I will stick my neck out and say that the japanese made western style knives are FAR superior to the German (and French) brands. They have thinner edges, more acutely profiled and have better and harder steel to actually support those edges. The first few brands that pop in my mind are
Shun
Al Mar
Kasumi
Masahiro
Global
First three using VG-10 steel. Masahiro uses a lot MBS-26, a dedicated kitchen knife steel, with limited edgeholding but very fine grained and very corrosion resistant, propritary to Masahiro, but also used quite successfully by Spyderco for their kitchen knives.
I like Shun the best, the Al Mar series is of equal quality and slightly cheaper, especially if you go with the simple clad knives instead of the Damascus clad series (there is no performance difference). I don't like their handles so much. They are a bit too thick and clumsy for me. Kasumi is essentially identical to the Shuns but usually a few bucks more. The western style line of Masahiro (has several different lines) have a much stronger eastern imprint, just compare the shapes of the deboning knives. Completely different. Even though the have symmetric blade grinds, they have a slightly asymetric edge grind which is not everybody's cup of tea. IMHO the Global knives fall behind the Shun/Kasumi series, due to their steel (and the hardness they run it at). But at least they have a similar blade geometry instead of the clumsy German and French edges.
I should point out that you can make a good German knife to perform quite well with a little bit of regrinding and some prefer their balance that they are willing to sacrifice on blade performance.
Also, do not disregard "odd balls". Granton is famous for their meat processing knives (and obviously for their original Granton edge) and much cheaper than any of the major Geman brands or those listed above. The Santoku from Spyderco has also a loyal following as do some knives of the Dick brand. You do probably best if you do not select all style knives from a single company. Personally, I would always go with Forschner/Granton for deboning and large carver and grind them to whatever edge geometry I see fit, regardless whether someone might scoff at the plastic handle. There are also a few German brands that a much less well known but make a much better product than the mainstream companies, such as Messermeister and Schaaf.
Finally, the thinner edges of the japanese knives together with their VG-10 steel come with the drawback that they are more fragile. They can be steeled but you are probably better with a woodbacked strop with compound or a fine ceramic hone (Sharpmaker for example). They also do not like being dropped into the sink or banged around, they are much more prone to chipping upon abuse, because of their thinner edges and harder steels. In proper use, they will cut cut much better and hold an edge longer though. VG-10 is also not as corrosion resistant as the steel used in the German knives. It is still perfectly stainless steel, but you don't want to leave the knife in a wet sink.
Hope that helps. Good luck and congatulations on your new job!
. They have some more affordable stuff as well though.
