My life for Aiur !
On the work side, I've had a lot of stuff to do recently. Some great things happening, but some not so great, too. I cannot currently say that I'm 100% happy with the situation.
I wish I had more trust and a bit more decisional power. If I were given more power, the first thing I'd do would be to give myself a raise 8) ..no, really !
Sounds lame but it's important. I think that my current position is potentially very formative (I consider that very important), so I would like to invest extra time on it, but at my age I have to start worrying about getting more money and if my day job doesn't provide enough, I'll have to start looking for alternatives, second jobs, different jobs, whatever.
Let's not even start talking about job mobility in Japan. Work places are very static, especially for a foreigner with limited Japanese language abilities working in the game business. But, I want to stay in Japan so, in a way or another I have to find a way to have fun, improve my career and my paycheck, too 8) ..not easy but I'm very confident I can achieve pretty much anything, if I focus in the right direction (where ? 8)
Recently, I've been given more and more responsibilities, which is exciting ! However the management side of things tends to distract me from the actual coding/research, which is still where I have to give my best. Then there is the business travels, the health checks, the PCs setup, tons of emails in Japanese to read, and my Japanese itself, with the reading skills which are possibly worsening... aaaaaaahhhhhhh !!!!!
Being able to collaborate and communicate is an essential skill, but as a seasoned developer, sometimes I feel I should just be trusted because I can't be a "PowerPoint-man", a "business-travel-man" and still being the lead coder in a "new" team.
As I said before, I try to stay off the trends as much as I can. Not getting my head into some mainstream trend in real-time 3D is very important. Creativity is what will set anyone apart, and trends kill creativity.. so, do worries at work.
..eventually everything will fall in place. But right now I'm paying the price: Sunday I spent my day in the office working practically alone. Not so much because there is no time in the long term, but more because I don't have everyone's confidence just yet, which frankly it sucks 8(
mooooooooooooo
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How do you cope with the
How do you cope with the fact that due to the way the japanese society works as a foreigner your career will stop at a certain point and that someone older than you has more seniority just because of his age?
Onara! :)
Game business is never too
Game business is never too typical. We'll see what happens when it happens.
In general I'm rather positive about not being discriminated. In fact what I worry more is about the Japanese way of doing things being diluted: foreigners can also bring an injection of rudeness and confrontation which is not typical in Japanese workplaces.
As usual, it's a matter of finding the right balance.
You haven't really worked on
You haven't really worked on any 'usual' game title since Final Fantasy in LA, am I right?
You did some research for a while then worked on Tetris and now doing more research related work.
In a way I always thought that it might be interesting to work on developing new technologies or tools without the pressure of shipping dates.
For example work for Nvidia or Ati writing demo code. Or work for Sony writing libraries.
If we don't consider the
If we don't consider the cancelled projects. I've worked on 2 (!) Tetrises in the past years. The development wasn't on a large scale but the stress was the same (or more, like for the last title 8).
My job here started as mostly research, but now there is a portion of development, there is a schedule, some great cooperation and some difficult situations..
Ah rince, I see you're
Ah rince, I see you're having the same thoughts too ... "When two Africans agree ..." ... ;-) There have been a few times I've thought about doing game related R&D, but I don't think there are that many companies out there that do such a thing ... or they tend to end up as Middleware providers of some nature ... The nature of the industry is changing for sure though ...
Oh Kazzomo, I agree with
Oh Kazzomo, I agree with almost everything you're saying and as I was telling you before I'm in a similar situation at the moment, even worked over the weekend just like you did!
The only thing I believe you may rethink is about mobility: I understand that sometimes one has to move from place to place to get a raise, but some other times it's better just to settle for a few years and aim at advancing inside the company, in order to acquire new skills. I'm pretty positive that it pays off in the long run!
Ever hear of people that get
Ever hear of people that get another offer, go about resigning and get a 100% raise ? 8)
It's nice to be nice, but nobody is going to give you more for sticking around..
It's not right to be greedy. but it's also not right to let people take advantage of you 8)
i$$$ can get you
i$$$ can get you iGrilledFish not burnt!!!
You're Gettin' Old!!
