Having lived in Japan for 8 years, and worked at a Systems' Integrator, ISP, a couple of startups and (from next Monday) a major US company, I have the following observations:
(a) Rates here are higher than anywhere else for a comparable level of skill, though the Bay Area may be comparable.
(b) Comparing notes with a buddy of mine who hacks for Veritas in Florida, we discovered that cost of living here was approximately the same as there, since there are many things that you do without (e.g., a car, serious space).
(c) 50 bucks an hour could be a reasonable rate, or could be completely awful in this market. I would lean towards the latter, particularly if there is extensive experience in software design or experience in mobile.
(d) Language matters, and it is tough without speaking Japanese (many positions allow you to read only minimally), but it is not impossible to learn.
(e) If your employer sends you from the US, see if you can get housing and tax preparation paid for as part of your contract. Those should be no-brainers, while trips back may be a bit more challenging to get.
(f) If in mobile, come now--best place in the world.
It might be a good idea to note that, in Japan, NTT's i-mode service uses Compact HTML rather than WAP, and commands about 7-7.5 million users (dwarfing the other two carriers combined, and about equal to the top two ISPs). Of the ten million phones with IP out there (here, whatever) at the moment, 1-2 million are wapped.
Right now I'm hearing fairly strong interest on the XHTML front, and more and more skepticism on WAP--heard the old saw "Where Are the Phones" from a DoCOMo guy the other day...
In the interest of fairness, however, it should also be noted that the venture that I am working for is looking to develop in both WAP and compact HTML, at least until market development is a little bit more clear. Cheers, jimbud in Tokyo
Slashdot Mirror
Having lived in Japan for 8 years, and worked at a Systems' Integrator, ISP, a couple of startups and (from next Monday) a major US company, I have the following observations:
(a) Rates here are higher than anywhere else for a comparable level of skill, though the Bay Area may be comparable.
(b) Comparing notes with a buddy of mine who hacks for Veritas in Florida, we discovered that cost of living here was approximately the same as there, since there are many things that you do without (e.g., a car, serious space).
(c) 50 bucks an hour could be a reasonable rate, or could be completely awful in this market. I would lean towards the latter, particularly if there is extensive experience in software design or experience in mobile.
(d) Language matters, and it is tough without speaking Japanese (many positions allow you to read only minimally), but it is not impossible to learn.
(e) If your employer sends you from the US, see if you can get housing and tax preparation paid for as part of your contract. Those should be no-brainers, while trips back may be a bit more challenging to get.
(f) If in mobile, come now--best place in the world.
Good luck!
It might be a good idea to note that, in Japan, NTT's i-mode service uses Compact HTML rather than WAP, and commands about 7-7.5 million users (dwarfing the other two carriers combined, and about equal to the top two ISPs). Of the ten million phones with IP out there (here, whatever) at the moment, 1-2 million are wapped.
Right now I'm hearing fairly strong interest on the XHTML front, and more and more skepticism on WAP--heard the old saw "Where Are the Phones" from a DoCOMo guy the other day...
In the interest of fairness, however, it should also be noted that the venture that I am working for is looking to develop in both WAP and compact HTML, at least until market development is a little bit more clear. Cheers, jimbud in Tokyo