Job Discussion Forums

[Rooster_2006]

I have had it with Taiwan. In seven months, I haven't saved a single cent. Eight people show up for an interview for an illegal kindergarten job way out in the middle of nowhere.

My buxiban in Taiwan pays only about 500 USD a month because it only gives me 7.5 hours a week (recently reduced even lower than that). I've figured out that I'd be much better off financially if I were making 4,500 RMB a month in China.

Over the past two years, the competition in Taiwan has surged to incredibly high levels. How about China?

Should I bother getting on a plane and going to China, or will things be just as bad?

[scarab1169]

Rooster,

Can't tell about the job market in China. But, I don't want to say it out loud - if you don't teach 14 hours per week minimum, you don't qualify for an ARC. To get an ARC, a school must provide you with at least 14 hours per week. I just can't understand how you could stay loyal to this school. I know you didn't want to leave again and blah, blah, blah; but there were quite a few good jobs going on Kaohsiung living in last week.
I would've bailed a long time ago if it was me. One can't live on that kind of money at all! Heck, I'm down to 16 hours a week at my school now, but they will open two new classes after Chinese New Year for me which should bring up my total again.For me it's difficult to get so little at the moment, so I can't even imagine how it must be for you. Seems Taiwan and you were not made for each other. You've just had one long "bad" experience here.
Unfortunately, the worldwide economic downturn has brought an influx of people to this part of the world, and schools are also struggling - to get students because of the economy and also because the student numbers are declining in some ways because of a low birthrate. I honestly can't say how long this industry will still last here. I'm only staying for one more year and then I'm out of here too. Good luck to you.

Why don't you go to the China forum and ask this same question there.They should be able to answer you better than us.

[creztor]

Rooster, I've toyed with the idea myself, but I guess it depends on what you want to teach. If you are OK with buxiban classes etc, then I think you probably stand to make more on the other side than in Taiwan if they give you free housing in the package. I haven't lived in China but I did some research and the pay works out to be around 100RMB/450-470NT an hour and the cost of food is about 30RMB/150ish NT a day. I could live on that in Taiwan and I get paid more here (provided I can find work, true, I would have to pay rent here). That's the catch, I think Taiwan is a better choice out of the two IF you can find work. It seems that the best thing China has going for it is you can find work no sweat (might not be in the city you want, but the jobs are plentiful and easy to get). I know some people say you can really save in China if you get a job paying 8,000 - 10,000 RMB a month, but many of the jobs I see that interest me (oral English classes at university) pay only 5,000 - 6,000 a month. I can't see myself saving money earning just that and would need more. Keep in mind I am 32, married and have dreams of going back to Aus one day I guess as with anything, all the good jobs go to people with guanxi .

[Rooster_2006]

Thanks for the input guys. I actually originally asked this in the China forum, but I guess the mods moved it.

[yamahuh]

I worked in China for more than 2 years. You can definitely save on 5000 RMB a month if you're not in the MAJOR urban centers like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing etc but then most jobs in those locations pay more anyways. I've seen jobs advertised in Shanghai for 12000 RMB per month which is pretty damn decent for China. Cost of living is ridiculously cheap if you're happy to eat like the locals and although class sizes can be dauntingly large you generally work less hours than you do here.

If you have some specific questions about hours, pay, accomodations and benefits I'd be glad to help you out but I just sent you a PM re: your newest thread so fleeing to China may not be your only option...

[Modest Mouse]

I am giving up hope as well and heading to China next month. The job market in Taiwan is flooded with people. I've been looking for a job for around 6 months and still haven't found one that will supply me with enough hours to obtain an ARC in Kaohsiung. (FYI: BA/TESOL Certification/white/young/pleasant appearance/1 year local experience in Taipei)

[Rooster_2006]

[zipper]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/nyregion/20teachers.html?src=mv&ref=nyregion

[Daphne]

Since the PRC has for the most part sidestepped the global financial crisis, and is also emphasizing learning English in such a vast and densely populated land, it is still actually hard not to to get a decent full-time gig for a native speaker with at least a Bachelors degree.


No matter where you live in China, as long as your a reasonable spender, saving half of one's salary is quite doable. The mainlanders are also in my opinion infinitely warmer and kinder than the Taiwanese.


Best to do some research about the cities or towns in the PRC that you are considering moving to in terms of their air pollution levels. Many cities have such high levels of it that it will act as constant nuisance on your upper respiratory system, but there are pockets of decent air around.

[KaiFeng]

[Rooster_2006]

At the end of February, I finally found a job in Kaohsiung. The hours are fairly limited, but I tighten my belt and can bank maybe US $500 a month. I've been working there for nearly three months and have managed not to get fired. However, it took 12 consecutive interviews before I got an offer!

When I go to Japan next year, I'll be going with one year of bona fide experience, a BSc, and a CELTA. I hope there are still jobs available. I have a hunch I'll find something.

[Daphne]

Well, during my previous stints in the PRC, what I did with my cash was to put it all in my Bank of China account till a couple of weeks before my departure date. At that time I wired almost the entire balance to my US account. The wire fee is somewhere around 200 RMB with them.


Bank of China will open an account for a foreigner even if he or she only has a tourist visa, and you'll also get an ATM card the same day you sign up with them. That card however is only usable in the PRC and HK--getting one that is global is apparently doable, but required a fair amount of running around which I never undertook. Compared with a lot of other banks in the region, the B o C offers a decent online banking system in English.


One VERY IMPORTANT thing for anyone on their way to work in China to consider is the strong likelihood that the RMB will be allowed to float by Beijing within the next couple of years to its real and much stronger value versus foreign currencies. Most analysts estimate that it will end up at roughly 4 to the Greenback (6.8 now).


Ergo, for someone planning to stay for at least a year even; keeping all you savings in RMB in hopes of it being greatly appreciated against your home currency is well worth the wait. I dare to say there is no risk involved whatsoever, as China's currency just might be the safest and most stable on the face of the earth at this time.

[zipper]

[Daphne]

I've also read about how China's economy might be a "paper tiger" in line for a major collapse soon, but for the time being those propagating that notion are considered "maverick economists."


Also true that the Euro's dire situation has made Beijing more reluctant to speed up a devaluation of the Yuan, but to me holding on to your RMB for the foreseeable future is still about as safe a bet as there is in the currency world (although much like a casino, there is no such thing as a sure bet with money).


If the Euro and EU fall apart in coming weeks, then all bets are off the tale as they say. Not just for Taiwan or the PRC mind you, but for every country in the world it seems.

[zipper]

Holding onto the Yuan isn�t going to hurt anyway, since it appears unlikely that it will depreciate, and more likely that it will eventually appreciate.