RICKY: SI BONEK PENAKLUK LOWONGAN KERJA JEPANG
Kalau ada mahasiswa yang membuktikan bahwa jarak bukan alasan untuk malas kuliah, Ricky adalah salah satu tersangka utamanya. Saya mengajar dan menyiarkan kuliah melalui Zoom dari Jakarta, sementara Ricky mengikuti kuliah di Okinawa, Jepang. Jadi, kalau mahasiswa lain kadang mengeluh soal sinyal, Ricky mungkin berpikir, “Saya saja kuliah dari Jepang, masa masih mengeluh?”
Perjalanan Ricky ke Jepang juga bukan cerita biasa. Sebagai migrant dengan status Tokutei Ginou, semacam pekerja kontrak (bukan magang, berpendapatan sekitar 25 juta perbulan), ia berangkat dengan modal yang sederhana tetapi berani: informasi dari internet, YouTube, media sosial, dan rasa penasaran yang luar biasa. Bahasa Jepang dipelajarinya secara autodidak melalui YouTube. Sertifikasi Special Skilled Worker (SSW) bidang hospitality, yang tidak mudah ditemukan dan diperoleh, juga dikejarnya melalui YouTube dan media sosial. Dan dia pun berhasil.
Cara Ricky mencari pekerjaan pun sangat sederhana: search, apply, tunggu, dan berdoa. 😂 Ternyata nasib sedang baik. Ia diterima bekerja di hotel berbintang di kawasan Karuizawa, sebelum akhirnya melanjutkan kontrak hotel Bintang Lima di Okinawa. Jadi, teori Ricky sederhana: kalau ingin mendapatkan pekerjaan, jangan hanya menunggu lowongan datang – search dan apply!
Lebih menarik lagi, Ricky menemukan saya juga melalui media sosial. Dua tahun lalu ia menghubungi saya dan tertarik mengikuti kuliah yang saya selenggarakan. Sekarang ceritanya sudah naik kelas: saya sedang mementori Ricky menyelesaikan skripsinya. Setelah lulus, semester depan ia berencana langsung melanjutkan ke jenjang S2.
Karena itu, Ricky akhirnya datang ke Jakarta untuk melihat dari dekat gedung Magister Institut STIAMI, tempat saya membagikan ilmu pariwisata kepada mahasiswa Magister, termasuk Ricky nantinya. Dari layar Zoom akhirnya menjadi pertemuan nyata. Dari Okinawa datang ke Jakarta, dari mahasiswa menjadi calon Magister.
Gilanya lagi, dia mengajak saya untuk mengirimkan pemuda Indonesia ke Jepang secara mandiri agar biaya yang dikeluarkan sangat murah seperti pengalaman pribadinya. Saya sanggupi dan langsung duduk di ruang Marketing Kampus untuk membuat action plan berkode: KABURAJADULU.
=======-
RICKY: THE INDONESIAN “BONEK” WHO CONQUERED JAPAN’S JOB MARKET
If there is a student who proves that distance is no excuse for being lazy about studying, Ricky is definitely one of the main suspects. I teach and broadcast my lectures via Zoom from Jakarta, while Ricky attends the classes from Okinawa, Japan. So, when other students sometimes complain about internet connections, Ricky might think, “I’m studying from Japan, so why should I still complain?”
Ricky’s journey to Japan is also far from ordinary. As a migrant worker under the Tokutei Ginou status, a type of employment status rather than an internship, with an income of approximately IDR 25 million per month, he went to Japan with simple but courageous resources: information from the internet, YouTube, social media, and an extraordinary sense of curiosity. He taught himself Japanese through YouTube. He also pursued the Special Skilled Worker (SSW) certification in hospitality, which is not easy to find or obtain, through YouTube and social media. And he succeeded.
Ricky’s approach to finding a job was very simple: search, apply, wait, and pray. 😂 As it turned out, luck was on his side. He was accepted to work at a star-rated hotel in the Karuizawa area before eventually continuing his contract at a five-star hotel in Okinawa. So, Ricky’s theory is simple: if you want to get a job, don’t just wait for a vacancy to come to you—search and apply!
What makes the story even more interesting is that Ricky also found me through social media. Two years ago, he contacted me and became interested in joining my classes. Now the story has moved to the next level: I am mentoring Ricky as he completes his undergraduate thesis. After graduating, he plans to continue directly to a master’s degree next semester.
That is why Ricky eventually came to Jakarta to see the STIAMI Institute Graduate School building up close, where I share my knowledge of tourism with master’s students, including Ricky in the future. What started on a Zoom screen has finally become a real-life meeting. From Okinawa to Jakarta, from being a student to becoming a prospective master’s student.
And the crazy part? He invited me to help send young Indonesians to Japan independently, so that the costs could be kept very low, just like his own experience. I agreed and immediately sat down in the Campus Marketing room to create an action plan under the code name: KABURAJADULU.
