base desire of wanting to know what others
around you are earning, this survey of foreign information technology (IT)
professionals working in Tokyo offers a sense of the kinds of jobs that
are available, the skills you will need to get such jobs, and the typical
compensation such work can bring.
The industry areas covered in this article include the marketing of computer
systems and services; the creation of customized programs, Web pages, and
ads for the Internet; and the installation, maintenance, and support of
computer systems and networks. While this covers a good cross-section of
IT jobs, note that the positions discussed in the article are, for the most
part, those available at foreign companies. Keep in mind that, especially
if you speak the language, there are opportunities in Japanese firms as
well.
(Note that, given the sensitivity surrounding salaries, interviewees
were given the option of anonymity. A few, though, were willing to be quoted
on general IT issues.)
by John Boyd
Japanese information technology (IT) companies are understandably predisposed
to hiring Japanese staff, given the obvious advantages that natives have
in their own language, culture, and business environment (particularly when
it comes to interfacing with Japanese customers). Nonetheless, even in such
areas as marketing and sales, there are opportunities for bilingual foreigners
in Japanese IT organizations in Tokyo.
The greatest opportunities for gaijin (foreigners), though, are at
Tokyo-based foreign firms. One American marketing manager who worked for
two Japanese IT companies (where he eventually commanded an annual salary
and bonuses of over ¥10 million), and who is currently employed at
a foreign-owned computer systems integrator, cautions that he only knows
of one foreign marketer employed today in a Japanese company. On the other
hand, he says it is common to find foreigners in non-Japanese firm IT marketing
jobs. "Most foreign companies want to bring Japanese marketers up through
the system. The best way to do this is to mix experience --i.e., the gaijin
-- with a motivated Japanese employee, and provide specialized training
where appropriate."
Caution: paradigm shift
A major shift in the Tokyo IT employment scene that has been gaining momentum
since Computing Japan published a similar survey last year is that
job openings in IT are expanding well beyond the traditional core employment
segment of MIS (Management Information Systems) activities carried out in
the large multinational companies. The forces driving this change include
the Internet, the increase in computer networks, and the move to downsize
computer systems. These are areas where foreign IT professionals are often
ahead in experience, given the relative slowness of many Japanese companies
in picking up on these technologies.
Nevertheless, corporate Information Systems (IS) roles continue to pay the
highest salaries, and such jobs provide employment for a relatively large
group of foreigners. Traditionally, IS people have been the backroom staff
who take care of running a company's computer and communications systems.
In large corporations, this often means looking after mainframe and midrange
systems, and generally requires a grounding in older programming languages
such as COBOL.
But since the advent of downsizing -- the move away from mainframes to smaller,
more flexible systems -- first foreign companies, and now a growing number
of Japanese firms, have been introducing powerful servers and local area
networks (LANs) of PCs and workstations. Over time, these systems are being
integrated to form client/sever configurations in order to meet new and
changing IT needs, such as the wide distribution of corporate information
to those who can best use it.
All this requires IT people experienced in UNIX, and more recently engineers
(holders of appropriate degrees or certificates in specific technologies)
or "techies" (self-taught people who have an aptitude for things
IT) with a knowledge of the newer operating systems like IBM OS/2, Microsoft
Windows NT, or Novell NetWare. And in a demanding multivendor environment
in the financial industries sector, for instance, you may need to have at
least a working understanding of all these technologies.
Says one IT manager in his late 30s, employed by a European securities company,
"I look after the network, PCs, communications.... I do everything
except software development." He explains that this means covering
UNIX, NetWare, Windows NT, VMS, and even Apple Macintoshes. (Though when
problems or installations get down to the real nitty-gritty level, he turns
to outside vendors for help.) An entry level IT person at his company, he
says, can expect to start from around ¥5 million annually. "This
can climb to ¥8 million, inclusive, after a few years of experience.
And a manager can expect to earn ¥10 to ¥12 million."
Big name US securities companies and banks often pay administrators significantly
more. Financial-sector IT managers can earn a "¥12 to ¥18
million base, with bonus packages worth up to 25% more," says a headhunter
specializing in placing such staff. IT people who focus on a single technology
may get paid more or less than the going rates, depending on their specialization
and how much in demand it happens to be.
Several IT administrators said that generalist IT professionals who also
have a good knowledge of UNIX usually get paid more. "UNIX specialists
are the creme de la creme," says a British IT chief at a European-based
manufacturing company. And "UNIX skills are even more valued now, with
the Internet boom," points out Jef Fisher of Horton International,
an executive search firm in Tokyo.
On the other hand, the administrator of a local area network or a corporate
database can expect "¥7 to ¥12 million, plus a bonus, depending
on experience," says an American head hunter. The director of the IS
department in a major financial services corporation -- particularly a veteran
company person sent out on a rewarding ex-pat package -- can earn considerably
more: ¥20 to ¥40 million per year was the range that emerged in
my survey. For the rare case of a trusted technical whiz with executive
status -- a person who not only keeps the enterprise's computer systems
purring but who also employs IT to drive the company's strategy, or in some
other way doubles as a senior executive -- an ex-pat package as high as
¥60 million annually, or even up to ¥100 million, is not unheard
of.
Feet on the ground
But coming back down to terra firma: "The bubble economy days of very
high salaries being thrown at anyone who could click a mouse are long over,"
stresses Horton International's Fisher. After the bubble burst, he says
"many computer jobs were shipped overseas to cheaper markets like Hong
Kong and Singapore. Some companies even pulled the plug and left."
Now, as the economy brightens again, Fisher observes that positions are
starting to return because "strategies to support Tokyo from overseas
to save money have not worked very well for most firms. Nevertheless,"
he cautions, "companies are much more careful about hiring. You must
be very good to get a chance at the high paying jobs."
