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keltravelgal
Joined: 30 Apr 2005
Posts: 6
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 Posted: Sat May 07, 2005 12:42 pm Post subject: Need your help for job search! |
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First off....I think it's so cool that you all are sharing your knowledge on this message board!
I've read thru many of the posts...but I'm still a little unsure of how to secure a job. I'll be coming to Taipei around August 24th...in hopes of starting by September 1st.
I'm 30 years old...Canadian....BA, college diploma....and just got Tesol certificate. Excellent communicator (radio) and worked ith kids at summer camps and co-ops at grade school--although that was about 9 years ago.
Now, I was going to try and hook up a job before I arrive, but after reading this board, you all seem to advise against that. Soooooo-
need your help! If I simply arrive in Taipei and set up in a hostel for a week or two....how should I go about finding a job? There seem to be thousands of schools! How do I introduce myself to them...or find out if they have any openings???
And what documentation will I need. I have scanned all my degree's and reference letters etc....should I bring a few copies or should I just wait and put together packages when I get there. And, how much work can I expect to get at first. Will it be a scenario like the school will give me a few hours to prove myself...and more will follow?
I'm looking to work with kiddies, all the way up to teenagers....and at least 30 hours a week (hoping to save!)
Thanks so much for your help!
Kel |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Sat May 07, 2005 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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You may want to come a week or two earlier to give yourself time to adjust before looking for a job. Other than that your timing looks about right.
I would strongly recommend that you actually come to Taiwan before you agree to accept a position.
Often the offers detailed on the internet or through an agent are far from what the actual job requires or compensates.
Be advised that wages on Taiwan are on a downturn across the board for foreign teachers.
Take your first job in Taipei. You will have a much easier time of it and won't get dragged over the coals the first time you make a mistake.
http://www.geocities.com/taiwanteacher2002/Success.html
Please read this.
Good luck.
A. |
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gregoryfromcali
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 1207
Location: People's Republic of Shanghai
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| Posted: Sat May 07, 2005 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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(I agree this board is invaluable for newbies.)
I too have been looking for work with a chain school. Although when I visited Taipei last summer it did seem like it was easy to find work I am concerned about getting my ARC card.
Is it easy to find a non-chain school that will help me get an ARC card?
I too will arrive in Taiwan in the September. When in September should I arrive? When do the classes begin in the Fall/Autumn?
After teaching in Europe for two years I am hoping to teach advanced adults as it the area I feel most comfortable with. Do adult schools look for teachers in September too?
Thanks in advance.
G |
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clark.w.griswald
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 2056
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 4:02 am Post subject: Re: Need your help for job search! |
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| keltravelgal wrote: |
| Now, I was going to try and hook up a job before I arrive, but after reading this board, you all seem to advise against that. |
In my opinion you should do your job search and research of potential schools prior to arriving. This is the purpose of sites such as www.buxiban.com where you can find a list of schools and then read a bit about each including comments from ex-teachers where available.
You can also use Daves for info about schools that are of interest to you. Just post a request here and see if anyone has any first hand info.
The aim is to line up interviews at potential schools so that you have an almost full schedule of interviews in the week after your arrival. You do this all before you arrive here. Some schools will want to do a phone interview with you before you arrive, but as it is done at their cost it shouldn't be a problem for you. Just don't sign a contract before a school or recruiter before you arrive.
Once you get here you can interview with the schools you had previously contacted, as well as any others that you discover once you are here. Everything else being equal, you should expect to land a job offer within a week or so.
| keltravelgal wrote: |
| How do I introduce myself to them...or find out if they have any openings??? |
Check out web boards for job ads and apply to these requesting an interview during the first week you will arrive. Make firm arrangements here if you can including day and time as it shows that you are serious. Avoid suggestions of just calling them after you arrive.
Email seems to be the most convenient way to do this, but you are at a distinct disadvantage if you don't have a local contact number. Many schools will prefer to call you rather than send a return email. You can rectify this by getting a cellphone as soon as you get here.
Walk ins are one way, but can be very time consuming. Another downside is that often the counter staff aren't very helpful as either their English ability is lacking or because they are kept out of the loop by bosses.
| keltravelgal wrote: |
| And what documentation will I need. I have scanned all my degree's and reference letters etc....should I bring a few copies or should I just wait and put together packages when I get there. |
You can make photocopies at most convenience stores here quite cheaply.
You will need your CV and a copy of your degree. Don't forget to bring your original degree certificate, but remember that you don't need to give it to any school, they just need to see it. You keep it at all times.
| keltravelgal wrote: |
| And, how much work can I expect to get at first. Will it be a scenario like the school will give me a few hours to prove myself...and more will follow? |
For legal work you should expect to get at least 14 hours a week, but you are correct in assuming that many schools will start you out on the lower scale and then increase your hours once they know you can handle the work. This will depend upon how badly the school needs a teacher to teach classes as well as scheduling concerns.
| keltravelgal wrote: |
| I'm looking to work with kiddies, all the way up to teenagers....and at least 30 hours a week (hoping to save!) |
It may prove difficult to get 30 hours to start with or even a promise of 30 hours in the future.
