Our CEO Ryan, Shares His Experience of Living and Working Abroad

Ryan tells us how he made the move and what he’s learnt from living overseas. He also shares the 3 things he learnt about himself through living in another culture.

Name: Ryan Walker
Age: 35
From: UK
Currently lives: Tokyo
Role at Beyond Academy: CEO
Education: GCSE

I moved to Hong Kong when I was 24. I had always been living and working in London and really wanted to try living in another country. I had travelled to Hong Kong when I was 18 and was totally captivated with the energy of the city and how very different it was from London. I especially loved how the iconic skyline blends so well with the lush nature.

This part wasn’t easy. I had recently left my role at KPMG where I’d spent 6 years in various consulting roles, and had joined at the age of 17. I was just 6 months into a new role where I was in charge of new products at a leading tech company in London. It was tough to say goodbye as it was such a great role, but I knew it was the right thing to do. 

I tried applying for many jobs in Hong Kong from the UK but that didn’t get me anywhere. After applying for what was probably 100+ jobs and not hearing back, I figured the only way to make it happen is going to be to get to Hong Kong first and when I am on the ground hopefully it will be much easier.

I spent the weeks before I left London messaging CEOs and Directors of companies I was interested in working for and arranged for coffees in my first few weeks. I found that people were often open to coffee meetings and so it was a good way for me to get things going. Luckily on my second day in Hong Kong I met the COO of a company, we got on really well and they were actually looking for someone to run their tech and product business, they hired me almost immediately. 

I was super excited but at the same time slightly nervous as I didn’t have any friends, family or network around me. But I felt good, I love a challenge and getting my life on track in a new place was certainly a big one. New tastes, new smells, new people, everything was intriguing and I couldn’t sit still. 

It’s really hard moving to a new place and having to say goodbye to all your really good friends back home. I would say building a friend group and a good network was pretty tough. I made a lot of effort going to meetups and networking events and slowly began to build up a small circle of friends, this definitely helped me a lot in my first year living abroad.

1. There is no normal. Every country has different ways of eating, drinking and doing things and while it might at first seem strange, there’s usually always a good reason for it. When I first moved to Tokyo I would find it strange that Japanese people would eat raw fish, tofu, soup and rice for breakfast, it took me a while but now that is probably one of my favourite and most nutritious breakfasts. I mean it’s got to be better than toast or cornflakes, where’s the joy in that.

When we use the word “normal” to describe food, routines, or ideas, it usually implies that our own culture is superior to the one we are comparing. It has been a hugely humbling discovery for me to learn that when in a foreign land, it is indeed you who is strange. Always try to stay open minded! 

2. What it is like to be an outsider. There’s nothing like moving to a new country to teach you what it is like to be the minority. I live in Japan now and every day I feel somewhat like an outsider. I am ok with it and I embrace it. However long you live in another country, however much effort you make, there are always going to be things that separate you from the locals.

While there may occasionally be times I feel slightly uncomfortable I am lucky that overall I am in a country where I am treated well and respected. I feel horrendous when I think of all of the minorities around the world that are made to feel unwelcome and treated poorly. This breaks my heart.

3. Be thankful. As most English speakers do, I used to go around the world expecting people to speak my language, this is simply unacceptable. It’s important to make some effort, even if it’s a few words, locals always appreciate that. While I will never be able to always fluently speak the language of the place I live or visit, it’s important for me to remember the other person is speaking a language foriegn to them and are often struggling, for my benefit. I will always be thankful for this.

Living and working overseas is no doubt one of the best things you can do for your career, whether it’s to study, work or for an internship abroad. When you live and work in another country you build a network of people from all around the world. This network will be so important in your future career. When I eventually left Hong Kong and moved to Tokyo I tapped into my network and was quickly able to connect with so many great people in Tokyo and across Japan.

While I never went back to my home country, many of my friends did and they have all told me that working overseas really helped them to land their new role. Having international experience you really stand out from the crowd, you can bring new perspectives and you are often well placed when it comes to working on international projects and expansion.  

Definitely Berlin. I visited when I was 19 and had a great time but since then I have read a lot more about the city. From commerce, art, culture, traditional and modern, it’s a city that welcomes people from all around the world. There’s a spirit of diversity that prevails throughout the incredible city. I am thinking of applying for our 2021 Berlin Internship Program 🙂

We offer international internship programs across 14 locations. For more experiences, expert stories and tips on interning abroad, check out our blog. And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at hello@beyondacademy.com.