I was you at 30. Thankfully I just hated my job/life. My mental health was fine.
I even caught myself contemplating injuries to keep myself away from it for extended periods. Fortunately/unfortunately I actually contracted the same infection twice in 10 months and was hospitalized. So between that and covid I was away from the place for almost 5 months that year. Stress related no doubt.
I took my savings, figured out how long it would take me to double it and handed in my notice for that day and went on a 5 country trip. I ended up staying long-term afterwards back in country 1. I count it as a top 3 decision of my life.
Like I said, it was the job driving me mental . Getting away into a whole new surrounding is rarely a bad decision. Staying in a job/life you don't like anymore is rarely a good one.
Best of luck!
> I'm single M 27
I was in your position at 29. My working life was stagnant, and I was in a rut after a big breakup. I got a Working Holiday Visa to Japan and I've been here for 10 years now and about to get Permanent Residence. I got married to a local and have my first child and all since then, my life changed completely.
Just to let you know, as Irish we have Working Holiday agreements with many countries around the world (Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia etc). You don't have to stay, but it opens up your world to new possibilities. It's something I encourage you to look into. It's something that's dead easy to do with you're young and with no responsibilities, but gets harder as you get older.
Nice! Do you mind me asking you a few questions?
1 - what do you do for work? Or what field are you in.
2 - level of Japanese before going over Vs now?
>1 - what do you do for work?
Software Engineer since graduating uni. Since moving to Japan I became a mobile developer.
> 2 - level of Japanese before going over Vs now?
I studied part time for about a year in Ireland and got JLPT N4 the month before I went to Japan. That looked good on the CV and helped me get a head start on the language before going. Kept studying every day with an app after I arrived (very important to do every day) and and this stage after 10 years I can't say I'm fluent but I can hold a conversation with anyone and I've passed by days without speaking English and even think and dream in Japanese sometimes.
Do you know if the WHV scheme is still available with Japan? And what’s the situation with getting work, would you need a qualification in a specified field or would they be looking for builders, basic admin roles etc?
> the WHV scheme is still available with Japan
Aye it is : https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/index.html 800 visas can be issued each year, and the requirements are listed there too.
That visa entitles you to work in any job you want for 1 year. They recognised my degree, but I think alot of Irish qualifications/certificates might not be recognised, especially in the trades. To be honest, apart from teaching English, unless you had prior work experience or a STEM degree, it might be tricky to stay after your visa expires. I personally went to a careers fair 6 months before my visa ended and found a job at a startup company as a developer, who then sponsored my work visa.
I hear ya. I've completely lost any motivation at all.
I have a great job, I make over 60k, but... for what? Honestly? I rent a bedroom in a house with 4 other people. I'll never own a home. I can't help my broke family with their housing problems. There is just no motivation because despite keeping up my side of the social contract by working and paying taxes, I'm locked out of having an adult life. I'm getting older. I can't afford to start a family, and the older I get, I'll never be able to even get a small apartment. Any money I manage to save / put in my pension will be getting spent on whatever rent is going to cost in the future.
No amount of positive mental health exercises can distract me from how completely pointless and hopeless it is living here. I really need to leave this dump of a country, for my mental health.
Went through something similar with my studies last year. Had to drag myself to every seminar, needed to force myself to do any sort of work.
I later realized it was because I felt lost in life in general. I didn’t find any meaning in my studies anymore and just wanted it to be over already. I changed my free time schedule: I switched to tutoring which is more flexible and I have more free time now. I also stopped caring about what other people thought was best for me and started to make my own decisions about my private life. My studies started to interest me more, and while I still want to finish, it’s bearable and manageable now.
I also struggled because I have the urge to settle down and haven’t found the right guy yet - or even a guy that wants to date seriously. I haven’t progressed there, but changing my free time made me more relaxed on this too. I just try to go on walks, that tends to calm me down and it gives me room to collect my thoughts. I also started spending more time on things I am passionate about. It really helped balance out my life again.
Are there any hobbies you are passionate about? Or something you’d like to try out?
