想定外の社会人デビュー
「私はもともと、プロジェクトマネージャーを目指していたわけではありませんでした」。そう話す三上さんのキャリアは、まさに想定外の連続でした。
最初の「想定外」は、大学卒業を目前に控えた3月のこと。入社1か月前というタイミングで、内定者全員に突然、予定していた会社への入社ができなくなることが伝えられました。その後、グループ会社への配属が検討され、三上さんは医療関連事業会社に入社することになりました。
「希望していた業界ではないし、最初はどうしようと戸惑いました。でも、そこで出会った先輩方が本当に素晴らしくて。仕事の進め方だけではなく、時間の使い方や人との接し方などに余裕がある姿を尊敬していました」。
携帯コンテンツ配信事業会社を経て、次の転機は2014年。夫の事業に伴う海外移住が決定し、家族4人全員で東南アジアへと拠点を移すことになります。
言語より苦労した、カルチャーの違い
「移住当初は、仕事に就くつもりはなくて。ゆっくり子育てをしながら、自分の人生を過ごそうと思っていました」。
ところが、日本人コミュニティで知り合った人からの縁で、日本語話者を求める企業で働くことに。自ら選んだ仕事ではありません。しかしこれも新しい挑戦だと前向きに捉えたといいます。
そこではクライアントマネジメントを担当し、システムアップグレード導入やサービス品質管理、KPI・SLA管理など、幅広い業務を経験しました。その後、プロジェクトマネジメントに関わる仕事へとステップアップ。
現在は、グローバルプロジェクトマネージャー（GPM）として顧客企業のネットワーク切り替えに関わるプロジェクトなどを担当し、世界各地の社内メンバーと連携しながらプロジェクトを進めています。「男性だから」「女性だから」といった性別による違いを意識することはほとんどなく、職場では多くの女性GPMが活躍しています。PMP取得者にも女性が多く、性別にかかわらずキャリアを築いていける環境だといいます。
海外で最も苦労したのは「言語よりも文化だった」と語る三上さん。東南アジアで仕事を始めた当初、日本の顧客と現地メンバーとの温度差に悩んだこともありましたが、そんな経験を経てたどり着いたのは「違いをなくすのではなく、違いを理解した上で共通のゴールに向けて協働する」という姿勢でした。
子育てや家事について伺うと、「子どもの教育環境も整っていて、さまざまな選択肢があります。現地で知り合った人たちも協力的で、感謝しながら仕事と両立できています」と微笑みます。今は子どもたちも大きくなり、自分のために使う時間も増え、友人夫妻とテニスを楽しむのも日課です。
学び続け、国際交流やごみ問題にも。PMスキルを仕事の外へ
東南アジアでの生活を通して、仕事だけでなく人との関わり方についても多くの影響を受けてきました。そんな三上さんが今後大切にしたいのは、継続的に学ぶこと。現在は外部研修への参加機会を得たAWSなどテクニカルな資格取得にも取り組んでおり、PMとしての専門性をさらに高めていきたいと考えているそうです。
同時に、将来的には東南アジアで暮らす自身の学びを活かし、高校生や大学生向けの国際交流や海外での学びをサポートする活動にも関心を寄せています。さらに、日々目にするごみ問題も、向き合いたいテーマのひとつ。知人らと協働し、環境負荷を減らす取り組みを模索している最中だそう。
「日々、素敵な方々との出会いやご縁を大切にし、その時々の流れを受け入れていくことで、その後がちゃんとつながっていくんです」。PMを目指してキャリアを積み上げたのではなく、目の前の仕事に向き合い、その経験を一つひとつ積み重ねた先に、PMという仕事がありました。
目標を定めて突き進むだけがキャリアではない。変化や想定外のなかから学び取り、次の可能性へとつなげてきた三上さんの歩みは、これからも予定調和ではない場所で確かに花開いていくのかもしれません。
ライター：安藤未来 グラフィックレコーディング：岸智子 インタビュアー：浦田有佳里、小川原陽子
A Career Shaped by the Unexpected: A Global Project Manager Working in Southeast Asia
Yoko Mikami
AT&T Global Project Manager (APAC)
Her professional life began during Japan’s employment ice age with an unexpected development: just before she was due to join the company, all new graduates were assigned to group companies instead. In 2014, she moved with her family to Southeast Asia because of her husband’s work. She began working locally as a Japanese speaker and later went on to build a successful career as a global project manager. In recent years, tennis has become part of her routine, and her hobbies include trying activities unique to the places she visits and enjoying local cuisine.
