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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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 Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Most contracts have a trial period. Usually one month for both parties. In a situation like that you can't lose. Not happy with the place? Leave and find another job. I understand your point about finding a place you like, but the truth is it usually takes a few months to see how shit some schools are Smile |
Actually with in the first year a boss can get rid of you anytime he or she feels like it. After working for a school for a year then you will be compensated with one month's pay if let go. |
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salkay
Joined: 14 Jun 2009
Posts: 5
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 3:30 pm Post subject: Welcome to Taoyuan |
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| aahz wrote: |
I am employed!!!
Let me explain how my trip has happened thus far. Prepare for rambling.
First day I arrived in Taiwan, collapsed into my hotel at midnight exhausted (having dragged my luggage from the Taipei station all the way to Taiyuan street). Second day I spent happily touring Taipei, going to museums and a night market. Third day, exhausted, I took a bus down to Taichung to meet with a recruiter. Fourth day, I spent the morning waiting for my recruiter to get me an interview that did not go through, went to one at a local school and dropped some resumes off around, and looked at Taichung's museum. That night, the same recruiter tells me that a colleague recruiter had a contract up in Taoyuan. I agreed to go to a job interview the very next morning, then collapsed to sleep at around 9 PM (the time shift still has me kicked in the butt!).
I went to the interview in the morning, not really that hopeful but keeping an open mind. The school was very wealthy/upper class, the teacher I met (Duncan) was very awesome and easygoing (a Canadian patriot who knew about Pirate Bay and had been here for 8 years), and I had a great time. Then, I was pretty much offered a contract.
There were some downsides to this whole process. For one, it is a part-time job during this summer. They definitely need more teachers in August though. So basically for the next 8 weeks, I'm doing summer school teaching and getting to know the area. The contract extends into full time for the rest of the year, if that makes sense.
But now that I'm hired, in Taoyuan, I am very happy. Even if it is part time work, I will still make enough to pay rent (NT$7000 minus a $3000 stipend means $4000, or about $140 american a month). The school is in walking distance of the apartment. I found out there's a gym at the local mall, and I feel very happy with my room.
The thing that makes me most happy is the idea that instead of spending my summer at home, struggling to find a teaching job or anything to do, instead I am here in a very foreign place and having a great time. I can look back years from now and think about this experience.
The entire hiring went so fast, wham bam shazam, that even though I wish it was full time I'm not exactly disappointed. I mean, at least this way I can ease into teaching full time, get a better grasp at teaching ESL students and practice my method (since I am used to teaching math). I am still a little bit wow-ed by it though.
Anyways, if people are interested about how this entire thing happened to me, or are looking for jobs themselves, the recruiter I mentioned was esldewey. My first recruiter from them, David, tried very hard but was running into walls (although maybe something would have eventually happened, since I only really gave him one day  ), and then Sonia came in with the contract at the private school that I am now going to be working at. There's actually room for other teachers at the school I'm at... But I think you have to have a teaching credential from the states since it is not a buxiban. |
How is everything going so far? |
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aahz
Joined: 13 Mar 2010
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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I've been staying in Taoyuan and waiting for my work permit to clear.
I have been doing a bit of a silly thing for most of my life, in signing my name as Mike Alan Powell instead of Michael Allan Powell, as it says on my birth certificate/etc. Mike is short for Michael, but honestly I always thought Allan was spelled Alan. Silly, silly me.
Anyways, while this hasn't led to any snafus (yet), it has led me to a certain amount of anxiety as I wait for my work permit to clear. I have the same SSN on all my documents, and hopefully this will be cleared up quick.
Lesson is: ALWAYS sign your name the same way. Oh, and look at your birth certificate, even if you think your name is spelled one way it may be totally different.
When I told my father about this, he said that he had always had the same problem. His own parents had given him the awful name Patrick Allan Richard Dilbert Powell... He shortened it to Patrick Allan Powell, and of course, this caused him immense headaches for his own passport issues.
Other than that, while waiting in anxiety for my permit to clear, I'm living in Taoyuan and getting quite bored. I have a gym membership around the corner (it has 4 swimming pools and is incredibly luxurious!), and wish I had a better computer. As soon as my permit clears I will really settle in, but right now I'm just sorta touristing about as best as I can. I've gone to Lukang, Taichung, and walked over quite a bit of Taipei. |
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aahz
Joined: 13 Mar 2010
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:59 am Post subject: |
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I received my work permit! yay!!! 
Now I feel a lot more confident about staying here long term. I've been walking a lot around my area and going to the gym daily. I've also bought Practical Audio Chinese to try to learn how to actually get around in the area. But since I have two weeks with nothing really to do, I'm planning to maybe take a tour of the rest of Taiwan. Take a train down to Kaohshiang, then maybe go along the coast to some nice tourist areas and up to Taroko gorge, before coming back up to Taiwan. Basically see the entire island as best as I can in the perfect summer time. I've been told that next week is the perfect week to go, since the week after is sort of the official start of summer vacation for most people.
Happy days!  |
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Dr_Zoidberg
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 406
Location: Not posting on Forumosa.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:47 am Post subject: |
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| aahz wrote: |
| I received my work permit! yay!!! |
Not trying to rain on your parade, but make sure the employer's name on your ARC is in fact your employer. Buxibans paying other buxibans for extra ARCs is not unprecedented. Considering the shady laobans I (and others I know) have met through recruiters, this would be advisable. The fact you can't read Chinese and would reasonably expect your employer to do the right thing doesn't count for much. Better safe than sorry.
Congratulations on making it here, and securing a job. Do let the rest of us know how things work out for you.
Cheers |
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mdweezilt
Joined: 12 Jul 2010
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 1:04 am Post subject: [quote="aahz"]I received my work permit! yay!!! : |
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Congrats aahz.
I'm also thinking of coming to Taoyuan from Korea, where I've been for 3 years. Did you need your ticket for leaving Taiwan to get your ARC?
Thanks |
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mdweezilt
Joined: 12 Jul 2010
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| sorry, I meant did you need a plane ticket to get your visa to work in Taiwan |
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