Ah yes, I see that Kaz is experiencing some growing (or aging) pains. I think what you're going through is pretty normal. There's always this "prove yourself" period that you have to go through and once you're through the gauntlet, then you get all these super-powers that can move financial (or research) mountains. Yeah, it's definitely a pain too. I went through it before you joined at Square, went through it at the company after that, and (somewhat) went through it in my current job. If you're willing to put up with it, I think Rasty has some good points.
The "dark side" to the whole matter is that in Japan one's age makes a huge difference (as far as job mobility goes) and of course one's command of the language. I'm sure you remember those times I've told you to "get busy and get native" language and culture-wise. For someone in the job position you're in, there will be these subtle "expected" things of you and you definitely don't want to find yourself in an "outsider" situation.
On the bright side though, I think that you're fairly fortunate in that the traveling and business stuff you are doing will definitely give you more contacts than you would otherwise have ... and if worst come to worst (for some reason) you have to push the "get out of Japan" button, there will be plenty of people you know who would be more than happy to tap into your potential (regardless of your age!) and pay you well for it.
The general impression I get is that in Japan, folks in the lead positions are expected to basically "get it done" no matter what. A few years ago, a Japanese acquaintance/friend of mine "leveled-up" position-wise and as a result, I don't see or hear much from him any more. It seems like he's always traveling somewhere, short on sleep, and barely has time for anything else but work. For a while there, it looked as if his health was going to give way, but he seems to be better now.
Generally though as an aging foreigner who wants to stay and live in Japan, the options I think you have are:
I think that last option is very rare though! 8P
Don't be frustrated that you don't have folks' confidence yet, I'm sure it will come in time, then everything else should become a lot easier and you'll be highly valued and regarded even more.
I can't detail the issues of
I can't detail the issues of obvious privacy reason, but let's just say that what gives me most trouble is the mix of Japanese and non-Japanese things.
I just wish I'd work in Japan with Japanese people following the Japanese culture. There may be troubles there too, but at least one gets respected.
I came to Japan cause I thought that Japanese were kind people, then I find myself working with non-Japanese and that's where the trouble starts (in some cases).
Either I find a real foreign company where everyone can speak their mind, or I find a real Japanese environment where people don't (generally 8) stab each other in the back.
I just need a nice environment to work, I don't want to argue with people over silly things.
You should consider the
You should consider the japanese porn industry: for sure you have the tools you need to work there.
Anyway from time to time you have to watch your back. :)
i guess 'watching your back'
i guess 'watching your back' takes on a whole new meaning if you are in the porn industry!!! hohoho
Ohhh... I haven't watched a
Ohhh... I haven't watched a porn in a while.. !!
Note to self: watch a pornographic video tonight 8)
While Great Power ...
Hey Manager Kaz, if it's within your ability to do, it would be wise set some kind of interaction "policy" or standard within your team. I'm not saying that you set out to control people or anything, but (in terms of behavior) you make it clear that what the (minimum) expectations are. You're always going to get friction between Japanese and non-Japanese and the trick is to try to minimize this as much as possible. If folks (on either side of the equation) start to do things which start to cause instability within the team and affect it's overall productivity, you'll definitely have to reign that in in some fashion. Yeah, managing (unpredictable) people can also be a hassle, but it comes with the "privileges of the job title". 8P If the environment "noise" is coming from your superiors, well ... you'll just have to figure out a way to deal with them when it requires you to do so.
Personally, I think I'd take the "everyone speaks their mind" over the "covert action" back-stabbing. With everyone speaking their mind, one at least has the information one can use to quickly ascertain if one wants to put up with whatever nonsense is going on. When it's all behind the scenes, it can end up being a waste of one's time and life as you'll never know what's exactly the problem. I say this only because as a foreigner, it may be hard for me to detect when folks are stabbing me in the back as they smile at me. 8P
P.S.
Get busy, and get native! ;-)
You can be upfront and stab
You can be upfront and stab someone in the back.. which is what I feel it's happening.
