Job Discussion Forums

[linzbc]

I would really appreciate some input:

I am extremely anxious to move to Taiwan to teach English. I am told that the best way is to fly yourself out there and interview. My roommate just got back from teaching there and said she thinks I'd have no problem finding a job, but has no idea about the current economic situation.

I don't have much money saved, but I can put the "start-up" costs on a credit card. But is this wise? Should I just quit my job and incur debt without a guarantee?

I do not have any teaching certifications (yet) but I am more than willing to get them (maybe part time while I teach?)

(Synopsis of my resume): I graduated from a very good college in 2007 with a BA in biology, graduating with honors. Got a job (and still working there) at a company doing pharmaceutical research. However, in high school I had experience teaching computer skills to children (and babysitting!). I also had other jobs in college that can demonstrate my ability to train and educate...

Also, for what it's worth, blonde hair/blue eye female, 26 years old.

Does anyone have any advice for me?? I would really appreciate it!

[timmyjames1976]

JP Morgan has released estimates that by the end of the year the USD/NT exchange rate will be 1:40. I am not sure why any American would be in a rush to come here.

Also, if you have a job, why would you leave it and spend a nice chunk of change relocating into a messy ESL market.

My advice: Don't leave a job and incur debt to relocate into a shrinking job market where the value of the local currency is depreciating against your local currency.

But hey, if you must, then good luck. If you are dead set about teaching in Asia, I would personally recommend Japan, but that's just me.

[ryanx]

[linzbc]

[timmyjames1976]

I saved more in Japan (and I lived in Tokyo) than I have in Taiwan. That was also when the exchange rate was not working in my favor. If I didn't have a daughter, I would head back to Japan instantly.

As far as the economy, they are basically all tanking. Taiwan is no different.

I used the word "messy" because it is rather fitting. I cannot believe the amount of language schools I have seen pop-up and close over the last 2 years. It is really hard to explain the ESL market though.

I am sure your roommate has great things to say about Taiwan not that she is no longer here, but if it was so great, why is she no longer here?

Finally, when I was first here, the exchange was roughly $1 = 31NT. Now it is about $1 = 34NT. If JP Morgan is right and it goes to $1 = 40NT I am going to jump in front of a train. (It would basically be the equivalent of earning $1500/a month in the states).

If you just want to get away for a year and try something new, then great, come on over. (Although I would not go into debt to do so. It just isn't worth it). If you want to come here for the sake of earning $, well, I wouldn't give up a job to come here and most likely earn less.

Oh, and if the Canadian dollar remains relatively weak, you will be fighting with a zillion Canadians for crappy 600NT/hour jobs.

[forest1979]

"Oh, and if the Canadian dollar remains relatively weak, you will be fighting with a zillion Canadians for crappy 600NT/hour jobs."

Open it up. You'll be fighting with everyone. For Europeans the NT has been crap for years. The Euro was NT$30 a few years back, now it's 46-47, something like that? The only people doing better in Taiwan are the Brits because Sterling is so weak. But really, North Americans are only getting a sense of parity that everyone has suffered from before the recent global economic downturn. So, my two cents worth, no job lined up, no teaching qualification...will you get a job?...possibly...will it be a decent job...basically forget it! Working is one thing, being happy in a job another. And with a heavy debt to pay off it can make an unhappy situation even worse. Stay home.

[linzbc]

[linzbc]

[timmyjames1976]

It seems you already have your mind made up. If you want to come to Taiwan that bad, then do it. No one will tell you it is a good idea to come here on debt though. If you really want to come here, then why not try and save up some relocation money? If it takes a few more months in the states to make your relocation smoother, then that is the way to go. To come here on your credit card when the job market is shrinking, and there are already people here with experience, is just asking for trouble. And I didn't assume you wanted to save money, but putting debt onto a credit card in USD that accumulates interest in USD will hurt. It will not be easy to pay that off with a depreciating NT. And that is not saving, that is breaking even.

One word of advice: If you do come without a job lined up you better have a 10-15 minute demo rehearsed.

[menso35]

Hey OP,

Not to rain on your parade, but until they give you your pink slip at your current job STAY THERE AND DON"T QUIT!!!! It may suck but trust me the only thing worse than having a sucky job is having no job at all. There are no guarantees once you get to Taiwan. I have experience and TEFL certs and have sent out tons of resumes and only have gotten one response.

I am in my 30's and have made every possible mistake career wise. This is not the time to embark on the kind of adventure you are considering. Stay put for now until this storm blows over.

Whatever you do, DO NOT borrow on a credit card to fund an overseas adventure. I also went down that road and am paying a heavy price for it. Again, stay put at your current job no matter how bad it sucks until they literally kick you out the door.

[MomCat]

Linzbc,

It's hard to follow your questions and answers thru all of the Taiwan trashing but I hope you do decide to come here. You sound level headed with goals that don't only revolve around making as much money as possible.

There are jobs here. They may be harder to find but qualified people find them.

[forest1979]

Momcat -"Taiwan trashing"?

Please! What people are putting forward is pragmatic advice so that the OP doesn't come to Taiwan and end up in the position she's presently in...oh, and with a credit card debt. No one here has said bad things per se about Taiwan. They're trying to be informative so that the OP doesn't come and have problems. Personally I think she should stay put. I would not cross half way across the world at the present time in her circumstances. More to lose than gain. And that's what people on this thread have basically said.

[BigWally]

I guess I'll chime in on this heated debate.

All apologies to Momcat, as we usually agree on most points, but in this case I'm gonna have to side with forest.

If you decide that you need a change, and that you're bored in your current job then maybe you feel an overseas adventure is a fun thing to do. Here's my issue. I didnt decide to go to Taiwan for fun, I decided to go to Taiwan to work, and earn money so I could return to Canada and have some loans and credit card debts paid off. I wasnt trying to escape from a bad job, or boredom. The market right now is not a good one, and the money to be made for a newcomer to Taiwan is not good either.

Further more, in the 2 years I was in Taiwan I saw quite a few foreigners who just couldnt hack living on the island. Too much pollution, too much traffic, scooters are scary, food is bad, miss my family, etc, etc, etc. They had to stick out a few terrible months until they could scrape enough money to go home. If you invested the last of your credit card money and went to Taiwan on a hope and a prayer that you'd find a good job, and didnt, then where are you? Stuck in a place where you have no income, and are unhappy, and arent making enough money to pay of the interest on your ever increasing credit card debt.

Basically, the gist of this is dont travel on credit cards, its just a bad idea all around.

[forest1979]

Didn't Michael Turton on his blog say that in the last 1/4 the economy of Taiwan shrunk by 8%? If that is the case common sense will say that now is not the best time in Taiwan to find work, and those without teaching experience and qualifications will struggle even more.

[linzbc]

Okay, so don't put it on credit card. Got it. I'm currently saving. How much would you recommend saving?