Job Discussion Forums

[meganleb]

Hello everyone. I�m looking for some advice on this coming school year. I�m currently teaching EFL without a certification at a boarding school in Switzerland, but I can�t stay here next year due to visa problems. I want to continue teaching EFL somewhere else. As I have student loans, and need to make enough to continue to pay them, I�ve been told that Taiwan is a good place to look for a job.

I have a BA in Comparative Literature and a year of teaching experience, but no certification. My plan is to get the it over the summer at the ITC school in Zhuhai in July (Web Site), which would give me the month of August to find a job. My question is, is this enough time? Can I go into this feeling assured that I can get a job for next year? If I can�t, I�ll be in a lot of financial trouble.

I am also wondering if it would be a good idea to contact schools in Taiwan now, tell them up front that I don�t have the certification yet but I do have experience and would be certified by the time I get there. Is this a worthwhile avenue to pursue, or would I just be wasting my time?

My plan B is to go to the Prague ITC school, where they guarantee you a job right at that school as long as you pass with a good enough grade. This would guarantee me work for the next year, but not work that pays well enough to keep up with my loan payments. In that case I would have to defer my loans for that year, planning on heading to Taiwan the year after with an extra year of experience on my CV and a few more months to job search.

I have to make this decision very soon. I�ve talked to someone at the Prague school briefly and she told me there isn�t much time to enroll in the course if I want to go there. I am waiting for her to give me the contact information for the Zhuhai school (the email address provided on the web site for all of the branches of the school go to the Prague branch for some reason). Unfortunately the Zhuhai branch does not guarantee a job upon course completion like the Prague one does, or this whole business would be a lot easier.

Thanks very much for any advice you guys can offer!

[JZer]

You only need a B.A. to teach in Taiwan. No certificate is required.

[meganleb]

Are you sure? I have heard that the job market is starting to decline in Taiwan and that though it used to be easy to just stroll in with a BA and get a job, now you need a certification. I see that you are located in Taiwan - have you noticed it becoming more difficult for newcomers to get jobs?

If that is true, however, maybe it would be worth my while to contact schools now and tell them that I have a BA and experience and will have a certification before I get there (I still plan on getting it).

[babar6789]

The Taiwanese don't give a monkeys about certificates.

[JZer]

Next time someone actually ask me about know anything about teaching will be a first.

[meganleb]

Well that changes things a bit. I was under the impression that a TEFL certification made getting a job much easier.

I have been hearing, however, that the job market in Taiwan is crashing. Would it be worth my while to head over there looking for a job now (and would I make enough money to keep up with my student loan payments of US$172 per month as well as save up a bit), or am I better off going to Prague, getting the certification, and being guaranteed a job that I'll have to hope will pay enough (so I don't have to defer the loans)? Honestly I'd prefer to stay in Europe if I can, at least for now.

Another issue that's concerning me is visas. In Taiwan, is it possible to get the work visa in advance, or can I get it once I've gotten there without having to leave the country again? I am not currently living in the US, and while I have enough savings to keep me going for a month or two in a new country with a reasonably low cost of living, I don't really have enough to take a trip back to the states at any point in the near future. If the visa can't be done there or through the mail, it will make things much more difficult for me. Any tips there?

Thanks a lot, guys.

[JZer]

You need to apply for a 60 day visitors visa if you don't want to have to leave the country. That is standard practice. Furthermore you cannot tell TECO that you are coming to look for a job to teach English.

[JZer]

[JZer]

[BigWally]

[meganleb]

Well, I do have ovaries, a young face, and white skin, but brown hair and eyes and a decidedly boyish haircut (which I may be able to grow out in time to interview for a new job). I am wondering if I would be better off going to the Czech Republic after all for this first year, since I'm already so comfortable in Europe and it will ease me into the real EFL scene better than jumping into Asia right away. As my student loan payments are not high by American standards, I think I may be able to keep up with them if I find a decent job...

I'll post in the Czech Republic board as well for advice, now that I'm starting to lean in that direction, but I'll still gladly accept any tips about Taiwan.

[JZer]