Japanese language is always an issue, but not the main issue here. You keep professing about "getting native" but my Japanese is possibly better than yours.. so, why don't _you_ get native ;)
I am Asian*
Well, I'm not sure how my Japanese is compared to yours, but I can more or less get around without any problems and regularly travel to places where there are no English speakers and am just fine. When I have the time, I also read Japanese books, though I won't say I can do so 100% without a dictionary nearby as some of the words I read aren't part of my daily vocabulary. I'd dare say I'm more "native" than you, but we'll both never know as we don't interact on a daily basis. 8P
My whole point about "getting native" is that (especially here in Japan) unless you assimilate to some extent or at least can on-the-fly switch contexts culturally, you're (by default) going to have a tough time in Japan because you are a foreigner. It's not necessarily an issue of discrimination, but it's a reality of how large numbers of people in the population perceive foreigners. If you're "native" enough, it greatly helps to lower whatever subconcious walls that people throw up and more than likely will cause people to feel more relaxed about you. As I said again, a lot of the time it has nothing to do with you personally, but simply because you're a foreigner. Of course there will be situations where no matter what you do, one will be boxed in, and it's generally those situations one wants to minimize.
For myself, I've gotten "native" enough to realize that if I do decide to stay here in the long term, then I'd better be in a place of employment that supports me and if I not, I'd better seriously be thinking about possibly doing my own gig (like become a contractor or something). Most of the foreigners that I know here (that are in our age group) either have their own company or are self-employed (some of these people make software and some of them do non-computer related work). As I'm sure you know, at the age-range we are in switching companies too often (at least in games) is a big minus because of the "can we trust him?" trial period and the fact that there was probably some guy that's worked 15+ years at the company and is eyeing that same job position you're applying for or are currently in.
At this point, all one can hope for is that enough companies will relax some of their employment policies and be willing to hire and pay well because Japan is falling behind technologically in games. The place you work at is pretty high-end (if not the highest-end) of the spectrum of developers in Japan so the options (game company-wise) are few.
Well enough about getting native from me, I'll keep quiet now and what how this exciting episode will unfold. 8P
P.S.
You should check out this blog: Japanmanship. It seems that the guy has been in Japan longer than you or I, is well established at the company he works at, and is quite settled (as far as living in Japan for the long-term). He seems to have a lot of good insight to things here in Japan.
*McAsian 8P
> I'd dare say I'm more
> I'd dare say I'm more "native" than you, but we'll both never know as we don't interact on a daily basis. 8P
..you dare but you are wrong 8)
For one thing looks matter and people naturally think I'm Japanese. This is something that for better or for worse you can't experience (it's generally nicer to be recognized as a foreigner.. my interaction with Japanese as a lot less exciting).
For one thing you mention "Asian" which is typical American thinking. There is no "Asian" ..there is a world of difference between a Chinese and a Japanese for example.
Next time we meet lets speak Japanese. Then it'll be fun.. I hope you are up to the challenge ! ;)
I'm not going to argue with
I'm not going to argue with you one who is right or wrong. 8P It sounds like you think my interaction with the Japanese people I know is all fun and full of excitement and along the typical "Japanese person wants to talk with a foreigner".
As far as I can tell, my interactions are quite normal (and at times mundane) and I often get comments about how "Japanese" I act contrary to how I was expected to act. The general types of things I talk about (when I'm not having to use Japanese while working) range from mundane things like the weather to serious topics like the future rammifications of some of the choices Japan made after WWII. I could go on about the 30 minute dialogue I had with this old Japanese man on the train a few weeks back where we were talking about some of the social problems in Japan or about the other time where I spent 45 minutes talking to this Japanese guy who sold hot dogs (really good by the way!) in regards to the Zainichi and how some of the social problems they face (and I suppose cause) parallel similar issues in America in respect with the Hispanic communities.
If you'd like to talk (or write) in Japanese, you're more than welcome. ;-)
When I used the word "Asian", I was using it in a tongue-in-cheek fashion (because of that McDonald's link). I could extrapolate your comments to the word 'African'. I'm sure Rince can also attest that there are huge differences culturally between the "African" in Zimbabwe and the "African" in Ghana. Obviously the word usage is in context of the continental regions denoted on a world map. Hence you have continents/regions labeled, "Europe", "Africa", "America", etc. Anways, this wiki entry should clear up the confusion: Asia
P.S.
