Job Discussion Forums

[kev7161]

Well, I'm back. First off, let me say my school has "promised" me a contract to sign next week while reassuring me my 1000rmb raise and a larger classroom next year (my two main requests in order to return). BUT, I'm still snooping around looking at other locations. I decided against S. Korea due to the seeming lack of holiday time (China has REALLY spoiled me as has my current school by giving me two months PAID summer vacation + one month PAID Spring Festival + two more weeks on top of that).

Taiwan has caught my eye with possible job offers of about $1900 US for a forty-hour work week (22-24 periods + office hours) + 5000NT per month for housing/utilities (or live on-campus for free). Taiwan could be interesting, change of pace and, as this is technically my last year, a way to build up cash reserves quicker due to the higher salary. Truth be told, I'm working just about 40 hours now even though 11:30 to 1:30 is "rest time" - - ha!!!, so the burden woudln't be that much more.

Just wanting to get Taiwan info from anyone in the know. Advice? Positives? Negatives? Horror stories? What do you know about holidays there as well as housing and stuff (let's assume Taipei)? Thanks in advance for anyone that has any insights.

[7969]

i worked in taiwan for six months with an agent. she found the work, and wrote up a schedule for me, i went to the classes. the thing is that she wanted me to work more than i was happy working (she got a cut of the moneythe schools paid for each class). i was probably working about 35-40 hours per week, incl prep time and i had to drive a lot to different towns and classes as i was living in a smallish city outside of tainan.

you can make more money in taiwan than china, but you'll work more too. lets say, double the work but 3.5 times the salary. seemed to me that most jobs in taiwan paid by the hour as well. and none of these jobs where you only have 12 hours in a class and the rest of the week free. in that respect, taiwan is closer to korea. as for holidays, seems to me that the majority of the jobs in taiwan are bushiban jobs, cram schools for english, much like the hogwons in korea, so not a lot of holidays. the money can be comparable to korea but its cheaper to live in most parts of taiwan, and they dont get any cold weather, for the most part.

i liked taiwan, but i prefer china since i have more free time here, and for me, free time is more important than cash.

[kev7161]

Okay, let me clarify the job offer a little more clearly then:

8-5 M-F, 22-24 periods, with the rest office time (again, this is pretty nearly my hours here, but I tend to work over my 2 hour lunch period and I leave around 4pm). OT, if I get it, is extra pay.

I'd be teaching in a public high school or junior middle school situation, so not a language mill.

Again, 5000NT for living expenxes on top of the almost 61,000NT (so around USD 2000-2100).

Plus the usual RT airfare, bonus salary at the end of the contract, medical . . .

So, the offer seems pretty good and solid, but I'm just more curious of how is Taiwan in comparison to China. I'm reading the Taiwan message board, but just thought I'd throw it out here as well.

[Sinko]

Kev, I think you should go for it! Moving on has been on your mind now for a while and this Taiwanese position sounds something up your alley. Take the same approach like you did when you first came here to China- "I'll give it a go". It will be a new experience but certainly no worse than here and the year will go quickly. And, of course, you will make more money.
Yeah......go for it!!

[kev7161]

Actually, moving on hasn't really been on my mind too much as my current position is certainly satisfactory. Yes, I've mused about Korea and am now musing about Taiwan, but I may well just stay put so as not to have to pack it all up and unpack it elsewhere.

But, the curiosity factor sure has my feet itching and I certainly need to garner much more information in the last few weeks of my current contract. A friend was visiting this weekend and was advising me to just find a PT job here a couple nights a week or on Saturday and just stay put. "The devil you know . . . " he said. (although I would not categorize my school as "devilish")

(You know him Sinko, a tall S. African lad from SCHM)

[7969]

the most interesting thing about taiwan, for me, is the country's history, and relative international isolation, largely due to china's actions. unlike most parts of china, taiwan still has lots of interesting things to see, for me, of interest were the little temples tucked away in all kinds of places. you could see them in some obvious places and some not so obvious. also, i think taiwan has the best iced tea stands in the world.

7969

[SpedEd]

I'm a newbie to Taiwan and I came here after working a stint in Korea. I had to leave Korea by the 12th of May because my work visa expired, so I decided to check out Taiwan. Well, I didn't expect to get concurrent culture shock, but Taiwan seems to have brought it on.
I knew I was in for a challenge to stay here for any length of time when I first stepped outside of Taipei airport - the suffocating humidity! The traffic and smog here is too hardcore for me. Also, the fact that there aren't really any sidewalks here. I'm currently in Huwei, but a couple of locals have assured me that it's the same in the rest of Taiwan. I can't understand that (no room, I guess).
On the flip side, the locals are quite a bit more friendlier and easygoing compared to many Koreans. However, Huwei is a very small city by Asian standards, so I don't know how they behave in the big cities of Taiwan.
All in all, I really miss the "luxuries" of Korea, ie., relatively clean streets, walking space, cleaner air, not-quite suicidal traffic, and an overall cleaned up look compared to my Taiwan experience. Add to that the fact that you will earn considerably more in Korea with a higher salary usually with optional overtime and the employer will almost always pay for the teacher's fully furnished accomodations and fly you there on a roundtrip ticket from where you may be all up front.

[7969]

southern taiwan, tainan (city) and county, kaohsiung and further south are the nicest parts of taiwan. kaohsiung in particular, on the seaside, good mix of restaurants and nightlife, good shopping and its quite clean, in my opinion. not to mention the mountainous interior and the much more relaxed east coast of taiwan (ilan and hualien). taichung can also be a good place to live. huwei is central taiwan, i think, near chiayi, which isnt far from where i lived and which is a rather uninteresting place.

i almost took a job at a small school in pingtung, near kaohsiung but i was still getting over culture shock at the time, and it was just a bit too taiwanese for me at the time. looking back on it, i'd love to go there now. taiwan's a great place and still largely undiscovered by foreigners, which is one of its appealing traits.

7969

[amandabarrick]