Picture below of me at Nature just starting out in corporate life. I hated that Mac which gave me a bad impression of MacOS!
Back to the position at Good Smile. Folks with no office experience will get just over 180,000 yen per month while experienced folks will get 200,000 yen.
Evaluation of salary is once a year and there is a bonus twice a year - each bonus is usually 2x monthly salary but depends on company performance.
Bonus time is usually middle and end of year which is why there are many ads on TV by companies who want a share of your bonus by selling you another refrigerator.
While most Japanese think of salary in terms of "per month", I always thought of salary in terms of "per year" and I think that's still the UK way of thinking - same in your region?
I started off with a salary of 5,000,000 yen and at about 27 I thought I hit the jackpot ^^.
I soon discovered that I was way below market value in Japan through talking to recruiters and other folks in the industry.
The 200,000 yen at Good Smile is good for an entry level position but I recommend that folks (no matter where you work) keep your options open and be aware of your own market value based on your increasing experience and skills. Speak to as many people as you can in the industry of your interest and meet up with recruiters even if you feel comfortable in your current job. Feeling *too* comfortable in your current job is a sign of danger though - I know many folks who want to leave their current job because of different reasons but they feel that they can't because the pay and benefits are good.
Do you feel that you have a grasp of your own market value? Are you currently underpaid for what you are doing?
Knowing your market value is not just about getting more money - its about getting rewarded more in monetary terms doing something that challenges you. Being rewarded more also means that you are being recognized for your experience, skills and achievements. So if you feel too comfortable in your current job, then it could be time to look for something more challenging - life is short.
The Job at Good Smile requires you to be be living in the Tokyo area and already speak Japanese - folks interested can apply here.
I've mentioned it many times but in my experience, folks who speak both English/Japanese *and* have a core skill get better paid jobs in high positions - its as simple as that. The management team I was on at Amazon was comprised mainly of non Japanese - all excellent speakers of Japanese - two folks from Canada (one originally from Hong Kong), one from China, one from the US and one from the UK (me ^^;). Learning Japanese is fun if you are passionate about the language and not so fun if you feel that "you have to." 30 - 40 people took the same Japanese course as me in university but only 3 or 4 made it through to the end as many took the course because they thought "Japan is where all the monies is" and not because they were passionate.
How many folks here are currently learning Japanese and what tips can you offer to your fellow reader?
Other standard work benefits at Good Smile are health insurance (you pay 30% of medical bills if you are sick), employment insurance (you get money if you loose your job for whatever reason) and they pay some of your pension too. Pension is partially payed by your employer/yourself and theoretically you get money when you are retired. Unfortunately it looks like 50 million Japanese may not get money that they are entitled to as I wrote in my previous Japanese pension article.
Good Smile only mention the standard holidays which are Golden Week and national holidays. There are quite a few national holidays in Japan and I was incredibly shocked to see the lack of them when I was in the US for a while - does your region have a load or lack of national holidays?
Amazon and Microsoft provided about 12 days leave per year while Nature provided about 20. If you joined Microsoft in December, you would be given 12 days for the current year and receive another 12 days come January. How many days of leave does your company provide?
Another benefit are staff discounts - Good Smile don't mention it but I'm guessing that employees get free figures ^^;
Amazon and Microsoft provided some sort of employee discount card which enabled us to get discounts for hotels and trips around Japan - hotel rooms were discounted from something like 12,000 yen down to 1,200 yen. The best benefit I has was the staff discount at Microsoft which enabled me to get something like 12% off *Apple* products - yes Apple products because we made office and messenger for the Mac. Does your company provide staff discounts?
And for those thinking of the job at Good Smile and who haven't seen it yet, my previous tour of the Good Smile offices is in the video below and photos in this previous article.
Finally, if you have solid plans of living and working in Japan, do feel free to share them.
