Help me find what to do after graduating from a Japanese college

Hello guys,

I just found out about this website and joined it to beg you guys for some knowledgeable advice on what I should do with my future career. I know this may be a bit too broad of a question, but any advice or opinions are very much appreciated as I am in a desperate need of help. (my English isn't really good, but please bear with me as I will try my best to communicate my thoughts as clearly as possible)

Let me start from explaining my current situation to you.

I am a 24 year old Korean male who JUST GOT INTO an undergraduate school in Japan. The reasons for me being so late are 1) I didn't know a degree would be this much necessary in real life when I first went to college at the age of 19 so I dropped out from there, and 2) after dropping out of college, I did my military service which is mandatory for Korean males, and few other things including working at a small-mid sized trading(import/export kinda trading) company (about 100 employees) for about a year in Japan that is run by one of my dad's friends. So basically, I never really got serious about my future until I got to work in Japan and finally learn the fact that I can't really get anywhere without a degree.

Anyways, I'm currently majoring in international liberal studies here in Japan, and this school offers a double degree program where I can just do my third year in Peking University (Beijing) and get a degree in international relations from there, as well as the liberal studies degree from my Japanese school at the time of graduation which is in total of four years (this is one of the main reasons I came to this school in the first place).

Knowing so little, I thought having these degrees (although they have almost nothing to do with finance), getting excellent grades at some finance-related classes in school, and getting a few certificates before graduation (such as CPF or CPA-I don't even know how difficult they are either-) might get me a shot in finding work at those high-paying investment banks in the Asian region (HK, Singapore, Shanghai etc.). As I would then be able to speak Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese, and have connections with people from both Japan and China (although most of them would be mere college grads), I had assumed that these companies might spare me a slot.

However, having read some of the posts here made me realize that I had been just dreaming the whole freaking time. My school is no where near good enough for these banks if it has to compete against the top schools in the states (I may stand a chance of finding work at some Japanese banks, but I really disliked the working environment of Japan in that your paycheck has almost nothing to do with your performance or skills but rather with the amount of time you have been working for the company), I'll be too old by the time I graduate (unless I alreay am), and have no connection to the world of finance. So, I'm quite terrified right now that I had been making these dumb assumptions before actually checking anything myself.

Finally getting down to my question,

what are then some possible career options for me that you guys can think of, considering my situation (school, major, and age)?

The two main reasons of my desire for finding job at an investment bank are obviously the paycheck, and the fact that I will get to experience dealing with large amounts of money and hopefully learn how to read the flow of it. Everybody keeps talking about how we're gonna have so many different jobs during our lifetimes, so I figured it would be best if I could put myself into a position where I get to see where the money is going before deciding to start anything on my own.

So, if there is a reachable field for me that satisfies these criterias, please do let me know. Even in general, please advise me on what kind of paths would still be open for me.

Thank you guys so much in advance.

 
Best Response

Holy shit dude your care free attitude really screwed you. Honestly I don't even know how you will be able to come out of this without enrolling in another bachelor's program but I will try and give you some advice.

First of all, considering your degree and knowing the languages above, I would consider diplomacy, politics or working for an intelligence service or political think-tank. Working in Diplomacy especially working for the like of UN or NATO. Intelligence services could suit you since you have some military training, only downside is once you're in, you can't really work anywhere else.

If you're dead set in finance, accounting or management consulting could be the only viable career paths that will give you a chance of breaking in. I'm pretty sure you would like management consulting, consider the big 4 like PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and E&Y. Investment Banking is possible but you'd have to work for a small firm and then switch to a bigger bank.

Other than that, I highly suggest you apply to as many internships as possible given that you know Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese. This gives you the advantage of applying to 6 different markets, try to leverage your language skills. Apply for internships in Australia, China, UK, USA, Japan and Korea. Also ask your dad's contacts for some help.

Hope it helped you a bit.

 

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