What I, a foreigner (Indian), have felt after working at a Japanese company for a year since graduating

*I am an Indian foreigner who has been working at a Japanese company for a year since graduating from university, and I would like to share my thoughts on this

This may vary from person to person, but please understand that this is just my personal opinion

I also have a blog I created previously, so please take a look if you'd like!

Why I, an Indian, came to Japan (Why foreigners are fascinated by Japan)

What I, an Indian, felt after working at a Japanese company (Beyond Inc.)

Things that made me feel like I've grown

Before joining Beyond, I attended an IT vocational school for two years, but I didn't learn anything about infrastructure there, so I received various training at Beyond and gradually became able to do my job

There is a lot to learn about infrastructure, and Beyond is a company that excels in "multi-cloud," so you need to learn about the movements and functions of various clouds. The good thing about this is that you can learn what you learned in textbooks by actually using the cloud while working, which is a lot of fun

I am assigned to the construction team at Beyond, where I work on creating (constructing) servers tailored to customer services, etc. When I built my first project, there were many things I didn't understand, but with the support of my seniors, I was able to build them little by little

There are still many things I don't understand, but I think it's significantly less than before. Also, I've become able to build the service while understanding its behavior and features, so I feel like I'm starting to understand where to fix mistakes if I make any

I feel that I can do more now than I did a year ago, so this is a sign of my growth over the past year

The part that I find difficult

I find the following two points difficult:

1) Infrastructure

Beyond supports multi-cloud, so there are many things that can be difficult

● Environmental management is complex

Since you'll be working with multiple clouds, you'll need to fully understand and use each management console and service portal. Each environment has different mechanisms and best practices, so you'll need the ability to understand those differences and properly manage resources, monitor changes, and manage them

● Security risks

Using multiple clouds can make it difficult to manage security and compliance requirements. Each cloud has its own security policies and regulations, so you need to understand the security risks and countermeasures for each cloud to understand and address the differences

● Cost consciousness

Since you will be working with multiple cloud services with different costs, you will need to understand the service costs of each. As an engineer, you will be required to be constantly aware of costs, such as considering resource optimization

● Wide range of knowledge and technical skills

Since you're not just dealing with one cloud, you'll need a wide range of technical skills across a variety of clouds. Knowledge of cloud architecture, sometimes automation techniques, and of course security is essential. You'll also need to gain a deeper understanding of the cloud's detailed functions and develop the ability to use them correctly

I need to keep learning all the time, but I would like to continue to value the daily accumulation of knowledge and skills I gain

② Japanese

When working at a Japanese company, Japanese language is very important, and if you can't understand Japanese, you can't get your work done, but when I first joined the company, my Japanese was not very good

I always use Japanese when speaking with customers, so I had to study honorific language. There are still many Japanese words I don't understand, but I'm getting used to it little by little, so I have no problem dealing with customers

However, there are still times when I don't fully understand the nuances of Japanese, which can be very difficult

For example, when a customer requests work

○ Customer : "It's not urgent, but I'd appreciate it if you could complete it by early next month."

○ Me : Oh, the customer said they're not in a hurry, so I think I'll take care of the higher priority tasks first and then deal with it.

○ Senior : This customer is in a hurry, so we need to deal with his inquiry first.

○ Me : Huh? What do you mean?

The customer says they're not in a hurry at all → In my head (?????????????????????)

○ Senior : When a customer says, "It's not urgent," I think it would be better to interpret it as "as soon as possible."

○ Me : ??????????????? What does that mean???????????????

Due to the nuances of Japanese, I have had the experience of saying "it's not urgent" when in fact I want the work done quickly (although this is not always the case)

In Japanese, the meaning written in textbooks often differs from the meaning actually used, so the meaning of words that I use in the textbooks is sometimes slightly different in reality

Although there are still some difficult aspects, I feel that my Japanese has improved in many areas since entering the workforce, and I am very grateful to my seniors and fellow students who are always able to teach me

Actually working as an engineer

I love learning new things, and Beyond is a multi-cloud company, so I can take advantage of a variety of clouds

This is a very educational experience. Each cloud service has different service names and functions, which makes it a little difficult to remember, but I can immediately apply what I've learned within the company, which makes my studies and work more enjoyable

Also, at Beyond we often work in teams, so if I have any problems at work I can consult with my teammates or with other seniors to get the job done, so I can work with peace of mind

Becoming an engineer without experience

*This may vary depending on the company and person, but please understand that this is just my experience

I had studied systems development before, but originally I had no idea what an infrastructure engineer's job entailed

Even though I started from scratch, I was able to work as an infrastructure engineer at Beyond. I enjoy my work every day, learning a little bit every day and improving my technical skills. It was a little difficult at first, but now that I'm an infrastructure engineer, I feel that it's certainly possible to become an infrastructure engineer without experience

Infrastructure work involves a wide range of tasks, and I need to continue studying, but I would like to continue learning in the future so that I can grow even more

Things I should have done before joining the company

I feel like I wanted to do two things

First point: Studying infrastructure

If there's one thing I wish I had done before joining the company, it would be to study more about the nature of infrastructure work

I learned a lot of things during training after joining the company, but I think I would have been able to understand the training more smoothly if I had studied before joining. If you want to work as an infrastructure engineer, I recommend studying Linux and AWS

2nd point: Travel

I love traveling, but when I came to Japan about five years ago, the coronavirus pandemic hit and I couldn't go anywhere, so I wanted to travel to my beloved Japan while I was still a student

After entering the workforce, it's possible to travel even with two days off a week, but it's hard to travel when you have to study and other commitments, so I wish I had been able to see more of Japan when I was a student. I hope that students make the most of their time as students by doing things they enjoy, even if it's not just traveling!

My advice to those of you who will be entering the workforce in the next 1-2 years is to study a little and travel a lot

I highly recommend traveling as you will learn a lot from it

summary

The work of an infrastructure engineer is very broad, and it can be difficult because you need to learn about various clouds. By continuing to learn without giving up, I feel that I have grown significantly compared to who I was in my first year

Of course, I owe it all to the support of my seniors. There are so many kind people at Beyond, and I've been able to do my job thanks to the constant support of those around me, so I'd like to thank the environment around me as well

If you are interested in working at Beyond, please feel free to apply

To all job-seekers, I want to say that although there may be many difficult aspects, I hope you will find a job that you want to do and keep working hard at it without giving up!!!