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Taiwan is Dead
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Solar Strength



Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 557
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:54 pm    Post subject: Taiwan is Dead Reply with quote

I've been looking for EFL jobs for the last 2 months in Taiwan, and all I can come up with are jobs that ask for a work permit. Or a few hours here and a few hours there, part-time like.

The place, even Taipei City, is dead, as far as being a TEFL center goes. There's not much going on. The demand is low to non-existent.

I've been staying in the local guest house near Zhong Shan Station, Tex-Mex, and, while they've been helpful, others seem to echo the same frustrations.

Taipei is dead.

Anyway, not a happy vibe in Taiwan in terms of the TEFL scene.
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Ferfichkin



Joined: 07 Jul 2005
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have you tried other parts of Taiwan? At the end of the day, employment opportunities in Taiwan, like anywhere else, come down to the ratio of supply and demand. Taipei has the largest demand for English teachers, but it also has by far the largest supply; there are more foreigners in Taipei than anywhere else on the island. That, in my opinion, creates a lousy supply/demand ratio, especially for people new to the country.

From what I'd seen, the best supply/demand ratio appears to be in places like Taoyuan and Hsinchu. Both places have a relatively high per capita income, which means that parents can afford to send their children to cram school, which means there is a reasonable demand for English teachers. The other side of the equation is supply. There are far fewer foreigners in both of those places, so there is less supply to meet the demand.

If I were you, I would get out of Taipei, and especially Taipei City. I would catch a train to Taoyuan and/or Hsinchu and pound the pavement. I think you would have a much better chance of finding work that way.

Good luck!
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:22 am    Post subject: Re: Taiwan is Dead Reply with quote

Solar Strength wrote:


Taipei is dead.

Anyway, not a happy vibe in Taiwan in terms of the TEFL scene.


Not just Taipei, but the whole country. Why on earth didn't you read the advice on these forums before hitting Taiwan? The place really is dead and there is nothing to offer the qualified tefler in terms of pay or job prospects. Also the country offers nothing in the way of culture or cuisine and forget the dating game because the fact that there are far more men chasing fewer women makes it virtually impossible to hook a stunner. Much better off exploring other options in the region, say in SE Asia, for a much better experience all round.
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Ferfichkin



Joined: 07 Jul 2005
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Also the country offers nothing in the way of culture or cuisine


I think Taiwanese culture is interesting, and I think a lot of the food is delicious.

Quote:
forget the dating game because the fact that there are far more men chasing fewer women makes it virtually impossible to hook a stunner.


My wife is Taiwanese. Virtually every foreigner I have ever met has had a Taiwanese girlfriend at some point. Beyond that, what you're saying just doesn't pass the sniff test. I mean, how many times have you heard, "Oh man, it's a nightmare for a white guy to get a girlfriend in Asia?" So far, I've heard it once.
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plumpy nut



Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 6:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might try getting a teaching license. Either that or you're going to have to try another country. It's no good losing money spending too much time searching.
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doomer



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One can't always extrapolate personal experience to generalize the whole.

The numbers say TW is NOT dead: Number of Foreign Teachers in TW.That's 6,000+ FTs on normal working permits/ARCs. Double from a decade ago. Also, these figures don't include long-termers: JFRVs (married to TWese), +5yr permanent residents (APRCs), and others with open permits. I'm the latter, so I'm not officially declared as an FT.

Low hour work permits (minimum 14/wk) shouldn't be rejected off-hand. It's easy to get hours at other places. Many smaller chains don't guarantee max block hours to newbies, who are unknown quantities & at higher risk for garnering student complaints. Hours grow after you've proven you have good student retention rates.

I'm guessing the avg TEFLer stays for 1-3yrs, and then leaves. Not everybody likes TW or any given school, so turnover for individual schools is normal. And TEFLers usually give notice only 1 month in advance, 1-2 weeks, or 0 days. Schools often can't predict when.

So when you're pounding pavement, make sure you're armed with well-done resumes w/ good pics. They're for dropping off at schools to be remembered when an opening does occur. Resumes on file save them time, trouble, & money.

So if they decide to keep your resume = a great sign. Bad if they don't. It's how I got my 1st job: answered an ad for a large chain, visited, they said no, but 1mo later they called me up - another FT had fled with 0 notice. The job wasn't too bad - stayed 5 yrs.

It's far easier to get a job if you're: white, female, look younger, not too overweight, avg attractiveness or above, neat in appearance, personable, BA degree, avg English language skills or above. Roughly in that order. This is mostly driven by customer/student demand, & not employer preference. Adjust yourself accordingly. That said, I'm not white and I still got a job.

If all else fails, work for a large chain (they hire year around) or use a recruiter. Either way, it's normal for many to stay for year 1, then jump ship in year 2 after you know your way around, and have done more on--ground research & networking.

In my 15 yrs in TPE, I've rarely heard of anyone not getting a job after 2 months (unless you're non-white). Normal is 2wks-1mo.

And as Ferfichkin says, smaller cities & rural areas = less popular, so there's less competition. Rural areas likely depend on recruiters.

GL in whatever you decide.
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ferfichkin wrote:
I think Taiwanese culture is interesting, and I think a lot of the food is delicious.


OK, that's your preference, but I prefer the food in Thailand for example.

Quote:
I mean, how many times have you heard, "Oh man, it's a nightmare for a white guy to get a girlfriend in Asia?" So far, I've heard it once.


