🌎 From career setback to entrepreneur: David’s expat success story!

When David moved from the UK to Japan with his wife, he thought his background as an engineer would make it easy to land a job. He had ten years of experience, a master’s degree, and a CV full of successful projects.

But Japan had other plans.

“I sent out over a hundred applications. Some companies didn’t recognize my qualifications, others required near-native Japanese. For the first time in my life, I felt like my career had hit a wall,” David recalls.

Months went by, and with every rejection, his confidence shrank. He questioned whether the move had been a mistake.

👉 Turning point

One day, while helping a Japanese friend prepare a presentation for an international conference, David noticed something: his friend’s technical knowledge was excellent—but he struggled to explain it clearly in English.

David stepped in, polishing the slides and coaching him on delivery. The presentation was a hit. Soon, word spread. Colleagues started asking David for help with their own projects.

That’s when the idea clicked: instead of forcing his way into a traditional engineering role, why not carve out a niche that combined his technical expertise and his native English?

👉 Building something new

David launched a small consultancy offering technical communication training for Japanese engineers. At first, it was just a side hustle—coaching a few clients at cafés or over Zoom.

Within a year, he had contracts with several companies preparing teams for international collaborations. His services expanded into workshops on cross-cultural communication, project documentation, and presentation skills.

💡What started as a career setback had transformed into a business that not only sustained him but gave him a sense of purpose.

The Takeaway

David’s story is a reminder that expatriation isn’t always a straight path—it’s often about reinventing yourself.

“Moving abroad stripped away my comfort zone,” he says. “But it also forced me to see opportunities I never would have noticed back home.”

For other expats facing career frustrations, his advice is clear:

“Don’t just look for the job you had—look for the problems you can solve. That’s where your opportunity lies.”