Good, yes -- but not necessarily a company veteran. "I know an IT guy
who got ¥160,000 a day," says a headhunter who has placed 12 IT
people with foreign-based companies in the past year. "He was working
independently as a consultant [for a financial company] 20 days a month,
and just finished up a five-month contract." In this particular case,
the person had good presentation and management skills to supplement his
technical prowess. The downside of the arrangement, however, is that now
the contract has been completed, this same IT consultant is in his second
month of unemployment.
He may well need the rest. According to the same headhunter, financial companies
who pay big look for younger people with high energy levels willing to commit
fully to the job. "They pound these guys; they get what they pay for."
He adds that you won't likely find an IT head in the financial industry
who is as old as 50.
"It is demanding in terms of hours," admits an American IT manager
at a foreign securities company. "A 9-to-5 day is not possible."
In April, a particularly busy month for his company, he says days commonly
began before 7:00 in the morning and didn't end until 11:00 at night. He
was also expected to "work many weekends."
Systems integration
Downsizing and networking has created a need for systems integrators and
computer support companies, like Fusion Systems Japan and LINC Computer
(formerly a sister company of magazine publisher LINC Japan; recently acquired
by Electronic Data Systems Corporation). Such foreign-owned companies are
usually happy to employ knowledgeable foreign IT staff and managers.
"In 1995, Fusion hired 27 engineers, relatively evenly divided among
software engineers, network engineers, and application engineers,"
says Michael Alfant, president of Fusion. Of the 27, only 7 were Japanese,
though Fusion has an open policy on hiring. "We'll hire any talented
engineer we can find, given our rapid growth," says Alfant, who offers
no insights as to why foreigners fill most of the slots.
Headhunters say salaries for computer support firms vary enormously. An
entry-level person with no working experience may start out as low as ¥3
million per year (about the same as an English conversation teacher in Tokyo).
Experienced people, though, especially if they hold an engineering certificate
in a technology that's in demand, are estimated to come within 20% to 30%
of what a similar IS person in the financial sector earns. Fusion is only
willing to say it pays "competitive market salaries, with some unique
perks -- including stock options and bonuses based on company profitability
and individual performance, as well as employer-paid health insurance."
Internet IT
The IT world is fast expanding beyond IS and managing or supporting the
computer systems of multinationals. The past couple of years has seen the
explosive growth of the World Wide Web, the graphical subnetwork that has
helped make the Internet a household name. This phenomenon has produced
a rash of new IT openings, many of which are being filled by foreign techies
who have the edge in experience (and certainly in language on the English-language-dominated
Net).
A number of foreign start-ups have recently entered the IT arena, or have
reset their goals in order to exploit the craze in anything Internet: Global
OnLine Japan (GOL), Internet Access Center (IAC), and WebMasters, for example.
IAC is a thriving IT company that has built a fast-growing business around
electronic communications and the Internet. The company covers everything
from providing Internet access, training, advertising, and content creation
to software development and offering an electronic news service. And in
a back-to-the-future move, it recently acquired city magazine Tokyo Journal
with the intent of mining its content for Internet consumption.
"In hiring," says IAC founder Brad Bartz, "I don't care about
nationality. Bilingualism is important, though, due to the nature of our
business." What Bartz looks for in IT managers is "self-starters
who can solve technical problems quickly and without direction, and who
know how to delegate." He finds such skills often come more readily
in foreigners than Japanese. "It seems that foreign staff, generally
speaking, have more ability to be creative managers and to jump-start things.
I assume this is a cultural difference."
Bartz acknowledges that IAC doesn't pay "anywhere close" to what
IT people in the securities industry can make. Pay is high for an Internet-focused
company, though, he contends, with salaries of managers starting from around
¥6 million per year. "We are looking also at stock options and
profit sharing," he adds.
Some parting advice
For those readers attracted to the work (or the money) and who want to get
on the IT fast track in Japan, commonly given advice is to become licensed
or certified in one of the hot technologies of the moment. Currently, these
include Lotus Notes, Windows NT, UNIX, and NetWare. The programming languages
most sought now are C++, C, Visual Basic, and Java, Sun Microsystems' new
object-oriented Internet programming language.
English-language IT certification courses are rare in Japan, so to get a
certificate a trip back home would be in order if you aren't bilingual.
One company mentioned above, Fusion, got round this problem by bringing
over a Novell NetWare instructor for a month from the US, in order to have
some of its staff become Certified NetWare Engineers (so there may be occasional
opportunities to study locally, if you can wangle your way in).
Once you are certified, the best advice may be to get an entry-level position
at a financial company. Put your know-how to work there, and build up your
experience and a reputation. "Given two or three years of that kind
of experience," says one IT manager, "you can go anywhere."
Maybe even as far as a job that pays ¥100 million a year?
SIDEBAR
Speaking the language
Besides technical experience, fluency in Japanese is a skill that many IT
companies seek -- but there are exceptions. "Some companies say they
will only hire bilingual staff," notes Horton International's Fisher.
"But when pressed, compromise is often the solution, and they will
sacrifice Japanese ability for technical skills."
"There is a wide range of skill when it comes to bilinguality,"
observes a headhunter. "A lot of the Japanese in IT speak English;
not all, but many. A lot of the [communications] work gets down to reports
-- which are done mostly in English, if we're talking about the major American
or European financial companies." Most foreign firms will be satisfied
with a technically skilled person who doesn't speak much Japanese, since
most of the sensitive and important conversations will be in English.
(c) Copyright 1996 Computing Japan magazine. All rights reserved. May
not be reproduced in part or in full, by any means, without the explicit
written consent of the Editor-in-Chief or Publisher. http://www.computingjapan.com/