Student Blog

Alumni Interview Vol.15: Working in IT in Tokyo

4min read

Alumni Profile

Name: Grace Goodrich
College: APS (CSM)
Graduation Year: 2021
Home Country: United States of America

APU alumni Grace is now working in the IT industry in Tokyo.

Grace, a familiar face from the SMU's Instagram reels and entrance ceremony interviews, graduated from APU in 2021 and has worked in Tokyo ever since. She was kind enough to answer some questions about her career and offer helpful advice to current students.

How did you find out about APU?

I originally started searching online for international universities around the world. I ended up focusing my search on Japan after reading accounts from other students and acquaintances that had also gone to university in Japan. I found APU on a website called univinjapan.com, which listed recommended bachelor and graduate degree programs aimed at foreigners looking to study in Japan. From that list, I ultimately decided on APU because it seemed like it had the most comprehensive language support for students with no prior experience studying Japanese, and living in a smaller city like Beppu seemed like a good way to acclimate to Japanese society.

What did you put effort into at APU?

I definitely put the most effort into learning Japanese, whether that was in class, making friends with the Japanese students, or doing part-time work in the city to get more practice in; I worked hard to fully submerge myself in the language. Especially during the first two years, I put in a lot of effort that paid off later in class, job hunting, and my current job at a Japanese company in Tokyo.

What has your career been like since graduating from APU?

I was accepted as an intern at my current company, Magic Hat Inc., during my last semester as an APU student, and received a job offer from them after the first month of my internship finished. I continued as an intern until graduation when I moved to Tokyo and joined my company full-time. It is a smaller company that is 90% remote, so I can choose if and when I would like to go into the office, and I can also work from other prefectures or countries if I choose.

What part of studying at APU has been the most helpful in your career?

Putting the most effort into learning Japanese was the best option for me. It gave me a strong foundation to build on as I started to learn more industry-specific business vocabulary. I would also say that most of the knowledge I use on a daily basis came from the classes I thought would be the least applicable. I was an APS CSM student and thought that I would go into a related field, but I ended up working at an IT company doing business development and marketing and using more skills that I got from my extra classes than my major ones. Because of this, I highly recommend any current students to take courses on a wide variety of subjects, as you never know what might end up being useful down the road.

Please tell us about your job and what kind of tasks you perform.

I am the Business Development Manager for my company, which is a reseller for foreign Apple OS device security software, but because there is no formal marketing team, I am also currently in charge of starting our marketing operations. Since joining the company, I have mainly focused on managing a complete brand renewal and overhauling the company website, as well as overseeing new content creation via social media channels, a new software engineering blog, customer case studies, and participation in IT conferences and events. While 95% of my job is conducted entirely in Japanese, I am occasionally called in to speak with international partners in English.

What are some challenges you have faced working in a Japanese company?

I am very fortunate to be working with an amazing team consisting of experienced and open-minded coworkers who have assisted me in learning about Japanese business manners. However, it was still definitely complicated to understand for my first few months. Additionally, working at an IT company without any prior IT experience meant that I had to study extremely hard in order to catch up with my coworkers with decades of industry experience. Definitely the hardest trial I faced was getting qualified to use the different security solutions that my company sells, but I had a lot of support from my peers and was able to pass my examinations without issue.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I am a country girl at heart, so even though I love my new life in Tokyo, I also take any opportunity I can to get out of the city and enjoy nature in Japan. In the summer, this usually means hiking, camping, or heading to the ocean to swim, surf, or wakeboard. In the winter, I like to ski, or if I can't make it to the mountains, I like to explore the many different parks all over Tokyo.

What are your future plans?

I really enjoy my current job and have no plans to leave my company any time soon, but due to COVID-19, a lot of my travel plans from university got canceled. Because I am lucky enough to have the option of working fully remote from outside Japan, I am currently planning on saving up money to travel around the world for a few years before deciding when and where I would like to settle down.

Do you have a message for current APU students?

My message to current APU students is to actively seek and be open to new experiences and opportunities that you might not immediately think to accept. Most of my best memories are from impromptu plans and trying new things that might have seemed scary at first. Those very choices have brought me to an incredible job surrounded by amazing friends and fulfilling hobbies. Never be afraid to try something new because it might lead you to places you would never expect.

Lea
Lea

Hi! I'm Lea, a graduate student from Germany. I like to play Genshin Impact, draw, and shop in my free time. I am also a self-proclaimed APU student life expert lol (I did my undergrad at APU (CSM)). Feel free to say hi if you see me on campus. I hope we can have fun finding out more about APU together! (⌒▽⌒)




  • LINEで送る

PAGETOP