Wilson wrote:

> How long did you have to live in japan to become fluent after doing a
> major? I will complete a fourth year university level of japanese, but I
> think my knowledge will be overly academic and not fluent enough for
> real world situations.

I am sure someone like you could be fluent in a few months of immersion.
After three and a half years of Japanese study, I was sent to a place where I
was the only English speaking westerner (Filipino hostesses didn't count) in
the entire town, the only foreign employee in the office, and married a
non-English speaker who was not interested in English or foreigners. Just
because I could comprehend Japanese, I was made to sit through daily
administration meetings and emergency meetings, which could last for hours,
whether or not I was asked to speak.

> I was reading a column that was talking about IT tech support jobs... I
> would like to do that job but you need to be fluent in japanese.

If I'd known before coming 12 years ago that there was such a demand for IT
in Japan, I might have done something about it. But then, even a former
engineer from Microsoft I met wasn't working in his field living in a rural
prefecture. Doesn't matter now that I'm going home.

> It seems that learning japanese is an "all or nothing" proposal in terms
> of careers in japan. Either don't bother or become fluent... half way is
> no use.

Have you ever passed the First or pre-First grade of the Japanese Proficiency
Test? Some authorities claim this is the minimum for a professional career,
and what many Chinese students of Japanese are striving for.

Are you interested in proofreading or translation? Proofreading is not as
demanding.