From my experience as an IT-focused headhunter and career consultant,
one pattern appears again and again:

Many professionals are not struggling because they lack ability,
but because they are walking a career path that does not suit their role type.

In Japanese corporate contexts, career development is often discussed through a classic distinction:

Specialists and Generalists.

This is not a hierarchy, but a difference in career logic.

Specialists build value through clearly defined, market-priced skills.
Their careers are portable: companies may change, but skills remain.

Generalists, on the other hand, create value through coordination, decision-making, and organizational understanding.
Their strength is deeply tied to the company and its internal structure.

From a labor market perspective, specialists tend to have higher mobility and clearer salary negotiation power.
Generalists often enjoy strong internal influence, but face higher risks when changing environments.

Neither path is superior.
The key question is whether your career strategy matches the logic of your role.

Understanding this difference is often more important than deciding when to change jobs.

Tokyo Asabana｜東京朝花
Founder Serena He
Nationally Certified Career Consultant / MBA
Education & Career Strategy Consultant for International Residents in Japan
hello@tokyoasabana.com