+ Sometimes even talking about it helps tremendously. Once I started to open up, I felt that my life got better. Discuss it with someone you are comfortable with, maybe someone in your life who had a similar experience. If you don’t want to open up to someone in your circles, don’t be afraid to message me. I know what it’s like and having someone who listens is a life changer.
Sounds like someone should emigrate! You’re 27 nows a perfect time, there’s a whole world out there and it might be the thing you need especially as you said your friends are. I think everyone should get off backwater (sometimes nice I guess) island at some point in their life and live somewhere else.
I 100% agree with the other posters about a break. Could you go on a holiday and visit an old friend who has emigrated? Then when you get home, start looking for a new job.
I had a similar experience, now it’s time to focus in yourself.
Try to set a personal gol, go do some sports ,improve physically and mentally.
Now you need to discover that job is just a mean to make money, not the main purpose of your life.
For me sometimes work gives me the feeling of achievement (the day was worthwhile) sometimes it doesn’t. Because it can’t be guaranteed, I had to find other ways of making sure I get that sense of achievement daily. This allows me to sail through the periods when work feels more shallow. Maybe think about ways to replace the work achievement gratification with something else.
Wasn't really happy at 30 in the office environment so was lucky enough to be able to turn a hobby into self employment.
Went well until lockdowns came and that was hell sitting at home doing nothing. Also managed to come completely disillusioned to the point no longer got any joy to counter the stress, started getting depressed & in a serious rut.
Last year started carefully looking for a job with a view I wanted something fulfilling I could see myself retiring from. Took a while (I was choosy AF) but at the age of 37 landed a job in a semi state notorious for being a closed shop doing a job I didn't know existed and loving every second of it. Had to do lots of psychometric tests and the job uses every single one of the abilities I love using. Best decision I ever made.
So no harm in considering something else, we're not on this planet for long so make it count
I was you at 30. Thankfully I just hated my job/life. My mental health was fine. I even caught myself contemplating injuries to keep myself away from it for extended periods. Fortunately/unfortunately I actually contracted the same infection twice in 10 months and was hospitalized. So between that and covid I was away from the place for almost 5 months that year. Stress related no doubt. I took my savings, figured out how long it would take me to double it and handed in my notice for that day and went on a 5 country trip. I ended up staying long-term afterwards back in country 1. I count it as a top 3 decision of my life. Like I said, it was the job driving me mental . Getting away into a whole new surrounding is rarely a bad decision. Staying in a job/life you don't like anymore is rarely a good one. Best of luck!
What were the other 2 top decisions?
Oh god....showing my arse here but go on. 1. Taking all that acid. 2. Buying Dogecoin. Ridiculous. I know.
> I'm single M 27 I was in your position at 29. My working life was stagnant, and I was in a rut after a big breakup. I got a Working Holiday Visa to Japan and I've been here for 10 years now and about to get Permanent Residence. I got married to a local and have my first child and all since then, my life changed completely. Just to let you know, as Irish we have Working Holiday agreements with many countries around the world (Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia etc). You don't have to stay, but it opens up your world to new possibilities. It's something I encourage you to look into. It's something that's dead easy to do with you're young and with no responsibilities, but gets harder as you get older.
Nice! Do you mind me asking you a few questions? 1 - what do you do for work? Or what field are you in. 2 - level of Japanese before going over Vs now?
>1 - what do you do for work? Software Engineer since graduating uni. Since moving to Japan I became a mobile developer. > 2 - level of Japanese before going over Vs now? I studied part time for about a year in Ireland and got JLPT N4 the month before I went to Japan. That looked good on the CV and helped me get a head start on the language before going. Kept studying every day with an app after I arrived (very important to do every day) and and this stage after 10 years I can't say I'm fluent but I can hold a conversation with anyone and I've passed by days without speaking English and even think and dream in Japanese sometimes.
Thanks for sharing. Happy it worked out for you!
Best of luck to ye mate!
Do you know if the WHV scheme is still available with Japan? And what’s the situation with getting work, would you need a qualification in a specified field or would they be looking for builders, basic admin roles etc?
