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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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 Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:37 am Post subject: |
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| yamahuh wrote: |
| I can't see why anyone with an M.A would even be contemplating working at a Buxiban when they can work in the public school system for more money and pay 0 tax. |
Unless foreign teachers are exempt I believe that public school teachers are going to have to pay taxes again. I am not sure when that will start. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:38 am Post subject: |
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| yamahuh wrote: |
| I can't see why anyone with an M.A would even be contemplating working at a Buxiban when they can work in the public school system for more money and pay 0 tax. |
Except the public school jobs are rubish. Many want you to take two months off unpaid. That might be ok if you just want to work for a year but if you plan on staying that might be a little difficult. |
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zipper
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:26 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by zipper on Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mr. White
Joined: 09 Oct 2007
Posts: 36
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:26 am Post subject: Re: The Q. �Do you have an TEFL cert...?� irritates me! |
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| zipper wrote: |
I find it quite irritating when I receive a recruiter�s reply asking, �Thank you for contacting me. Please could you confirm if you possess a TEFL qualification.�, because I have already indicated that I don't have a TEFL certificate, and that I have over 15 years experience, and also posses a master degree. But the way they ask this is as if they are trying to look for a disqualifier against me. I mean, doesn�t 10 years of classroom experience beat a 100 hour TEFL certificate. They make it sound like if you don�t have this TEFL certificate then it�s a demerit against you.
Don�t get me wrong, I think that having a TEFL certificate is a good thing, and I plan of getting one, but not having one should not be weighed against someone that has over 15 years of teaching ESL experience. Through my experience I have acquired a lot of techniques to present concepts, grammar, activities, role plays, songs, chants, tests, writing, phonics, communicative approaches and others, and yet �oh, but you need the TEFL certificate to qualify for a job that almost requires no experience.� Things are getting very pathetic in this market today.
So, to hell with recruiters! I will hit the pavement myself, and since I have an ARC, then the challenge of getting something here ought to be less stressful. |
1. Ever declining birth rate in Taiwan
2. More money and investment leaving the country every year
3. More graduates coming to Taiwan in search of work
4. Parents demanding better value for money
5. More schools pre-screening applications by asking for a TEFL (basic qualification for teaching English).
6. An unprecedented explosion in TEFL course enrolment (worldwide)
7. Having a Masters in something unrelated, unqualified experience, or a 1000m swimming badge just doesn�t cut it nowadays.
So where does that leave you? Maybe spending your time on a forum moaning about the job market (and assuming recruiters are to blame  ).
Smell the coffee, get qualified and compete like the rest of us. Like most other industries, right? The global economy is going through tough times and people more than ever need to re-skill and keep up in the workplace.
Your ARC only remains valid while you have a work permit (within 2 weeks or so). |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:58 pm Post subject: |
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So where does that leave you? Maybe spending your time on a forum moaning about the job market (and assuming recruiters are to blame Rolling Eyes).
Smell the coffee, get qualified and compete like the rest of us. Like most other industries, right? The global economy is going through tough times and people more than ever need to re-skill and keep up in the workplace. |
Maybe you should wake up and smell the coffee. Knowing something about education is irrelevant when jobs in Taiwan never ask you any questions about teaching. Being white and giving an energetic demo will get you the job not knowing something about education. |
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zipper
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:16 pm Post subject: Re: The Q. �Do you have an TEFL cert...?� irritates me! |
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| Mr. White wrote: |
| Your ARC only remains valid while you have a work permit (within 2 weeks or so). |
Not my ARC. Mine is an open work permit, and I can work wherever I want. And I believe that it is still very easy to find in Job in Taiwan with my experience; despite not having a TEFL certificate. |
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Mr. White
Joined: 09 Oct 2007
Posts: 36
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 2:39 am Post subject: |
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I don�t understand your answer because earlier you said your experience should mean something, but now you say �Knowing something about education is irrelevant when jobs in Taiwan never ask you any questions about teaching. Being white and giving an energetic demo will get you the job not knowing something about education.�
I�m just saying the job market is changing and schools are increasingly screening applicants in new ways.
Zipper, I�m not saying you are unemployable or that you won't find a job. I am sure and hope you will. But I am saying that reality of change won�t go away and we all (me included) need to keep up with changes to put ourselves in the top half of the job hunters and better jobs. Capitalism, market forces, survival of the fittest, call it whatever you like. Lots of people get swept aside into marginal positions at times like this, but it�s something that can be avoided by re-skilling. |
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zipper
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:43 am Post subject: |
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Fair enough. I know a lot about education despite not having a TEFL certificate. Whatever.
Last edited by zipper on Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:25 am; edited 1 time in total |
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creztor
Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Posts: 476
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:10 am Post subject: |
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If you mean to do a one month course to get a TEFL certificate, then I think there are no places in Taiwan to do one? The closest is Thailand or the Philippines I think...
| zipper wrote: |
| Fair enough. Are there any good TEFL schools located in Changhua county? Or are there any good online ones worth checking out? |
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zipper
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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Last edited by zipper on Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:25 am; edited 1 time in total |
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yamahuh
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1033
Location: Karaoke Hell
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 2:41 am Post subject: |
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Sounds like a reasonable deal to me.
Don't know anything about them at all but if your only reason for obtaining a TEFL cert is to make yourself more attractive here or in China I'd say 'Go for it'. Something is better than nothing and let's face it, nobody ever asks you 'What kind of TEFL certificate do you have?"
That day may be coming but in the past 5 1/2 years I've been asked that question about .... oh, let me see..... never. |
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zipper
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:06 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by zipper on Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:26 am; edited 3 times in total |
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yamahuh
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1033
Location: Karaoke Hell
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:13 am Post subject: |
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Couldn't agree more.
Who knows? Eventually you might want to spend more money for a better course; one that is more recognised or internationally accredited but until then why not just get something that will make you more attractive to employers here? I mean, quite frankly they could care less about the content of your TESOL course; whether it was online or not, just so long as your name is on the certificate. |
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zipper
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:53 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by zipper on Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:27 am; edited 1 time in total |
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markcmc
Joined: 18 Jan 2010
Posts: 262
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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| yamahuh wrote: |
| I can't see why anyone with an M.A would even be contemplating working at a Buxiban |
I agree. One of the reasons for doing an MA is to get work in a university. |
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