“I never originally set out to become a project manager.” As Mikami san explains, her career has truly been a succession of unexpected turns.
The first “unexpected” event came in March, just before she graduated from university. Only one month before she was due to begin work, all incoming employees were suddenly informed that they would no longer be able to join the company as planned. Assignments to group companies were then considered, and Mikami san ultimately joined a healthcare-related company.
“It was not the industry I had hoped to enter, and at first I was unsure what to do. But the senior colleagues I met there were truly wonderful. I admired not only how they worked, but also the composure they showed in managing their time and interacting with people.”
After working for a mobile content distribution company, her next turning point came in 2014. Her family decided to relocate overseas because of her husband’s business, and all four family members moved their base to Southeast Asia.
Cultural Differences Were More Challenging Than Language
“When we first moved, I had no intention of working. I thought I would take my time raising my children and simply enjoy my life.”
However, through someone she met in the local Japanese community, she found an opportunity to work for a company seeking Japanese speakers. It was not a job she had chosen for herself, but she viewed it positively as a new challenge.
There, she was responsible for client management and gained broad experience in areas including system upgrade implementation, service quality management, and KPI and SLA management. She later advanced into project management-related work.
Today, as a Global Project Manager (GPM), she leads projects such as customer network transitions, collaborating with colleagues around the world to move each project forward. She rarely encounters distinctions based on being male or female, and many women GPMs are thriving in the workplace. There are also many women among PMP-certified professionals, creating an environment in which people can build their careers regardless of gender.
Mikami san says the greatest challenge of working overseas was “culture rather than language.” When she first began working in Southeast Asia, she sometimes struggled with the difference in expectations between Japanese customers and local team members. Through those experiences, she came to adopt an approach of “not eliminating differences, but understanding them and working together toward a common goal.”
Asked about childcare and housework, she smiles and says, “There is a well-established educational environment for children, with many options available. The people we have met locally have also been very supportive, and I am grateful that I have been able to balance work and family life.” Now that her children are older, she has more time for herself. Playing tennis with a couple who are friends of hers has become part of her routine.
Continuing to Learn and Applying PM Skills Beyond Work—to International Exchange and Waste Challenges
Life in Southeast Asia has influenced not only her work, but also how she relates to people. Looking ahead, Mikami san wants to place particular importance on continuous learning. She is currently working toward technical certifications such as AWS, supported by opportunities to attend external training, and hopes to further deepen her professional expertise as a project manager.
At the same time, she hopes one day to draw on what she has learned from living in Southeast Asia to support international exchange and overseas learning opportunities for high school and university students. The waste problem she sees in everyday life is another issue she wants to address. She is currently exploring ways to reduce environmental impact in collaboration with acquaintances.
“By valuing the people I meet and the connections I make along the way, and embracing each opportunity as it comes, things have naturally fallen into place.” Mikami san did not set out with the goal of becoming a project manager. Instead, she focused on the work at hand, learning from each experience and building on it step by step. In time, these experiences led her to a career in project management.
A career is not built only by setting a goal and charging straight toward it. Mikami san’s journey—learning from change and the unexpected, and turning each experience into the next possibility—may continue to flourish precisely in places that do not follow a predetermined path.
Writer: Miku Ando Graphic Recording: Tomoko Kishi Interviewers: Yukari Urata and Yohko Ogawara