Which Way Did He Go?

Looking at this blog, I'm seeing it's quickly becoming a brewing blog/notebook. Whoops.

So here's something to chew on. I've been thinking lately about what lies in the Great Unknown. I still have ample time left on my contract here at school (2.5 years, give or take a bit) and there's no need to press the panic button just yet.

I have a background in business/accounting, and as most people who know me know, I also take a great interest in economics. What can I do with economics? I suppose I could make the most efficient use of my time being unemployed.

The way I see it is this: I have two choices. I can stay here in Japan, try to continue doing what I'm doing (and more than likely have to uproot to a new place). I certainly don't mind teaching and I certainly don't mind Japan. Sure, I have my qualms with it, but that's what adds to the entertainment value of living here.

The problem with staying here is that there's a pretty small market for what a white dude who speaks English can do. My stock is of no rare breed here and I have come to realize I'm essentially replaceable, almost at a whim. In order to stay in education, I need to publish papers, do research, go to seminars, hold seminars, give presentations, probably get a PhD at some point and find a cure for every known disease on the planet. If I can do that, I guess I would have a good shot at something in education. Even then, do I really want to stay in Japanese academia? Where I am now is pretty decent. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's a pale comparison (pale...pale ale?) to some of the horror stories out there for Japanese academia.

I've come to realize that perhaps the best route to success here is to jump the education/English ship and try to transition to the corporate world. I would say business, but that's so vague. I figure corporations are the best way to go. I can gain upward mobility, experience on someone else's dime and get a broad exposure to the business world. Perhaps after doing this, the next step could be my own business? But one step at a time. Of course, a path like this would take me to...a metropolis. Chances are, Tokyo.

The other option is to return state-side. Not just any state though, but I would like to be in the NY/New England area. I think this would be a nearly identical path as the business in Japan route, but with the home court advantage. It may not seem like that big of an advantage for some, but I think it would be HUGE. First of all, I'm an American citizen, fully authorized and able to work (and pay taxes....grrr....), I have a couple of American degrees under my belt and don't mind working for more if necessary. And of the obvious one, ENGLISH. Sure, I can learn Japanese, especially if the fire is lit underneath me, but I think being a native speaker in your country of business does help quite a bit.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Globalization. But really, in a land swarming with salaried sales people, selling everything from insurance to soy sauce contracts, and a limited market for foreigners, does Japan present the better logistics at surviving? I'm sure it's do-able, and others have/can do it, but I'm aiming for efficiency here, not an experiment. Part of my wondering and worrying here is that I don't want to hop around from this to that for the next 5 years. Also, any shortage of white guys who speak English and Japanese here? NOPE. And have business experience? NOPE. AND cured all the major diseases in the world? NOPE.

The nice thing about living in America is I would get to enjoy all the stuff I have recently realized I miss. Living in a foreign country is great because 1) you learn new stuff and 2) you realize the stuff you never appreciated before. Right now I have a massive hankering for a warm cup of spiced apple cider (that is the NON alcoholic version, too). Being close to family is obviously another plus (I shouldn't need to say this, but, depending on what your family is like, distance could be a good thing...)

I don't think America would have to be a permanent choice, but I would need to stack the experience deck for a few years or more before being able to translate that to Japanese success.

There are a few other small options on the table, which I think would be ready to roll at any notice, but I think the two major ones discussed above require a bit of prep work, none of which I'm doing at the moment.

Well, we'll see where I'm at when my mind comes back to this at some point. Something ticking inside me won't let me dwell on it too long though.

Cheers to all this weekend!

BTW: Had another homemade stout tonight. In a stein. Damn life is good.