I suppose you could consider yourself "lucky" that you look more Japanese. It's quite a regular occurence for people not to sit next to me on trains or to act weird in some fashion because of my clearly visible "foreigner" look. It used to irritate me, but now it doesn't really bother me and I tell myself, "Ah, this is Japan!" 8P But from a lot of the odd social pressure I see the Japanese folks I know endure, I'm quite thankful that I stand out in the way that I do.
You are not considering the
You are not considering the cultural aspects: a foreigner will be perceived as a foreigner even if he spent 20 years in Japan and even if he knows the rules better than a native.
Also a Japanese that spends years or even months far from Japan will be marginalized once he returns because his being Japanese will be in some way "compromised". That person will be seen as "different" as if staying abroad in some way "contaminated" him.
That is what my Japanese ex-girlfriend was explaining me. She was saying something like "If I go back in Japan and people finds out I've been living in italy for so many years, I will be treated as a gaijin and people will perceive me always as different...".
So there are a lot of things to consider. :)
Freddy, thanks for the
Freddy, thanks for the comment. I am aware of the cultural aspects and once you're a foreigner, you're always a foreigner no matter what. What I was trying to express to Kaz by "getting native" is that (given how the culture is) it's wise to try to become aware and adept about all the cultural subtleties as I've realized this is what really makes the difference in helping to minimize the amount of hassle that one will inevitably experience.
Of course there's a slight "dark side" to all of this. I've had a couple of cases where a Japanese person was complaining to me about there being "too many foreigners" in the country. I suppose they felt comfortable enough to honestly speak their minds, but it was quite an awkward situation for me ... seeing how I'm not Japanese and can't be mistaken for one. 8P
A woman having lived abroad,
A woman having lived abroad, yeah well, I will consider her different too. For example, I tend to steer clear of Japanese women that lived in the US !
This reminds me of a story... A few months ago a Japanese girl came back to Tokyo after having lived a few years in Milan.
We had an appointment in a restaurant with a group of friends, while one of her friends met her earlier to go to the restaurant together.
Meeting for the first time again after 5-6 years, this guy manages to ask her straight away about her sexual eperiences abroad. But as he did that a bird dropped a shit on his head 8)
They arrived at the restaurant the the guy spent good 10 minutes in the restroom washing his head and his shirt 8)
The cult-like view of things is certainly intriguing, but I don't think that it's right. I don't think that one loses any "status" for living abroad. Though there are effects to being exposed to other cultures, but that's something more the person that lived abroad than for the others.
> I'm not going to argue
> I'm not going to argue with you one who is right or wrong. 8P It sounds like you think my interaction with the Japanese people I know is all fun and full of excitement and along the typical "Japanese person wants to talk with a foreigner".
You asked for it 8)
You insist on patronizing me with this "Japanese culture" thing. For some reason you assume that I'm not "integrating".. whatever that means.
But I'm not sure why you'd think that. Maybe because I don't care bout seeing temples ? But I didn't care about seeing monuments in Rome as well.
The fact is that I live a normal life, without worrying too much about discriminating people. I'm myself, I'm strange in my own ways anywhere I go 8)
So, maybe you talked for 30 minutes with some old Japanese man, and 45 minutes to some Japanese guy that sold hot dogs.. ...well, nice name drops ;)
誤解かな・・・?
Ha ha ha. I suppose we're both making assumptions about each other. I never implied going to temples or whatnot would help with getting used to living here. From my own personal experience, I found that learning and understanding those subtle cultural protocols (when I interacted with people and knew a little about some of the cultural things they knew) went a long way in reducing the amount of cultural friction that's naturally going to occur and found out that it made it easier to for me and who ever else I was communicating with to be on the same page. I wasn't trying to name drop, but since we never actually speak to each other in Japanese I was trying to use that as an example that my command of the language was sufficient enough to have somewhat complex conversations with people if the need arose.
I never really proposed the idea of integrating here; I don't think that that's necessarily a realistic expectation to have. Just from your complaints it seemed like you were having troubles which seemed to be culturally related. I guess I'll just be a bit more concise next time.
