Job Discussion Forums

babyblue1882 · Joined: 02 Jun 2005 Posts: 3

Hi there,

I will be moving to Taiwan on the 27th of this month (June) and have yet to find a job. I am TEFL certified and as such am looking to teach English. I am just trying to find out where would be the best place to live and work in regard to convenience, good schools, relatively inexpensive accommodations and blah blah blah.

If anyone can provide me with any and all kinds of information that would be great. Even if you know of any schools that are currently hiring, I would be ever so grateful.

Thanks,
Kari

junkmail · Joined: 19 Dec 2004 Posts: 377

You say you're TEFL cetified. Do you have a BA/BS or a two year college diploma?

Welshguy · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 143

Hi,

There are a few hostels around the Main station in Taipei, assuming you are heading there, some of them are frankly awful, the Taipei Hostel is probably the best of a bad bunch. You can pick up work there because the locals will phone around the hostels for staff from time to time. The best bet when you get on your feet is to rent a flat as soon as poss. You can find a decent standard for 10-20000 NT a month if you look at places on the edge of the city. The underground is really good, cheap, efficient and clean. Gigs in smaller towns/cities/villages can be easier to come by and sometimes pay more.

Work is largely kid centered and pretty easy to pick up, avoid agents at all costs if you possibly can because they are without exception a bunch of scum who will be bleeding you every step of the way. The standard kindy gid pays 60-70000 NT a month for four or so hours a day. I was getting 1000 NT per hour for running a business english course The kids can be an absolute delight if you like kids that is. Business gigs are a little harder to come by but tend to pay higher. Good private students are a treasure though its a pretty fickle market. There is other work available, editing, film work and being the english expert in a company. I have a law degree and was able to get involved with companies in that field. I was shocked to find qualifed lawyers earning less than my kindy teachers salary as Taiwan is a difficult place to qualify in.

Your degree and TEFL should make you a shoe in as far as immigration is concerned though they can be funny about what constitutes an acceptable degree sometimes. Schools often prefer Canadian and American accents for some reason, probably to do with T.V or something.

Check the websites (| I reccomend TEALIT.com though others somewhere on this thread reckon there is a better site) and english language newspapers such as the China Post and the Taipei Times . Obviously there will be a few people chasing the same numbers.

Hope this is of some use to you.

Happy Trails.

W

babyblue1882 · Joined: 02 Jun 2005 Posts: 3

cbbrsccr9 · Joined: 08 Jun 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Minneapolis

Anyone,

Hi, i'm also moving to Taiwan in August. I have done a lot of researching and have spoken to people about whether or not finding a job before i go, or finding a job when i arrive. What city are you going to? What steps have you taken to prepare yourself before the move. I'm not to sure what exactly I have to do. I am assuming I need a visitor Visa first, and then when i arrive I obtain a working visa? I'm looking for advice from anyone. If anyone can help. Please reply. Thanks.

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

cbbrsccr9 wrote:

Anyone,

Hi, i'm also moving to Taiwan in August. I have done a lot of researching and have spoken to people about whether or not finding a job before i go, or finding a job when i arrive. What city are you going to? What steps have you taken to prepare yourself before the move. I'm not to sure what exactly I have to do. I am assuming I need a visitor Visa first, and then when i arrive I obtain a working visa? I'm looking for advice from anyone. If anyone can help. Please reply. Thanks.

I have lived in three different Asian countries. Taiwan is the present one. You can enter Taiwan with a tourist visa, but then you will need to have a round trip ticket to show when you are leaving. If you have enough money you can find a job. The above post about staying at a hostal is good advice.
Once you get a job, you will have to leave Taiwan to get your passbook stamped with a working visa. Why they don't just stamp it in Taiwan is beyond me?
Have you tried getting job before moving here? That would be a lot less costly. Remember most schools in Taiwan pay you a month late so you are going to need a lot of money.
Well good luck!

Ki · Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 475

Don't get a job before you come here. It will be a lot MORE costly in the long run. On the other hand, don't wait too long to find a job once you arrive. Schools generally pay either 5 or 10 days after the end of the working month. So that your salary/wages for January will be paid on the 5th/10th of February. I didn't need to leave Taiwan to get my working visa. Big John Stud, did you have a 30 day landing visa? The 60 day visitor's visa will be fine.

Girl Scout · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 525 Location: Inbetween worlds

Ki is right. Get a 60-day multi enrty tourist visa before you leave. You don't want to come to TW and get a landing visa. The cost of a visa run is a big expense for someone who has not yet received their first paycheck.

cbbrsccr9 · Joined: 08 Jun 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Minneapolis

Anyone,
For anyone who has moved to Taiwan w/o a job how long did or does it take you to find a teaching position? How my uch money would I need initally for the first month? Is it spendy to wire money back to the US? I have some credit Card debt along with school loans. I don't want to be in the US anymore but i don't see the CC debt going away anytime soon, and i urgently want to get overseas. I figure by teaching, its a good way to save money and pay off my debt---a lot quicker than if i was to stay here in Minneapolis. And am i best off getting a job in Taiwan in the months of July or August, compared to September, Oct, or Nov? Hopefully someone can help me out....Thanks to whoever does....I greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

Ki wrote:

Don't get a job before you come here. It will be a lot MORE costly in the long run. On the other hand, don't wait too long to find a job once you arrive. Schools generally pay either 5 or 10 days after the end of the working month. So that your salary/wages for January will be paid on the 5th/10th of February. I didn't need to leave Taiwan to get my working visa. Big John Stud, did you have a 30 day landing visa? The 60 day visitor's visa will be fine.

I had the 30 day landing visa. You didn't have to leave Taiwan to get a working visa? Did they change the law? I know Japan changed the law. Korea one still has to leave.
Are you sure, it is better to find a job after arriving? I am just concern about the cost. The OP is already in dept.
I think the 60 day Visitor's visa cost Americans $100 U.S. dollars. But worth it because a visa run is expensive.

Ki · Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 475

As far as concerning the college diploma, I would be hesitant to say that it will qualify you to get a work permit. Maybe it will. Maybe not. Get the 60 day muti entry visa if you can to make sure and plan to work illegally. You may not have any other choice (except to stay home).

I did hear that it may be possible to get a work permit on the landing visa. I don't know. 30 days doesn't give you a lot of time to sort yourself out and in the OP's circumstances 60 days would be much more convenient.

Sorry, I could find any suggestion that the OP was in debt. Having a job before you arrive will be less costly initially but over the course of one year you will find out exactly how much money you lose by doing so. That said, if you really don't have any teaching experience then signing up with a chain school which recruits overseas isn't necessarily a bad option. Just don't sign with a recruiter from overseas. Bad news there.

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

gregoryfromcali · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:09 am Post subject:

clark.w.griswald · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2056

Ki · Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 475

Clark,
Out of curiosity roughly what percentages of foreign teachers in Taiwan teach buxiban, adults, kindergarten, or university as the main occupation. Roughly how many are working "legally" and how many illegally (ie without an ARC). [I know the definition between legal and illegal is a big grey line.] I really have no idea but it seems to me that I know about as many kindergarten teachers here as I do buxiban teachers.

Greg- Work out where you will live and what time your martial arts training runs before making too many commitments. It seems that you have been checking out the information provided on a website rather than from an actual job offer. Don't take anything as fact until you get here and see for yourself. Buxibans will almost certainly make you work Saturdays. Kindergartens do not. Kindergarten classes will also finish by 6:00 at the very latest. Teach the kindy kids and take on some adult privates in your spare time.

Your Chinese blood will make it more difficult for you to find work. But it won't make it impossible. You will just need to look a little harder/longer.