Job Discussion Forums

Zhanglang · Joined: 14 Apr 2007 Posts: 32

If you've been in Taiwan so long, let me ask you something else. Do you know anything about the intelligence facility on Yangming mountain there? Or anything about Taiwan's military or intelligence agencies? I would assume there are English teachers employed by them, or maybe even working for them. That might be interesting, assuming the pay isn't too low.

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

Miyazaki · Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 635 Location: My Father's Yacht

Zhanglang · Joined: 14 Apr 2007 Posts: 32

MOD EDIT

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

Here's another option for the * edit: the auto censor on this site "beeps out the English translation of Zhanglang, though it's merely a household pest*. Since you are married, and you suggest that your finances are in better than average shape, why not simply open a school of your own?

The largest single obstacle many of us face in our choices and opportunites here is the resident visa issue and what constitutes legal work for a foreign national. This won't be an issue for someone who is married to an ROC national. You'll be able to get the coveted JFRV which will give you open working rights (meaning you can pretty much do whatever you like). Open a restaurant if you'd like. You won't be limited by what a foreigner can legally obtain a work permit to do in Taiwan, since you won't need a work permit at all.

Zhanglang · Joined: 14 Apr 2007 Posts: 32

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

In any market, there's always room for specialty products and people who can do things better. Your degrees and experiences already make you more marketable than average. Open a small cram school, teach classes yourself and using your own reputation and teaching philospophy. You won't even have to be that big to give you an income several times that of employee teachers.

Cost? There is one owner who has been responding in some of these threads. I'll let him fill you in with the specifics of cost. I think a million nt would probably be sufficient.

But, hey, no need to start out with a sign on the door, store front operation. Just start out with private groups of students in your house. You don't need a work permit and you're not desperate for cash. Build up that way. I've known people to make serious money teaching groups of students out of their house, even more than some real schools because they don't have the over head.

Failure? The only failures I've seen among foreign owned schools have been when the foreigner burns out and doesn't put his heart into it. I know plenty of owners. Some are more successful than others, but none are losing money.

dangerousapple · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 292

It's only a good idea to open a school if you can commit 100% of your effort to it, and you either understand how Taiwanese think or have a business partner that does (and trust that person completely).

Owning a school is very hard work, and it's only successful if you enjoy the stress of running a business. I am first and foremost a teacher, but I love the business side of things as well. I absolutely love what I do!

BTW, 1 million can do it, but that's about as cheap as it gets. The paperwork alone can be 300K+. A rough estimate is 2 million for startup, plus the ability to bleed money for 6 months. If you can't make it work by then, you might have made a mistake.

Zhanglang · Joined: 14 Apr 2007 Posts: 32

dangerousapple · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 292

What you propose makes a lot more sense.

If your wife is Taiwanese, and you can get a JFRV through her, then you can work here legally without a work permit. Teach as many privates as you want! I know a number of people who do it and they are quite comfortable. If things go well and you decide to create a legitimate school it will be much easier for you.

You can teach out of your home, but you run the risk of getting caught running an illegal cram school if you get too big. There are some pretty hefty fines for that. But again, I know a number of people who do it.

Good luck!

Zhanglang · Joined: 14 Apr 2007 Posts: 32

Taylor · Joined: 24 Oct 2003 Posts: 384 Location: Texas/Taiwan

Dear Readers,

As for Kaohsiung, I agree with what dangerousapple posted. To get a good start, about $60K USD would be a good base figure.

However, I am sure that things are completely different in Taipei.

Dangerousapple has a reference to Kaohsiung at the bottom of his posts, so I presume that he is down here. With 60K USD, you would be looking for an older townhouse to rent.....near an elementary school.

The monthly rent would run you between 1K and 2K USD in most areas. You would need 100 to 150 students minimum to make it happen long-term. These would mostly be elementary school students, by the way.

More later, if anyone is interested.

Taylor
Kaohsiung
9 years

dangerousapple · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 292

Yeah, I should clarify...I teach kids, not adults, and I know about southern Taiwan far better than I know about northern Taiwan.

KaiFeng · Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 11:03 am Post subject:

My sole purpose in working ESL in Taiwan was to maximize cash flow and billable hours. I was ABD (All But Dissertation) the entire time I was there, but never completed the dissertation, because for the clientele I was working (corporate training) having a Ph.D. would hardly have enabled me to bill more than I was billing already.

For me the question was return on investment (ROI). How much time and money and hassle would go into a Ph.D., and how much more would it enable me to charge? I did not see the added income being worth the effort. If you have a few months before you come to Taiwan, my suggestion would be to do some volunteer tutoring, join clubs like Toastmasters, stuff like that. This will enhance the skills which will make you maximally successful in a classroom.

More generally I would read some books on negotiation, sales, networking, conversational skills, etc. These will help you to start building your cash flow from non-cram school sources. If you have the time to do some adjunct teaching in a community college, go for it, even if it is just a semester.

If you want to work the corporate market, where the best money is, I would add reading some business magazines (Fortune, BusinessWeek), a couple of copies of the Harvard Business Review, and one textbook on economics and one textbook on management. This helps establish you as a training professional, as opposed to a run-of-the-mill English teacher. You will be seen as talking their language. This worked for me 110% for year on year.

As for university teaching, it's safe and it's stable, but never pays well. I taught at a couple of universities (as an adjunct) and have several friends who teach in universities. They enjoy prestige and an iron rice bowl. They don't enjoy huge incomes.

I share your views on weapons, self-defense, etc., and grew up in a house full of weapons (ex-army father). Having said that, in twenty years in Taiwan, I never ever, not even once, felt the need for hardware for self-defense, for myself or my family. Nor did anyone I know, local or foreign. So, I would say the hardware is not likely to be necessary.