I suppose that if (in the long term) you find that you're not too happy with your job situation, the best thing is to find work elsewhere or go into business for yourself (in some fashion) while you live here. If you go into business for yourself, (from what I've seen) a lot of those cultural protocols will definitely come into play and will be a necessity (as annoying as it can be at times). If you do (eventually) leave for another company, depending on where you choose work, it may or may not be hard to find a job because of the age issue. If you do get hired, it may not be any easier (or better) because of the corporate culture of (most) companies here ... and you may be put in a managerial type position (due to your age and experience).
I guess (for now) if you stay where you're at, Rasty's advice is good. Hopefully as time passes, you'll get more trust and the freedom that comes with it. Ole'
It's more like you started
It's more like you started doing assuptions here ;)
I still don't think that your command of the language is as good as you believe it is. People adapt to one's level when speaking, so I can go on communicating for hours with someone that speaks Japanese or that person can shut me out in a couple of minutes with 2-3 difficult keywords.
I realize I have that handicap, I hope you realize that too !! (on the other hand, one could be fooled at his own native language 8)
That said, I remind you that I complain about anything of any country. For me, Japan is still by far the best place I've lived in, when compared to Italy and USA (California).
What I don't like is when you jump at the "lost in translation" kind of conclusion, where I'm supposed to be this frustrated westerner among "weird" Japanese people.
In fact, to me what's weird are the people form the West ! Or rather those that are not Japanese.
It's just the way I'm made. I don't need to adapt because it's in my character.
Granted that I don't subscribe 100% of what happens in Japan and I'm still Italian in many ways (and somewhat American in some other ways), but the culture and the society that best fits me is the Japanese one.
What I may need, it would be to integrate in a different society, that's what I fear I can't really do now more than before 8)
[quote]For me, Japan is
I've got a week left of about almost 2 months of holidays in Tokyo, which together with 2006' trip it accounts for about 3 months of living here. I've also visited Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka and a small village by the sea briefly.
My home country is spain. I've also lived in 2 countries of south america for a bit. I've visited france, germany, miami and new york briefly.
So far, Tokyo by far exceeds anywhere else in terms of kind people, safety, convenience, cleanliness, etc.. Back home I live in a tiny mediterranean island, which is kinda considered one of the safest areas in Spain. Even so, I find Tokyo to be even safer. I've made up my mind and I'm gonna try to move here eventually.
As for the "lost in translation" reference, I've watched that movie. I don't think it matches reality at all. I don't think the characters in the movie represent the common foreigner in Japan, as they (movie characters) are in Japan only because of business and accompanying someone, as in.. completely uninformed about Japanese society. I haven't had much problems at all getting along with japanese people, even if both their english and my japanese suck. People sit next to me normally in trains, from mid schooler girls to obasans. Police has been kind to me and offered a lot of help finding places. Convenience stores staff have been also really helpful and normal towards me. Japanese people in clubs have given me free drinks and danced and jumped along with me. I think there is much hype about japanese society being closed, xenophobic and the like, but I still have to see something like that here. Maybe some people are more suited to japanese society than others. As for me, I feel like this is my place way more than back home.
.
えぇ？
Ah, I think you're the one jumping to the wrong conclusion about my comments. I guess I must be reading your complaints wrong ... You were complaining about the lack of trust and other issues at your current job, and I tried to say that it's probably not a big issue as that's the norm here. Seeing how I knew that you've worked in a Japanese environment before, the impression I was left with was that perahps there were some cultural things you weren't familiar with. But from what you've told me, the impression I had is incorrect ... so now I don't fully understand why you have complaints of this nature ... especially given the position you're in now is much better than your previous place of employment.
As long as what's going on at your job doesn't interfere with your team's vision and goals, I wouldn't really worry about the "noise" that's going on. At the end of the day, the quality of you and your team's work and the results that it produces should remove any worries or trust issues that currently exist.
I like your positive take on
I like your positive take on things 8)
I told you already that your
I told you already that your problem comes from lack of power. Ask your boss to provide you with responsibility and authority. Then when anybody gives you trouble then you take a whip and show them their place...
When doing business, nobody
When doing business, nobody gives you anything if you just ask 8)
Unfortunately when you are
Unfortunately when you are an engineer you tend to get assigned more responsibility than power. You can make suggestions and recommendations, but not the final decision.
I think it is because in the end money drives everything so only people in positions of direct control over the budget can make actual decisions.
In my company this happens at director level.