Job Discussion Forums

Ledie · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 24 Location: Toronto, Canada

Anyone ever heard of him Question

logician · Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 70

Ledie · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 24 Location: Toronto, Canada

I got:

"locate in Taichung city, Elementary looking for 1 full time TESOL or TEFL teacher start ASAP, Mon~Fri, no more then 5 hours teaching per day, also 2 office hours per day, and 1 hour lunch break, school pay $NT55000~58000per month, plus Work Permit...more. Kid's age from 8~14 years old."

which is a worse deal than what you got!

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

Don't even try to get a job before you get here. Use your head and protect yourself. You could end up working in a nowhere town for nothing money with a lousy contract. What's worse, you could get seriously ripped off by the usually scumbag, totally unnecessary, in-it-for-the-money-who-cares-what-happens-to-you recruiter. Jobs are quite plentiful here. It really is EASY to get a job here yourself once you actually get here. Don't give me that "I want security and a job before I leave" scared newbie nonsense. Get here, look around, get over the jet lag a little, decide where you really want to live, then find the job. But I suppose you'll probably need to learn your lesson the hard way... Rolling Eyes

Ledie · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 24 Location: Toronto, Canada

Thanks for the advice.
I will just show up and see what happens.
I'm just worried about all the visa issues that I'm actually still a little confused about...

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

Please read this,
http://www.geocities.com/taiwanteacher2002/Success.html
Good luck,
A.

Pop Fly · Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 429

matchstick_man · Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 244 Location: Taiwan

If my English skills and time in Taiwan doesn't fail me "No more than" means possibly less than. It is highly likely the five hours will only be on a Wednesday. I used this recruiter as I know people who have found good jobs through him.....however I found a job on my own. Use more than one avenue to find a job just like you would back home.

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

David Huang is a recruiter who works for a recruting service called Dewey. (Da Wei) is Chinese for David.
Don't use a recruiter!
Good luck,
A.

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

Being confused about the visa issues is normal. The procedure for obtaining a multiple entry 60 day visa is confusing and unnecessarily troublesome (not to mention your first experience with the mirky bureacracy of Taiwan). First, don't tell the teco office that you intend to teach here. They know you actually do, but they just want you to lie (don't ask me why) and they won't issue a 60 day ME to teachers. I got my 60 day ME visa by submitting an itinerary that had me in the country the better part of 60 days. I also produced a bank statement showing I had enough cash to support myself for the whole of my stay. I secured a multiple entry by convincing the teco people that my "trip" would likely include multiple excursions to nearby countries, to be decided on upon arrival in Taiwan (hence demonstrating a need to obtain a means of re-entering). All of the above was a total fabrication, and all parties involved knew it. You can use this excuse or another that other people might tell you; or you can come up with your own. The key here is not to tell the teco office that you are a teacher (I don't even recommend putting that in the space where they ask for your occupation). I hope that gives you some help concerning the procedure (game, pain in the @ss, hassle...) for obtaining the ideal visa.

logician · Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 70

Some more gems of recruiting offers -- jobs that offer $450 to $500 NT per hour!
Offer from Joy:

Actual Teaching Hours: 22 teaching hours with 10 office hours for preparing lessons per week ; afternoons & evenings teaching.
Salary: 55,000NT$ with 3,000NT$ housing subsidies monthly.

Offer from Giraffe:

Actual Teaching Hours: 80hours/month with 5 office hours per week.
Salary: by hour pay; NT$50,000

Note to newcomers: You can do better than this. You can get 600 NTD per hour with a CELTA and no experience.

Ki · Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 475

When recruiters advertise a variable rate, like $50,000-70,000, the offer they give will be the lower extreme of this rate. At no stage will they give you $70,000, unless you are teaching something ridiculous like 35 hours a week.

There is a recruiter called Cosmos who has a similar dubious contract. They offer many benefits but don't actually give them to you, like your last month's pay.
Ki.

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

Just a suggestion for those who monitor this site... Would it be possible to post a "sticky" conveying some of the possible risks of using recruiters in Taiwan? I know Tealit has a rather informative article on the subject. I think it would be useful for some sort of permanent information source to be posted on the first page of this forum as many of the questions here involve recruiters. Prospective teachers need to be informed.

Dr_Zoidberg · Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 11:09 pm Post subject:

David Huang has also contacted me. His offers weren't anything out of the ordinary. That is to say what he offered seemed par for the course when compared to anything else posted on the Internet.

My problem with him was when it came down to a commitment. He backed off real fast, telling me the school would rather interview after I arrived (previously, he had told me there would be a telephone interview). He ended his communication with me by telling me to contact him again after I got to Taichung.

I agree with what was said previously, his offers are underwhelming.