Job Discussion Forums

[romanworld]

[creztor]

Thanks for the feedback. So then it seems that hiring "staff" and hiring "faculty" fall under two different areas? If so it would make sense. Anyway, it's not just the foreigners who are having to work longer hours for less money. romanworld mentioned it above and anyone who is in Taiwan and watches the news knows that the decreasing population is a huge problem. In the next five years many universities will either merge or close, and we'll see a decrease in the number of staff and faculty members. Cram schools and primary schools already have this problem, and there are heaps of licensed teachers who simply cannot find work full-time and are part-time teachers. They frequently tell me that it is simply impossible to find a full-time job teaching. Those who have the position don't want to give it up because they know how much harder it has become to find work. I think it would be a huge mistake for anyone outside of Taiwan to move here with the goal of teaching full-time in a university.

[romanworld]

[Shimokitazawa]

[romanworld]

[Shimokitazawa]

[JZer]

Not to mention that the instructor would be deducted 18% in taxes during the first six months of the year.

[romanworld]

[7168Riyadh]

[markcmc]

[JZer]

[forest1979]

Some good points on this thread but let me, if I may, counter the gist of what has been said.

Yes, coming to Taiwan and seeing the pay an instructor gets looks, well, not fantastic. In facts its a good reason to find work in another country if money is the God. Important as it is there are other notable points to ass. Low pay and add to this the near zero chance of promotion. Most ELCs simply have no experience in promoting their staff. Yet does this matter? No, because if you are Taiwanese an ELC post is a good job. It pays well above the national average wage. It gives plenty of vacation time. Has good social status. So, thinking from the Taiwanese position an instructors job is a good one and if teaching is what you are asked to do, just do that and nothing more. Hence few ELC staff need a PhD or want a PhD!

Now, here's another point to consider. Someone mentioned four-five months off per year. But, did you know for the 16 weeks paid leave per year - you know the time when lots of foreign staff take off overseas at CNY and for long summer breaks - can be stopped because a university is within its right to ask staff not to leave the island during the duration of a contract. At the moment universities dont enact this rule and so stop foreigners from leaving but it may happen, and if so the glamorous vacation allowance will certainly be less attractive.

Likewise there is at some places a minimum number of office hours, but as has been pointed out this varies wildly from place to place. I know some ELC ask for 5 office hours per week, I know others that ask staff to be on site for 35 hours a week. What does this mean? Well, it comes back to the cultural differences in how locals and foreigners perceive their jobs. Many Taiwanese see an ELC post as a career. I know few foreigners who are in Taiwan for a career move! So, being Taiwanese being on campus for 35 hours is no big deal. But for a foreigner earning US$1500 or so basic per month they want time off campus to work part-time. Yet, within MOE regulations you cannot work in a buxiban and can only work 4 additional extra hours at a uni. Hence, foreigners have to work illegally should they want any decent money. And yes, it's a serious joke to think of foreigners earning enough salary to buy property, especially in Taipei. I'm not saying it's impossible but we need to be realistic and say its rare!

On MCU...their bus leaves 6.50 to Gweishan, not at 6.30. Also the full bus scenario has gone off for years. Yes, staff for years have had to get taxis to Gweishan from Taipei. Also, how did they get accreditation? By chucking millions of $s over a number of years at creating flashy presentations that outline their uniqueness, i.e. their international studentship. What MCU have done is spend big, thus, at marketing.

[forest1979]

Romanworld - MCU faculty have been asked to stipulate if they want to be, in admin terms, researchers or teachers. Those that opt for teaching have to teach more- 1 hour more per week - and receive a lower salary. However for 'researchers', what research they do shall be interesting to see in the near future. Their library, like most in Taiwan, is a joke. Their research output is next to zero. Hence the big pressure to publish now they are affiliated to an accreditation body in the US.

[Shimokitazawa]

forest1979,

Nice points, well made.

I'm also aware of the power the university holds over teachers during the long summer and winter breaks. I may be wrong because I can't remember the exact details, but a guy I spoke with a couple of years ago in the pub who teaches at the chinese culture college told me that instructors were at one time required to seek permission if they were going to be out off the island for long periods of time during summer vacation - i.e, more than a month. I guess they had to write a letter to the President explaining where they were going, why and for how long. The university could theoretically say, "No!" and there wouldn't be a darn thing the instructor could do about it - unless they quit.

There are 2 interesting blogs in Taiwan by expat university EFL teachers: (1) Michael Turton and (2) Scott Sommers. I tend to agree with the information and tone Turton takes in his writing about teaching at universities in Taiwan. Sommers, on the other hand, has nothing but positive to write about Ming Chuan University. This contradicts what I've heard from talking to other teachers who have worked there. A lot of those people are no longer working there but are teaching at other universities or have left Taiwan to teach in Korea or Japan or the M.E. Ming Chuan University certainly didn't sound as great a place as Sommers made it out to be on his blog.

[romanworld]