Working at Amazon Web Services Japan G.K.
From Taiwan
Graduated from the School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
Completed the graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering
Cindy CHEN
Student days immersed in VR research
After graduating from high school in Taiwan, I came to Japan, attended a Japanese language school for a year and a half, and entered Waseda University in 2014. After studying at the School of Fundamental Science and Engineering, I went on to the Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering. I spent six years as a student mainly studying virtual reality (VR) and ergonomics. I also did practical activities such as designing software, gathering participants in studies, and analyzing data. I have also actively participated in joint research with overseas researchers, and even made a presentation at IEEE VR, a major academic conference in the field of VR.
For extracurricular activities, I participated in various initiatives using programming technology. In addition to forming a team within the lab and participating in an international student virtual reality contest, I had the opportunity to experience a wide range of technologies, such as being involved in application development at a VR startup company. I also feel that my experience of serving as a mentor in a programming class outside of the university has helped me improve my ability to express myself in Japanese as well as my technical skills.
Chen gained experience by working part-time at a start-up company
Transitioning to a job to make use of specialized skills as a semi-recent new graduate
When I went to graduate school, I decided I wanted to work in an industry where I could hone my software development skills, something in which I could be completely absorbed, and growth. Another important point was that I wanted to obtain permanent residency in Japan as soon as possible, so it had to be a company where it would be easy for me to obtain a Highly Skilled Professional(*) visa as a foreigner.
The most difficult thing about job hunting was that put me at a disadvantage. In Taiwan, it is common to look for a job after graduation, so I didn’t think much about job hunting while I was in school. However, in Japan, it is common to hire new graduates all at once, so job hunting after graduation is a high hurdle, and even with my educational background and skills, getting a job offer as someone who already graduated becomes more difficult. In my case it took some time, but I received a job offer from a major company as a new graduate. However, to be honest, I was assigned to a different department than I had hoped for.
After joining the company and realizing it wasn’t the right fit, I reconsidered my career and started looking for a job again. After joining the company, I reconsidered my career and started looking for a job again. As a semi-recent graduate, I received a job offer from Amazon Web Services Japan (AWS Japan) and was able to get a position where I could utilize my software expertise.
Acquisition of skills and academic knowledge are of course important, but if Japanese is not your native language, you may sometimes overlook something when gathering information. If you miss the window, it will take some time to get back on track, so I would like my juniors to pay attention to the timing when looking for a job.
* Foreign talent is defined by the government as a category of individuals who should be actively welcomed. They are defined as “High-quality talent who are in a complementary relationship with domestic capital and labor, and cannot be replaced,” and “In addition to bringing innovation to Japanese industry, they are also able to develop a specialized and technical labor market through friendly rivalry with Japanese people. They are talent who are expected to improve the efficiency of the Japanese labor market.” (Taken and translated from: https://www.jetro.go.jp/hrportal/forcompanies/about.html)
Developing diverse abilities at work
Currently, at AWS Japan, I am engaged in the work of responding to technical inquiries from customers regarding services provided by AWS. When a customer reports an error, we build an environment similar to theirs at hand and verify it for troubleshooting. In order to propose methods that can realize the wishes of our customers, we strive to improve the quality of our services by, for example, conveying requests to overseas teams when it is difficult to do this on our own.
The more experience I get, the broader my perspective gets too, and the more will I be able to handle a wide range of situations. There are many opportunities to collaborate with overseas teams, so my ability to express myself in English has definitely improved.
Since joining the company, I have not only developed my technical skills but also my communication and problem-solving skills, including my preparedness for emergencies and ability to solve problems for customers, and my ability to explain situations in an easy-to-understand manner. Also, becoming a member of society made me aware that time is a valuable resource. Time management becomes very important. Now I am doing my best to solve problems quickly by setting up my own rules, such as “If I can’t figure out this problem after investigating it for certain minutes, I will immediately consult with the team,” and that is a big difference compared to when I was a student.
Early and information gathering is the key to success
Foreign students enrolled at Waseda University are by no means at a disadvantageous starting point. However, if you look at job hunting from the perspective of your home country, you are likely to run into difficulties. In order to succeed in job hunting, you have to actively gather information and act while consulting with people around you.. For that reason, I got help at the Career Center to create entry sheets and prepare for interviews. , I contacted university seniors working at AWS Japan and asked about the work style and environment. By listening to the advice of seniors who work in the industry into which you want to advance, you will gain a better understanding of it and become more confident in interviews.
Also, especially in the IT industry, technical skills are often checked in interviews. I recommend that you also prepare your skills by solving practice questions online in advance and verify the knowledg
※Read the original report in Japanese from HERE!
