*sigh* College... Yay. A breeding ground of temporary friendships and drama -- it's like highschool but more expensive.

I'm not looking forward to it, but if my only way to go, than I guess I'll swing by UWF next chance I get and pick up the papers. 3 years though... That seems like forever for some reason, lol.

It will fly by

I'm currently studying for a BA in Structural Engineering (switching to MA if possible) and I'm hoping to move to Japan at the end of the course.

However, in the recent video on Visas you mentioned needing a special skill, or you are unlikely to get in to the country.

A degree in Structural Engineering is a good degree in terms of difficulty and practicality, however whether it is a special skill or not is another question altogether.

Is it likely that I will need to specialise in a field within Structural Engineering, or will the degree alone be enough?

My current plan is to teach English for a year or two to improve my Japanese (although I'm learning it at the moment) and then to get a job with an Engineering firm afterwards.

Hi

If you are a native English speaker getting a teaching job should be pretty easy..

Getting a job in engineering...
if you had unique or rare skills and perfect written and spoken Japanese.. maybe...

Well, I'm currently in the first year of my Engineering course and I've started trying to learn Japanese. Unfortunately I have some learning difficulties which make learning learning new languages especially hard- relating to symbols and pronounciation.

However, my course is 4/5 years minimum (and I might have to repeat years later on) and I'm aiming to get on JET for a year or two after that. That means I'm going to have about 6/7 years of practice so hopefully I should be quite good by then.

My only concern is that I am teaching myself the language. Unfortunately I don't know of any real courses nearby and I can't really afford the time or money involved.

However, thank you for the help. I'm going to have a look into what sort of things might be desirable for working in Japan. Do you think I should contact the Japanese Embassy, a Career's Advisor or contact companies directly? I'm at an early stage, so it would be easier to make any changes now.

Thank you very much for your help!

There are job agencies in Japan..
you could contact them