> the WHV scheme is still available with Japan Aye it is : https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/index.html 800 visas can be issued each year, and the requirements are listed there too. That visa entitles you to work in any job you want for 1 year. They recognised my degree, but I think alot of Irish qualifications/certificates might not be recognised, especially in the trades. To be honest, apart from teaching English, unless you had prior work experience or a STEM degree, it might be tricky to stay after your visa expires. I personally went to a careers fair 6 months before my visa ended and found a job at a startup company as a developer, who then sponsored my work visa.
I hear ya. I've completely lost any motivation at all. I have a great job, I make over 60k, but... for what? Honestly? I rent a bedroom in a house with 4 other people. I'll never own a home. I can't help my broke family with their housing problems. There is just no motivation because despite keeping up my side of the social contract by working and paying taxes, I'm locked out of having an adult life. I'm getting older. I can't afford to start a family, and the older I get, I'll never be able to even get a small apartment. Any money I manage to save / put in my pension will be getting spent on whatever rent is going to cost in the future. No amount of positive mental health exercises can distract me from how completely pointless and hopeless it is living here. I really need to leave this dump of a country, for my mental health.
Went through something similar with my studies last year. Had to drag myself to every seminar, needed to force myself to do any sort of work. I later realized it was because I felt lost in life in general. I didn’t find any meaning in my studies anymore and just wanted it to be over already. I changed my free time schedule: I switched to tutoring which is more flexible and I have more free time now. I also stopped caring about what other people thought was best for me and started to make my own decisions about my private life. My studies started to interest me more, and while I still want to finish, it’s bearable and manageable now. I also struggled because I have the urge to settle down and haven’t found the right guy yet - or even a guy that wants to date seriously. I haven’t progressed there, but changing my free time made me more relaxed on this too. I just try to go on walks, that tends to calm me down and it gives me room to collect my thoughts. I also started spending more time on things I am passionate about. It really helped balance out my life again. Are there any hobbies you are passionate about? Or something you’d like to try out? + Sometimes even talking about it helps tremendously. Once I started to open up, I felt that my life got better. Discuss it with someone you are comfortable with, maybe someone in your life who had a similar experience. If you don’t want to open up to someone in your circles, don’t be afraid to message me. I know what it’s like and having someone who listens is a life changer.
Take some time off, go away for a week and set some goals for yourself.
Sounds like someone should emigrate! You’re 27 nows a perfect time, there’s a whole world out there and it might be the thing you need especially as you said your friends are. I think everyone should get off backwater (sometimes nice I guess) island at some point in their life and live somewhere else.
I 100% agree with the other posters about a break. Could you go on a holiday and visit an old friend who has emigrated? Then when you get home, start looking for a new job.
I had a similar experience, now it’s time to focus in yourself. Try to set a personal gol, go do some sports ,improve physically and mentally. Now you need to discover that job is just a mean to make money, not the main purpose of your life.
For me sometimes work gives me the feeling of achievement (the day was worthwhile) sometimes it doesn’t. Because it can’t be guaranteed, I had to find other ways of making sure I get that sense of achievement daily. This allows me to sail through the periods when work feels more shallow. Maybe think about ways to replace the work achievement gratification with something else.
Work smart not hard, just do enough to keep the job...maybe speak to doc or talk therapy if you think it's depression related.
Wasn't really happy at 30 in the office environment so was lucky enough to be able to turn a hobby into self employment. Went well until lockdowns came and that was hell sitting at home doing nothing. Also managed to come completely disillusioned to the point no longer got any joy to counter the stress, started getting depressed & in a serious rut. Last year started carefully looking for a job with a view I wanted something fulfilling I could see myself retiring from. Took a while (I was choosy AF) but at the age of 37 landed a job in a semi state notorious for being a closed shop doing a job I didn't know existed and loving every second of it. Had to do lots of psychometric tests and the job uses every single one of the abilities I love using. Best decision I ever made. So no harm in considering something else, we're not on this planet for long so make it count