You’re about to move overseas and you want to start working on base in Okinawa as soon as you arrive here. This is a daunting experience and one that can often be very confusing for newcomers. Hopefully this guide can help you navigate this new road a little bit easier.
On Base Companies in Okinawa
There are multiple companies that hire people working on base in Okinawa and they are split up into several distinct divisions such as Temp Companies for MLC, SOFA status individuals attached to military units, and contractors given SOFA by their company.
Temp Companies for MLC
Local nationals (mostly local Japanese and Okinawan individuals without a SSN) will work with companies such as On Time Staffing Okinawa or OTS ProStaff. These companies provide temporary staff to on base facilities. They work at the facilities but are not hired by the facilities themselves and do not get paid by the facilities. They are paid in Yen and are subject to Japanese tax as well. They are also not long term contracts and the positions often have an expiration date given at the time of hiring.
SOFA Status Individuals
SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement individuals) are those most often attached to the military and/or their family members. These individuals are given a one-time preference when it comes to their employment in Japan. This spousal preference will allow a priority placement over other applicants until it is used. If an individual accepts any full time position, this spousal preference is considered used, even if they did not start or stay at the position for very long. Just merely accepting the position is enough to lose the preference.
Websites for Working on Base in Okinawa
The following are some of the websites you can use to search for SOFA employment within Okinawa:
- MCCS Civilian Careers (usmc-mccs.org) (jobs on every USMC base)
- www.applymyexchange.com (type Okinawa to find local jobs, available on every base in Okinawa regardless of service)
- www.usajobs.com (jobs on every base)
- www.linkedin.com (often these are jobs found at the above links or will bring you to their site)
Contractor Jobs
Contractor jobs are split into two categories: local hires and worldwide hires. If locally hired, most of the companies do not provide housing or educational support for dependents. If a worldwide hire, more support is given such as a housing allotment and/or educational support for dependents. Education on base for dependents on base is approximately $26000 per child, so this support is definitely a helpful benefit.
Many of the jobs can be found at the following locations:
There are also several Facebook sites which can help you navigate the process such as:
More Options for Working on Base in Okinawa
If none of these options seem to work for you, then you can always get crafty or find your inner Chef while on Okinawa. Cake Baking, specialty items and foods and woodworking are often highly sought out profitable businesses here to other people on the base! There are many vendor fairs and events where your wares can be displayed and many people will come to see them!
Working on base in Okinawa can feel daunting, but whatever your chosen new career is, I hope that you find an amazing new path in Okinawa with a new job and that this guide helped you!
Looking for more? Check out these other popular articles on moving to Okinawa.
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