Job Discussion Forums

[JonathanRossWC]

I do really appreciate everyone's comments and advice on this thread.

To answer your questions Taylor:

1. I have lots of experience dealing with Asians. I've been to Hong Kong twice, totaling about 2 months' worth of time. I lived with a Chinese family and had Asian friends there, not the typical HK tourist experience. I have Asian friends in the US as well.

2. I have "experience" dealing with children, but I do not have work experience or practical experience dealing with them. I love kids though, so I don't see this being a problem.

3. I am considering Taiwan for its weather, scenery, food, culture, everything. I feel like it's more similar to Hong Kong than mainland China, and I really like Hong Kong...so maybe Taiwan would be a great experience for me.

Thank you for your questions. Now that I answered, is there any response that you could offer with regards to Taiwan (especially about employment, culture, etc.)?

Jonathan

[Taylor]

Hi Jonathan,

Thank you for your follow-up post.

So, do you any certain cities or areas in mind? I can assure you that life in Taipei city is quite different from life in Ping-tung County, for example.

As for teaching English to children in Taiwan, the most difficult aspect will be getting down on their level. (By the way, you don't have to teach children, but that's where the largest demand is.)

Right now, your mind is probably full of econometric models and fancy ways of stating something fairly simple. You may expect that you will soon become a "lecturer" of sorts as a teacher in Taiwan.

Actually, you will need to think of very simple--yet creative--ways of letting your students USE ENGLISH IN THE CLASSROOM.

A simple lesson plan of 50 minutes should probably include 5 different activities of appx. 10 minutes each. This model is based on the average kid's attention span as of the year 1995. I would expect that it's only shorter now--in 2012.

Guessing games, throwing sticky balls at the whiteboard, jenga, etc. These are the concepts that will make you a popular (and hopefully EFFECTIVE) kids' English teacher in Taiwan.

Taylor

[JonathanRossWC]

Taylor,

I don't have any certain cities in mind. I would probably enjoy Taipei, but I hear that competition is quite fierce there. Do you happen to know about the current job market in Taiwan? I get all these conflicting posts...Taipei is hard, look in Taipei, etc.

You are right about the econometrics! My business degree has branded that stuff into my brain. I appreciate your insight on getting students to use English, instead of me just explaining everything away. Thank you very much for your advice here.

Jonathan

[KaiXi333]

As of right now, it is very difficult for newbies to find jobs here. Things should get at least a little better during the summer. That being said, the job market here is not what it used to be. There are a lot more foreigners here and demand has not been good as of the last couple years.

I will say this: since you are new to teaching and Taiwan, you will likely have to start from the bottom. That means working for one of the big chain schools. It will be hard work and will involve either a lot of unpaid work or a lot of running back and forth between one school/branch and another, depending on what school or schools you work for. Free accommodation here is rare. At best you will get help from one of the agents the school knows.

My biggest recommendation is that if you are here and can get decent hours, save as much money as possible so you can have a cushion and recover the setup costs. I'm almost done with my first year here, I work for one of the big chain schools and all the other newbies around me go clubbing, partying and vacationing. After Chinese New Year (unpaid for us), they're all broke and have to put up with the BS from the boss because they have nowhere else to go. One co worker even had to beg for a pay advance. Not a situation I'd like to be in.

The first six months will be tough, maybe even the first entire year. Therefore, if you're looking for an easy off year, Taiwan is definitely NOT the place right now.

[steve_c]

[The Internationalist]

I am in the same boat as the OP.

At the moment I am planning on returning to Korea, but I am now considering Taiwan and Vietnam.

What should I expect to make in Taiwan if I just hopped on a plane and hit the ground handing out resumes ect?

What are the normal hours like?

[Zhuangzi's Butterfly]

Same boat as well.

For all the vets out there what salary per month should a 25 year old with a Bachelor's in English Lit. and no teaching experience? At big schools like Hess, Kojen, Joy? At smaller schools? Also, what prices can you command at big/small sized city?

[yamahuh]

I would say that average wages are from $55K to $65K (NT of course) for approximately 100 hours a month. Whether you are in a large or small city is, for all intents and purposes, irrelevant; you might make a bit less per month in tiny places, but your living expenses will be correspondingly much lower than if you locate yourself somewhere like Taipei.

Teaching experience outside of Taiwan counts for zip. Teaching experience inside Taiwan doesn't count for much more, the market pays what the market pays and I'd guess that those of us who have been here a few years are, by and large, not making significantly more than when we started. Wages are static as the schools have a glut of teachers to hire from who are more than willing to accept the offered wages.

Unless you actually have a B.Ed or M.Ed or some other teaching degree, it's not even important what kind of University or College qualification you have. So long as you have one. With either of those qualifications you could work in public schools as opposed to the buxiban / language mills and by doing so you can take home more money as (I believe and someone will correct me if I'm wrong) you pay no tax on wages in these positions.

There are tons of threads on here discussing these topics in more detail.

[Zhuangzi's Butterfly]

yamahuh, thank you!

I would prefer to stay out of a super-huge city with the exception of Kaohsiung and would have no problem working with either a large buxiban like Kojen, Joy, or Hess, or, a smaller outfit. The problem with that is it is tough to find those smaller schools as they are small.

What are some smaller, interesting cities near the beach, or in the mountains? Also, what are some good smaller schools?

[yamahuh]

Well, as with everything, people are going to have different perceptions of what constitutes 'interesting'. Personally I like places that aren't too far from the mountains (then again this is Taiwan - not much is far from anything), so I've lived near Chiayi, LongTan and am currently close to Hsinchu.

Your best bet might be to look at a map of Taiwan, do some research online, pick some places that seem to appeal to whatever specifically you are looking for and then start scouring around to see what the job situation is like. Given my druthers, I'd be on the East Coast in a heartbeat, unfortunately there are rarely positions advertised there; if there are any they go quickly and (I'm pretty sure) they pay less because of the high demand for the location.

Good luck.

[Albert Cribbins]

I only have a BA in English Lit, and 4 week tefl. Decided against the CELTA as it is too time intensive and costly, so just wondering, what is needed for taiwan? I am also pretty fluent in mandarin,and would prefer not to teach kids. Should I forget taiwan?

[creztor]

Prefer not to teach kids? Then you should definitely forget Taiwan.

[JZer]

There is a lot of money to be made in Taiwan. If you don't want to teach kids find a job with low hours to secure an ARC and then work online if you need more money.