I would agree if you say "Asia", but not necessarily if you say "Taiwan". The problem with Taiwan is that boys are preferred at birth, and this fact has skewed the sex ratios, with boys outnumbering girls. In other countries in Asia where there is no particular preference for boys at birth, it is more easier to find girlfriends . . . and they tend to be hotter too. Again I'm thinking of Thailand and the Philippines and other countries in SE Asia.
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Ferfichkin



Joined: 07 Jul 2005
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 10:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I would agree if you say "Asia", but not necessarily if you say "Taiwan". The problem with Taiwan is that boys are preferred at birth, and this fact has skewed the sex ratios, with boys outnumbering girls. In other countries in Asia where there is no particular preference for boys at birth, it is more easier to find girlfriends . . . and they tend to be hotter too. Again I'm thinking of Thailand and the Philippines and other countries in SE Asia.


I've seen western guys with beautiful girlfriends in many countries in Asia, including Taiwan. The idea that it's "virtually impossible" to get a beautiful girlfriend in Taiwan is ridiculous.
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plumpy nut



Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652

PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

doomer wrote:
One can't always extrapolate personal experience to generalize the whole.

The numbers say TW is NOT dead: Number of Foreign Teachers in TW.That's 6,000+ FTs on normal working permits/ARCs. Double from a decade ago.


The problem is that teachers have and are coming in droves having discovered you can teach overseas when there is no jobs at home.
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doomer



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Plumpy nut:

Just disputing the claims that "Taipei is dead as a TEFL center", or that demand is "low to non-existent". I certainly didn't mean to suggest the opposite, that TW is booming & employers are desperate.

Whether droves of job seekers are currently in TW, I don't think anyone has the numbers. You may or may not be right.

It's Feb 8, only 3 working days this month so far due to CNY. Normal schools haven't even opened yet, but most should have already filled their positions before CNY last month. Yet Tealit has 31 job listings posted since Feb 1.

But yes, it's a buyer's market (as in employers buying labor). So employers can be pickier about who they hire... and workers can't be too picky about jobs. Which means the latter have to adjust themselves accordingly if they're not getting offers (or rejecting them).

I was asked to observe demos at a small chain for a brief period 2 yrs back. They stopped asking me after I started rejecting too many people. They hired using criteria similar to what I listed in the post above. They did seriously look at resumes: not much else to go on, and they can't interview & demo everybody. Good photo, high educational background, good writing (clear & concise with no errors), & work experience that's relevant, respectable, or interesting, all stand out. Roughly in that order. You'd be surprised how crappy many resumes are. Some aspects of people do show through in their writing.

As I said, adjust accordingly. GL.


Last edited by doomer on Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Spelunker



Joined: 03 Nov 2013
Posts: 392

PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 3:04 am    Post subject: doesnt sound good Reply with quote

This nonsense about having a work permit already BOGGLES the mind! Rolling Eyes
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 8:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

doomer wrote:
So when you're pounding pavement, make sure you're armed with well-done resumes w/ good pics. They're for dropping off at schools to be remembered when an opening does occur. Resumes on file save them time, trouble, & money.


This is bad advice. You should not come here unless you either have a job lined up first or have bags of money to tie you over. Taipei is not cheap, and the streets are not paved with gold. Things used to be better back in the old days, but now it's hard to find work because of the over-supply of cheap unqualified teachers and the fact that the falling birth rate means that fewer students are coming online. Don't take the advice of doomer . . . the name is a warning.
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doomer



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spelunker:

Places requiring you to have a work permit mostly have P/T hours.

In general, in order for any business to offer a work permit to a foreigner, a certain annual revenue number must be met. I'm not sure about the exact number, but it's in the NT X millions. For every X millions, you can hire 1 foreigner. That's why schools don't want to waste their quota on a P/T employee. Not to mention the additional paperwork, fees, & other legal ramifications.

Small mom & pop schools don't make X millions, so they rarely give out work permits.

It's extremely normal for long-termers to have 2 P/T jobs, because pay is usually higher & block hours are rarer.

Take any job that offers a work permit no matter how low the hours, then look for a 2nd P/T job.

Again, the most common procedure is to work at a larger chain for year 1, then jump ship for year 2 after more on-ground research.

GL
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doomer



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 9:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regarding what romanworld says:

Well, not worth responding to in detail. People can decide for themselves who sounds like they know what they're talking about, & what content seems more accurate. Everybody has a reason or "agenda" for posting.

Frankly, romanworld sounds like a failed job seeker who couldn't compete against "cheap, unqualified teachers", or someone who had a very bad experience in TW & just didn't like it. Again, TW isn't for everybody - with regards to culture, food, or dating.

I'm clearly not a doomer when it comes to TEFL in TW. It's not booming, but it's not dead. Only the Middle East has TEFL markets paved with gold (funded by oil). Once that oil runs dry, those markets will contract. That won't happen for a decade minimum.

If we were to just evaluate users by usernames, then we could all assume that romanworld is stuck in an idealized past, and knows very little about the modern world in Taiwan.

No further comment to his posts.
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Spelunker



Joined: 03 Nov 2013
Posts: 392

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:27 am    Post subject: from what im hearing.... Reply with quote

My email box is getting stuffed with offers due to my having experience in China and fluency in mandarin.

The only setback is I don't have police clearance to work in Taiwan, but there seems to be plenty of work for those who want it. Seems some people expect to be picking gold from the streets. If you want to teach kids I think there is a ton of work going....not that I like kids myself personally.

I've heard working teaching adults is also not a problem from a source in HK. Just keep at it....and good luck.
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