I would recommend that you choose a larger school or chain if you want a lot of hours. You are more likely to be able to pick up extra hours that way. If you go for a small independant school they may be restricted in how many hours they can ever offer you. |
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clark.w.griswald
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 2056
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 4:10 am Post subject: |
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| gregoryfromcali wrote: |
| I too have been looking for work with a chain school. |
I think chains are the best place for newbies in Taiwan to start out. You know that you will be legal, you know that you will get the hours promised to you in the contract, you get training and support, you get a curriculum plus teaching materials, and you know that you will get the money you earn. There is at least one person on this board who recommends that chains be avoided but this person has never suggested a reason for this so this advice can probably be safely ignored. The only downside to chains can be that some of them suffer from 'micro-management'.
| gregoryfromcali wrote: |
| Is it easy to find a non-chain school that will help me get an ARC card? |
There are plenty of independant buxiban's that can give you legal work with an ARC. The problem is of course determining which schools can do this, and which ones can't. The biggest problem with these independants is the schools who promise that they can get you an ARC and then provide you with one through another employer. Any teacher working in such a situation is working illegally. You need to confirm that the employer name on your ARC is the same Chinese name on the schools certficate of registration.
Probably the easiest way to check this is to check with any foreign teachers currently at the school. If they don't have their ARC's yet or if the names don't match up then it may be best to avoid that school.
| gregoryfromcali wrote: |
| I too will arrive in Taiwan in the September. When in September should I arrive? When do the classes begin in the Fall/Autumn? |
Classes at buxibans begin anytime. There are tax disadvantages to arriving after the end of June (see here for this information), but assuming that you can't arrive earlier, I would recommend that you arrive as late in the year as you can to cut down on your tax losses. |
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wood
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 202
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 10:19 am Post subject: |
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Thirty hours per week starting won't be easy to get to someone new in Taiwan. Starting with a chain will make it more likely, however. Work is
never hard to find here, as long as you're willing to do the WORK. |
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Girl Scout
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Inbetween worlds
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| Posted: Mon May 09, 2005 9:46 am Post subject: |
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As long as the school can provide you with a legal ARC you should consider working there. If the school doesn't offer you 30 hours a week don't let that stop you from signing a contract. The most important thing is the ARC. Once you are settled and over the initial culture shock you can arrange to teach some privates. You can work as many hours as you feel you need doing privates
Overworking when you first arrive is a good way to burn out fast. 30 hours a week is a lot of work. That is my contact hours currently and I would not suggest it for a newbie. |
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gregoryfromcali
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 1207
Location: People's Republic of Shanghai
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| Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 9:16 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| As long as the school can provide you with a legal ARC you should consider working there. |
Thanks for the feedback.
Once I get the ARC will it still be good after my year long contract?
I am considering signing with a chain school (yes I can hear the sighs already) for this reason.
Well also because I look Chinese and I don't want to deal not being hired just for that reason. After teaching for two years I think something like that would just make me want to leave.
By the way what is the going rate for privates? |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 9:40 am Post subject: |
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Your ARC is nothing more than permission from the government to reside in Taiwan. It does not guarantee you any rights or privileges to work or much else. Your employer must have a valid work permit or "ownership papers" for you to work at that particular school for your ARC to remain valid. Leave your job for any reason and you have 14 days to leave the country or find another master.
All work permits on Taiwan are modeled after the US H1B visa or I should say the US H1B visa is modeled after Taiwan's work visa for foreign nationals on Taiwan.
Your ARC is only valid so long as your employer wants it to be.
Welcome to Taiwan!
A. |
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clark.w.griswald
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 2056
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| Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 11:46 am Post subject: |
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Not sure what the post above means, but in answer to your question please find the following.
| gregoryfromcali wrote: |
| Once I get the ARC will it still be good after my year long contract? |
The ARC is pretty much an identity card that doesn't have an expiration date. The ARC is dependant upon your visa however, and your resident visa will be dependant upon your work permit. If you leave your employer, or if your contract expires and you don't renew, then your work permit will become invalid. This in turn sees that your resident visa and ARC become invalid. It's a bit like a stack of cards that all relies upon the work permit.
The system now allows you to add a second employer, and change between employers quite readily, so there should be no reason for you to lose your ARC. If you do lose your work permit by leaving a job then you will need to re-apply from scratch.
| gregoryfromcali wrote: |
| I am considering signing with a chain school (yes I can hear the sighs already) for this reason. |
Sighs of relief? I think going with a chain is a smart move for a newbie to Taiwan, and have never heard any substantiated argument against working for chains.
| gregoryfromcali wrote: |
| By the way what is the going rate for privates? |
I guess that the rate depends upon how good you are. No matter what rate you choose, if you are a good teacher then you can maintain your students even if you are expensive. If you are not so good but charge too much then you can probably expect your students to stop the class pretty early on. You should expect to get NTD600-800 per hour for privates. |
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