The 1999 Computing Japan IT Salary Survey

The Results

	Survey Key:
	Title
	Job Description
	Salary (annual compensation)
	Expat Benefits
	Comments

Note: respondents were asked to reply quoting their annual compensation in one of four ranges:

• less than 5M yen
• 5m to 10M yen
• 10M to 20M yen
• more than 20M

	IP Network Manager
	Keep Everything Working
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	Don't I wish (no).
	"If I had 5 clones of myself, three would be asleep, two working, and I would have a vacation for the first time in years."

	Managing Director (shacho)
	Deliver the highest quality services to our corporate clients.
	more than JPY20M
	No.
	"Japan today offers an incredible window of opportunity, never before seen in our generation. This is due to real changes taking place at the most fundamental levels, both regulatory and market-driven."

	Systems Engineer
	Keep things in the computer room running smoothly.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"A good boss makes all the difference."

	Engineer, Telecom
	Service and support. Sometimes help the salesmen.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"I've had to move around to too many companies over the last few years. I wish I hadn't but I had no choice."

	Public Relations Department (staff)
	Deal with reporters, set up interviews, help issue press releases.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	Some. The company takes care of the apartment and some other stuff.
	"I used to work for a big Japanese company but was never really accepted. My new job [at a foreign company] is just great."

	President of a high tech startup
	Develop strategic plans for product development, sales, and marketing. Product support and implement the same. P&L accountability. Recruit and oversee personnel and general business operations.
	JPY10M to JPY20M today, >JPY20M coming soon
	No.
	"Anybody who thinks their boss has it better off than them ought to join a startup venture company."

	Staff, small foreign-owned company
	Do all the work the owner doesn't know how to do.
	less than JPY5M
	Are you joking? No.
	"My boss is a nut. I'm desperately looking for a job. There is nothing worse than working for someone who think's he is Napoleon."

	Programmer (employee)
	Make programs
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"There is a notable decrease in the demand for foreign programmers, at least from what I see."

	Programmer (freelance)
	Mostly do systems work these days. But have done applications in the past.
	JPY5M to JPY10M; sometimes reaching into the low teens
	Only if I pay for it (no).
	"The key to making it as a freelance programmer is to have a regular selection of clients and to know what season to hit them up. It is a seasonal business.

	Reporter, computer magazine
	I mostly write about new start-ups and foreign companies coming into the market.
	less than JPY5M; JPY5M to JPY10M soon
	No
	"I think we have it better than many of the reporters who work for the newspapers. We have the time to really learn how to do business and write about it in an intelligent way."

	Sales Rep, Large Computer Systems
	Build up my company's client base, provide top quality systems to Japan's leading corporations.
	more than JPY20M
	Yes, extensive package
	"The only way to move up a serious corporate ladder is to be good -- real good -- at sales and marketing. It is the key to all business."

	Regional Marketing Representative
	Sales and Marketing in the East Asian region.
	more than JPY20M
	Yes. But not as good as it used to be.
	"The recent downturn in the regional economy has hurt many companies. There is business there, but it isn't easy to get."

	Marketing Rep, Western Japan
	I handle Osaka and the rest of the western portion of Japan.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	No.
	"One thing that makes me angry is the way Japan's market is set up. Tokyo is everything to most companies, even Japanese ones. The economy in other parts of the country is much worse these days than it is in Tokyo."

	Webmaster
	Keep the website running and safe.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"Becoming a webmaster for a company is becoming harder and harder to do well because of all the things you need to learn and keep up on. It's not a very fun job after a while and I'm thinking of getting into something else."

	Web Design Consultant (independent)
	Establish my clients' companies in cyberspace.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	No.
	"A lot of people get into the Internet without really learning about it first. It's a different world, man. The Japanese companies really need help in this department and are willing to pay for that knowledge."

	Customer Service Representative
	Assist customers over the phone. I have recently begun doing my job by e-mail.
	less than JPY5M
	No.
	"The rules at my company are too rigid. Nobody has a clue as to what they are doing or should be doing. There is no team spirit at all."

	Bank Teller
	The usual things a bank teller does. Smiling is part of the job.
	less than JPY5M
	No.
	"It is still early in my career. I don't plan on being a bank teller forever. I just wanted to get a name institution on my resume. I'm working beneath my talents. Most people here are."

	System Sales Engineer, Telecom Systems
	Work with the clients to come up with comprehensive telecommunications solutions.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"I like my job because my company really wants to motivate the employees. I have a life outside the office, which is more than I can say for some of my friends."

	English Teacher (English school chain)
	Teach conversational English to Japanese businessmen.
	less than JPY5M
	Come on! (no)
	"I hate this job. I have been in Japan about two years now and I really hate this job."

	Systems Consultant
	Advise companies on their computer needs.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	No.
	"The Y2K thing did not result in a notable increase in my business. This either means that I didn't get the business or there was no business to get. New Years Eve could prove interesting."

	Freelance Network Consultant
	Planning networks and similar systems.
	more than JPY20M as an entire business. I get paid much less.
	Not really applicable.
	"Working as an independent is the only way to go in Japan. You'll never do well if you work for somebody else, especially a Japanese company."

	Program Designer
	Well, I design computer programs -- what they look like and how they behave.
	JPY5M to JPY10M right now.
	No.
	"The secret in working for a Japanese company is to be part of the team. You have to stop thinking like a foreigner and think like a Japanese. Then they will accept you."

	Project Manager
	Find markets for my company's products in Japan
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	Not really. Have more vacation time than most people and I get a free ticket back home once a year.
	"Japanese organizations -- companies, government, anyone -- confuse time spent at the office with productivity." The fact that bureaucracy kills inspiration is also not realized."

	Foreign Exchange Dealer
	Buy and sell foreign currencies for my bank.
	Salary? -- don't want to say. A good amount.
	Expat package is quite good. House, car, good vacation, tax compensation.
	"Comment: On what?"

	Executive at Foreign Corporate Japan Office
	Manage the branch office.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	Some, mostly housing allowance.
	"Language is the thing now. More and more top executives are expected to know Japanese. It used to be only conversation, but now you are expected to be able to read a newspaper and translate for the boss when he comes to visit."

	Systems Instructor
	Training employees in the new software and computers being introduced.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"Life is getting harder. Companies don't have the money to pay for training these days and computers are getting easier and easier to use."

	Sales Engineer
	My job is to make the sales reps sound like they know what they are talking about.
	JPY5M to JPY10M, which is nowhere near what I'm worth.
	No. Would rather have the money.
	"I really like my job. I think that eventually all salespeople in the computer business will have to be qualified engineers too."

	Computer Nerd
	Get paid to help people learn things that they should know & have fun.
	JPY5M to JPY10M, from several sources
	No way.
	"I know 'Computer Nerd' is not a real job title, but I think it should be. I'm all for truth in advertising. If you want a fancy title, just say I'm a 'Systems Guy'."

	Systems Administrator
	Keep the system up and running.
	more than JPY20M
	Yes.
	"I find working in Japan a lot easier than back at the head office. Here they leave me alone. So long as things work, I can run things as I want."

	Journalist, Computer Industry
	Cover the Japanese computer industry for foreign magazines.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	Not much.
	"Its a real stable business; covering computers and related stuff. However, I don't feel there is much in the way of upward movement as far as employment possibilities go."

	Journalist, General News
	Cover the goings-on in Japan.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	Yes. Housing and family-related items.
	"As the rest of the world becomes less and less interested in Japan, I wonder whether or not I should move to another country. Perhaps I should go home if things don't get interesting here."

	Salesman (retail store)
	Sell to the customers who walk in.
	less than JPY5M
	No.
	"It is a job. A job is important. It's better than not working."

	Cobol Programmer
	Fixing the Y2K problem
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"I thought there would have been more of a demand for people who know Cobol this year. Perhaps I should have gotten into the Y2K thing earlier."

	Programmer (various computer languages)
	Code cutter
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	"Japan's not a bad place to work, but you really have to know the language these days. I don't think Japanese companies are discriminating against foreigners when it comes to hiring, they just don't want gaijin who are full of themselves."

	Executive Recruiter
	Find the right people for the job.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No
	"There is always a need for good people. The best ones have to be found as they are almost never looking for jobs."

	Waiter
	Serve the food, dummy.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"It is a harder job than most people think. The only people who criticize service [in restaurants] have never done it themselves."

	Bodyguard
	Keep my clients safe.
	Don't want to say.
	No.
	"Tokyo is becoming more dangerous. My services are becoming more common here."

	Bartender
	Mix and serve drinks while I watch the foreigners who don't know how good my English is attempt to pick up girls.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"People love to drink no matter how the economy is going. I never have to worry about a job."

	Technical Writer/Translator
	Translate the manuals that my client companies produce from Japanese into English, or what passes as English after my boss finishes with it.
	less than JPY5M
	No, but I can still dream.
	"The worst part about this job, perhaps any job, is having an incompetent boss. He may speak great Japanese but he knows nothing about writing. When his Japanese bosses figure him out, he'll be history."

	Technical Writer
	Documentation for computer systems.
	JPY5M to JPY10M
	No.
	"It might sound funny, but the Internet has really screwed things up for the professional translator in Japan. Companies can now send stuff anywhere in the world and get it translated quickly. However, many still like to have someone they can call up and speak to on the phone."

	Customer Service Manager
	Oversee my company's customer service department.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	No, really.
	"When people think of what I do they think of telephones and toll free numbers. I think that over the next few years in Japan the Internet will be the major tool for customer support in Japan for just about everything."

	Accounting Manager
	Keeping the books and regular duties.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	No.
	"As more and more foreign companies get set up in Japan, the need for bilingual accounting personnel is going to increase. Foreign companies want their own people here who won't cook the books. I feel I'm in the right place at the right time."

	Salesman
	I sell all the products and services my company produces.
	JPY5M to JPY10M, into the teens soon (I hope)
	No.
	"My biggest problem is not the economy, it's the taxes. The tax people here are getting real nasty and don't like foreigners who employ accountants who know all the tricks [to save on taxes]. I think many people have the same problem."

	Sales Rep
	Sell, and devise marketing strategies.
	JPY10M to JPY20M, trying to avoid more than JPY20M due to tax liabilities.
	Yes. Apartment and company car.
	"The past year has been a wonderful time to be selling my company's products. I know the economy is supposed to be in the doldrums, but I haven't seen it in our industry."

	Java Programmer
	Program Java for a major computer company in Japan.
	JPY10M to JPY20M
	House, lots of vacation, other bennies.
	"I'm pretty well paid compared to most people. The key is to keep you skill level up there and always be willing to learn new things."

	Staff, Import/Export Company
	General office work for a mid-sized trading company.
	less than JPY5M
	No.
	"I like this job because I look upon it as a way to learn Japanese and how the Japanese economy works at the same time."

	Music Teacher
	Teach keyboard instruments to children and young adults.
	less than JPY5M (part time)
	No.
	"Unlike with other traditional instruments, keyboard players need to be able to use computers these day. Many of my students come to my classes to overcome their fear of computers."

	Systems Engineer
	Work with sales [department] and customers or potential customers on technical matters related to pre-sales needs.
	JPY5M to JPY20M, depending on bonuses
	No.
	"The global income tax policy of the United States is annoying, to say the least."

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